It Always Turns Right-Side Up 



A boat which will carry twenty-five persons and 

 will not "spill" even if turned upside down 



THE chief objection to the ordinary 

 type of life boat is the fact that 

 almost no provision is made to 

 protect the passengers from anything ex- 

 cept actual drowning. Even here the pro- 

 tection is not complete, for in the heavy 

 storms that so often cause the mother ship 

 to be wrecked the little life boat is tossed 

 about unmercifully, and its occupants 

 sometimes swept overboard. 



Mr. A. D. Newcomb, of Hampton, Va., 

 has just perfected a life boat of entirely 

 new design which is expected to meet this 

 difficulty as well as several others. The 

 Newcomb boat is completely closed, with 

 manholes in the top by which to enter, 

 and is water-tight. It might be supposed 

 that it would necessarily be air-tight as 

 well, thus depriving the passengers of 

 oxygen, but ventilation is provided for by a 

 particularly ingenious contrivance ^g 

 which admits air only. This de- , 

 vice is a sort of valve fitted with 

 a rubber ball. The air passes 

 around the ball, but water 

 causes it to float and 

 thereby closes the opening. 



Another ingenious fea- 

 ture is a water-tight oar 

 lock. Oars are not fur- 

 nished with some types of 

 life boats, since it is foolish 

 to attempt to row to shore. 

 Nevertheless they are fre- 

 quently valuable in guid- 

 ing the boat to persons 

 in the water. This oar 

 lock is made as follows: 

 A canvas sleeve is fastened tight around 

 the oar at the point where it fits in the 

 lock. The border of this sleeve contains 

 a wire, and this in turn fits into a groove 

 on an oval iron collar surrounding the 

 opening, or port hole, through which the 

 oar protrudes. When the sleeve is adjusted 

 and the wire drawn tight no water can 

 enter, yet the boat can be rowed with 

 ease. 



Perhaps the most useful device of all, 

 however, is an arrangement for freeing the 

 boat from davits and cradle by levers in 

 the boat itself. Often, under the present 

 method, the ropes are hopelessly tangled 



In a test made by the Department of Com- 

 merce the boat was rolled over. It righted 

 itself without inconvenience to passengers 



in the excitement of launching. Sometimes 



they have to be cut loose. And in case 



the mother ship sinks suddenly, the 



life boats tied on deck sink 



k with her. 



In this new boat all the 

 cables are attached to semi- 

 circular bolts which work 

 on pivots. By pulling a 

 lever one end of the bolt 

 is released and the 

 cables drop free. 



The boat is twenty- 

 six feet long, six feet 

 four inches wide, and 

 three feet four inches 

 deep. The superstruc- 

 ture or turtle back is 

 one foot eleven inches 

 in height above the 

 hull. There is a metal bulkhead at each end, 

 each bulkhead having a 16 by 16 inch open- 

 ing to be closed by a metal plate on rubber 

 gaskets. 



There are seven thwarts, seventeen inches 

 high from the skin, or inside bottom of the 

 boat. The oar locks fit into the three port- 

 holes on each side. The three hatches or 

 manholes on top of the superstructure are 

 twenty-four inches in diameter, and are 

 provided with rubber gaskets, each fastened 

 with brass turn buckles and a safety lock. 

 The steamboat Inspection Service of the 

 Department of Commerce, after testing the 

 boat thoroughly recommended its adoptidn. 



There is an offset on deck on 

 each side of the turtle back. 

 The boat weighs 2600 pounds 



223 



