132 NOTES ON LIFE-SAVING APPLIANCES. 



that the striking blow of a loaded boat against a rolling vessel, allowing for 

 the receding action of the ship, is calculated to be in the neighborhood of 

 40,000 foot-pounds. This blow of course depends for its value on the length 

 of fall, the rolling period and weight; in the case cited it was 45 feet and 

 the boat and its load were taken at somewhat over six tons (long) . 



It is an important point to be able to cast off the falls with ease after 

 the lifeboat is water-borne, and many devices are on the market for this pur- 

 pose; some are very good and others not so good. Such appliances demand 

 that both ends can be released by one man at will and that each end may be 

 attached instantaneously by the men stationed at bow and stern, and further 

 that these operations can be done, beyond all shadow of doubt, in the dark. 



A most common idea among those not versed in the handling of life- 

 boats is the supposed value of simultaneous lowering gear, that is, one which 

 pays out each end of the falls evenly. This, of course, would be all right if 

 the vessel was on an even keel, but if sinking at the bow or stern or pitching 

 about this arrangement is a positive danger, as can be easily understood on a 

 few moments' consideration. 



While it is true that when lifeboats are to be taken aboard there is time 

 available, it becomes a really serious matter to hoist a boat 40 or 50 feet, and 

 while many hoists have been tried with more or less satisfactory results, 

 there seems to be nothing on the market as yet which is all that could be 

 wished. It is a matter well worth the attention of designers. 



The demands of the new law as to lifeboats have forced upon marine 

 people a difficult problem, as how and where to store the required lifeboats 

 is a most serious matter to satisfactorily settle, and what are known as 

 collapsible lifeboats — a style by no means new — are allowed by law to a cer- 

 tain extent. These never appealed to me, as under the usual conditions of 

 abandoning ship, the necessary care to properly unfold and set up even a 

 simple construction would probably result in failure. 



A new form of lifeboat, which has a very great carrying capacity and 

 may be nested to a certain extent, has lately been brought out and has met 

 with the approval of the government officials. It is of the scow type but 

 the bow and stern are raised high above the water, which gives it a great 

 riding advantage in rough water. It is not what might be called a very 

 rakish looking craft, but it has the inestimable advantage of being thoroughly 

 practical, and the form is taken from the boats of the hardy watermen of the 

 Scandinavian peninsula. Plates 63 and 64 give a good idea of the boat and 

 method of stowing. Of course air tanks are provided, as is demanded in all 

 metal boats, but these are built in. The spray boards require an intelligence 

 about equal to that for lifting a refrigerator cover, or perhaps less because, 



