476 OUTING FOR FEBRUARY.

BY A. J. KENEALY.

THE double-hull type of craft is no such interesting phase of marine

once more prominently before architecture has been evolved.the yachting fraternity, and will I remember how fascinated I was as adoubtless be exploited in many boy by the perusal of “Lord Anson’s

ingenious ways during the next racing Voyage Round the World,” telling howseason. The development of a type of that famous English navigator, in hisvessel whose origin is lost in the mist stout ship Centurion, doubled Capeof antiquity into a racing machine likethe twenty-footer Dominion has at-

Horn in 1740, visited the romantic isle

tracted the attention of naval architectsof Juan Fernandez, and enriched him-

generally to Mr. Herrick Duggan, theself and his accompanying bold seadogsby the capture of a Spanish galleon lit-

Canadian yacht designer, who for three erally laden with treasure. Incident-consecutive years has humbled the ally, the book describes the surprise ex-pride of the Seawanhaka Corinthian perienced by the ship’s company at theYacht Club by keeping in profane Ca- first sight of the proa, as used by thenuck hands the cherished international natives of the Ladrones.challenge cup, won with singular ease

In a copy of

off Oyster Bay in 1896.

the first edition of the work, in my

Mr. Duggan, of course, cannot pre-father’s library, was a quaint illustra-

tend to be the originator of a new typetion of the proa under sai l , with a

of sailing craft, but he may safely layplan drawn to scale, from which I madea crude model, and sailed her on an arm

claim to whatever laurels are due to of the sea that washed the beach notthe faculty of acute adaptation. He has fifty yards from our front door. I wass u c c e e d e d i n a f i e l d w h e r e o t h e r s h a v e not slow to recognize the advantage oftried and f a i l e d .He has ski l l ful lymodified the prin-ciple of the Malayp r o a , and intro-duced its s a l i e n tcharacteristics intoa vessel small in-deed in the matterof dimensions, buthuge when its in-herent scientificposs ibi l i t ies a r econsidered. SinceNat H e r r e s h o f fm a d e practicablethe crude fin-keel offo rmer designers, section of mr. mackenzie’s boat, 1868.

the type in wind-w a r d w o r k . I twas my good for-tune in the yea r1870, from the deckof the East India-man H u r k a r u ,bound to Madras,to obtain my firstv i ew o f the S in-ghalese type of fly-ing p roa o f f thecoast of C e y l o n .The sight was novela n d picturesque,and, being younga n d impression-able in those days,

Painted for Outing by James L. Weston.

the “proa” at sea.

Photo by Notman & Son, Montreal.

the dominion.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE DOUBLE-HULLER.479

it was photographed indelibly on mymind.

The southwest monsoon was blowingbriskly and the Hurkaru was bowlingalong with stunsails set, at a nine-knotgait. It was my forenoon watch below,and I was suddenly awakened by a ship-mate who invited me on deck to look atthe “queerest craft I ever saw.” Turn-ing out in a hurry I followed him, andfrom the topgallant forecastle saw theproa in the act of shooting across ourbows. The breeze piped at a “three-man power,” for that number of litheand swarthy Lascars straddled the out-rigger to windward, hanging on by theireyelids, after the manner of marinersthe seas over. The sail that propelled

quently I had several opportunities ofinspecting these proas, and subjectingthem to a close examination—notably atPoint de Galle, where the Hurkarutouched to take in cargo on her home-ward voyage.

The main portion of the hull properconsists of a trunk of a tree hollowedout and hewn into symmetrical shape,bow and stern both being pointed. Thebilge of the weather side is neatlyrounded, while the lee side is as flat asthe side of a half model of a vessel thatis nailed to a board. Cut a double-endboat in two longitudinally, take one ofthe sections and nail on planks so as toform a wall-like side, and you have a fairimitation of the principle of the main

mr. h. melling’s boat, 1873.

this craft was of the sprit variety, but hull of the Singhalese proa. To thiswas made of cotton stuff and not of trunk, when hewn into shape, are fast-matting, as was the sail described in ened the topsides, which consist of“Anson’s Voyage.” She darted past us planks of suitable length and thicknesswith rare velocity, throwing the spray bound with lashings of kyar rope, theover her crew in fine style. There were seams being calked with cocoanut fibre,six or seven of them in the main hull of which swells when water-soaked. Notthe proa, the helmsman steering with a a nail is used in the construction of thera the r l ong padd le . Af t e r she had craft, they resembling in this detail thecleared the ship’s bows she luffed up famous Masoolah boats of the Madrassharp and seemed to point almost in the coast. In all essentials the character-wins’s eye, the sail sitting quite flat, un- istics of the proa of the Ladrones de-like the sails of the ordinary “country scribed by Anson are reproduced. Thewallah,” which are, as a rule, of the cigar-shaped log, which is connected tobaggy kind. I judged her speed at the main hull by bamboo outriggersabout sixteen knots—certainly not less. (which give the necessary elasticity) andThe mast and sprit of her sail were of kyar lashings, is hewn out of a solidbamboo, the rigging of kyar. Subse- and rather heavy tree. This gives the

480 OUTING FOR FEBRUARY.

required stability, and in a strong breezepretty nearly all hands “hike out” towindward on it, leaving only the helms-men (one at each end) aboard the mainship. It need not be said that theSinghalese are as nearly amphibious as itis possible for human bipeds to be.

These vessels are used chiefly forfishing. Their crews, equipped withhooks and lines, put off to the fishinggrounds at daybreak every morning,and return at sundown well laden witha wondrous variety of scaly prey. Someproas ply as bumboats visiting theships in the roadstead, all being wellhandled and brought alongside withadmirable skill and precision.

The boatmen are able to beach thesecraft without the slightest injury. Evenwhen the surf runs quite heavily, inspite of the handicap of the extrahull, they sail or paddle the boats tothe shelving shore and run them uphigh and dry with singular celerity.

I remember that I bought in thebazaar at Point de Galle a fine model ofa proa, giving 5 rupees 8 annas for it.I also remember that I presented it tomy best girl when I reached home, andthat it was broken by a jealous andspiteful rival immediately after my de-parture on my next deep-sea voyage.

By comparing the catamaran on page477 wi th tha t o f the Ladrones o f1740, reproduced from “Anson’s Voy-age,” it will be seen that although theprinciples are precisely the same, thedetails differ somewhat. It is on recordthat, Woodes Rogers, an English pri-vateersman, took one of these craft,home with him from the Ladrones in1710, and that her great speed undersail excited much admiration. It is theopinion of men who have given thesubject thought, that the type originatedin the Ladrones, and that it was after-ward copied by other nations. Ansongives the following description with hisillustrations:

Figure 1 represents the proa with hersail set as she appears when seen fromthe leeward.

Figure 2 is a view of her from thehead with the outrigger to the wind-ward.

Figure 3 i s a plan of the whole:Where A B is the lee side of the proa;C D, the windward side; E F G H, theoutrigger or frame laid out to wind-ward; K L, the boat at the end of it;

M N P Q, two braces from the headand stern to steady the frame; R S, athin plank placed to windward to pre-vent the proa from shipping water(this serves, too, for a seat for the In-dian who bails, and sometimes, too,goods are carried upon it). I is thepart of the middle outrigger on whichthe mast is fixed. The mast itself issupported (Figure 2) by the shore (C D)and by the shroud (E F) and by twostays, one of which, may be seen inFigure 1, marked C D, and the other ishid by the sail.

The sail E F G in Figure 1) is ofmatting, and the mast, yard, boom andoutr iggers are a l l made of bamboo.The heel of the yard is always lodgedin one of the sockets (T or V, Figure 3),

according to the tack the proa goes on,and when she alters her tack they beataway a little to bring her up to thewind. Then, by easing the halyard andraising the yard and carrying the heelof it alongside the lee side of the proa,they fix it in the opposite socket, whilethe boom at the same time, by letting

N (Figure 1), shifts into a contraryfly the sheet M and hauling the sheet

situation to what it was before; and thatwhich was the stern of the proa nowbecomes the head, and she is trimmedon the other tack. When it is neces-sary to reef or furl the sail this is doneby rolling it round the boom.

The proa general ly carr ies s ix orseven Indians, two of whom are placedin the head and stern, who steer thevessel alternately with a paddle, accord-ing to the tack she goes on, he in thestern being the steersman. The otherIndians are employed either in bailingout the water which she accidentallyships or in setting or trimming the sails.

The origin of the double-hull crafthaving been traced, as accurately as ispossible, to the Ladrones, where theywere in constant use in 1520, as is testi-fied by Magellan, the discoverer of theislands, the curious investigator natu-rally wishes to follow the developmentof the principle from its source to itspresent stage, as exemplified in the Do-minion. I need hardly say that the sub-ject is as interesting to the student ofnaval architecture, as is another link inthe doctrine of the evolution of manfrom protoplasm to a disciple of Dar-win. After some little research I findthat the source from which Mr. Duggan

THE EVOLUTION OF THE DOUBLE-HULLER. 481

derived the Dominion may possibly havebeen a craft jointly invented and pat-ented in England, in 1873, by Messrs.John Dunkin Lee and John White. Ihave not had an opportunity of seeingthe drawings of the vessel in question,but from No. 1,987 of the London Field,I gather that the model of the craft maybe found in the Naval Museum, SouthKensington, and that the opening para-graph of the specification says: “Thenovelty of this invention consists in giv-ing a concave form to the bottom of thevessel instead of a convex, thereby mak-ing a single channel for the water amid-ships, and by which the principal ele-ments of displacement are transferredto the bilges, thus securing the greatestamount of stability that can be obtained,combining the properties of two shipsin one fabric.”

One glance at the midship section ofDominion will convince the ordinaryman that Mr. Duggan’s aim was to ob-tain precisely the same results as aremapped out in the paragraph abovequoted.

But on going back I discover that asearly as 1868 Mr. John Mackenzie, a Bel-fast, Ireland, yachtsman, built a doubleboat of the following construction: Twoboats of equal size, each twenty-one feetlong on the keel, three feet beam andthree feet deep. Each boat has a keeltapering from fifteen inches deep aft tosix inches deep forward. Bolted to thekeel by strong iron knees are stanchionswhich rise through the deck, on whichthe rail is fixed. To these stanchionsthe cross-beams connecting the twohulls are bolted, the timbers or ribs inthe wake of the cross-beams also risingthrough the deck for a like purpose.The skin is one inch thick, being in oneboard on either side of the keel. Thesides are made of two planks, each eight-een inches deep, the seams being cov-ered by a continuous strip of wood. Thehul ls are connected by f ive trussedbeams, the one to which the mast isstepped being double trussed. On thesebeams a platform rests, a space of threeinches being left at either side to allow aircompressed by a cross-sea to escape fromunderneath. This platform, from themast forward, is of openwork. Underthe platform is a chest two feet wide andsix inches deep, with a capacity of sixhundredweight of water to serve asballast in bad weather. There are valves

in the bottom of the box, by which thewater can be discharged in a short time.

Each hull is divided by bulkheads intofour compartments. Two of these aresix feet six inches long, and may be usedas berths to sleep in. A hatch is in onecompartment and a movable skylight inanother, the hatches being screwed downon india-rubber, thus being air-tight.Each hull has a rudder, and these, beingconnected by a coupling-rod, are workedsimultaneously by a tiller from amid-ships, both moving in the same direc-tion.

The inventor, from whose descriptionof his craft the foregoing is taken, addsthe following comments:

“It might be supposed that a boat soconstructed would wet those on boardvery much, but such is not the case, asthe buoyancy is so great that very fewwaves break over the platform. Thosethat do come aboard, being principallyin front of the mast, disappear throughthe openwork. When on a cruise, andlying at anchor, a waterproof tent canbe rigged up on deck, in which theremay be a clear inside space of eight feetby six feet, sleeping berths being pro-vided for four persons in the boats, asbefore mentioned. A permanent cabinon deck is, in my opinion, very objec-tionable, as it interferes with the work-ing of the sails and is a serious hin-drance when beating to windward.

“I had various opportunities duringthe last two summers of testing thequalities of this boat. The best oppor-tunity was afforded during last summerby a cruise along the Antrim coast andby frequent sailing in the Irish Sea,sometimes in half a gale of wind.I always found her to stay very welland go to windward in a very satisfac-tory manner. The greatest speed wasten knots an hour.

“During the summers of 1868 and1869 she was moored in the center ofBangor Harbor (which is a tidal one)without any trouble. When the tide ebbsthe boat sits down on an even keel; andI consider it a great advantage to beable to run into harbor at nearly anystate of the tide, as it takes away the riskof mooring in an exposed bay; or, ifrunning for shelter, you are much morelikely to be able to enter a harbor thanwith an ordinary boat.”

I may add that Mr. Mackenzie’s boatwas rigged as a cutter. The accom-

482OUTING FOR FEBRUARY.

panying section gives a sufficiently ac- “They are weighted to sink by them-curate plan of her construction, when selves, and house themselves as sooncombined with the particulars and di- as she touches the ground. Her pon-mensions given already, for the reader toons are 30 feet long and 2 feet into trace the progress of the double-hull diameter, representing enormous float-to that date. ing power; and, it is almost unneces-

It was in 1873 that Mr. H. Melling, sary to say, water-tight pontoons, orof Liverpool, England, constructed adouble-hulled safety yacht, which

air chambers, are the most powerfulprinciple of buoyancy known. In the

proved herself quite satisfactory to her drawing her broadside view is given,designer and his friends. I transcribe with the submerged portion shown bythe following from Mr. Melling’s own dotted lines. The ‘end on’ view moredescription: clearly shows the power of the vessel

“Happen what may, she cannot sink, and the peculiarity of her construction.”for even if scuttled she will remain as In 1876 Nat Herreshoff designed anda strongly-put-together life-raft. She built the catamaran Amaryllis, a marinecan accommodate herself to draw only monstrosity which created quite a sensa-one foot of water, although of the size of tion in the yachting world. She sailedfifteen tons. She can be beached at pleas-ure without the risk of straining. She

her f i rst race on June 23d, appearingas the representative of the Providence,

can be anchored and put into places out R. I., Yacht Club in the Second Cen-of the way of harm, t e n n i a l Regattaor being run down for yachts of fif-or a-foul of, and teen tons and un-ride to her anchor der, t h i r t y - t w oin a r o a d s t e a d , craft starting. Inlight and buoyant, the ear ly part ofwith little strain the contest, whileon her cable. All

the dominion.

is of pine wood,the wind was light,she was well astern

l i gh t and buoy- of the leaders; buta n t , h a v i n g n o when the breezeballast whatever.She has comfort-

piped up strong she

able cabin accom-gradually came upin the van of the

modation on deck,affording a good

fleet, e v e n t u a l l y

‘look-out’ fore andpassing every boat

the dominion.

a f t . G a l l e y a n dand winning with

stowage berths are in the forecastle;singular ease.

A protest against her on the groundand by a system of casks stowed away that she could not possibly be classedin the pontoons and on deck she could as a yacht was allowed by the Racecarry stores, provisions, water, etc., for avoyage, which casks, as they are emptiedand bunged up, will add much to hersafety. She made very good weatherof it in turning down the Dee, and alongthe Welsh coast over shallows against astrong wind. In running back off thewind she attained extraordinary speed.

“The use of the boards is as follows:If the fore-board is down, or part down,it makes her stay in a seaway; if theaft one be down, it holds her steady inscudding, and prevents broaching to;if they be all own, she holds a good

Committee, and she was disqualifiedand voted out. She was, however, pre-sented with a medal for making thebest speed on record by a boat of herlength.

The Race Committee of the Seawan-haka Yacht Club had this decision inmind when they protested against Do-minion, on the ground that she is acatamaran. But when the Herreshoffcatamaran and the Duggan double-huller are compared it will be seen thatthere is a vast difference between thetwo types.

wind and makes no leeway. They canbe let down partially or wholly, as re-

Mr. Herreshoff, on being confrontedwith the accusation that Amaryllis was

quired, by a chain, and can be hauled a nondescript, having no conveniencesup by hand. whatever on board for comfortable

THE EVOLUTION OF THE DOUBLE-HULLLER. 483

cruising, denied the al legation and having about as much accommodation.pointed with pardonable pride to thecircumstance that she carried a camp

The only possible means of shelter is tocarry a tent with which to cover the

chair.T h e a c c o m p a n y i n g p l a n o f t h e

cockpit.

Amaryllis gives a general idea of theThere is one unpleasant feature in the

queer craft.catamaran, and that is a singular pro-

The two hulls are con- pensity to “pitch-pole” on the slightestnec t ed by a complexsystem of ball-and-

provocation. An amus-

socket joints which haveing (to the spectators)

range of motion enough,mishap occurred to the

SO that one hull may rideAmaryllis when racingwith the c a t a m a r a n

a wave while the otheris in the depths

John Gilpin, in June,1877. Captain

o f a h o l l o w . Coffin, who wasThe only ac- watching t h ecommodat ion contest, t h u sfor passengers the proa, from anson’s “voyage.” humorously de-is a small cock-pit amidships protected by a coaming.The mast and rigging are supportedbetween and above the hulls by a sys-tem of truss-work with adjustable ten-sion rods of iron. The above descrip-tion is condensed from an account of thecraft printed by Mr. Herreshoff.

The craft cannot be said to haveachieved popularity. So far as I know,Amaryllis, Arion, Teaser, John Gilpinand Tarantella were the only ones thatMr. Herreshoff built, and I have notseen one sailing since 1883. Each car-ried a jib and mainsail, and the speedachieved was marvelous, twenty-onemiles having often been made in a stiffbreeze and smooth water. The mostenthusiastic devotee of this aquaticfreak cannot claim that she is moreadapted for cruising than an ice-boat,

scribed w-h athe saw: “The Amaryllis came to a sud-den stop. The after ends of the twohulls and rudder were descried high inthe air; for a second she hung poisedupon her forward end, trembled andlost her balance, and in a twinklingwent end over end, mast down and keelup. This peculiar circumstance may beillustrated by the following simple dia-gram:

“Figure 1, Amaryllis at 3:30 p. m.,

right side up. Figure 2, Amaryllis at

the flying proa, from anson’s “voyage.”

484OUTING FOR FEBRUARY.

3:31 p. m., wrong side up and stuck in themud. It will be perceived that the crewdid not remain on board the Amaryllisafter 3:30 p. m. Indeed, with greatunanimity they preserved their mo-mentum when the boat lost hers so sud-denly, and went flying through the air,landing some twenty feet ahead of theirpitch-poled craft.”

The Herreshoff catamaran is an inter-esting memory only, but at the time ofits introduction it set people thinking.

Captain Louis Towns, a Staten Islandboatbuilder, in 1877 designed and builtfor Mr. Anson Phelps Stokes the double-hulled schooner Nereid, the hulls ofwhich were three feet wide, five feetdeep, and each fitted with a 5-foot cen-terboard. She was steered with onerudder hung between the two hulls,which were placed 10 feet apart. Onehull was set apart for owner and guests,the other accommodated skipper andcrew. Her lower masts were 43 feet

huller, It is true that a modificationof the catamaran type has been fre-quently used in canoes and upward inthe scale to cargo carrying craft. Asteamer built after the general type ofdouble-hull was for several years in thepassenger service between Dover andCalais. Many bicycle boats and otherpleasure craft on the same principle areused on American and European riversand lakes. But in spite of all this thereare certain features in Mr. Duggan’sboat which are now for the first timecombined. As a matter of fact, it re-mained for Mr. Duggan to revive inter-est in the type, and this he has donemost effectually by the production ofDominion. The craft has given rise tomuch discussion among yachtsmen andin the press, both at home and abroad.The point of sailing in which Dominionexcels is close-hauled on a wind or withthe wind abeam. It is then that she sailson her lee hull only, the weather hull

the tarantella catamaran.

and her topmasts 20 feet, booms 28 feet,gaffs 14 feet. She sailed her maidenrace in the annual regatta of the NewYork Yacht Club, a special meetinghaving been held in which her claims toadmission as a yacht were earnestly dis-cussed and finally conceded. Owing tothe connections between the hulls beingrigid instead of having the ball andsocket joints used by Herreshoff, sheproved impracticable, and unsafe forcruising in any water not smooth as amillpond.

serving the same purpose as the ballastof a “sand bagger,” enabling her tocarry a good press of sa i l . This i sshown on page 482, which portraysher when heeled. With the wind deadaft and both hulls immersed, Dominionin the races at Dorval was slightly slowerthan her rival, her paramount advantagebeing gained when sailing with one hullimmersed.

The same fate befell another double-huller built in Brooklyn the same yearfor Mr. Charles A. Meigs, of StatenIsland, the hulls of which were 46 feetlong, with 3 feet 6 inches beam. The con-nections of the hulls of this vessel werealso rigid, the consequence being another

Dominion’s dimensions are: Lengthover al l , 35 feet 10 inches; on loadwater-line, 17 feet 6 inches; extremebeam, 7 feet 7

1

/2 inches; beam, loadwater-line one bilge, 2 feet 5

1

/2 inches;draught of hul l , 10 inches; draughtwith board, 6 feet; freeboard, 1 foot;displacement, 1,750 lbs.; area midshipsection, total 2.88 square feet; sail area,500 square feet.

failure.From that day until the present time

In comparing Mr. Melling’s boat withDominion, it will be seen that both craft

little has been heard of the double- have double hulls and that the center-

WINTER’S SOLILOQUIES.485

board is used with advantage in eachmodel. I do not say that Mr. Duggan,in the design of Dominion, has adaptedeither Mr. Melling’s or Mr. Mackenzie’splans. I simply reproduce the two ves-sels as being links in the history of theevolution, not of the catamaran, butof the double-huller.

It is my opinion that the double-huller has a great future before it whenfully developed. The type has none

of the disadvantages of the constantdraught of water which is so powerfulan objection to the fin-keel vessel. Inmy judgment the double-huller oughtto sail in a separate class of its own, andwith this judgment many yachtsmenagree; but I am content to leave thatmatter to the consideration of the RaceCommittees of the clubs, who will doubt-less render a wise and impartial decisionwhen the proper time arrives.

TERNLY sat old Father Winter,Wrapped about with ermine robe

And his icy hand extended,Covered half our little globe.

And the brooklet ceased its laughingAnd the river stopped its flow,

And the leaves and tender flowersAll had withered long ago.

“Follows she my frost footsteps,With her smiles and tears and songs,

Laughs as she unlocks the rivers,For the key to her belongs.

“Draws the veil from off the meadows,spreads a carpet velvet green,

Shakes the network from the hedges,And strews flowers in between.

And the pine trees grouped together, “Tells the earth that Summer’s comingFelt his chilling breath and sighed, With the heat of glowing sun,

And the dainty ferns and bracken, How she’ll ripen all the harvest,Fearful of his coming, died. Little Spring has just begun.

And the brown, deserted meadows “Tells the forest wondrous stories,Took the veil of snowy white, But she’s told them oft before,

And the pale sun, early hiding, Of the vines she drapes like curtains,have its place to clouds of night. Over porch and wall and door.

Then he hung his icy candles “Stops to speak about her brother,Where the moonbeams’ rays might fall, ‘He is coming, too, says she;

Sprinkled gems of rarest lustre ‘For he follows after Summer,Over rock and tree and wall. Just as Summer follows me.

Traced with hand no art might copy, “‘He will plant the golden pumpkin,Patterns on the window pane. Hang brown tassels on the corn;

Leaves and ferns, and buds and flowers, Surely such a wondrous artistNe’er conceived by human brain. As my brother ne’er was born.

Draped the trees with snowy fleeces, “‘For he gathers all his colorsFilled the hollows, swept the plains, From the sunset clouds at night,

Hung his dainty tasseled network And his rarest bits of crimsonOn the hedges in the lanes. From the early morning light.

Smiled and said, “My work I’ll finish, “‘Gorgeously he’ll deck the forestLittle Spring will soon be here; With a mantle brown and red,

She will surely come and spoil it, And with shades of palest yellowAs she has done every year. Will he crown the poplar’s head.’

“As she tells the same old story,On my footsteps she will fly,

But, so sure as they again come,Little Spring-time, so shall I.”

C. H. Cooley.