THE LAYING OF SUBMARINE CABLES. 147 



cable expeditions, and thought that the requirements in such a 

 vessel demanded a special design throughout. That his design 

 of the "Faraday " fulfilled these requirements in a very marked 

 degree time has amply proved. In the middle of 1873 the keel 

 of this vessel was laid at the Walker Yards, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 

 by the builders, Messrs. Mitchell and Co., and she was launched 

 the following February. By the courtesy of Messrs. Siemens 

 Brothers and Co. the writer is able to present some illustra- 

 tions and particulars of interest. In the first place, she is 

 remarkable for the exact similarity of bow and stern (Fig 69), 

 hand and steam steering gear being fitted at both ends, and 

 enabling her to answer the helm equally well when going 

 astern. Further, being a twin-screw boat), she can be turned in 

 her own length, and mano3uvred with great ease and promp- 

 titude. A wide central deck space from bows to stern has been 

 provided by placing her funnels abreast instead of fore and 

 aft, and by this means the cable has a clear run along the 

 centre of the deck from the tanks to the sheaves. 



Her dimensions are : — 360ft. long, 52ft. beam, by 36ft. deep. 

 She has carried as much as 1,962 nauts of mixed cable on one 

 trip, the weight of this cable being 4,500 tons, and her large 

 coal capacity of 1,700 tons enabled her on one occasion to stay 

 at sea for a period of three months without re-coaling. There 

 are three cable tanks, all of 30ft. depth, and having a total 

 capacity of 2,000 miles of cable. The after and midship tanks 

 are each of 45ft. diameter, and capable of taking in 800 nauts 

 of cable each, while the fore tank is 37ft. in diameter and can 

 hold 400 nauts of cable. 



For repairing work this vessel is fitted with powerful picking- 

 up gear (Fig. 70), capable of lifting 30 tons at a speed of one 

 nautical mile per hour. It is fixed on the middle of the upper deck 

 forward of the bridge, is roofed over, and provided with raised 

 platform, to which all levers and valves are brought within 

 easy reach. This view shows the path of the cable on deck 

 from bows to tank, passing on its way the dynamometer, drum 

 and hauling-off sheave. The buoys on this vessel are provided 

 with four chains hanging over the top half of the buoy at 

 equal distances apart. These are fast at top and bottom ends, 

 and pass through two rings set in the buoy. Two cross ropes 

 pass through the same ring, and encircle the buoy horizontally. 



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