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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 12. already have stated, they weren't, and instead were rather short -Ed. ) and only stand out about two inches. They will not feather, as they will pull out of the water straight on account of the rate of speed of the boat. If a storm throws the boat on shore, she will lie there till it subsides and then roll off and turn the injured spot right side up for repairs which cannot be disastrous as the... boat is full of air tight bulkheads. " The same "Telegram" article mentioned that "Knapp's roller boat is afloat on Toronto Bay", but gave no details. We get more from the same day's edition of "The Daily Mail and Empire": "The famous Knapp roller boat, which has been the cause of so much speculation and conjecture, was successfully laun­ ched at Poison's shipyard at half-past six last evening (Wednesday, Septem­ ber 8th)... All day long the workmen had been busy making preparations for the strange craft to make her short journey into what is fondly hoped by her inventor will be her native element. Amongst those present were the members of the Polson firm, Mr. Knapp, the inventor, and Mr. Goodwin, the financier in the venture (??? - what happened to Hunt/Farini? -Ed. ). "At a given signal, the boat was released, and rolling over and over went swiftly into the muddy waters of the Polson slip, revolved for a short time, and then settled in the water to a depth of about 2 1/2 feet. A cheer arose from the assembled spectators, and the history of Knapp's roller boat was advanced another stage. "All that was launched yesterday was the two outer revolving cylinders. The inner, or stationary cylinder will be put in place immediately, together with the 200 horse-power engines, and in about a month's time, Mr. Knapp and the world will know whether his great idea is of commercial value or not. " The "Telegram" reported on Monday, October 18, 1897, that "On Saturday af­ ternoon, about one thousand persons gathered down at the foot of Sherbourne Street, where it was understood that the Knapp roller boat would be given a trial. Fires were up, and the big smokestacks belched forth clouds of smoke, while steam hissed from the escape valves. The smoke and steam kept the crowd waiting on a couple of hours but nothing resulted and they were ob­ liged to go away without gratification. Mr. Polson says that the test was merely to see if the engines and boilers were all right and there was no intention of starting the craft out for a trip. "This morning, the gearing of the engines is being loosened and the engines are being tested. With the completion of this work and the addition of a few details such as paddle blades and steering gear, the curious craft will be complete. She will not likely be ready for a trip before tomorrow or Wednes­ day. Many people are visiting the dock at the foot of Sherbourne Street, hoping to see the event. " The various Toronto newspapers all had different versions of what actually happened compared with what they thought was going to occur. The "Mail and Empire" headed its report "The Roller Boat Failed to Roll. Twelve Hundred Persons Were Disappointed". On October 19th, the "Telegram" reported that the trial trip would not be made before the following afternoon, but it was not until the 21st that the same paper noted that "The preliminary trip of the Knapp roller boat was made at 1: 30 this afternoon in the slip opposite the Polson Works. The boat made two revolutions without mishap, although the vibrations were somewhat violent and the smokestacks oscillated freely. However, the inventor, Mr. Knapp, regarded the trial as satisfactory and this afternoon the steam launch CRUISER will tow the boat out into the lakes (read "bay" -Ed. ) for a more prolonged trial. "On board the boat this afternoon were Mr. Knapp, J. B. Miller, representing the builders, W. E. Redway, manager for them, Capt. G. Boyd, who was in charge of the crew, and Stewart Houston. The second experiment is being made