Mr. Charles E. Courtney, trainer of the Cornell crew, first saw the aluminum shell constructed by Mr. Galanaugh, the Philadelphia boat builder, at the Newark regatta. He was so pleased with the new style of shell that he highly recommended it to the Cornell crew. They finally decided to interview the maker. Galanaugh felt so positive he could build a boat at least ten seconds faster than one constructed of either paper or cedar, that he agreed to build an eight oared shell at his own expense, on condition that if it does not fulfil his claims, the crew need not purchase it.

The keel and gunwale are now laid in his shop on the banks of the Schuylkill. The boat will be 62 feet in length over all, 23 inches beam amidships, 8 3-4 inches deep amidships, 6 1-2 inches deep forward, and 5 1-2 inches deep aft. The shell will be composed entirely of aluminum, with the exception of the wash box, which will be wood, and the outriggers, which are to be of steel tubing, hard drawn. The shell will weigh 175 pounds. Ordinary paper shells weigh about 225 pounds, and Waters, the famous shell builder of Troy, N. Y., claims that a 200 pound eight oared shell is an exceedingly light one. The aluminum shell will be built in two pieces, being divided fore and aft and them joined amidships. It is designed to carry an average weight of 175 pounds per man.

The aluminum from which this shell is being made is one-twentieth of an inch thick and weighs about seven ounces per square foot. Galauaugh's contract calls for the completion of the boat by the latter part of March, when the crew will go to Philadelphia to try it on the Schuylkill. If it is satisfactory Galauaugh will receive $500.