Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 69 
surveying parties of both the Commission and the Government. The Worthley, 
now called the houseboat Oyster, was in excellent condition when purchased by the 
Commission. The keelsons and timbers were sound and the upper works strong. 
After the removal of the old engine and boiler, the houseboat was docked and 
her hull thoroughly examined. The outside planking below the water line was 
found in good condition, and although it was recalked, it was done as an addi- 
tional precaution, the hull having been absolutely water-tight from the day of 
purchase. 
The Oyster is about 135 feet over all and 35 feet in beam. The main deck con- 
tains living quarters for 27 men, the officers” mess-room and the galley. The 
upper deck has 11 staterooms, 5 for the 3 Commissioners and their 2 hydrographic 
engineers, 4 for the Coast Survey officers, 1 for the representative of the U. S. 
Bureau of Fisheries, and 1 for the local county oyster commissioner. Besides 
these rooms, there are located on this deck a large drafting room, a laboratory 
for oyster investigation, and an office room. Coal for the two Government launches 
and the galley is stored in the hold, which also contains fresh-water tanks having 
a capacity of about 7,000 gallons. Signal lumber is carried on the main deck aft 
of the officers’ mess-room. 
As a whole, the Oyster is plainly and practically equipped for the work to be 
done. She has added much to the amount of the surveying accomplished during 
the season, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey representative greatly appreciates 
the practical advantages furnished to his party by their quarters on the houseboat. 
When the large party of the combined surveying forces is taken into consideration 
with the limited accommodations usually obtainable on shore, the attending diffi- 
culties of a scattered party, the uncertain location and supply of coal and water 
for launches and sufficient lumber for signals, it is easily seen that the amount 
of work accomplished would have been reduced greatly, if there had been no such 
houseboat as the Oyster to supply all requirements of the surveying operations. 
With reasonable care and repairs, the Oyster will be a valuable asset to the 
Commission at the completion of the oyster survey of the State, besides having 
paid her first coast several times over in both quality and quantity of work 
accomplished. 
The steam launch ‘‘INSPECTOR’’ and coal-oil launch 
‘““BLAKE,’’ although not used by the Commission or its 
engineers directly, are nevertheless a part of the equipment 
for the work of the survey. They belong to and are used 
by the Coast and Geodetic Survey party in erecting signals, 
placing monuments to mark the triangulation stations and 
for making the triangulation necessary to determine the 
geographical positions of the permanent objects and signals. 
A number of small boats, furnished by the United States 
Coast and Geodetic Survey and Bureau of Fisheries, are 
available for any purpose for which they may be needed. 
