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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 1913)
8 TH EV AHE ::'SOMETH IKG W EVV m THE WAY OF A TO). T. rr-44b-?Eri, , j1 You can Hitch fcur Machine to Your houseboat and Travel Most Anywhere on the River Ingenious Chicago Man Perfects Arrangement Whereby Houseboats May Be Put in Motion by Simply Connecting Up With the Family Automobile, y Escaping the Noise and Shocks of the City. mr , ........ . - - ' -. - , u i ' V iHES the patrician of ancient times went forth to cruise idly over pleasant waters, scores of galley slaves were put Into the lte'.d-of the barge or caller to "pull the -oars, while the master lolled on the canopied deck, eating nightingale' tongues and . sipping cool wines. 1 He thought be' was having a good time, and perhaps he was. But his ves sel moved slowly at the best, carried very meager equipment and stocks of supplies, and was anything but a habit able place when an extended voyage was necessary. Moreover, when he went ashore the best be could do. for all his wealth, was to be "Jolted in a springiest, clum sy chariot, which traveled only where, when and how horses could travel. When a financial king of these days goes forth to seek the cool placidity of the waters, he builds a houseboat in which he can live for months, or al ways, if he so desires. He goes down to the shore in an automobile that con sumes space at the rate of a mile a minute. He drives the automobile aboard the n-ouseboat. jacks up the rear wheels, gears the rear axle to a propeller shaft, starts the engine and sails away in true luxury. On leaving the house bost be unshackles the auto and. drives off at a speed that would sicken the nobleman of old. This, at any rate, la the plan fol lowed by Edwin F. Brown, a Chicago banker, and he says it can be done by anybody who has the houseboat and the automobile. From which It is In - f erred that others will follow his ex ample as soon as they learn how easily the automobile can be made to drive i houseboat in exchange for its "pass age." .The automobile never kicks on be- in's; out into the steerage or stowed away In the hull; It lives on gasoline, ell and water, and does Its work eas ' lly. swiftly, and with very little noise. ' And it never gets tired. -..Mr. Brown has a houseboat called the Driftwood, which is really a float ing house, and undoubtedly is one of the finest structures of the kind In the country. It is 75 feet long. IS feet Inches wide, and on its deck la built a bouse 50 feet In length, the full width of the boat. The Driftwood has hot and cold water, refrigerator, gas stove. roof garden, sun parlor, laundry, clothes drier, gas -making machinery, a complete plan for filtering and clarify-! Irg water, and all the features neces sary to make life on the boat just a pleasant at it would be in a city man sion. Mr. Brown, in fact, resides in the Driftwood .Summer and Winter, and says his health has been improved greatly by the ability to get away from the noises and shocks of tbe city. He hss the houseboat moored in a boat yard in the 'Winter. The operation of harnessing the 'automobile to the propelling machinery of. the houseboat requires only a few minutes' time. The hubs of the car's rear wheels are equipped with sprocket wheels, and similar but larger gears are attached to the axles of the boat's paddle wheels. Connection between the hubs and the-shafts of the paddle wheels Is made by means of link chain belts. Grooved runways guide the automo bile from the gangprlnk to its station between . the two eight-foot paddle wheels. Once the machine is in place, the operation of lifting the wheels clear of the deck, bracing the car and attaching the chains can be done in a very short time. Then, by manlpala- ' . -r-. r !i ' i --i--- & ' - - -ft ' 7 ' .-HS . -j.t v- ' . ! ,...-v. on i'ies 13 n-tcxri Garza. i ! - j i . .. ,? u W i f Ttf It tlon of the levers which control the motors, one may send the boat at what ever speed he selects. Mr. Brown's automobile drives the Driftwood at an average speed of six miles an hour, which is much faster i.S.-o.icii-:- than such vessels generally can be propelled. The Driftwood, under ordinary cir cumstances, is steered by two rudders, each or which Is six feet long and 2Vi feet. wide. Should the rudders be dis- abled. however the crafCcan be guided by the paddle-wheels alone, as they sre so arranged that they can be ope rated independently of each other. The emergency brake of the ear Is disconnected from one driving wheel and the loot oraae from the other, so that one paddle-wheel can be made to revolve while the other remains station ary. If the port wheel is kept In mo tion and the other one still, the bow of the boat Is turned to starboard, and vice versa. These steering arrange ments are supplemented by two drift boards, each 10 feet long and three feet wide, to counteract the tendency of a flat-bottomed boat to drift sidewise. The Driftwood weighs 36 tons and draws IS inches of water. It will pass through sny canal in the country, the owner having made a close study of canal and lock dimensions before build ing the boat. 'Oregon fir and tank pine were used for the hull. Insuring absolute dryness. To keep the hull from becoming damp or foul, however, tie Interior constant ly Is swept by a current of air forced through by the ventilating system. A roof garden . on the . top of the Driftwood is one of the most unique features ever embodied in water craft of this kind. The roof garden Is cov. ered by awnings, supported by a frame which folds flat on the roof when the boat passes . under low bridges. The spacious forward deck is fitted up- as a veranda. The boat has three, sleeping-rooms, a well-appointed bathroom. and a . commodious - cqmDinauon ain- im-roam and parlor. Driftwood, the name of this remark able craft, is also the. motif for the color scheme of the boat, for French grays, water greens, and river browns carry the Idea of weather-beaten, water-bleached driftwood Into the wall tints, the window glass, the hangings. rugs, curtains and decorations. ven . i , - ka-a m tn havs bee , c i - i. waa iiHftri ufaorc.' an when the hospitable host offers th .i - . with vrv smoke chip of driftwood on which is printed May eacn gray cunms mu cW -'. -ih that will come true." The eta tionery also has the appearance The practicability of this houseboa . i , ..i n,.mncA Hntti in Winter an' iwr ii.iiis i , , . - in Summer bas been thoroughly tested For a time last Summer it lay off th Chicago Yacht Club, on Lake Michigan -1 . v .w- -v. nr winter It wa Willi mo o,.i, "- - -- j moved to the protection oi a . ,, . , i v. nrint. and there it lay aii mruuisu m " months, a floating bungalow, in whic the owner luxuriated wnen toe dmz sards blew snow over ice. a iooi iuic .i . 1 n n . V. & Hull - .. . j r.f f the Driftwood ha -i .rn.nt. Mr. Brown las . . , i i. ; Hans-titfir a weddlnJ present of the houseboat, together witJ an automooue i iuia , V Just at this time Miss crown u . -i -. n..naratfnnil for her IP UltUBl wi - l i .. n t rm J Tnrrahan-. promcn.nB and.lt occurreo i n; I, . i ., thfn7 on which. t wouia ijb juo1 " - . . I spend their honeymoon. Mr. Ingrahart agreed that It wouia. ouv "--f ter. not wishing to undertake a Ion trip at once, thought it would be a goo plan to try tne ooai on iuu the houseboat was ora a up ma- . . . ij. nt Mr. Brown ary on mc - , home, and when the young couple rt turned from tueir wmoihi "ih. moved Into the vessel. With every cor i mnitfrn. steazr. vhuicucd vi m j ' Seated partment, and with a liand location neil oowr i w ii.t tn fh boat as anu palOUia, a.i-s, " . ti a bus n a. rug ior -' " for taking a water journey. . m nAir nrrhd Is th i j t. r-- uifv breaches c rn.iv stinia . - ..i.a4 rs n H K DCCU SB Ugutfully cool haven during the preH ent Summer, wniie tne p. , , " h" Ke'eoin ant. inrormi cuic, tidy the pretty living-room and the be . . .i.-.n it,, rounle an er. lovable Initial experience in housekeer ing. "It Is an idea! way to spend one honeymoon, saia t.,ii.i- - ..... .... i- . . . . . aa .nmfnrtablt as wnoie Doiii lo jmo. : , -can be. and we wouldn't think of chan. ing it for a real house, n like a perpetual honeymoon to live such a .Place. We P,a to t a down me wiwimf- . tn u if a th Titnmobilft a. ways at hand, ready for duty at a nvl ment's notice, we win oe aoio the surrounding country at any time wish." . . Originally the Driftwood was bui not alone to be the Summer and W lnt . . ..1,., hut tn demonstra nome oi a ui.v.. - - a proposition, advanced several yea ago oy lie uu.iuci, m - - -- and rivers can accommodate a llotttn population running up mi - living in nouseooaie. - One does not need an elaborate craf . .... i t. m. nr scow Will d ....m.j it la nroDerlv caulked. TaM one of these and build on it a houJ with ventilated waaia, o ' air can blow through and the war sunshine enter, ana you . ' Summer home. A string of these nous boats could be ouut cneaper mn jr. ceuld buy the land on which to bui . i. . .n i h .nt accommodate : many people as you. could put on oH houaeDoau Ana men . J way oi neuiniuiuw" 'i - j. ' sleep-cempelling quiet could never h equal ea oy any "-."'" 0 I