Motor Boats
To the 1929 Motor Boat Show at the Grand Central Palace, Manhattan, last week, went many a prospective purchaser, many an idle gazer, many and many a small boy. Not many hardy sea-dogs attended, because an outstanding feature of the modern motor boat is its tendency to incorporate as much as possible of the simplicity, ease of handling and shiny finish of the motor car. Motor boats are sold not to sailors but to motor car owners and their families. To build a boat that a landsman can operate--and that in most cases he never will operate out of sight of land--to build an engine that is as nearly as possible foolproof, to upholster softly, use bright colors and plenty of nickel: these are the present day objec tives of the motor boat designer. Thus, a Sea Sled salesman, addressing an unnautical prospect, explained the mooring of the boat by remarking: "You just put a rope on here and tow her right into the garage."
Weatherbeaten yachtsmen, grizzled veterans of the briny off-shore deep, were somewhat inclined to shake their heads over such cushy concessions to landsmen as wicker chairs, percolators, automobile steering wheels. Yet motor boat makers well retorted that the motor boat is a pleasure craft, that a large proportion of its buyers are looking chiefly for a seagoing automobile, that it is women who furnish the chief sales resistance and for whose sake galleys, for example, are sometimes described as "kitchenettes." It is with the amateur sailor that the future of the motor boat lies.
Meteor. Most of the show's visitors halted their inspection tour at the exhibit of the Meteor Motor Car Co. of Piqua, Ohio, to look at the single Meteor model on exhibit. Persons acquainted with the Meteor Co., and with its president, Mau rice Wolfe, might have expected to see a hearse rather than a motor boat, for the Meteor Motor Car Co. is best known for its long production of medium-priced hearses, or, as they are known in mortuary circles, funeral cars.
Touring the Great Lakes last Fall in a Mathews cruiser, Mr. Wolfe noticed the large popular interest in motor boating and reflected that a standardized motor boat, built on a mass-production motor car basis, could be sold at a price within the reach of the moderately well-to-do. From this idea, with amazing rapidity, resulted the Meteor Runabout, a 27-footer which seats ten persons, makes 30 m. p. h. and sells at $1,750.
Inasmuch as runabouts of this type are usually priced at about $3,000, Mr. Wolfe's exhibit attracted un usual attention. Mr. Wolfe has a distinct profile resem blance to John Barrymore. His catalog contains the profile and also a back cover illustration of a Meteor ambulance car.
Sea Sled. Of the various Sea Sleds (made by the Sea Sled Corp., Manhattan), Model 18 attracted the most attention. With their square bows and inverted-V bottoms,* the Sea Sleds keep their noses well out of the water, keep their passen gers free from flying spray. Model 18 is equipped with a demountable sliding cabin -- a one-man top arrangement designed to combine the advantages of an open and of a cabin boat. It is equipped with toilet and kitchenette and, says its catalog description:
"Will sleep two comfortably and luxuriously if they don't dislike each other." Sea Sleds are priced under a thou sand dollars; outboard motors, sold separately, bring the prices to the neighbor hood of $1,100. Model 18 has a minimum-guarantee speed of 27 m. p. h.
Speed. Motor boats grow yearly more speedy. Most of the runabouts and outboard models will now do around 30 m. p. h. Called the "World's Fastest Stock Runabout" is the Baby Gar "50," built by famed Speeder Gar Wood. The "50'' will do 50 m. p. h.; the "55" (the same boat with a more powerful engine) will make 55. Swift, too, are Chris-Craft runabouts, the Chris-Craft Sport Hydroplane also reaching the 55 m. p. h. mark.
Cabin Boats. Characteristic examples of the standard cabin cruisers, built for cruises of weeks and months as well as for week-end excursions are boats made by Elco* and by A. C. F. (American Car & Foundry). Elco (boatbuilder for 36 years at Bayonne, N. J.) has a new sport model which combines cabin accommodations for four with a speed of 20 m. p. h. The Elco Fifty (a twin-screw 50-footer) and the A. C. F. Fifty-Four and Sixty-Eight are instances of the motor boat which has virtually graduated into the motor-yacht class.