Show Boats

If a New Yorker had a mind to, he could head a motor boat up the grey estuary of the Hudson, penetrate the U. S. to the foothills of the Rockies, explore a sizeable part of Canada, chug into all the states of the Mississippi Basin or touch the shores of Mexico. If he headed up the greasy East River or down the Bay, he could with little risk skirt the coasts to Labrador or Key West. And among the crowd which last week thronged the 27th Annual Motor Boat Show, there were doubtless many who sought crafts for such adventure.

For them U. S. boatbuilders had assembled the widest variety of their handiwork ever exhibited. The effects of the Depression were evident in a slight decrease from last year in the number of firms exhibiting and in marked price reductions, but the industry claimed it had not suffered greatly. There were few innovations but lines were more rakish, fine woods and alloy fittings more brilliant, cabins roomier and more convenient, gadgets more intriguing. Nonexplosive gas tanks and rubber mounted engines tended to eliminate the two bugaboos of boating, fire and vibration.

To the rich the appeal was in the big, confident cruisers, 40 to 50 feet in length. These, merging into the smarter category, "yachts," are luxuriously furnished, have tiled baths, hot and cold showers, sun rooms. Elco's motor yacht, Wheeler's Playmate (first standard model to be Diesel powered) and Consolidated Shipbuilding's 47-footer tie for highest priced at $26,500. Last year Consolidated with a different model topped the list with $35,000. Slightly less is American Car & Foundry's twin screw cabin cruiser.

More boat and less yacht are the medium-sized cruisers, ranging in length from 20 to 40 feet, in speed from a comfortable 10 m. p. h. to a commuting 40 m. p. h., in price from $2,000 to $20,000. Elco, builder of slow, safe boats since the Chicago World Fair (1893), has them as low as the $2,375 Marinetta. Discontinued is their "Honeymoon Special," so named because one was surreptitiously delivered to Charles Augustus Lindbergh on the night of his marriage. Elco is proud of the home comforts which it compresses into small spaces by means of sliding panels, convertible bunks, screens and other miraculous devices. Smarter in appearance are the perfectly appointed cruisers of Cohrone, Richardson, Dawn. Two products of Staples, Johnson feature seaworthiness. Chris-Craft, biggest U. S. boatbuilder, concentrates on fast open models, but has four svelte cruisers in the Show.

Because the thrill of speed on water is keener than on land or in air, the fast runabout, sleek as a wet seal, is featured by mass production boat companies. Gar Wood's slowest model, an 18-footer for $1,200, will do 31 m. p. h.*

What "free wheeling" was to the automobile industry in 1931, Chris-Craft's "level riding" may well be to the boat industry in 1932. The hulls have been redesigned so that at top speed the boat practically hydroplanes, level on the water, but at half speed the stern settles and the bow rears. Chris-Craft has a 15 1/2-foot runabout for $795 that will do 32 m. p. h. Dodge, maker of "Watercars," has the cheapest standardized runabout, the All-Purpose, a 19-foot boat, speed 18 m. p. h. for $695; another model for $840 will do 30. Though not exhibiting Dee Wite has standardized torpedo type runabouts for the first time.

To meet the ever widening demand for outboard motors, Johnson again reduced the weight of its small "Sea Horse" to 27 pounds, to be carried in a case. Outboard Motors Corp. added six new models to its Evinrude and Elto line. Caille showed a three speed outboard with the shift in the steering handle. Sporty racing boats with "air cushion" hulls for outboard motors are exhibited by Century Boat Corp. which with powerful engines will go over 50 m. p. h.

Engine builders are experimenting with light Diesels, but compact, efficient gasoline motors have been refined. Scripps Motor Co. points with pride at its use of light alloys in reducing weight. Universal lays claims to the smallest and lightest six on the market. Lycoming, subsidiary of Cord Corp., Gray Marine Engine Co. and Chrysler have broadened their lines.

To combat the rapid deterioration of metal parts and fittings, American Brass Co. and International Nickel exhibited a multitudinous array of alloyed products which ease the life of the deck hand, the labor of the wife in the galley. Though not exhibited, a cheap alloy, Platinel, has been drafted for use as plates, cups, cocktail glasses. Accessories include everything from anchors to anchovies.

*In 1931 Gar Wood drove the custom-built Miss America IX 103.069 m. p. h. to a world record, but this was twice pushed up by Kaye Don in Miss England II to the present record of 110.223.

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