STATISTICS OF LIFE-BOATS AND FISHING-BOATS. 321 
Mersey and the Dee, and employed in trawling off Hoylake, in company 
with numerous fishing-boats, which were made shorter and of greater 
breadth, drawing 2 to 3 feet more water, and having three to five tons of 
stone ballast. On trial, the “ Life-boat” held good way with the fishing-boats 
while dragging the trawl, but when beating to windward, the deep-keel 
fishing-boats were more weatherly ; and the fishermen stated that the life- 
boat was too buoyant or floaty, and that there was difficulty in keeping the 
fish-wells water-tight. A 
To obviate these objections, the bulkheads and partitions of wells were 
secured to bottom, the angle-iron false keel and drop keel being substituted 
for the flat false keel, increasing the weight 3 cwt. These have been found 
to answer the purpose intended, the boat retaining her self-righting power, 
while at the same time the sliding keel makes her more weatherly and stiff 
when down, and admits of the boat being sailed into shoal water. She was 
allowed to take the ground on a rocky bottom without injury in a close reef 
breeze. 
Henderson's Fishermen's Life-boat, built at Liverpool.— Midship section. 
Scale, 4 inch to a foot. 
The advantage of the sliding keel, both to fishing- and life-boats, was 
_ exemplified last year by the unfortunate loss of one of the crew of the Liver- 
_ pool Life-boat, near Formby, who had gone out fishing in one of the small, 
_ but deep draft fishing-boats with his son, and was obliged to attempt to land 
_ on asandbank, the boat drawing so much water when she took the ground, that 
the sea turned her over and drowned him. With the sliding keel up, the 
_ “Fishermen’s Life-boat” would have taken the ground in about two feet of 
_ water, where the sea would hardly have depth to turn the boat over, or pre- 
_ vent the crew landing. With the sliding keel down, the “ Fishermen’s Life- 
_ boat” would have crossed Rhy! bar, under sail, without upsetting, as Beeching’s 
_ Prize Life-boat did, on the 22nd of January, 1853, by rolling over to wind- 
__ward and remaining bottom up till six of the crew were drowned. 
___ From investigation on the spot, and from the survivors, the upsetting is 
clearly traceable to the weight of water above the platform, and water-ballast 
857. Y 
