568 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION G. 
2. Problems in Propulsion in Air and Water. 
By Professor J. B. HENDERSON. 
3. Marine Propulsion by Electric Transmission." 
By H. A. Mavor. 
4. Lifeboats on Ocean-going Ships and their Manipulation. 
By Axet WELIN. 
The urgent necessity for revising present regulations referring to life-saving 
appliances at sea has recently been brought home with terrible force to the 
public mind. Anticipating the ultimate results of the international deliberations 
at present in progress, the United States Government have already stipulated 
that every ocean-going passenger-steamer must provide sufficient boat-accommo- 
dation for every soul on board. 
To the lay mind such a rule must appear perfectly reasonable, seeing that no 
objection on the ground of expense can be permissible in a matter of this nature. 
But it must be borne in mind that the mere fact of carrying a full complement 
of lifeboats implies no guarantee of safety. Unless the boats can be readily 
manned and launched with a fair degree of certainty, they only constitute so 
much lumber uselessly carried about. And it may be categorically stated that 
there are a large number of ships now in commission on which boats cannot be 
efficiently arranged to accommodate everybody on board. 
Considerable improvement may, however, be effected in the conditions 
hitherto prevailing, and it may safely be said that all the better-class passenger- 
carrying companies are giving the matter most careful attention. The general 
adoption of wireless communication between ships, and also the success of anti- 
rolling tanks, have enormously augmented the value of the lifeboats in cases of 
emergency. The last-mentioned invention practically removes the risk of boats 
getting crushed against the side of the ship when lowering in bad weather, and 
wireless telegraphy has reduced the question to one of providing means for 
transferring people from one ship to another in case of disaster. Strong sea- 
worthy boats, with the largest obtainable displacement for a given length, will 
now best meet the requirements, a high degree of navigability being of much 
less importance than formerly. Detachable deck-houses, life-rafts, and the like, 
are, in the author’s opinion, of very limited value. 
On account of the continually increasing height of modern ships, the old 
question of substituting wire ropes for the usual manila falls has come up again 
with renewed force. The problem is, however, one of considerable difficulty in 
view of the ever-varying conditions under which the launching of the boats may 
have to be carried out. 
The first ship to obtain a really efficient davit installation of this nature is 
the ss. ‘Imperator,’ of the Hamburg-Amerika Line, on which the majority of 
the boats stand some 70 feet above the water-line. The launching of boats on 
this vessel may be effected in from forty to fifty seconds, and a special adjusting- 
gear permits of the boat descending at any required angle—a point of the 
greatest importance. The hoisting is done by means of an electrically-driven 
‘ fore-and-aft’ transmission shaft provided with ‘ friction-drivers,’ each boat being 
handled quite independently of the others. The largest lifeboats are capable of 
sopommnaatsng seventy-six people, and weigh, fully loaded, approximately eight 
tons each. 
5. The Distribution of Pressure on Inclined Aerocurves. 
By A. P. THurston. 
6. The Control of Aeroplanes.” By Professor H. CuariEy. 
1 See The Electrical Review, September 20, 1912. 
? See Engineering, September 27, 1912. 
