Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. iy 



it was done as an additional precaution, the hull having been absolutely water- 

 tight from the day of purchase. 



The Oyster is about 135 feet over all and 35 feet in beam. The main deck 

 contains living quarters for 27 men, the officers' mess-room and the galley. The 

 upper deck has 11 staterooms, 5 for the 3 Commissioners and their 2 hydro- 

 graphic engineers. 4 for the Coast Survey officers, 1 for the representative of the 

 United States Bureau of Fisheries and 1 for the local county oyster commis- 

 sioner. Besides these rooms, there arc located on this deck a large drafting 

 room, a laboratory for oyster investigation and an office room. Coal for the two 

 Government launches and the galley is stored in the hold, which also contains 

 fresh-water tanks having a capacity of about 7,000 gallons. Signal lumber is 

 carried on the main deck aft of the officers' mess-room. 



As a whole, the Oyster is plainly and practically equipped for the work to be 

 done. She has added much to the amount of the surveying accomplished during 

 the season, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey representative greatly appreci- 

 ates the practical advantages furnished to his party by their quarters on the 

 houseboat. When the large party of the combined surveying forces is taken 

 into consideration with the limited accommodations usually obtainable on 

 shore, the attending difficulties of a scattered party, the uncertain location and 

 supply of coal and water for launches and sufficient lumber for signals, it is 

 easily seen that the amount of work accomplished would have been reduced 

 greatly if there had been no such houseboat as the Oyster to supply all require- 

 ments of the surveying operations. 



With reasonable care and repairs, the Oyster will be a valuable asset to the 

 Commission at the completion of the oyster survey of the State, besides having 

 paid her first cost several times over in both quality and quantity of work 

 accomplished. 



The steam launch "INSPECTOR" and coal-oil launch "BLAKE," 

 although not used by the Commission or its engineers directly, have 

 nevertheless been a part of the equipment for the work of the sur- 

 vey. They belong to and were used by the Coast and Geodetic Sur- 

 vey party in erecting signals, placing monuments to mark the tri- 

 angulation stations and for making the triangulation necessary to 

 determine the geographical positions of the permanent objects and 

 triangulation stations. 



A number of small boats, furnished by the United States Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey and Bureau of Fisheries, were also available 

 for any purpose for which they might be needed. 



The instruments (sextants, protractors and drawing instrumenrs) 

 and record books needed by the hydrographic engineers for conduct- 

 ing the survey of the oyster grounds have been provided by the 

 United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1 The uses to which tbe 

 instruments are put are stated further on. 



Such instruments as have been found necessary for constructing 

 leasing charts, for computing areas and for conducting the physi- 



i Authorized by the Act of Congress approved May 20, 1900. 



