446 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [10] 



Fish- well. — The well of the Grampus is pyramidal in form, with the 

 apex at the deck. It is 16 feet long in the clear at the bottom, and 

 about 8 feet wide. At the top it is 4 feet long by 2) 2 feet wide. It is 

 what is termed a " box well, " and has a bulkhead a thwart ships coming 

 nearly to the surface of the water. The forward and after bulkheads 

 extend from the bottom of the vessel flush with the top of the deck. 

 The bulkheads are made of the best selected yellow oak, 7 inches thick. 

 The lower plank in each bulkhead is canted and molded to fit the 

 shape of the bottom on its lower edge, coming out flush with the out- 

 side planking, or made with " primings-out." It is rabbeted to receive 

 the ends of the outside planks. The upper edge of the plank is level, 

 and to this is bolted the succeeding plank. The ends of all the lower 

 planks are flush with the outside planking up to the point where they 

 join the " well-log" on each side. The bottom planks or floors have each 

 two 1-inch yellow-metal bolts driven through them and the keel, and 

 clenched over composition rings underneath the keel. The other well- 

 planks are bolted edgewise with f-inch galvanized iron bolts, driven at 

 distances of 14 inches from center to center, alternately, near the opposite 

 edges of the plank. The planks on the sides of. the well are so arranged 

 that their edges come opposite the middle of the planks across the ends, 

 so as to equalize the fastening in the corner posts. The planking of the 

 well inside of the vessel is tongued and grooved on its edge, provided 

 with a J-inch tongue of white pine in a groove 1 inch from inside of 

 plank. Besides this, before the bolts were driven, a layer of calking 

 cotton was placed in all of the seams between the well-plank. At the 

 lower edge of the well, on each side, is what may be termed the well- 

 log. This is of the best white oak; it sides 9 inches and is 21 

 inches deep. It comes out flush with the outer planking, being recessed 

 to receive the frames which enter the well. The spaces over these 

 frames are filled in, outside, with short pieces of plank, in the same 

 manner as when the floor of an ordinary well is built with " primings- 

 out." This well-log is fastened to the frames by finch yellow-metal 

 bolts, which are headed outside of the timbers. 



The floor frames in the well are fastened with 1-inch yellow-metal bolts 

 going through them and the keel and clenched underneath the latter. 



In each corner of the well is a white-oak post 7 inches square on two 

 sides to fit into the corner, with one side half round. To this are 

 fastened the ends of the well-planks, with f-inch galvanized iron screw- 

 bolts set up on the outside with nuts. 



A corner post or quarter round of hard pine is let in at the ends of 

 the well-plank to flush the ends and sides of the well on the outside. 



There are two hundred and four 2J-inch holes in the outside planking 

 covering the bottom of the well, to permit the water to circulate freely. 

 After these holes were bored they were all burned with a red-hot iron.* 



* In December, 1887, the well was coppered inside to a foot above the water-line, 

 and "sleeves" were worked into the holes from the outside, thus making them some* 

 what smaller. 



