The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-06-30
BUOYS
They Are Simple In Principle and
Certain In Operation.
PAINTINGS OF THE WAVES.

The Rise and Fall of the Water Give
Birth to Their Penetrating shrisks.
Placing and Removing Them Are
Tasks Frauoht With Deadly Peril
Sea travellers up and down our coast
lines often hear strange, weird sound
10 port or starboard, sort Of COM
pound of moan and shrek, at once soft
and insistent, subdued and penetrating.
1t is the call of the whistling buoy to
the man at the helm, warning him Of
shoal or dangerous place.
These whistling buoys, which are
enormous masses of iron, often weigh
ing several tons, are as simple In prin-
ciple as they are certain In operation.
The buoy proper consists Of huge
pear shaped bulb, little end up, on top
ST which is a powerful whistle, pro-
tected from accidental blow or collision
by framework OF iron bars, and an
air intake. Below and projecting far
down into the water is an open tube Of
metal. The whole thing IS secured In
position with an anchor and chain,
which last is long enough for the depth
of the water In which the buoy Is
placed to permit the free movement Of
the mass up and down.
When a wave lifts the buoy up In the
air the water in the tube, acting as a
piston. sucks in air through the intake.
IL is confined in the bulb Of the buoy
by simple valve which prevents Its
egress through the intake. When the
waves drop the buoy In the trough OF
the waves the water In the tube
presses up on the confined air and com
presses II. 1t finds exit through the
whistle, which thus sounds its warning
note.
1t might be supposed that, having no
mechanism but valve, such buoys,
once put in position, could be left there
for an indefinite period OF time. But
the sea has strange ways with her
playthings, and even II the necessity Of
constant painting Of the buoy to pro
tect II from the action Of sea water was
not existent 1t would still be necessary
to keep a watch on these signals and
to take them up and replace them
rather often, for the big tube project
ing down into the water is great at
traction to barnacles and seaweed, and
not infrequently these marine growths
30 interfere with the action Of the buoy
as to keep II silent in ordinary weather
and to dim Its voice In bad weather.
1t then becomes necessary TO work"
new whistler In position, which Ia q
regular part OF the duty Of lighthouse
tender or buoy tender, OF which YES
sells there are many In the service.
When buoy Is to be worked the
tender repairs to yard or station and
by means OF her crane lifts on deck the
freshly painted and thoroughly repair
ed new buoy which Is to replace that
one which Is either silent or which has
served Its allotted time and is now due
for replacement.
There is nothing difficult about this.
II Is getting the enormously large and
unwieldy mass OF iron overheard and
taking on board the one which Is In
the water which causes the difficulty.
The very waves which are necessary
to the successful operation Of the buoy
make il hard to manage at the end of a
crane on board a comparatively small
vessel.
When buoy tender goes to work"
a whistler she clears her deck Of every.
thing else but the buoy, which is Sc
cured with checks and chains against
the roll OF the vessel. The old buoy Is
approached cautiously, within couple
Of hundred feet, and the new buoy is
allowed to slide overheard rather than
picked up and placed In the water, the
crew guiding It by guy ropes, while the
powerful crane lifts just enough to per
init tie buoy to move. With the vessel
slowly rolling from side to side on the
slow seas OF even q quiet day-the good
days are purposely picked for this
work-the mass OF freshly painted Iron
with its long tube presents potential
ties for evil which must be closely
watched. Let the buoy but get clear
of the deck and the fall tackle get
jammed and there would come into be-
ing a three ton pendulum Will an iron
fail thirty-six feet long capable OF
smashing the boat to bits and certainly
OF sweeping broken boned men about
the deck with no more effort than II
they were so many flies.
But, IL getting the new buoy over
board Is dangerous work. hauling the
old one In is more 80. The buoy Is first
secured by good seamanship. managing
the steam vessel. with rope through
the iron cage at its top. Working
from this, ropes. chains and springs"
or heavy cables are brought into play
and the whole very cautiously lifted
and secured as II comes over the side.
IL is allowed to swing free not at all,
save perhaps for an instant. just as Il
IL laid fat on the deck, and then. APP
parently In the very face Of death, a
dozen men spring at the mass. ready
TO swing with the waves and TO de-
molish them and thrust huge billets
Of wood underneath its sides TO bold
Il long enough for lashings to make II
secure. The boat being Delayed 10 the
pnchOr chain then cautiously backs
away 10 raise the anchor. and there Il
a general scampering away from the
cable while this n being done. as
should Il break II would be Ike hsv-
ing q couple Of cannon balls come
tearing along the deck.
However. 50 skIllful are these han
dlers o. heavy masses Of Iron on an IN