M‘Naveuton.—On Ships’ Life Boats. 169 
is, that boats formed in this way, can carry more passengers, with less fear 
of upsetting, than ordinary boats. It is well known that upsetting is one 
of the worst dangers that a loaded boat is exposed to. Well, to give some 
idea of my notion of forming a ship’s boat, the drawing shews one, 80 feet 
long by 10 feet beam. The first and main point is the two tubes, 4 feet in 
diameter, having conical bows—fig. A. It has been suggested to me by 
Captain Whitson, of the ship Dunedin, that the conical bows would be apt 
to bury the boat’s head in a short sea. At his suggestion, I have carried 
the stem vertically, from the centre to the upper line of the eylinder—fig. B. 
The sterns of the tubes would be finished off egg-ended—fig. C; the tubes 
to be of 18-inch iron plate, bent to 2-feet radius, rivetted and caulked; a 
man-hole to be left in the stern of each tube, to facilitate repairs. These 
two tubes are to be attached to each other by eleven cross ties of 2:- 
inch and 14-inch angle iron rivetted to each cylinder, and braced by two 
diagonals of flat iron. To these angle irons I would then fix an iron box, 
2 feet deep and 1 foot broad. This box forms the bulwarks of the boat, and, 
at the same time, would be used as the water tanks and bread lockers. The 
deck, of 14-inch planking, is then to be laid on the cross-beams, and cross 
tanks put in and rivetted or bolted to the sides and bottom. I would keep 
the cross tanks 6 feet apart, so as to allow for the crew stretching them- 
selyes on the deck between the cross seats. The outfit of the boat would 
include oars, sails, etc., and a centre-board. Now, as to the number that 
such a boat would carry as an ordinary freight, and then the number that 
might be safely stowed in cases of emergency. This boat could carry 40 
men more comfortably than an ordinary 30-feet life-boat could stow 20. I 
know of a steamer’s life-boat, about 80 feet long, that carried 32 passengers 
safely for eleven days, and in this time made about 600 miles. All 
care was taken, her officer an experienced boatman, and her steersman 
a West Highland fisherman, which fact alone is a guarantee that she was 
skilfully handled, as a West Highland fisherman’s experience in boats falls 
very little short of that of the famous South of England boatmen. Well, 
on her eleyenth day out she upset, and only three of her 82 reached land. 
Another boat, of the same size, containing the same number of passengers, 
upset twenty minutes after leaving the ship. I have only quoted these ex- 
amples to assist me in what I want to shew, viz., that the great matter to be 
aimed at in ships’ boats is resistance to upsetting. Next to this comes, unsub- 
mergability. In the present form of life-boat this is in a great measure at- 
tained, but only at the sacrifice of an immense amount ofroom; and, after 
all, they cannot rid themselves of the water, as it has to be baled out. Well, 
in my boat, the resistance to upsetting is as nearly perfect as can be had in a 
boat. The great danger, in a common boat, is when she gets into the 
Ww 
