Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1913-05-23
LONG OCEAN TRIP
Little Graft Went From Michiuap
to Russia.
Gasoline Motor Boat IS Feet lors
Makes Remarkable Rscord-voy.
age Completed In Less Than
Two Months From Home,

When the stanch motor boat 10.
troit set out from the city whose
name 1t bore. with st. Petersburg
Russia, as its final destination, wise.
acres shook their heads at the idea
Of so diminutive q craft, propelled
by a gasoline engine. being able to
make the voyage,
But the croaking prophets wers
mistaken, the Technical World says
For while the Detroit was bufieted
about by wind and wave until al
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 q 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 . motor boat. and until then
regarded as an impossibility, II for
nothing else than the inability to car
~ sufficient supply of fuel.
The Detroit was not designed for
beauty, strength and seaworthiness
being the chief considerations. 1t was
IS feet over all, with nine-foot beams,
five-foot six-inch draft, and dis
placement Of about IL tons when fully
equipped and loaded. 1t had two.
cylinder two cycle motor. developing
16 horsepower and capable OF driv.
ing the boat trifle more than six
miles an hour. In addition it was
fitted with q 32-foot mast and sufi.
cient sail II 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 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. 500 s,
A few days out from New York the
Detroit was caught in blow, and
the shaking up revealed the fact that
the $50 gallon freshwater tanks had
not been properly cleaned before fill
ing, the stock becoming brackish
Once on the voyage big transat.
lantic liner was halted and requis.
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 1t came to lying to and
riding heavy seas. The low midshlp
deck proved q defect, for the boat
shipped water on slight provocation
although this did not interfere with
the motors operation.
The Detroit cleared from Detroit
running across Lake Erie, through
the Erie canal. down the Hudson ana
to New York. where several Gays
were spent in preparation for Inc
dash across the Atlantic. Queens
town was reached three weeks later
the running time between the two
ports being exactly 81 days 16 hours
A few days at Queenstown and the
Detroit proceeded to Cowes. themes
to st. Petersburg by the way OF the
English channel. the North and BAL
tic seas. The Russian capital wa.
re" -hed in less than two months a1te'
the departure from New York Some =
thing more than 1000 miles wa.
covered in this remarkable voyage 0,
nearly one-third the distance arouno
the earth. @#s