NEW STEAM LAUNCH.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 74, 27 March 1878, Page 2

NEW STEAM LAUNCH.

Those whose business or inclination have taken them to the Port within the last two or three months cannot have failed to notice on the stocks near Auckland Point, a yacht in the course of construction. This boat is a steam launch, and as she is now nearly completed we may devote a little space to giving a description of her. The yacht has been built by Mr Andrew Brown, carpenter, for himself and four others, and so far is intended to be used for pleasure purposes. She is a handsome little vessel wiih a fine entrance and good lines, the whole terminating with a good delivery aft. Her dimensions are as follows : —Length 41 feet overall, 37 feet on keel breadth 7 feet 4 inches, depth 5 feet. She is composite built, that is, iron frames with ■wooden planking, but in her case there are one or two wooden timbers intervening between the iron frames. The yachfc is constructed of well seasoned kauri, and is coppered with 16 oz. metal. She mil be driven by a vertical engine of seven horse power nominal, capable of being worked up to fortyeight horse-power indicated. The cylinder is eight inches, with a nine-inch Btroke. The boiler is a horizontal multitubular one. The propeller, which is made of bell metal of the be3t quality, is three feet in diameter, with a pitch of four feet. With such a powerful engine it is confidently expected that the yacht will attain a speed of twelve knots on her trial trip. She will be steered by a balance rudder, which in itself is a novelty, and is the only one of its kind in use so far as we know in New Zealand. The engine is a compact pie f ;e of mechanism, and does credit to the place where it was constructed— the Anchor Foundry. The fcoiler, together with the whole of the iron Work, was supplied by the foundry. As v

specimen of the shipwright's art the yacht is perfect, everything about her being executed in a workmanlike manner, and reflecting the highest credit possible upon the builder. The launch will carry 16 passengers aft comfortably, while several more might be stowed away round about the engine, which has been devised so as to take up as little room as possible. Her spirited owners deserve praise for their pluck in building the boat, which is the first one of the kind constructed iv Nelson, and we hope that she will realise the expectations anticipated. She will be launched about the middle of next week, and will be taken down to the wharf, where the boiler will be placed in her. The trial trip will take place about Easter. We understand that negotiations are pending for the disposal of the yacht, but nothing definite has yet been arrived at.