Captain W. Dicey, well known in Calcutta as a first-rate
sailor and man of engineering resource, writes to the Times to say he can build a vessel which will make the Channel passage pleasant. It will consist of two hulls, each 400 by 20 ft., secured together by girders, and with engines working upon the girders between the hulls, will draw only six feet of water, and will be driven by paddles. As the flooring could be carried flush over the girders, there would be room for any amount of cabin accom- modation on deck, while from the breadth of the entire structure, and the fact that each hull counteracts the force of the waves on the other, sea-sickness will be reduced to a mini- mum. These vessels could enter Dover or Boulogne as they now are, unimproved, and would of course, if they succeeded, pay. Engineers must decide upon the girder principle, but every Anglo-Indian knows that Captain Dicey has a right to be heard.
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