THE SHIP AND ITS EQUIPMENT 



41 



very much, and enables us to dispense with the big projecting 

 structures, or sounding platforms, that were formerly necessary, 

 is the fact that in our little ship we are so near the surface of 

 the sea that the 

 person taking ob- 

 servations stands 

 only a few feet 

 above the water, 

 and it is conse- 

 quently much 

 easier to get the 

 appliances on 

 board as soon as 

 they come up. 

 It is much easier 

 also to manoeuvre 

 with a little 

 steamer, so as to 

 humour the appli- 

 ances and keep 

 the lines perpen- 

 dicular whilst be- 

 ing lowered or 

 hauled in. Obvi- 

 ously these are 

 great advantages, 

 not merely at the 

 moment of taking 

 observations, but 

 also in our whole 

 system of work- 

 ing ; being able to 

 operate a number 

 of appliances sim- 

 ultaneously, for 

 instance, means a 

 great saving of 

 men and time. 



In the case of 

 both sounding machine and hydrographical apparatus we 

 are able to haul in the line at the rate of 120 metres per 

 minute, or 6000 metres in fifty minutes. But the forward 

 starboard winch was unfortunately too weak to keep up this 



-The Otter Trawl. 



