The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-09-19
GAS AND WRESTLING BUoYs,

GAS AND WRESTLING BUOYS,
Perhaps the most novel aid to naviga-
ton Is the gas-buoy, type that will
burn for months If need be. The flame
cannot be extinguished by wave, wind
or rain. The body of this buoy forms
the receiver for compressed gas, and is
| of proper buoyancy for 11otation and Of
sufficient strength to hold a pressure OF
one hundred and eighty pounds per
square inch Some of these buoys
weigh six tons and are held uphight by
counter weights at the bottom. On top
of the buoy Is a wrought-iron tower
about six feet high, surmounting which
is the lantern This light is given by a
cluster of four jets, three fiat flames
surrounding round central one. A
platinum wire is fastened just above
| the flames, which is heated to white
ness by them, and, in case sudden
shock extinguishes the light, relights
| the flames Immediately.
The buoys in Nantucket Sound are in
tended to burn for three months. When
the gas is expended they are brought
ashore and shipped by rail to the near
est place where they can be refilled
| with gas,
| Another interesting contrivance is the
whistling-buoy. They are clumsy af-
fairs Of steel, ranging in length from
twenty-five to thirty-five feet, with
tank nine feet In diameter and ten feet
tall. Beneath the tank, which, in fact,
is an tank, floating the buoy and
furnishing 1t with power for the whis-
tie, Is a pipe about twenty feet long
and eighteen inches in diameter. When
the buoy is in the water the action of
the sea causes a volume of water to
rise and fall in 1t. Air is taken from
the top of the tank, and the pressure of
water in expellng 1t blows the whistle.
These whistles are of the twelve-inch
sort, and are identical with those In use
on land. The pitch Of whistle Is ad-
justed so that locality may be known
by the quality of the sound that marks
it.
The officers of lighthouse tender
are not all musicians yet they are able
to adjust a whistle to nicely. A
piece of wood Is used for a gauge, the
distance between the bed plate and the
rim of the whistle being taken, and a
monkey wrench operated on nut does
the rest by measurement
In order to doctor" one of these
whistles the tender steams as close aa
is deemed prudent, and boat In charge
of the mate is lowered. With several
men at the oars, the boat is worked up
IT. 81 .,fl nc ava
in convenient position for the boat
hook to be inserted. At favorable mo
ment, when buoy and boat are thrown
together, the mate jumps upon the mass
of metal and ssprawls and climbs into
the cage that protects the whistle.
man follows him. and when both are
secure in their position the bell of the
whistle is raised or lowered until the
gauge fits the aperture and the proper
pitch Is obtained.
One of the most dangerous jobs in the
work of lighthouse tender is the ex-
changing of these big buoys at sea. 1t
is comparatively easy to lift five-ton
buoy from a wharf to the deck of
steamer, for the work Is done by means
of a steam-derrck, but it is quite an
other story later, when ship Is rolling
her rails under, and an important buoy,
rendered useless by collision, IS to be
replaced.
The relief buoy is dashed to the for
ward deck under the boom of the der
rick so that it cannot get adrlft and
take charge Of the deck When the
damaged buoy is alongside, sling Is
made fast around 1t, so that the derrick
may lift 1t aboard The sailor or officer
who places the sling does so at the risk
of his life. The great buoy is always
swinging and rolling, careening and
sometimes spinning with dizzy rapidty.
The sling Is hooked to the derriek-fall,
and slowly the engine begins to exert its
power. 1t is just such combination OF
circumstances as Is calculated to smash
a hole in the tenders side, for a five ton
buoy is no croquet-ball in a sea-way.
Its momentum is such as to render 1t. 0
deadly projectile when sea filings 1t
the length of its mooring chain. II all
goes we'll, the buoy Is finally on the deck
and the men jump for it and lash it
with as much energy as If it were a
boat-load of dynamite.
The mooring- chain is then unshackled
and attached to the buoy intended to
replace the voiceless one. The derrick +,
again lifts it's boom, and the relief-buoy
is swung over the side.
If the buoy is whistler, the men are
treated to one of the most weird exhi-
billions that falls to the lot of mortals. |
one of these buoys can send shout
across miles of sea. AS it lays on the
deck it is a silent thing. But when the |
derrick drops it into the waves, slowly |
and carefully. to avoid accident, it gives
a startling performance. AS the bill
lows force the air through the whistle |
there is emitted a grunt for all the |
world like that of a thousand self-sat- |
isfied hogs compressed into one porcne
throat. Then comes long blast that |
swels from a splutterlng gurgle into an