The Skimming Ship.

Southland Times, Issue 4171, 11 November 1881, Page 4

The Skimming Ship.

" J Captain Thomas Thotrson, late harbormaster at Bluff, has sent us the following interesting 'communication : — There appeared in your issue of the I4th October a local; in which it was stated that Professor Pictet had devised a plan of building a vessel so that she can be made to almost fly over the water, on the " skimming principle.'' It is evident that the professor is quite at sea in regard to naval architecture, and I fear if he went on that element he would get sick enough of it. The shimming principle has been applied in a greater or Jess degree in the construction of vessels of a)\ nations, from time ia<me- ' ruoria], especially in those for rivers and ; inland waters. whe^e there is not room for '. heavy waves to rise. It is the extreme of this principle having been carried out in L the plan of the Emperor of Russia's yacht Livadia that has caused her failure as a , fast sea-going vessel. Twelve years ago, ■•■ when the late Mr Balfou<-, C.E., made his last visit to the Bluff, he mentioned to me '-' an idea wh?ch he said had been suggested ; to him of a yacht, which he thought would '" sail' very fast and not roll much. The , r sections, both cioss and longitudinal, .would be complete segments of circles. Ho [asked me to draft a vessel on that plan to see what she. would be like. This I did, and saw, what I had anticipated, namely, that she would likely sail fast id --smooth water, owing to the skimming * 'principle being carried out to a greater extent than usual, but would not do for rough water, because the longitudinal section of the fore-body would so assimilate f with the hollow of an advancing wave •that at high rates of speed the shncn and concussion would be very great, and she would be much more re- . tarded by a head sea than if the "water" or "level I'aes," of the forebody were sharp, as in ordinaiy fast oceangoing vessels. Tin's I pointed out in a letter, and on the plan. 1 did not think she would roll mm h, because none of her cross bections woif il be alike, hence each '■• would have a different length of pendulum ' action. I posted the letter and plan to Wellington, but, as is well-known, Mr Balfour was drowned on his waj\ The documents fell into thehandsof his nephew, Mr Wilsonj -mow- secretary to the Manne Department, Wellington, who, no doubt, still has them m his i possession. I have now beiore me - a rough memorandum of the plan which I 'made at the time. I Jeft in the Harbor Oißce at the Bluff, and I suppose it is sti'l there,, the half-bread; 1 ! model ef a yacht, 4£ feet long, which I made 28 years ago, on a conabinatioa of the skimming ant] cutt'ng principles, and it may be seen that it isideatical with the models of our now . fastest ocean-going yachts. It is almost with the lines of the American -yacht Sapoho, which raced the English yacht Cambria across the Atlantic. 1 have also the model and ]ine3 of a yacht which resembles the latier, made 22 yea's ago. It is the skumn'Tig priocip'e that enables * tWsina ll torpedo-boats to be driven at 1 fib.cli high speed, namely 22 knots per hour; and it was to the same principle that " uphill sailing " was applied years ago. What I call my "keel buoy ' : for strong tidea, in ure at Bluff Harbor, is on the skimming principle— in fact it more resembles a kite riying in water than anything else. ]t reqinreSionly one third the mooriags of an ordinaiy buoy, and does not sheer about and wear them away. A drawing of it was sent home by.the Marine Department to the Trinuy Board. Jt was tben /the obly buoy moored on that pr/nciple. If the Professor's vessel is evsr driven at the rate of 20 or 30 miles an hou i% , with only her sides iq the warer into tbe face of a gale in open ocean, I fear she will be in danger of faring worse than tbe Livadia. •She will be in danger of beiag split open ' from end to end. We shall not likely hear anything more about her till she has had a practical test.