BOA 



EGA 



those of her prow. Lei: some of yonv 

 men endeavour to cut down the enemy's 

 yards and tackle, whilst others clear the 

 decks, and beat the enemy from aloft. 

 Then let the scuttles and hatches be 

 broke open with all possible speed, to 

 avoid trains, and the danger of being 

 blown up by barrels of powder placed un- 

 der the decks. 



Another method is described in Falco- 

 ner's Marine Dictionary, which is as fol- 

 lows : the assailant having- previously se- 

 lected his men, armed with pistols and 

 cutlasses, a number of powder flasks, 

 fitted with fuzes, are provided, to be 

 thrown upon the enemy's deck immedi- 

 ately before the assault. Besides this, 

 the boarder is generally furnished with 

 an earthen shell, called a stink-pot, 

 \rhich, on that occasion, is suspended 

 from his yard-arm or bowsprit end. This 

 machine is also charged with powder, 

 mixed with other inflammable and suffo- 

 cating materials, with a slight fuze at 

 the aperture. Thus prepared, and hav- 

 ing grappled his adversary, the boarder 

 displays his signal to begin the assault. 

 The fuzes of the stink-pot and powder- 

 flasks being lighted, they are immediate- 

 ly thrown upon the deck of the enemy, 

 where they burst and catch fire, pro- 

 ducing an intolerable stench and smoke, 

 and filling the deck with tumult and dis- 

 traction. Amidst the confusion occasion- 

 ed by this infernal apparatus, the detach- 

 ment provided rush aboard, sword in 

 hand, under cover of the smoke, on their 

 antagonist, who is in the same predica- 

 ment with a citadel stormed by besiegers, 

 and generally overpowered, unless he is 

 furnished with extraordinary means of 

 defence, or equipped with places of re- 

 treat, furnished with small arms, &c. 

 which may be fired at any time upon the 

 boarders, and frequently with success. 



BOAT, is a small open vessel worked 

 by oars or sails. The construction and 

 names of boats are different, according to 

 the purposes for which they are intend- 

 ed. The boats or wherries plying on tbc 

 Thames about London are either scull- 

 ers, wrought by a single person, with 

 oars ; or oars, wrought by two persons, 

 each with an oar. 



BOAT, life, a boat invented by Mr. Hcn- 

 fy Greathead, of South Shields, for the 

 purpose of preserving the lives of ship- 

 wrecked persons. 



In the year 1802, the Society of Arts 

 rewarded the inventor with their gold 

 fnedal and fifty guineas for his invention. 

 The length of 'the boat is 30 feet, and 

 both ends are made exactly similar, so 



that she may be rowed in either dircc* 

 tion ; and she is steered by an oar at each 

 end, in the place of a rudder. These 

 oars are one-third longer than the row- 

 ing oars, and afford a great power to set 

 the boat straight, to meet the waves in a 

 proper manner ; she is generally rowed 

 by ten oars, and will carry a great number 

 of passengers, though she should be full 

 of water. This is owing to a consider- 

 able quantity of cork made fast to her 

 gunwale, which at the same time renders- 

 her very buoyant, and guards her against 

 being stoved by running foul of a ship's 

 side, &c. The particular construction of 

 this boat will be best understood by re- 

 ferring to Plate LIFE BOAT, &c. in which 



Fig. 1. Jl cross section of the Li fa boat. 



F, F. The outside coatings of cork. 



G, G. The inside cork .filling. 



II, If. The outside planks of the boat. 



I. One of the stems of the boat. 

 K. The keel. 



N, N. The timber-heads. 



P. The thwarts, or rowers* scats. 



II. One of the stanchions under the 

 thwarts, each being- thus firmly support- 

 ed. 



S. A section of the gang-board, which 

 crosses the thwarts, and forms the pass- 

 age from one end of the boat to the other. 



T. The floor-heads, or platform for the 

 rowers' feet. 



V, V. The two bilge pieces nearly le- 

 vel with the keel. 



W, AV. The gunwales. 



X. A ring bolt for the head-fast, there 

 being another also at the other end. 



Y. Platform for the steersman. 



Fig. 2. Jl longitudinal section of the Life 

 Boat. 



E, E, E. The sheer or curve of the boat. 



I, I. The two sterns or ends. 



K. The keel. 



L, L. The aprons, to strengthen the 

 stems. 



M, M. The sheets, or place for pas- 

 sengers. 



N, N. Timber heads, or boat-fastenings. 



O, O, O, O. The tholes on which the 

 oars are slung by gromets. 



T. Flooring under the rowers' feet. 



Fig. o. Plan of a Truck or Carnage toith 

 four -wheels, to convey the boat to and 

 from the sea. 



a. An oblong frame of wood, consisting 

 of two long pieces, hollowed a little to 



