[43] FISHEKIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 555 



be kept open at sea in any ordinary weather. Beneath a sufficiently 

 large berth-deck, is a good-sized hold, with tanks for holding 2,500 gal- 

 lons of fresh water; while under the cabin and wardroom, and acces- 

 sible only from those apartments, are large store-rooms. The upper 

 deck is fljish, and gives ainple room for the reception of all the necessary 

 machinery and gear." 



Sounding appliances. — The principal work of the Blake has been the 

 taking of deep-sea soundings, for which purpose the Sigsbee sounding 

 machine, elsewhere described, is now used for all depths below 100 fath- 

 oms. It was while in command of the Blake, from 1874 to 1878, that 

 Lieutenant-Commander Sigsbee perfected his sounding apparatus on 

 the Thomson principle. The position assigned to this sounding ma- 

 chine on the Blake, in its original form, was the port bow, as far for- 

 ward as it could be set. For sounding, the vessel was laid head to the 

 wind, with mainsail set, and the main boom amidships. The latest form 

 of the machine, however, which permits of reeling in while steaming 

 ahead, is placed just forward of the port fore-rigging. Here, nearly all 

 the advantage of the former position is retained, and there is a straight 

 lead aft for hauling in the wire as it trails astern, while the vessel has 

 headway. 



Dredging boom, &c. — The dredging boom is 47 feet long, and 14 inches 

 in its greatest diameter, the metal fittings and fastenings being of 

 wrought iron. The topping lift is of 3-inch manila, rove through iron- 

 strapped blocks, made extra strong, and the pendant is of 4|-inch ma- 

 nila. The small block at the boom end is of a well-known commercial 

 pattern, extra fastened. The pendants of the guys are of 2-inch wire 

 rope, and the falls for the same of 2^-inch manila. Other special feat- 

 ures of the dredging outfit of the Blake, all of which originated on that 

 vessel, are wire dredge rope, the accumulator of rubber buffers, the iron 

 dredging blocks, double beam trawl, and deep-sea dredge. These are 

 described in detail further on, and are shown in connection with the 

 vessel in Sigsbee's series of plates of the Blake, exhibited. 



Dredge reel, hoisting engine, &c. — The dredge reel of the Blake (plate 

 32) is capable of holding over 4,200 fathoms of wire dredge rope. 

 The drum or barrel is of boiler iron, 3 feet 6 inches long by 2 feet in 

 diameter, and is riveted to fillets on the two cast-iron side plates. The 

 depth of the flanges above the drum is one foot. The side plates are 

 made with spokes. The friction band is of wrought iron, lined with 

 maple 1 inch thick. The standards are of cast iron, and the axle of 

 wrought iron, 2J inches in diameter, reduced to 2f inches in the journal 

 boxes. The friction lever is of the double-acting kind — that is, both 

 ends of the friction strap or band are bolted to the lever, one on each 

 side of the pivot. 



The hoisting engine (plate 33) has two trunk-cylinders of the pattern 

 known as Bacon's patent, each of 10^-inch bore and 10 inches stroke, 

 firmly secured to the bed-plate at an angle of 45°, thereby avoiding a 



