[15] U. S. FISH COMMISSION STEAMER ALBATROSS. 17 



SEINE-BOAT. 



Built by Higgins & G-ifford, Gloucester, Mass. Square stern, 28 feet 

 in length, 7 feet 3 inches beam, 2 feet 6 inches in depth, and weighs 

 1,250 pounds. It pulls eight oars, and is schooner, rigged, with sliding 

 gunter masts. This boat is very light, and is designed especially for 

 mackerel seining. 



WHALE-BOAT. 



Built at the navy-yard, Washington, D. C. Twenty-six feet in length, 

 5 feet G inches beam, 2 feet 3 inches depth. Pulls six oars, and weighs 

 780 pounds. Schooner rigged, with sliding gunter masts. This is an 

 excellent boat, built with unusual care. 



DINGHY. 



Built at the Washington navy-yard. Eighteen feet 2 inches in 

 length, 5 feet 6 inches beam, 2 feet 1 inch in depth, and pulls three 

 pairs of sculls ; weight, 550 pounds ; rig, split lug-sail. The dinghy 

 was also built with unusual care, and has done excellent service. 



BOAT-DETACHING APPARATUS (PLATE XII). 



The whale-boat and dinghy are kept hanging at the davits ready for 

 emergencies, and are provided with a unique detaching apparatus, the 

 invention of Midshipman (now Lieutenant) William Maxwell Wood, 

 U. S. N. 



The object of a detaching apparatus is to disengage both ends of a 

 boat from the tackles at the same time, the operation being under the 

 control of one man. To accomplish this Mr. Wood has provided a pair 

 of links, L, Plate XII, Figs. 3 and 4, which oscillate freely about a cen- 

 ter of motion. The form of this link is such as to permit the spherical 

 toggle T to pass between its sides ; now, if the link is pulled down by 

 the chains rr', and the ends of the chains connected by the slip hook h, 

 the toggle will slide up in the link and be locked in the narrow space 

 between its sides, as shown in full lines in Figs. 1, 3, and 4. If, however, 

 the slip hook h is tripped by pulling the lanyard a, Figs. 1 and 2, both 

 chains rr' will be slacked, and the links L released to fly up into the 

 positions shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, releasing the toggles and 

 thus detaching the boat. 



The locks g are provided as a measure of safety to prevent the tog- 

 gles from slipping out of the links in case one end of the boat is hoisted 

 faster than the other, or a fall is accidentally let go ; in fact they pre- 

 vent either end from being detached until the links are released by 

 pulling the lanyard a. 



This simple apparatus has been in constant use, at sea and in port, 

 under all conditions of wind and weather, and has answered its pur- 

 pose admirably without a single failure or accident. 

 H. Mis. G7 2 



