The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-26
Moron boats IN TRADE.
Spider and Sandny IN Use for Transporta'
ton on the Niger.

Spider and sandiy IN Use for Transporta-
tiOn on the Niger.
Now that gasolene engines are being
made more practical zach day and are being
fitted to vessels Of all kinds. it Is interest
ing to note the success that boats are q
ing in trade. Two power boats. SO feet
long. were built some time 6 by Thorny-
croft a Company for use on the River
Niger and the Ydchtino World publishes
an interesting account Of what are probably
the first motor boats OF comparatively
large size to be employed on the Niger
and it's tributaries for carrying cargo and
purposes of communication.
The uses Of the power boat using gasolene
engines seem to be limitless and United
States Consuls in their reports 10 the Gov
ernment are constantly calling attention
to the field that manufacturers will find
abroad. The Ydchting World says:
These boats, Spider and Sandfy, are
canoe shaped vessels, with very blunt
bows and square sterns, fiat bottomed
from end to end, with the exception Of a
slight rise fore and aft. They are SO feet
over all, 0 feet beam and only IL inches
draught, fully loaded. They were built en-
tirely by Messrs. John l. T~hornycroft d
Company, Ltd. Of Chiswiok. and were
each fitted with a Thornycroft motor de-
veloping so b. h. p. on parafin and 81 b. b. p.
on petrol. With the exception that Spider
| is propelled by screws in tandem and n
fly by q stern wheel. the vessels are iden-
teal. The motors lave four cylinders.
9 inch diameter by 8 inch stroke, cast in
pairs, with valves arranged symmetrically
on either side. inlet to port and exhaust
starboard. The valves are actuated by
vertical tappets fitted with rollers on their
lower ends.
SAn important feature Of these motors
is their accessibility, obtained by the special
form Of inspection doors fitted to the crank
| case. Two doors are fitted on each side
These when removed leave the interior
entirely exposed, including the cam shafts,
which may be taken out at the side instead
Of being withdrawn longitudinally. To
facilitate this the cam shaft bearings are
made in halves, the bottom part being
carried by brackets in the main casting
and the tops being held in place by caps.
The tappet rod guides are mounted on the
| respective cams, 30 that as soon as the
former are removed the cam shafts are
left absolutely free.
Another important feature Is the arrange
ment for running on petrol or parafin. as
desired. For this purpose four way oon-
pection IL fitted TO the induction pipe, the
two horizontal DrhnCnee going ISthS wynn
ders. the up going pipe leading TO the par
ATTN vaporizer and the downtake pipe to
the petrol carbureter. Each Of the latter
pipes Is provided with a throttle. 30 that II
the motor be started up on petrol the
vaporizer throttle is kept closed, while IL
It is desired to change over to the heavier
fuel after the motor has warmed up the
petrol throttle can be closed and the paraf-
hn valve opened. Ordinarily the parafin
vaporizer is heated by the exhaust gases
-ltIl - .o.aal thro,t0 h 10. ha,f IL M nafrol
is available for starting, the motor can be
started from cold in about ten minutes
by means Of q parafin lamp used to heat
the vaporizer. Half compression cams
are fitted to the exhaust cam shaft to facili-
tate starting up, 1t being easy to get up a
fair speed BY hand under this condition,
and as soon al the motor begins to fire the
full compression is given, when it picks
up very quickly:
completed and delivered TO the Southern
NiRerian Government in the early summer
Of last year, and after incidental delays
due to transport was finally. erected and
launched at Old Calabar in July last.
sThe first trip was of our hours duration,
on July "a. 1908, This was accomplished
without a stop and without the least trouble
from the motor, which used ordinary Ameri-
can parafln exclusively. After this the
boat was put into commission, making
regular runs, towing steel or else native
canoes and delivering mails. DC.
"A notable run was one OF ss4 miles made
last August, this being accomplished in
As hours % minutes, or at an average OF
7.ss miles an hour. The paraf1n con-
sumed was at the rate Of 80 gallons an
hour-an extremely economical figure unde-
the exceptional conditions. No petrol
whatever was used on this occasion and the
motor and clutch gave absolutely no
trouble.
Another very good performance was a
tourney az sixtv miles from Itu To Indibe
beach (Aikpo), towing two fully loaded
steel canoes December rs and % last.
This distance was covered in IL hours so
minutes, or at an average speed Of about
miles an hour against stream.
run, time under way and consumption Of
fuel during certain periods, is worthy Of
note: