Manual for submarine mining

by United States. War Department

To toss oars command: (1) Stand by to toss, (2) TOSS.

The command of execution is given while the oars are in the water, the stroke is completed and the oars raised smartly to the vertical, with blades in fore-and-aft plane, handles of oars on bottom boards, the wrists of the inboard hands resting on the thighs, outboard hands grasping the looms at the height of the chin, crew sitting upright. To place the oars in the boat give the command BOAT YOUR OARS. At this command the oars are lowered toward the bow (not swung outboard) and laid in the boat as before described. This command may be given from the position of Let fall, in which case the men toss their oars and proceed as above.

NOTES.

In rowing the blade of the oar should be raised as high as the gunwale after leaving the water and feathered by dropping the wrist. A barely perceptible pause should be made, and the oar next thrown well forward and dropped edgewise into the water, taking care to avoid splashing and chopping. Now swing the oar smartly through the water without giving it any final jerk, and repeat as above. With green crews it may be found necessary for the coxswain to call stroke, stroke, in order to get the men to pull exactly together.

There should be a mark on the loom of the oar (about the height of the eyes when the oar is at toss) to show when the blade is fore-and-aft, thus avoiding the necessity of the men gazing up for the purpose of finding out when this is the case. Never allow a boat’s crew to splash with the blades when executing Let fall. When resting on oars, insist that they be kept level with the gunwale and at right angles to the keel. Talking among the crew and turning the heads to look at any object should never be allowed while the boat is under way. In most cases, boats should be permanently equipped with a small breaker of fresh water, a spare oar and oarlock and a suitable anchor or grapnel. The anchor rope to withstand a storm should be six (6) times as long as the greatest depth liable to be used as an anchorage. For any small boat in our service a 20-pound anchor and 12-thread (about 1 inch) manila hawser should easily weather a hurricane. A boat should never go out at night without a good, well-filled lantern. Many a boat has been run down through its inability to make its presence known. Before leaving the shore in foggy weather, provide the boat with some sort of a foghorn and a compass, and calculate as nearly as possible the bearings of the landing you wish to make. Take the opposite of this upon returning, making due allowance for tide and wind in both cases. To ride out a gale of wind in an open boat, lash the oars and grating together, making them into a bulky bundle and weight them if possible; span them with the painter and pitch them overboard. This will keep the boat’s head to the sea and prevent her from drifting fast. Assist the boat to take the seas head-on by means of a steering oar. In rowing through a chop, where the rudder is apt to be pitched clear of the water, it should be unshipped and a steering oar used instead. Remember, in making a landing, that the heavier the boat is laden the longer she will keep her way. If you are being towed by a steamer, make her give you a line, instead of using your own, and belay it so it can be cast off in a hurry. Carefully avoid weighing down the bow; always use a short towline when the boat is empty and a long towline when the boat is laden. If the boat’s painter is used for a towline, have a knife ready for cutting it if it becomes necessary. Never go close under a steamer’s stern unless it is absolutely unavoidable.

Officers in boarding a ship, use the starboard gangway, although they may use the port gangway. Enlisted men use the port gangway or the booms, unless otherwise ordered.

Boat salutes.—The following salutes should be exchanged between boats meeting or passing each other. No junior should pass ahead of a senior without permission.

The junior should always salute first, and the senior should return the salute by touching his cap.

Salutes should be exchanged whenever boats pass near enough to each other for the senior officer to be recognized, whether he be in uniform or not.

Officers without a flag or pennant flying should be saluted with the hand only; those with a flag or pennant flying should, in addition, be saluted by laying on oars.