NOVEL RIVER STEAMER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLIII, Issue 9749, 14 December 1922, Page 2

NOVEL RIVER STEAMER.

A lio-ht-draught. steamer of a novel typo has been built by Messrs Denny Brothers, the Dumbarton (England) shipbuilders. It is', driven by “vane wheels” in place of the ordinary propellers. “Vane wheels” are partly im- , mersed wheels fitted with propelling vanes having a pitch, so that, when the wheels are rotated, they exert a foaward thrust on the vessel. For this new method of propulsion these, among other advantages, are claimed : —(1) High propulsive efficiency compared with all other known methods of propulsion ; (2) great manoeuvring powers; (3) higher revolution per minute than either side or stem paddle wheels, and therefore, less weight of machinery. It is suggested that vane wheels are. so efficient as to warrant their adoption in many cases of vessels of deep draught. On the trials the vessel went at. a speed of about nine knots. As the coupling of the engine was only provisional, high speed was not aimed at, but only manoeuvring capacity. “Transport and Travel” gives details of this experimental vessel, which, during trials on the Clyde, “could turn Very smartly, go astern as easily as ahead, 1 steer a. sinuous course with perfect ease, and stop or swing in her own length, using one or the other *of the wheels at will.”