Show DID THE fc EA NING now the got nid of barnacle without A united states cruiser in active scry ico requires almost as much burnishing to keep her trim na docs a silk hat it tho brasses and metal work around her decks that the chief anxiety it is her bottom that fouls particularly in southern acas and it is necessary to dock her and clean away the barna cles but docks are not always at hand lieutenant commander in idis cussing this question in tho united states naval institute described for the first timo the worked by the united states ship baltimore during tho chilean trouble she was not docked for 11 months and during eight months of that timo she was in chilean and peruvian waters the baltimore aftel being docked at toulon franco in february 1891 sailed for chile within four oc five months after arriving tn chilo sho began to lose speed on account of a foul bottom there were in tho crew two seamen gunners who had as divers in the torpedo school at newport besides peter danloy the gunner who had also taken tho course it was decided to clean tho bottom of tho baltimore by sending down divers an iron ladder was let down from a launch alongside tho baltimore and for anso ander the ship a wide jacobe ladder was made on board while cleaning tho bottom the diver was always on this ladder bo tween it and tho ship would stand sit or lio down on the ladder as happened to bo most convenient tho divers ened scrapers made of hard wood in abo abapo of a broad chisol they were about A inches wide and 8 inches long with the handle ou d rounded down tho diver choso tho man who attended to tho life line besides this man who attended the line four other men the launch them worked the pumps and tho other two attended to tha bow and stern lines of tho launch tho divers wera limited to alvo hours work a day and they got 1 an hour in addition to their regular pay the time taken to clean tho bottom and to clean one third of it a feco ond timo was two months the work was done under adverse in the harbor of valparaiso where frequently a sea would stop tho work the barnacles on tho bottom of tho baltimore the first time sho was cleaned averaged 2 inches in length bamo bomo of them were more than 3 inches long they were of ton in clusters so that they extended six inches or from the chips bottom after the bottom was cleaned tho gunner made an inspection and reported that tho cleaning was well done lieutenant commander bobree says that in his opinion a vessel can be kept practically clean and suffer no serious blosl of for at least a year by tho anso of her divers at a cost of COO for labor and about for tho pump |