[49] WORK OF STEAMER ALBATROSS. 419 



The dredging and reeling engines have been overhauled. The sound- 

 ing engine is too small for its work. By being able to run the latter 

 all the time, since the new reel, designed by the writer, has been in 

 use, the nuisance of a cylinder full of water, every time they began to 

 reel in, is now obviated. Although the reel is made of aluminum 

 brouze, specimens of which showed a tensile strength of 93,520 pounds 

 per square inch, it was found to be harder on one side than on the 

 other. From this fact I judge that the copper and aluminum were not 

 well mixed,* although the casting was made by the patentees. The 

 reel is lighter and has a stronger shape than the steel ones, and it will 

 not corrode. 



The steering engine continues to work well. I have provided a shunt 

 by which it may be made to exhaust into the air. An attachment by 

 which it may be worked from the top of the pilot house is recommended. 



The old exhaust fan and motor were displaced by the new boilers, 

 and in their place have been erected a pair of No. 5 monogram exhaust- 

 ers and an orthodox steam-engine, which deliver more than double the 

 quantity of air the original did. The relative economy of the two fans 

 and motors, calculated in cubic feet of air delivered per pound of feed 

 water used to propel the air, is as follows : 



The Wise motor and No. 6 fan 1.00 



The present engine and pair of No. 5 fans 21.86 



The two steam cutters continue to perform excellent service. They 

 have done more work than any other two Herreshoff boats the Govern- 

 ment owns, but they have received unremitting attention. This has 

 resulted from the hearty encouragement given to the engineer's depart- 

 ment by the commanding officer ; his appreciation of efficiency, and his 

 willingness to sacrifice his own convenience to that end. 



On stripping the wooden ceiling from the sides of the ship in the 

 wake of the old bunkers, we found much corrosion of the hull on the 

 iuside. This has resulted from putting wet coal hito the ship, the cold 

 sides of which condense the moisture on their surface. The warm air, 

 after the coal is removed, absorbs the moisture ; the next charge of 

 wet coal again moistens the plates, and this will continue as long as 

 the present custom prevails. 



The original Z dynamo and 8J by 10 engine have been taken from 

 the ship and replaced by a No. 3 dynamo and a 6J by 8 engine. Much 

 weight and space have been saved by this change. The new outfit 

 gives the ship 120 lights of 10-candle power each, a gain of about 25 

 per cent, on the old one. 



The old wooden boxes which carried the tiller ropes through the 

 coal bunkers were defective and objectionable. Iron tubes and carriers, 

 which are tight and serviceable, have been devised by the writer. They 

 are represented in figures 8, 9, 10, and 11. 



* Those two metals are of greatly different densities, 



