7 6 



the " shalls " and three on the flats, the skipper taking the 

 stern dredges and steering. The lightest dredges are at 

 the stern, to avoid, as far as possible, the chance of a little 

 extra weight pulling the ship's head round. A dredge 



Hauling Dredges. 



weighs about eighteen to twenty-four pounds, with five 

 pounds extra for rigging. The rope or warp is fastened 

 to the ring by a fisherman's bend, and, to prevent the warp 

 being chafed, the ring is bound round with canvas, which 

 is called the "puddening." The warp is coiled on deck, 

 with the end buoyed, and is only secured to a cleat by a 

 short length of twine called the " stop." If the stop breaks, 

 and the dredger cannot hold on to the warp, it goes 

 overboard, and the buoy marks the spot where it can be 

 picked up on the next tack by one of the hands in the 

 smack's boat. It happens sometimes that the dredge gets 

 caught so firmly in a rock, or perhaps a weir stump, that 



