…In the 1930s, it was common for boats to have dogs or even cats on board, so that in dense fog or limited visibility one would be able to hear a barking dog from a nearby vessel for up to two miles…
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Another common tool for navigating the sea was a blow horn that would be used for small boats to be able to find the large, main vessel. However this primitive method proved to be ineffective quite frequently because when a storm came in many fishermen died trying to follow the sound of the horn.
One man says his illiterate uncle was able to perfectly anchor just by using a sounding machine, proving methodology to be more pertinent knowledge or perhaps experience. Another example of this is a navigational device called LRNS (Long Range Navigation Systems), which is military technology that bombers used, coming into the commercial market after the war. Yet another navigation tool of days passed is something called “double unit”, which was two boxes that had lights and line bearings that had to be manually counted.
Listen to the interview: Changes in Technology – Navigation.
See also: Working Waterfront Series – Longshoremen,
and Working Waterfront Series – Lumpers,
and Working Waterfront Series – Storms at Sea,
and Working Waterfront Series – Immigration and Ethnicity.