LAUNCHING FROM A FLAT OR SANDY SHORE. 263 



The beach-boats of Yarmouth and Deal have always been 

 celebrated for their sea-going capabilities, and their crews, 

 known as beachmen, are a fine hardy race of fellows, accus- 

 tomed to launch in all kinds of weather to assist vessels in dis- 

 tress. In the west of England there are also very good beach 

 boats, particularly at Chisel, Portland, Beer, Sidmouth, and 

 Budleigh Salterton. At the last named, I saw in 1866 some of 

 the best boats of a medium size, eighteen to nineteen feet long, and 

 from seven to eight beam, I have met with anywhere. These 

 boats are built for the offing Crab-fishermen, by Exmouth builders. 

 Their chief fishing-ground is from six to ten miles at sea. 



If the beach be of shingle and steep, heave your boat down 

 until the water nearly reaches her, having previously placed in her 

 track three or four greased ways,. upon one of which she is sup- 

 posed to be resting at the water's edge, and if the swell runs along 

 the beach from either one side or the other, point the head of 

 the boat a little to meet it, and watching for a smooth, as the 

 water runs up, away with her, and tumble in over the stern, 

 shoving off with an oar to get clear of the breaking wave with 

 all despatch. If you have a companion, let him get on board 

 before you heave afloat, and stand prepared to shove off and 

 pull immediately the boat moves. Your ballast will of course 

 have been placed on board at the water's edge ; but if you 

 have tanks for ballast you will fill them more readily after you 

 are afloat, for which you should provide a funnel tub, with a 

 couple of inches of gutta-percha tubing, one and a half inch in 

 diameter. 



Launching from a Flat Sandy Shore. On beaches consist- 

 ing almost entirely of sand, there is frequently a very long flat, 

 except just at the top of high water, when the above directions 

 are also applicable. 



As I found it very laborious getting my boat down and up a 

 beach of this kind near which I resided for some seasons, I had 

 a simple kind of carriage made (fig. 84), consisting of a frame 

 about eight feet in length by five in breadth, supported on two 

 rollers instead of wheels, fixed a foot from each end, and equal 

 in length to the breadth of the framework, under which the 

 axles of these rollers worked in sockets driven up from the 



