POSSIBILITIES IN MOTORBOATING

A Few Modern Types, of Interest to Devotees of the Water

John Chapman Hilder

MOTORBOATS arc to aquatic America what motor cars are to the continent itself. Like motor cars, they may be divided into three classes: those built for racing, those built for purposes of amusement, and those intended to meet frankly commercial requirements. As a further comparison, it might be added that for every grade of car, from the diminutive runabout to the eight cylindered Berliet, there may be found an equivalent among the boats.

No longer need one be saddled with a stationary summer abode, doomed to remain amid surroundings that pall and neighbors who have become flat and unprofitable. No longer need one rise in the morning dully conscious that the scenes of yesterday will be the scenes of to-day, and to-morrow. For there are houseboats and other craft on which to make dilatory domiciles, and the beauty of them is that one may foil visitors by the simple expedients of either pulling in the gang-plank or turning on full speed ahead, or both.

On the water, too, one has no concern with rough and dusty roads, hills that boil the water in the radiators, or the thousand and one tribulations of the motorist. True, motorboating is not altogether one sweet harmonious song, but considering both pastimes by and large, the motorboatist is apt to be far ahead of the motorist in his allotment of mental tranquillity. And he is undoubtedly better off in the matter of running expenses.

At Madison Square Garden this year there was a profuse assemblage of vessels, ranging from small powerdories to yachts containing accommodations for sleeping, eating and bridge-playing in rainy weather, with any number of boats of all sizes in between.

In the category of pleasure craft, perhaps the most attractive is the runabout, whose function on the water is analogous to that of a touring car or a roadster on land. Trim, narrow, with graceful lines, these runabouts, running in size from about twenty to forty feet, are, as a class, among the most attractive vessels on the market. They are fast—doing from fifteen to twenty-five miles an hour, and present on the interior much the same appearance as a touring car. They have automobile steering wheels, mounted with spark and gas control levers, species of dashboards, mounted with lighting switches, gauges, and dials, a speed lever and, in some cases, even foot pedals for the clutch. Many also have divided front seats, windshields, and oneman tops similar to those used on cars. That they are roomy besides is clearly shown in the picture on page 90.

Another type of pleasure craft that should be popular this season is the moderate-priced cabin cruiser, such as that pictured below. Nine people can sleep aboard without overcrowding: four in the forward cabin, three in the cockpit, and two more in the after cabin. The three-cylinder, 18 h. p. motor, especially designed for this cruiser, giving a speed of ten miles an hour, is placed in the after cabin, although it is conveniently controlled from the cockpit, which is raised so as to insure a clear view ahead from the seats. In addition to ample sleeping arrangements, there are both lavatory and galley aboard.

This is only one example. Many others, smaller and larger, are to be had. There is no limit to the degree of luxury attainable in power yachts and houseboats. Hardy millionaires in fact, may rough it on floating apartments wi h ten or more state-rooms and half a dozen baths, while persons of more restricted means may enjoy the rigors of the thirty-footer up.

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Mechanically, powerboats are in no way behind their wheeled cousins on land. Marine motors, from the little, one cylinder "kicker" to the high-powered, multiple cylindered monsters, have been developed to a high state of refinement and perfection. Electric self-starting, ignition, and lighting systems are now the rule, rather than the exception; as are non-reversible steering gears, reversible propellers, automatic fog signals, infallible carbureters (if there be such a thing) speedometers, windshields, silencers and other devices too numerous to be mentioned here.

The popularity of row-boat motors seems not only to be assurd, but to be growing by huge leaps. Where, a few years ago, there was but one manufacturer of these motors, there are now at least a dozen, all more or less alike, though each claims points of superiority. Whatever may be the respective merits of the different makes, they have one feature, at least, in common: that they can be attached to any kind of small boat, whether it have a pointed, flat, or rounded stern. And, according to the printed statements of the manufacturers, they seem to have the desirable qualities of lightness, freedom from vibration, easy cranking and low fuel consumption. In first cost, they are undoubtedly Super-Fords.

Motorboat racing is one of the most exhilarating of sports, and in that connection it seems to have been established beyond dispute that the hydroplane type can far outstrip, in point of speed, even the swiftest examples of the mere boat. As an instance of the pace they can attain, Baby Speed Demon II, a hydroplane equipped with a 200 h. p. Sterling engine, raced thirty miles in thirty-nine minutes, fifty-one seconds, in the January regatta at Miami. Florida.

Do you wish to buy a boat, or to rent one for the season? Is there any question with regard to motorboats to which you seek an answer? A letter to Vanity Fair will bring you in return solutions of all your problems.