THE 



9 



Fig. I. — Deck Arrange- 

 ment ON BOARD THE 



" Chai-lenger." 



SHIP AND ITS EQUIPMENT 23 



to haul in some thousands of fathoms of 

 line within reasonable time would be quite 

 out of the question without a steam-winch, 

 and it is precisely because the use of steam 

 first made it possible to examine properly 

 the vast marine areas of the world that 

 oceanic research is such a comparatively 

 new science. The cruise of the " Chal- 

 lenger," the first great expedition specially 

 fitted out to investigate the ocean, took 

 place during the years 1872-76. Since 

 then oceanography has made giant strides, 

 and we have now many appliances at our 

 disposal that were unknown to the pioneers 

 of those days. 



It is interesting to compare our modern 

 methods with those of the "Challenger" 

 Expedition, for we can then see what great 

 advances have been made, and realise to 

 what extent we have availed ourselves of 

 the scientific inventions of our times. A 

 critical examination of the mode of work- 

 ing adopted by the " Michael Sars " will be 

 of use in this connection. 



The "Challenger" was a spar - deck The ; 

 corvette of 2306 tons displacement, with Ej^'^dulon^'^ 

 an auxiliary engine of 1234 indicated horse- 

 power. The length of her deck was 226 j 

 feet, and her greatest breadth was 36 feet. 



Almost amidships on her main deck, 

 and just before the main mast, was a big 

 steam-winch of 18 horse-power, with a long 

 axle that extended right across the ship 

 and carried large end-drums (see Fig. i, 8). 

 Hemp lines were used, which were hauled 

 in by being passed round the end-drums. 



The sounding-line was operated by two 

 large reels on the forecastle, 5 feet long 

 and 2^ feet in diameter (4 and 5), 3000 

 fathoms of line, one inch in circumference, Methods 

 to each reel. The breaking strain was ^^p.^^^'^^ °^ 

 about 700 kilos (14 cwt.), and the weight 



