134 FISHERMBlir OF THE USflTED STATES. 



except in spedal eases, when it may be temporarily kept np. Oceadmially. whm anclMHiDg in 

 tMs way, it may be dearaUe to lower the mainsail before the foiresail is taken in. 



jLNCHOBise IN HASBOB £\ sHOAi. ATATEB. — ^To bring a fishing sdiooner to anchor in a harbor. 

 if tii»eissn£Seient Toom^ the jib or jibs aie first Iow»ed and the hdm pot down so that the vessel 

 shoots dead in flie wind until her headway ceases. When ^le has sb^ped and begins to gather 

 stemway the anchor is let go. There are, howeTer, qnite » number of ways of d<Hng this, depend- 

 «it altogeUier npon smrounding cireomstanees. If ranning into a harbor with a fair wind where 

 there is a large fleet at anchor, there may not be room enoo^ to handle a vessel in the manner 

 jnst described. Hie after sails are then first taken in and fiiried, and last i^ all the jib is lowered. 

 The anchor is let go >■ under foot ^ while the Tessd is still forging ahead. Sometimes all the sails 

 but the mainsail are hauled down; at other times all bat the foiesaiL Indeed, the management 

 of the sails Taries wi& tiie oeeaaon, and AeteSore no definite rule can be laid down. 



BBI!fGIN& A TBSSEI, TO A BKA6. 



The act of bringing a fishing vessel to a drag is necessary only in the most finioas gale& 

 As a gen^^ thing, when this is done, the vessel is lying to under a dose-reefed foresail, with, 

 occasionally, also a reefed riding-sail set on the mainmast. On fishing vessels it is ecstomary to 

 attach the drag, whatever it may be, to the riding anchor on the port side, and for thi? reason^ 

 the vessel, if she is lying to on the starboard tack, is wov around so that she will be on the 

 port ta^ before the drag is put out. Sometimes the seas are so dangerous that it is imprai^icstble 

 to wear around, and in such a case the starboard tack must be used instead. The simplest fonn 

 of using a drag on a fiyghing vessel, when drifting in deep water, where there is no probalHlity of 

 the anchor taking bottom, is only to throw out the anchor and pay out fitun one to two hundred 

 foUioms of cable. The foresail is then taken in and furled, and the ree&d riding-sail, or pohaps 

 tiie peak of the '■ balanoe-reefed main^il," is set, in order to ke^ the vessd steady in the sea and 

 dose to flie wind. The neoessi^ of frequently heaving the vessd to a drag in tiie extiemelF vio- 

 lent gales which the fishermen encounter has led to the substitution of sevoal devices mudi more 

 efnective than a simple anchor in offering a resistance to the ^vater and keeping the vessd's head 

 near the wind. - One method is to sling one or more casks or barrels, and to attach them to the andior. 

 The casks have holes in them so tliat rhey are soon filled with water and Ihey then offer <»nsiderable 

 resistance to the drifting craft and assist materially in keeping the vessel in proper position. Planks 

 and si>ars have been used for the same purpose, being slung at the ends or in the middle. Some 

 spedal appliances have also been made, coustrncted of plank, canvas, and iron. The last mentioned 

 are commonly made fast to the anchor and cable, which are paid out in the manner described. It is 

 probable that with a suitably devised apx>aratTis much better results. coidd be obtained by simply 

 attadiing it to a hawser, without any anchor. 



The practice of carrying drags or floating anchors is, unfortimately, too much neglected on 

 our fishing vessds. The object of this form of apparatus is to prevent foundering of sea-gcnng 

 vessels when lying to in heavy gales, especially when sails have been blown away, or when from 

 other causes a vessd has become unmanageable, or is lying in a dangerous portion. Unless a 

 vessel is provided in such an emergency with some sort of a drag to be piit out at lie bow, so as 

 to prevcatit her from foiling into the trough of the se-a. she is liable to meet with serious disaster, 

 amonnljng in many cases to an entire loss of the ship and crew. It is believed by many whose 

 experience renders them capable of judging correctly that a large percentage of the loss by foun- 

 dering which occurs to the fishing fleet of Xew England might be obviated by the use of pw^eriy 

 constructed drags. As is well known, heretofore seamen have generally been compelled in such 



