THE GATHERER. A NEW RIVER STEAMER.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 166, 22 October 1880, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE GATHERER. A NEW RIVER STEAMER.

A steam catamaran has just been launched at Nyack, on the Hudson, for Commodore "William Voorhis, of that place. The hulls consist of two cylinders of boiler iron, 5Ht. in diameter in the centres, and tapering to a point at the ends. They are 200 ft. long and are placed Oft. apart. They have four water-tight bulkheads at equal distances apart, dividing them into live compartments. A space of 25ft. at either end is to be left open, while upon the Toft, of deck intermediate is to be built a house extending the whole width of the boat, which, by the way, is to be 25ft., the beams projecting on either side beyond the cylinders. The forward end of this house is to be a lady’s cabin, and abaft this will be a saloon with a smoking room at the after end. The engine is to work up to .‘125 revolutions a minute. When all complete and ready for passengers the weight of this boat will be but forty-three tons. Her displacement is seventy-three tons, and she has 47 G horse power, while the steamboat Mary Powell, the fastest boat upon the river, has 881 tons of displacement, with 1,500 horse power. The new boat is expected to travel twenty-eight miles an hour. She is to be used solely as a passenger boat, and will have room for 400 passengers. Her cost is inconsiderable as compared with that of steamers of the ordinary type, and she can also be run for much less money. If she proves a success the river service will be revolutionised, and it is believed that boats of her type and of double her dimensions can be built which will beat the ordinary railroad time between New York and Albany.