Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1915-10-13

show the pilot and the skipper and the
captain that the wsy IL clear under water,
do not exist. These underwater ohstruc-
lions the ship owDers and nAvIgators
drs q as nuch a. an Eagiish captain
nowa1ays breads q German submarine
Charts three are, good charts, but enough
BOZ i known TO make Il certain that
there are iozs OF pianncie rocks and other
distractions oeio~ the wsfer even in What
hare been supposed 10 be clear channels
ard fair~sys-
The work that the government nov ID
pushing with the Dew apparatus that has
been devised for the purpose Is the search
ing of the Hoors Of the harbors and the
channels along the Ne~ England and
other coasts for the apprehension OF these
skrlking hizhraymen and their accurate
marking On the charts BY which the
course OF ships il guided
The method used Is that Of the wire
drag The wire clutches on . shoal and
TINS gives notice that an Obstruction ex-
lists and its approximate location The
lead heaved from q moying vessel viii not
be likely to disclose such distractions.
By the use Of the drag the original surveys
OF the Atlantic coast nov are beings up
paemented year By year with results some
tiDes amazing and always valuable In
the past practically the only way to nnd
the deep Eater obstructions was to hit
them with . vessel, and this meant often
loss of the ship and lose Of lie
The workers must know first at exactly
what distance below the surface Of the sen
the bottom wire Of the drag is sweeping.
This is done By finding At what deps the
wire strikes q lead line held at rest from .
small boat which waits in advance OF the
drag The greatest delay and expense
no~, however, are caused by the difficulty
OF having the wire pass close enough to
the bottom to be sure not to miss any un-
known distractions and At the same time
to keep il from catching on the obstruc-
tions that are already known.
To evade this trouble it, 10 necessary to
know the depth Of the bostom wire, mot
only 1t the points supported by the buoys.
bot along every foot Of its length. The
weight Of the wire 10 500 pounds to the
mile, which 10 considerable, and suh,cisnf
70 overcoms the tension caused BY the
moving boatA The weight, Of courss,
causes the wire to ~ between the buoys,
and the ngging increases - the tension
decreases. To overcoms this saggine the
buoys were q dfst placed Close together,
but that caused 20 much resistance that .
| long drAg coold noe b towed through the
water. Than cedax 0oats were attached to
! the y Ire q certain intervals between tbs
| bu0ys. Thess serve to balance tbs weight
| Of the wire and The booys can BE- paaced
| far enough apart TO keep their number
| within reasona hie hmitA
| Without lingering upon the explana-
tion OF the methods OF using the drag, let
| it be noted that the whole Atlantic coast
has been divided up into sections and the
work Of dragging and chsrting pretty
we'll appoFtioned. A considerable area q
l to b Investigated between Eastport and
/ Mt. Desert island. Much has been done
/ in Frenchman's bay, on the shoal parts Of
Blnehiu bay, and IN the Penobscot bay.
For an average distance OF seven miles Oh
shore the coast Of Maine from Mouhezan
island to CISCO bay, and the Shsepscot
| and Kennebec rivers, are said to require
1 examination. The work has practically
been compisted in the outer part Of Case
bay. There are numerous shoal indicA
| tioDs Oh Portsmouth, and much work viii
Be done between CISCO bay and Cape Ann