BOATS, COLLAPSABLE. 



95 



of this latter size are in use in the British navy. 

 They weigh about fifty-five hundred pounds, 

 and collapse to i>A tVot. A wooden boat of 

 like dimensions weighs more than twice- as 



FIG. 3. DOUGLASS FOLDING-BOAT- 



much. Such a boat will carry eight horses, 

 and a heavy field-gun with its gunners, besides 

 the regular crew of oarsmen. The boat is 

 beached, broadside on, and one of her gun- 

 wales is lowered till it is nearly on a level with 

 the bottom-boards. Then the horses are led off 

 without difficulty, as they are generally very 

 glad to step or jump over the gunwale for the 

 sake of getting on shore. Of course, with 

 such a freight as here specified, extra floor- 

 boards are necessary to guard against restive 

 horses. 



The importance of such boats for military 

 and naval purposes, and for hunting and ex- 

 ploring expeditions, is self evident, but of far 

 greater consequence is their use for life-saving 

 on board our great passenger-steamers, as well 

 as on the huge troop-ships used by European 

 powers. These vessels often carry nearly or 

 quite two thousand souls, and their full com- 

 plement of non-collapsable boats is capable of 

 carrying only about six hundred, even under 

 the most favorable circumstances. "With the 

 great passenger-steamers the case is hardly any 

 better. They all of them carry more of the 

 ordinary type of boat than they are by law re- 

 quired to carry, but the supply is far short of 

 the necessity, and lack of room prohibits the 

 transportation of more boats. Probably it is 

 not desirable that the use of ordinary boats by 

 vessels either of the merchant service or of the 

 navy should be altogether abandoned. A fair 

 supply should always be at hand, but a supple- 

 mentary supply of collapsable boats is a neces- 

 sity, and should be required by law. now that 

 their practical utility has been proved. It is 

 satisfactory to notice that the great transatlan- 

 tic steamship lines have anticipated legislative 

 action in this respect, and all the best ships 

 are now equipped with collapsable boats. The 

 " City of Xew York," the latest accession to 



the transatlantic passenger fleet, has thirty 

 largo boats, capable of carrying every soul on 

 board under ordinary conditions. Sixteen of 

 these are non-collapsable, ten arc '( .'hambers's 

 patent unsinkable, semi-collapsable boats," and 

 four are Berthon boats. 



The Chambers boats mentioned are shallow 

 boats fitted with washboards, which increase 

 the height of the sides and the consequent car- 

 rying capacity of the boat. They are stowed 

 one on top of another, three occupying the 

 space of an ordinary boat. When raised into 

 position, the washboards lock themselves in 

 place. These boats are provided with forty 

 air-tight compartments, and the bottom is so 

 arranged that it serves as a life-raft in case of 

 accident. Under the seats are lockers for pro- 

 visions, etc. 



Another folding boat known as the Douglass 

 model is largely used in this country. It is 

 based on the Berthon principle in so far as 

 concerns its folding longitudinal timbers, but 

 it is much lighter, and is intended mainly for 

 the use of sportsmen. It is not a life-boat, 

 having only one skin, and no water-tight com- 

 partments. 



"With each boat stout curved transverse ribs 

 are provided which are easily adjusted and 

 sprung into place when the boat is expanded, 

 keeping the whole structure firmly stretched. 

 External strips of hard wood protect the can- 

 vas from wear and tear, and add to its 

 strength. (See Fig. 3.) The seats and floor- 

 boards are seen folded in the illustration, with 

 the stout ribs that keep the frame expanded 

 when in use. 



Still another type of folding boat collapses 

 endwise like an accordion, the bent ribs press- 

 ing inward against one another toward the 

 midship section. When expanded these boats 

 are stiffened by a jointed or hinged timber 

 fastened along the bottom for a keelson or 

 backbone. In transportation these boats take 



FIG. 4. OSGOOD FOLDIXG-BOAT. 



tip very little room, as it is possible to stow 

 them in a bag or a box no bigger than a mod- 

 erate sized trunk. The one shown in Fig. 4 

 is known as the Osgood folding boat. The 



