I. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 

 A. COLLECTIVE DESCRIPTION. 



The following description is based entirely upon verbal and written ac- 

 counts which I have received from a great number of sailors having experience 

 on the subject. Special weight is laid on such statements as have been un- 

 animously given by several authorities, or as may, for other reasons, be con- 

 sidered trustworthy. 



Dead-water only appears near to coasts, in those places where a suit- 

 able layer of fresh or brackish water rests upon the heavier sea-water. A 

 vessel, moving in such a place at slight or moderate speed, may happen to 

 feel the influence of this phenomenon; it is then said that the vessel "has 

 taken dead-water" or "got into dead-water". It is a very troublesome 

 matter indeed. A sailing-vessel in this plight, generally refuses to answer 

 her helm and becomes unmanageable; steamers, at times sailing-vessels also, 

 keep their steerage, but nevertheless the dead-water is a great hindrance, 

 causing the ship to lose her speed almost entirely. The Fram, for instance, 

 though generally capable of making 4"5 knots, along the Siberian coast when 

 heavily loaded, had her speed reduced to about 1 knot in dead-water; and a 

 similar reduction of speed seems to be a common effect of this phenomenon. 

 If, in addition, the vessel has to move up a river or against even a moderate 

 current, her progress may be altogether stopped. 



When dead-water is present, the sea-surface around the vessel presents a 

 peculiar appearance, varying under different conditions. When the phenomenon 

 takes place regularly, a set of stripes will be observed astern crossing the wake, 



