The design, building and sailing of the vessels "Transit" and the promotion of the novel ideas that he incorporated in them, occupied much of his life. The most original features of these vessels were their slab sides above, and the concave and convex sweeps of the hull, below the waterline, the Joints scarfed and bolted rather than chocked and treenailed, ballast was iron cast into special shapes to sit just above the deadwood and between the floor timbers and the narrowest part of the hull above the keel was reinforced by strong cross timbers bolted through the sides. Such extensive use of iron was a novel feature at the time.