190 Arctic and Antarctic Exploration [part i 
on the upper hoop of the crow's-nest, 2 to 3 feet long 
and 1 foot high, which was moveable, and adjusted to 
windward. The vessels carried six or seven boats, 
carvel-built, 26 to 28 feet long by 5 feet 9 inches beam, 
of fir planks half an inch thick ; the keel, gunwales, 
stern and stem posts being of oak. They had six oars, 
16 feet long, the steer oar being 18 to 20 feet. The oars 
were fixed to thole-pins by rope grummets. When the 
ship reached the fishing ground, the boats were kept at 
the davits, ready to lower. The whale lines, beautifully 
" flaked down" in the boats, were of 2^-inch rope, and a 
total of 4320 feet of length was carried in the six lines 
supplied to each boat, each line being 120 fathoms. A 
bollard for passing them round was fixed near the boat's 
stem. 
The harpoon consisted of socket, shank, and " mouth " 
or point with barbs or " withers/' and was 3 feet long. 
Later, the harpoon gun came into use. Lances were 
6 feet long, the socket, into which is fitted a stock or 
handle, a shank 5 feet, and a sharp point 8 inches long. 
The fore ganger is an important part of the harpoon 
gear. It consists of 8 or 9 yards of 2^-inch rope, spliced 
round the shank of the harpoon, the swelling socket 
preventing it from being drawn off when the harpoon is 
thrown. When a harpoon is ready with stock and fore 
ganger, it is said to be " spanned in." The point, when 
not in use, is guarded by a shield of oiled paper. 
Each boat had two harpoons, six or eight lances, 
a pole and flag to signal when a whale is struck, and 
a tail knife to perforate the tail or fins of a dead whale. 
There was also an axe for cutting the line if necessary, 
the mik to support the stock of the harpoon, and a 
piggon for baling and for wetting the running lines to 
prevent the bollard from catching fire. 
It was thought politic to arouse the zeal of the chief 
officers by giving them an interest in the work. The 
captain got three guineas for each fish, 10 to 20 shillings 
per ton of oil, and a twentieth of the value of the cargo 
besides. A harpooneer got six shillings per ton of oil 
and 10 shillings for every fish he struck. The chief mate 
was generally a harpooneer. The " speksioneer/' who 
directs the cutting of the blubber, the boat-steerers, line 
