The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-17
CRAFT IN HARBOR AN
 OYSTER DREDCE
New Invention Gathers Oysters
 on Wheat Harvester Plan

A nondescript craft equipped with long beak which it alternately carried projecting out in front and thrust down into the water. seen moving about the harbor yesterday was the submarine harvester and cuItivator re- gently completed by it's inventor, N A. Lybeck, and the boat was making trial trip with representatives of the big oyster companies and the press aboard.
 The boat was built at the foot of Pembroke street under the perso: al supervision of the inventor. She was christened the Dark Horse and the demonstration yesterday gives abun- dant promise that she will live up to the title and create a revolution in the manner of raising and harvesting oysters. clans and other products of the bottom of the sea. The Dark Horse is the first actual working
 model produced by the inventor and ors will be. The correctness of the principles on which Capt. Lybeck's system is founded was amply demon strated although the capacity of the boat is limited and many changes will be made before the invention Is fully developed.
 The Dark Horse is really three boats securely bolted together side by side. The bow of the central hull which contains the engines and ma chinery reaches only to the midship section of the two on the outside. This leaves an open space between the two outer hulls in which a long carrier is lowered to the bottom. A scoop on the lower extremity of this car rier or conveyor is provided with and carries them to the conveyor which in turn eIevates them and de- posits them on the deck. A three, cy finder, 40 h. p. gasoline engine turns the screw projecting from the cen tral hull. Twin rt1dders on the two outer huI1s guide the craft, being con nected with the wheel in the pilot house second gasoline engine of h. p. operates the dredging machin- cry.
 The Dark Horse is largely expert mental although the inventor has the greatest confidence in her ability to do the work required up to her capac- ity which is limited. The scoop is 46 in width and can be operated in water from four to ten feet in depth. Capt. Lybeck proposes in his next dredger to cultivate a swath ten feet wide in water of any depth up to twenty feet. The deck of the Dark Horse has the appearance of an or dinary vessel, 45 feet long and 22 feet beam from which a section of the bow has been cut out extending amid ships. In future models this form will probably be modified to avoid the drag water which 1t is sure to meet
 The Dark Horse'' left the dock It the foot of Pembroke street yesterday at 1 o'clock. CaptI Frederick $. Beardsley, superintendent of the An drew RadeI Oyster Company, was one of the guests and probably the most interested for his company is ready to adopt any new invention which will S;r, "a "a TVaSfinC of the inn l mense crops of oysters the company grows every year. A first trial was made at the mouth of the Gut west of the draw bridge. Here the dredge brought to the. deck plenty of oys- ters. The craft was then moved to the beds off Seaside Park between the lighthouse and the beacon. The con- 1 ditions here were trying. The oysters were few and the bottom rough and 1 uneven with occasional rocks which, | however fnterfered with the work but little Oysters, shells, round clans, | crabs, skates, flat fish and other resi- | dents of the briny deep were deposit ed on the deck Close to the beacon the scoop struck rock head on which jared the whole boat but did not stop the machinery or interfere with the work The boat was then returned to the Gut and after passing through the bridge the scoop was dropped on the beds there. In this spot the con
 
 quantities of oysters and shells were brought to the surface.
 Oystermen as well as all seafartng men are always pr pretudiced- agafns1 new fang1ed notions and the inncva- ton of Capt Lybeck will meet with opposition from this source until he has fully demons strated that he can do just what he promises. Tester days experimental trip was very sat isfactory both to the inventor and to the oystermen in the party.
 Capt. F. S. Beardsley in an inter view after the Dark Horse" had been tied up at the dock safe: ''I am satisfied that Capt. Lybeck has some thing here which when developed will be of great value to the oyster indus try. Of course we un 7erstand that this boat Is the first and really. an experiment. It will probably have to be modified somewhat and improve ments will suggest themselves after the practical working of tie boat is closely observed. The idea of a con tinuous dredging is what cyst ter plant CTS are after. The present system of dredging oysters involves n1uct: loss of time when the dredges are pulled Capt. Lybeck's system will permit continuous work until the car go is complete. leaving no untouched spots and doing the work much quick CT. Deep water dredging will bring