Chapter 8: The Motor Afloat

PLEASURE BOATS--MOTOR LIFEBOATS--MOTOR FISHING BOATS--A MOTOR FIRE FLOAT--THE MECHANISM OF THE MOTOR BOAT--THE TWO-STROKE MOTOR--MOTOR BOATS FOR THE NAVY

Having made such conquests on land, and rendered possible aerial feats which could scarcely have been performed by steam, the explosion motor further vindicates its versatility by its fine exploits in the water.

At the Paris Exhibition of 1889 Gottlieb Daimler, the inventor who made the petrol engine commercially valuable as an aid to locomotion, showed a small gas-driven boat, which by most visitors to the Exhibition was mistaken for an ordinary steam launch, and attracted little interest. Not deterred by this want of appreciation, Mr. Daimler continued to perfect the idea for which, with a prophet’s eye, he saw great possibilities; and soon motor launches became a fairly common sight on German rivers. They were received with some enthusiasm in the United States, as being particularly suitable for the inland lakes and waterways with which that country is so abundantly blessed; but met with small recognition from the English, who might reasonably have been expected to take great interest in any new nautical invention. Now, however, English manufacturers have awaked fully to their error; and on all sides we see boats built by firms competing for the lead in an industry which in a few years’ time may reach colossal proportions.

[Illustration: A MODERN CAR AND BOAT

In the background is the racing motor boat “Napier II.”, which on a trial trip travelled over the “measured mile” at 30·93 miles per hour. In the foreground is a “Napier” racing car, which has attained a speed of 104·8 miles per hour.]

Until quite recently the marine motor was a small affair, developing only a few horse-power. But because the gas-engine for automobile work had been so vastly improved in the last decade, it attracted notice as a rival to steam for driving launches and pleasure boats, and soon asserted itself as a reliable mover of vessels of considerable size. To promote the development of the industry, to test the endurance of the machine, and to show the weak spots of mechanical design, trials and races were organised on much the same lines as those which have kept the motor-car so prominently before the public--races in the Solent, across the Channel, and across the Mediterranean. The speed, as in the case of cars, has risen very rapidly with the motor boat. When, in February, 1905, a Napier racer did some trial spins over the measured mile in the Thames at Long Reach, she attained 28·57 miles per hour on the first run. On turning, the tide was favourable, and the figures rose to 30·93 m.p.h., while the third improved on this by over a mile. Her mean speed was 29·925 m.p.h., or about 2/3 m.p.h. better than the previous record--standing to the credit of the American Challenger. The latter had, however, the still waters of a lake for her venue, so that the Napier’s performance was actually even more creditable than the mere figures would seem to imply. At a luncheon which concluded the trial, Mr. Yarrow, who had built the steel hull, said: “To give an idea of what an advance the adoption of the internal combustion engine really represents, I should like to state that, if we were asked to guarantee the best speed we could with a boat of the size of Napier II., fitted with the latest form of steam machinery of as reliable a character as the internal combustion engine in the present boat, we should not like to name more than sixteen knots. So that it may be taken that the adoption of the internal combustion engine, in place of the steam-engine, for a vessel of this size, really represents an additional speed of ten knots an hour. I should here point out that the speed of a vessel increases rapidly with its size. For example: in what is termed a second-class torpedo boat, sixty feet in length, the best speed we could obtain would be twenty knots; but for a vessel of, say, 200 feet in length, with similar but proportionately larger machinery, a speed of thirty knots could be obtained. Therefore, the obtaining of a speed of practically twenty-six knots in the Yarrow-Napier boat, only forty feet in length, points to the possibility, in the not far-distant future, of propelling a vessel 220 feet in length at even forty-five knots per hour. All that remains to be done is to perfect the internal combustion engine, so as to enable large sizes to be successfully made.”

Boats of 300 h.p. and upwards are being built; and the project has been mooted of holding a transatlantic race, open to motor boats of all sizes, which should be quite self-contained and able to carry sufficient fuel to make the passage without taking in fresh supplies. In view of the perils that would be risked by all but large craft, and in consideration of the prejudice that motor boats might incur in event of any fatalities, the Automobile Club of France set its face against the venture, and it fell through. It is possible, however, that the scheme may be revived as soon as larger motor boats are afloat, since the Atlantic has actually been crossed by a craft of 12 h.p., measuring only forty feet at the water-line. This happened in 1902, when Captain Newman and his son, a boy twelve years old, started from New York, and made Falmouth Harbour after thirty days of anxious travel over the uncertain and sometimes tempestuous ocean. The boat, named the _Abiel Abbot Low_, carried auxiliary sails of small size, and was not by any means built for such a voyage. The engine--a two-cylinder--burned kerosene. Captain Newman received £1,000 from the New York Kerosene Oil Engine Company for his feat. The money was well earned. Though provided with proper navigating instruments--which he knew how to use well--Newman had a hard time of it to keep his craft afloat, his watches sometimes lasting two days on end when the weather was bad. Yet the brave pair won through; and probably even more welcome than the sense of success achieved and the reward gained was the long two-days’ sleep which they were able to get on reaching Falmouth Harbour.

PLEASURE BOATS

We may now consider the pleasure and commercial uses of the motor boat and marine motor. As a means of recreation a small dinghy driven by a low-powered engine offers great possibilities. Its cost is low, its upkeep small, and its handiness very great. Already a number of such craft are furrowing the surface of the Thames, Seine, Rhine, and many other rivers in Europe and America. While racing craft are for the wealthy alone, many individuals of the class known as “the man of moderate means” do not mind putting down £70 to £100 for a neat boat, the maintenance of which is not nearly so serious a matter as that of a small car. Tyre troubles have no counterpart afloat. The marine motor dispenses with change gears. Water being a much more yielding medium than Mother Earth, the shocks of starting and stopping are not such as to strain machinery. Then again, the cooling of the cylinders is a simple matter with an unlimited amount of water almost washing the engine. And as the surface of water does not run uphill, a small motor will show to better advantage on a river than on a road. Thus, a 5 h.p. car will not conveniently carry more than two people if it is expected to climb slopes at more than a crawl. Affix a motor of equal power to a boat which accommodates half a dozen persons, and it will move them all along at a smart pace as compared with the rate of travel given by oars. After all, on a river one does not want to travel fast--rather to avoid the hard labour which rowing undoubtedly does become with a craft roomy enough to be comfortable for a party.

The marine motor also scores under the heading of adaptability. A wagonette could not be converted into a motor-car with any success. But a good-sized row-boat may easily blossom out as a useful self-propelled boat. You may buy complete apparatus--motor, tanks, screw, batteries, etc.--for clamping direct on to the stern, and there you are--a motor boat while you wait! Even more sudden still is the conversion effected by the Motogodille, which may be described as a motor screw and rudder in one. The makers are the Buchet Company, a well-known French firm. “Engine and carburetter, petrol tank, coil, accumulator, lubricating oil reservoir, exhaust box, propeller shaft, and propeller with guard are all provided, so that the outfit requires no additional accessories. For mounting in position at the stern of the boat, the complete set is balanced on a standard, and carries a steering arm, on which the tanks are mounted; and also the stern tube and propeller guard, which are in one solid piece, in addition to the engine. In order that no balancing feats shall be required of the person in charge, there is, on the supporting standard, a quadrant, in the notches of which a lever on the engine frame engages, thus allowing the rigid framework, and therefore the propeller shaft, to be maintained at any angle to the vertical without trouble.”[12]

The 2 h.p. engine drives a boat 16 feet long by 4 feet 6 inches beam at 6-1/2 miles per hour through still water. As the Motogodille can be swerved to right or left on its standard, it acts as a very efficient rudder, while its action takes no way off the boat.

For people who like an easy life on hot summer days, reclining on soft cushions, and peeping up through the branches which overhang picturesque streams, there is the motor punt, which can move in water so shallow that it would strand even a row-boat. The Oxford undergraduate of to-morrow will explore the leafy recesses of the “Cher,” not with the long pole laboriously raised and pushed aft, but by the power of a snug little motor throbbing gently at the stern. And on the open river we shall see the steam launch replaced by craft having much better accommodation for passengers, while free from the dirt and smells which are inseparable from the use of steam-power. The petrol launch will rival the electric in spaciousness, and the steamer in its speed and power, size for size.

Some people have an antipathy to this new form of river locomotion on account of the risks which accompany the presence of petrol. Were a motor launch to ignite in, say, Boulter’s Lock on a summer Sunday, or at the Henley Regatta, there might indeed be a catastrophe. The same danger has before now been flaunted in the face of the automobilist on land; yet cases of the accidental ignition of cars are very, very rare, and on the water would be more rare still, because the tanks can be more easily examined for leaks. Still, it behoves every owner of a launch to keep his eye very widely open for leakage, because any escaping liquid would create a collection of gas in the bottom of the boat, from which it could not escape like the gas forming from drops spilled on the road.

[Illustration:

Photo Branger & Cie, Paris.

THE MOTOGODILLE

The Motogodille, or Motor Rudder, consists of a screw propeller fitted to a small Buchet motor. The whole apparatus is mounted on a standard in the stern, and the operator, by moving the inboard arm to right or left, can steer the boat as he wishes. A 2-h.p. motor gives a speed of 5 to 6 miles an hour.]

The future popularity of the motor boat is assured. The waterside dweller will find it invaluable as a means of carrying him to other parts of the stream. The “longshoreman” will be able to venture much further out to sea than he could while he depended on muscles or wind alone, and with much greater certainty of returning up to time. A whole network of waterways intersects civilised countries--often far better kept than the roads--offering fresh fields for the tourist to conquer. River scenery and beautiful scenery more often than not go together. The car or cycle may be able to follow the course of a stream from source to mouth; yet this is the exception rather than the rule. We shoot over the stream in the train or on our machines; note that it looks picturesque; wonder vaguely whither it flows and whence it comes; and continue our journey, recking little of the charming sights to be seen by anyone who would trust himself to the water. Hitherto the great difficulty has been one of locomotion. In a narrow stream sailing is generally out of the question; haulage by man or beast becomes tedious, even if possible; and rowing day after day presupposes a good physical condition. In the motor boat the holiday maker has an ideal craft. It occupies little room; can carry fuel sufficient for long distances; is unwearying; and is economical as regards its running expenses. We ought not to be surprised, therefore, if in a few years the jaded business man turns as naturally to a spin or trip on the rivers and canals of his country as he now turns to his car and a rush over the dusty highway. Then will begin another era for the disused canal, the vegetation-choked stream; and our maps will pay more attention to the paths which Nature has water-worn in the course of the ages.

To the scientific explorer also the motor affords valuable help. Many countries, in which roads are practically non-existent, can boast fine rivers fed by innumerable streams. What fields of adventure, sport, and science would be open to the possessor of a fast launch on the Amazon, the Congo, the Mackenzie, or the Orinoco, provided only that he could occasionally replenish his fuel tanks!

MOTOR LIFEBOATS

Turning to the more serious side of life, we find the marine motor still much in evidence. On account of its comparatively short existence it is at present only in the experimental stage in many applications, and time must pass before its position is fully established. Take, for instance, the motor lifeboat lately built for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Here are encountered difficulties of a kind very different from those of a racing craft. A lifeboat is most valuable in rough weather, which means more or less water often coming aboard. If the water reached the machinery, troubles with the electrical ignition apparatus would result. So the motor must be enclosed in a water-tight compartment. And if so enclosed it must be specially reliable. Also, since a lifeboat sometimes upsets, the machinery needs to be so disposed as not to interfere with her self-righting qualities. The list might easily be extended.

An account of the first motor life-saver will interest readers, so we once again have recourse to the chief authority on such topics--the Motor Boat--for particulars. The boat selected for experiment was an old one formerly stationed at Folkestone, measuring thirty-eight feet long by eight feet beam, pulling twelve oars, double-banked, and of the usual self-righting type, rigged with jib, fore-lug, and mizzen. After she had been hauled up in Mr. Guy’s yard, where some of the air-cases under the deck amidships were taken out, a strong mahogany case, measuring four feet long by three feet wide and as high as the gunwales, lined with sheet copper so as to be water-tight, with a close-fitting lid which could be easily removed on shore, was fitted in place, and the whole of the vital parts of the machinery, comprising a two-cylinder motor of 10 h.p., together with all the necessary pumps, carburetter, electric equipment, etc., were fitted inside this case. The engine drives a three-bladed propeller through a long shaft with a disconnecting clutch between, so that for starting or stopping temporarily the screw can be disconnected from the engine. The petrol, which serves as fuel for the engine, is carried in a metal tank stored away inside the forward “end” box, where it is beyond any possibility of accidental damage. Sufficient fuel for a continuous run of over ten hours is carried. The engine is started by a handle fitted on the fore side of the case, which can be worked by two men. The position and size of the engine-case is such that only two oars are interfered with, but it does not follow that the propelling power of the two displaced men is entirely lost, because they can double bank some of the other oars when necessary.

Fitted thus, the lifeboat was tested in all sorts of weather during the month of April, and it was found that she could be driven fairly well against a sea by means of the motor alone; but when it was used to assist the sails the true use of the motor as an auxiliary became apparent, and the boat would work to windward in a way previously unattainable. Neither the pitching or rolling in a seaway, in any weather then obtainable, interfered at all with the proper working or starting of the motor, which worked steadily and well throughout. Having been through these preliminary tests, she was more severely tried. Running over the measured mile with full crew and stores on board, she developed over six knots an hour. The men were then replaced by equivalent weights lashed to the thwarts, and she was capsized by a crane four times, her sails set and the sheets made fast, yet she righted herself without difficulty. An interesting feature of the capsize was that the motor stopped automatically when the boat had partly turned over. This arrangement prevents her from running away from the crew if they should be pitched out. The motor started again after a few turns of the handle, so proving that the protecting compartment had kept the water at bay.

From this account it is obvious that a valuable aid to life-saving at sea has been found. The steam lifeboat, propelled by a jet of water squirted out by pumps below the water line, is satisfactory so long as the boat keeps upright. But in event of an upset the fires must necessarily be extinguished. No such disability attends the petrol-driven craft, and we shall be glad to think that the brave fellows who risk their lives in the cause of humanity will be spared the intense physical toil which a long row to windward in a heavy sea entails. The general adoption of this new ally will take time, and must depend largely on the liberality of subscribers to the fine institution responsible for lifeboat maintenance; but it is satisfactory to learn that the Committee has given the boat in question a practical chance in the open sea by stationing her at Newhaven, Sussex, as a unit in the lifeboat fleet.

MOTOR FISHING BOATS

It is a pretty sight to watch a fishing fleet enter the harbour with its catch, taken far away on the waters beyond the horizon while landsmen slept. The sails, some white, some brown, some wondrously patched and bearing the visible marks of many a hard fight with the wind, belly out in graceful lines as the boats slip past the harbour entrance. No wonder that the painter has so often found subjects for his canvas and brushes among the toilers of the deep.

But underlying the romance and picturesqueness of the craft there is stern business. Those boats may be returning with full cargoes, such as will yield good profits to owner and crew; or, on the other hand, the hold may be empty, and many honest hearts be heavy at the thought of wasted days. A few years ago the Yarmouth herring fleet is said to have returned on one occasion with but a single fish to the credit of the whole fleet! This might have been a mere figure of speech; it stands, at any rate, for many thousands of pounds lost by the hardy fishermen.

When the boats have been made fast, the fish, if already disentangled from the nets, is usually sold at once by auction, the price depending largely on the individual size and freshness of the “catch.” Now, with the increase in the number of boats and from other causes, the waters near home have been so well fished over that much longer journeys must be made to the “grounds” than were formerly necessary. Trawling, that is, dragging a large bag-net--its mouth kept open by a beam and weights--along the bottom of the sea for flatfish, has long been performed by powerful steam vessels, which may any day be seen leaving or entering Hull or Grimsby in large numbers. Surface fishing, wherein a long drift-net, weighted at its lower edge and buoyed at the upper edge to enable it to keep a perpendicular position, is used for herring and mackerel, and in this industry wind power alone is generally used by British fishermen.

The herring-boat sets sail for the grounds in the morning, and at sundown should be at the scene of action. Her nets, aggregating, perhaps, a mile in length, are then “shot,” and the boat drifts along towing the line behind her. If fish appear, the nets are hauled in soon after daybreak by the aid of a capstan. The labour of bringing a mile of nets aboard is very severe--so severe, in fact, that the larger boats in many cases employ the help of a small steam-engine. During the return voyage the fish is freed from the meshes, and thrown into the hold ready for sale as soon as land is reached.