Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-06-16
HOPES IN TINY CRAFT
Boat Built Here to Enter In.
ternational Race.
WILL SEEK TO RETAIN CUP
Contest Of Power Boats on Long Is
land in August.
GREAT SPEED rs EXPECTED
Calculated That Over Fifty Miles
an Hour will Be Made in
Elimination Trials.
GREAT SPEED IS EXPECTED

An entrant for the International power
boat race that will be held of Long Is.
land in August Is being built I'm Wash.
ington. The International cup race is tho
most important power boat contest in
the world. Last year America took the
cup and this year is defending il In Amers
lean waters. II Is agreed that the vino
ming boat will have to do better than
fifty miles an hour to win the event anu
probably will have to do better than ffty
to show In the elimination races that ara
TO be held July IL. That Is the sort OF
a boat that II being built here.
Local interest In the craft is the greater
i'm that the boat is entirely a production
OF Washington and vicinity. II IL being
built In a special shop erected for the
work on the water front. The boat
Is being built for New Yorker, u
Stuart Blackston. vice commodore Of tho
New York Yacht Club.
Estimated Horsepower.
Some idea OF the ratio OF power 10
size that is being developed I'm modern
motor boats can be gained from the fact
that the present boat is only thirty-two
feet long and will have between 400 and
500 horsepower in her engines. She Is
to be equipped with four of the six-cyl-
inder Emerson engines such as thos"
used on the Rex Smith aeroplane. This
engine Is rated at from 100 TO l2o horse
power. so that the total horsepower OF
the boat will be well over ioo.
The boat itself. like all OF the high
powered racing boats is remarkably
light She is being built of one-quar-
ter Inch cedar, and the ribs. while close
together. are of very small oak. The
engines are balanced about midway
of the boat. One OF the peculiarities
of the hull Is a step about third Of
the length Of the boat. Fast power
boats run with their bows well out
of the water. The bottom OF the
boat is so designed that when she Is
running full speed the bow VIII be
raised till only a fraction of the bot
tom forward of the step viii be resting
on the water at all.
From the step on the bottom of the hui
| half way to the stern the boat will not
touch the water at all. So the skin fric-
ton. which is the retarding feature in
racing boats. will be reduced to about
quarter the length of the hull.
The propellers are made of one Of the
new alloy metals. whose composition Is
| still trade secret but there is a great
deal of nickel in IL and the surface 10
like silver. 1t is a little stronger and
| considerably lighter than steel. There
will be two propellers. twenty-four inches
in diameter by fifty-inch pitch.
These are set on the same plane at ths
stern and are designed to turn over be-
tween 800 and 900 revolutions a minute.
Victor Emerson of the Emerson Engine
Company Is to be the managing engineer
Of the power plant during the trials of the
boat. but he will probably require two
assistants in managing the four engines
The Speed Expected.
The boat, like other power boats, IL
steered by an automobile wheel. OF
course. 1t is a question still as to just
what speed she will make.
The nearest line on this is the fact that
another boat equipped with two similar
engines made a fraction over thirty-seven
miles. and, while the double engine power
will not double the speed Of the boat IL
is expected to make 1t we'll over fifty
miles an hour.
Work on the house where the boat 10
now being built was begun just month
ago. and 1t is expected that she will
be put in the water for her first trials
July l. These preliminary runs Will be
made on the Potomac. II she comes up
70 expectations she will be sent to Hunt
ington bay. l.. J., where she VIII par
ticipate In the international elimination
races July -.
Having won a place among the Amer
lean defenders of the International cup,
she will be entered in the main race.
This will be held during the international
meet which is to continue from August 70
to %.
Mr.. Blackston, the owner of the boat, Is
no novice at the power boat game. He
owned the Vita. that had a record or
over thirty-two miles an hour. Natu-
rally il is hoped that the ashington
boat will be able to retain the interna-
,;npal ctIn i'm this country.