THE OYSTEK FISHERY OF CONNECTICUT. 
467 
13. Details of form, etc . — The steamers are wide and shallow. They have a sharp 
bow, moderately concave at load line; a straight, nearly vertical stem above water; 
rather low, flat floor ; medium length of ran, and round stern. They are generally built 
with a strong sheer, and provided with a large deck house for the accommodation of 
the engine room, pilot house, and also for the storage of oysters. Most of the steamers 
are housed in for almost their entire length, but those sailing from Norwalk and Five- 
Mile Eiver have the deck open forward of the boiler, so that the wheelman can note 
the operations on deck and direct the vessel’s course in accordance therewith ; whereas, 
when the forward deck is covered, the steering must be directed by those on deck. 
The pilot regulates the speed, when dredging, by a small wheel lever, placed within 
easy reach, and properly geared for this purpose. There is considerable diversity in de- 
tails of finish, etc. Some are more cheaply and roughly finished than others — “ built 
strictly for business” and provided only with necessary fittings. Some are more elab- 
orately equipped, having fine and handsomely furnished cabins, steam-heated pilot 
houses, andother accessories for comfort and convenience. 
The steamer William A. Loclnvood, one of the largest and finest of the fleet of 
1880, is thus described by Captain Rowe, owner and master: 
She has a length of 63 feet ; a. beam of 16 feet ; depth of hold of 5 feet ; draws 5^ feet of water aft 
and feet forward. The machinery is placed well aft and the oyster room amidships ; the pilot 
house is on the hurricane deck. She has a double hoisting engine for hauling in the oysters, and also 
a very large engine for propelling the boat. Iron blocks and chains are used to haul the dredges. On 
either side of the boat are two doors provided with a roller, over which the dredge chains run smoothly. 
The propelling engine is 11 by 11 inches and the bolster 5 by 7 inches. 
The following account of the same steamer gives more details of the arrangement 
and apparatus : 
The most efficient and convenient oyster steamer in the country, and perhaps in the world, is that 
owned by H. C. Rowe, of Fair Haven, Connecticut. She is housed over to protect men and oysters from 
exposure to storm, sun, and cold', and can work in the coldest weather. She works four large dredges 
and when running full blast employs 10 men, and takes up 500 bushels a day in 35 feet of water. She 
is a new boat, having been run about a year. Her boiler is larger and her engine more powerful than 
usual in a boat of her size, and she can therefore be used for towing, and can force her way through 
heavy ice in the winter, so that her owner is sure of a suiiply of oysters for his customers when other 
dealers may be unable with sailing vessels to get them. Especially is this greatly valuable in connec- 
tion with the European trade, her owner keeping informed by cable of the state of the market, and 
taking up and shipping large quantities when the market is high in Liverpool and London. Besides 
her regular propelling engine she has a double engine for hauling dredges, which hauls all four dredges 
full of oysters at once and lands them on deck, two on each side. She cost |6,500. To an oysterman 
like Mr. Rowe, who cultivates miles of ground and takes up 7,000 bushels in a month, such a boat is 
of immense convenience. — Sea World, August 4, 1879. 
The foregoing is equally applicable to the oyster steamers of to-day, which are 
similar in form, eqnipment, etc., and diifer chiefly in size. 
Steamers have been extensively used only by the oyster-planters of Connecticut 
and New York; nevertheless, the success which has attended them may ultimately 
lead to their introduction in the Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere. 
The number of steamers employed in 1889, of 5 tons and upwards, was 54, with 
an aggregate tonnage of 1,732.08.* These were valued at $287,100, and were equipped 
* In addition to these there were three small steamers, each less than 5 tons, which have been 
included with boats in the tabulated statements. 
