Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-05-10
The Difficulties Incident TO the Lay-
ing of Long Electric Sea Cnbles.

Few people can imagine the great me-
chanical difficulties to be overcome in
laying long cable. Owing to the diff
Guilty of making the Jennings properly at
sea, the rope cannot be carried out in
more than two portions, and there are
very few ships capable of conveying the
required load in the necessary manner.
An electric cable is difficult thing to
coil, indeed no one who inspects it in
short lengths would believe it capable of
being coiled at all; the cable must, there
fore, be laid in the hold, in as large cir
Gle as possible, and the space occupied
must be perfectly clear from cross beams,
or perpendicular supports for the deck.
The cable must be placed so as to load the
vessel evenly, and must be SO paid out
that she shall preserve an even keel, other
wise water ballast must be admitted to
keep the vessel in trim. Moreover, with
long cable, the vessel employed should
be q steamer of sufficient dimensions not
only to contain it, but Goals as well for
the entire voyage for if slowed in sail
ing vessel and towed by steamer, the
ship becomes in heavy sea unmanagc-
able, and in case of hitch occurring, It IS
almost impossible to check her progress in
time to prevent accident. A cable long
enough to span the Atlantic will weigh at
least six thousand tons, and when Goals
must be carried, and, in addition, clear
place provided sufficient to enable this
enormous length of cable to be coiled, it
is evident that no existing vessel, except
the Great Eastern, would be equal to the
requirements of the case.
The hands employed in iberating the
cable coiled in the hold have difficult
task to perform, even when the sea Is
calm and everything goes on smoothly.
When at full speed the coils have to be
carefully liberated, layer by layer, from
the lashings and packings Of wood, so as
to avoid the possibility of its escaping
from the guides on receiving any check.
The break is part of the apparatus which
requires the most delicate handling; the
strain which it puts on must be sufficient
to prevent the cable from running out
with too great velocity in proportion to
the speed of the vessel, whilst it must be
sensitive to every pitch and roll, In order
to prevent the cable from being snapped
by a sudden strain. Many self-acting
breaks have been proposed, but in prac-
tice nothing has been found so eifectual
for the regulation of the strain as constant
personal superintendent. The speed at
which the paying-out vessel travels should
be as uniform as possible throughout the
whole voyage, and as provision must be
made for contrary winds and roug h wea-
Their, large amount of surplus power is
indispensable, In fair weather it is not
difficult to attend to all these precautions,
nothing but proper care and attention be-
ing necessary; but in stormy weather,
when the vessel is tossing to such an ex-
tent that the men.can scarcely stand while
unlashing and freeing the cable, when the
pitching of the ship throws sudden and
violent strains upon the break, and when
the breaksman himself can scarcely keep
his feet and can scarcely keep his feet and
can see nothing in the darkness, the diff
Guilty of managing the apparatus properly
is of no ordinary kind.