Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1913-08-07


when the stanch motor boat De.
troit set cut from the city whose
name IL bore, with st. Petersburg
Russia. as its final destination, wise
acres shook their heads at the idet
OF so diminutive a craft, propelled
by a gasoline engine. being able TO
make the voyage.
But the croaking prophets we're
mistaken. the Technical World says
For while the Detroit was buffeted
about by wind and wave until at
times the doughty mariners confessed
sharing the fears of the wiseacres,
the launch-it was little more-poked
its nose into Queenstown harbor,
with scarcely a sign of hard usage,
Just 81 days days and 16 hours after
setting out from New York. This
was the longest continuous trip ever
made by a motor boat, and until then
regarded as an impossibility. IL for
nothing else than the inability to car
ry a sufficient supply of fuel
The Detroit was not designed for
beauty, strength and seaworthiness
being the chief considerations. IT was
35 feet over all, with nine-foot beams,
five-foot six-inch draft, and a dis
placement Of about IL tons when fully
equipped and loaded. II had q two
cylinder two cycle motor, developing
16 horsepower and capable of driv-
ing the boat a trifle more than six
miles an hour In addition it was
fitted with a 32-foot mast and suffi-
cient sail if occasion should arise.
The question of fuel supply was
solved through the installation of
seven tanks, with a combined capaci
ty of 1888 gallons of gasoline, two
of these tanks being located on deck
amidships, the rest in the hold. With
a volcano like this under foot, every
precaution had to be taken to guard
against fire. Captain Day was the
only man to carry matches, and smok
ing was positively prohibited. Cook
ing was done on a stove heated from
the exhaust to the engine, the device
proving entirely satisfactory. Only
once on the entire trip was there dan
ger from fire, and then the blaze was
extinguished before any harm re-
suited.
A few days out from New York the
Detroit was caught in a blow, and
the shaking up revealed the fact that
the ESQ gallon freshwater tanks had
not been properly cleaned before fill
ing, the stock becoming brackish.
Once on the voyage a big transat-
lantic liner was halted and requisi.
toned for a supply of drinking wa
ter. Aside from this, and continued
rough weather that repeatedly sent
even the most seasoned to their
hunks, no inconvenience was expe-
rienced by the three men who assist
ed the captain as crew. The boat
did not prove to be good runner in
heavy seas, but it made up for all
this when it came to lying to and
riding heavy seas. The low midship
deck proved a defect, for the boat
shipped water on slight provocation
although this did not interfere with
the motors operation.
Inc DelTOlI CledISu iIOlH DCIOie'
running across Lake Erie, through
the Erie canal, down the Hudson and
to New York where several days
were spent in preparation for the
dash across the Atlantic. Queens
town was reached three weeks later
the running time between the two
ports being exactly 21 days 16 hours.
A few days at Queenstown and the
Detroit proceeded to Cowes, thence
to St Petersburg by the way of the
English channel, the North and Bal
tic seas. The Russian capital was
reached in less than two months after
the departure from New York. Some
thing more than 1000 miles was
covered in this remarkable voyage of
nearly one-third the distance around
10