T 



BOA 



fix feet broad, and fix or fcven feet long, which is faftened 

 upon the fore part, for the convenience of tiie principal peo- 

 ple, who fit in tliem by day, and deep in them at night. 

 The filhing ivahahs are fometimes joined tojjether, and have 

 a houfe on board, but this is not common. Thofe which 

 are (horter than twenty-five feet, feldoin or never carry fail ; 

 and though the Hern rifcs about four or five feet, they have 

 a flat head, and a board that projects forward about four 

 feet. The ivahahs are th^^ only boats ufid by the inhabitants 

 of Otaheite. 



Life-boat, a boat invented by Mr. Henry Grcathead of 

 South Shields, for the purpofe of preferving the lives of 

 fhipwrecked perfons. The following circumftance gave rife 

 to this invention : 



In September 1789, the ftiip Adventure of Newcaftle, was 

 ftrandedon the Herd fand, on thefouth fide of Tynemouth 

 haven, in the midft of tremendous breakers ; and all the crew 

 dropped from the rigging one by one, in the prefence of 

 thoufands of fpeflators, not one of whom could be prevailed 

 upon, by any reward, to venture out to her afliftance, in any 

 boat or coble of the common conftruftion. 



On this occafion, the gentlemen of South Shields called a 

 meeting of the inhabitants, at which a committee was ap- 

 pointed, and premiums were offered for plans of a boat which 

 Ihould be the beft calculated to brave the dangers of the fea, 

 particularly of broken water. 



Many propofals were offered ; but the preference was 

 unanimoufly given to that of Mr. Greathead, who was im- 

 mediately diredfed to build a boat at the expence of the com- 

 mittee. 



This boat went off on the 30th of January 1790 ; and 

 fo well has it anfvvered, and indeed exceeded, every expefta- 

 tion, in the moft tremendous broken fea, that fince that 

 time, not fewer than two hundred lives have been faved at 

 the entrance of the Tyne alone, which otherwife muft have 

 been loft ; and in no inftance has it ever failed. 



The principle of this boat appears to have been fuggefted 

 to Mr. Greathead by the following fimple faft.— Take a 

 fpheroid, and divide it into quarters ; eacii quarter is ellipti- 

 cal, and nearly refembles the half of a wooden bowl, having 

 a curvature with projeAing ends ; this, thrown into the fea 

 or broken water, cannot be upfet, or he with the bottom 

 upwards. 



The length of the boat is thirty feet ; the breadth, ten 

 feet ; the depth, from the top of the gunwale to the lower 

 part of the keel in midfhips, three feet three inches ; from 

 the gunwale to the platform (within), two feet four 

 inches ; from the top of the ftems (both ends being 

 fimilar) to the horizontal line of the bottom of the keel, 

 five feet nine inches. The keel is a plank of three inches 

 thick, of a proportionate breadth in mlddiips, narrowing 

 gradually towards the ends, to the breadth of the ftems at 

 the bottom, and forming a great convexity downwards. 

 The ftems are fegments of a circle, whh confiderable rahes. 

 The bottom feftion, to the floor heads, is a curve fore and 

 aft, with the fweep of the keek The floor timber has 

 a fmall rife curving from the keel to the floor-heads. A 

 bilge plank is wrought in on each fn^e, nc;:t the floor-heads, 

 with a double rabbit or groove, of a fimilar thicknefs with 

 the keel ; and, on the outfide of this, are f^xed two bilge- 

 trees, correfponding neariy with the level of the k.-el. The 

 ends of the bottom fedioii form that fine kind of entrance 

 obfervable in the lower part of the bow of the filhing boat, 

 called a coble, much ufed in the north. From this part to 

 the top of the ftem it is more elliptical, farming a confider- 

 able projeftion. The fides, from the floor-heads to the top 

 o£ the gunwale, flaungh ofF on each fide, in proportion to 



BOA 



above half the breadth of the floor. The breadth is continued 

 far forwards towards the ends, leaving a fuf^icient length of 

 ibaight fide at the top. The faeer is regular along the 

 ftraight fide, and more elevated towards the ends. The gun- 

 wale fixed to the outfide is three inches thick. The fides, from 

 the underpart of the gunwale, along the whole length of 

 the regular ftieer, extending twenty-one feet fix inches, are 

 cafed with layers of cork, to the depth of fixtecn inches 

 downwards; and the thicknefs of this cafing of cork being 

 four inches, it projcifts at the top a little \^■ithout the gun- 

 wale. The coik, on the outfide, is fecured with thin plates 

 or flips of copper, and the boat is fattened with copper 

 nails. The thwarts, or feats, are five in number, double- 

 banliccl ; confequently the boat may be rowed with ten oars. 

 The thwaits are firmly ftanchioned. The fide oars are fhort, 

 with iron tholes and rope grommtts, fo that the rower can 

 pull either way. The boat is fteered with an oar at each 

 end ; and the fteering oar is one third longer than the rowing 

 oar. The platform placed at the bottom, within the boat, 

 is horizontal, the length of the midfliips, and elevated at 

 the ends, for the convenience of the fteerfman, to give him 

 a greater power with the oar. The internal part of the 

 boat next the fides, from the under part of the thwarts 

 down to the platform, is cafed with cork ; the whole quan- 

 tity of which, affixed to the life-boat, is nearly feven hun- 

 dred weight. The cork indifputably contributes much to 

 the buoyancy of tlie boat, is a good defence in going 

 along-fide a veflel, and is of principal ufe in keeping the 

 boat in an ereft pofition in the fea, or rather for givnig her 

 a very lively and quick difpofition to recover from any fud- 

 den cant or lurch, which fhe may receive from the ftroke of 

 a heavy wave. But, exclufively of the cork, the admirable 

 conlb-uftion of this boat gives it a decided pre-eminence. 

 The ends being fimilar, the boat can be rowed either v. ay ; 

 and this peculiarity of form alleviates her in rifing over the 

 waves. The curvature of the keel and bottom facilitates 

 her movement in turning, and contributes to the eafe of the 

 fteerage, as a fingle ftroke of the fteering oar has an imme- 

 diate effeft, the boat moving as it were upon a centre. 

 The fine entrance below is of ule in dividing the waves,. 

 when rowing againft them ; and, combined with the con- 

 vexity of the bottom, and the elhptical form of the llem^ 

 admits her to rife with wonderful buoyancy in a high 

 fea, and to launch forward with rapidity, without fhip- 

 ping any water, when a common boat would be in danger 

 of being filled. The flaunching or fpreading form of the 

 boat, from her floor-heads to the gunwale, gives her a confi- 

 derable bearing ; and the continuation of the breadth, well 

 forward, is a great fnpport to her in the fea ; and it has 

 been found by experience, that boats of this conftrufticn 

 are the beft fea boats for rowing againft turbulent waves. 

 The internal fhallownefs of the boat from the gunwale down 

 to the platform, the convexity of the form, and the bulk of 

 cork within, leave a very diminillied fpace for the water to 

 occupy ; fo that the life-boat, when filled with water, con- 

 tains a confiderable lefs quantity than the common boat, 

 and is in no danger either of finking or overturning. It 

 may be prefumed by fome, that in cafes of high wind, 

 agitated fea, and broken waves, a boat of fuch a bulk 

 could not prevail againft them by the force of oars ; but the 

 life-boat, from her peculiar fonn, may be rowed a-head,. 

 when the attempt in other boats would fail. Boats of the 

 common form, adapttd for fpecd, are of courfe put in mo- 

 tion with a fmall power; but, for want of buoyancy and 

 bearing, are over-run by the waves, and funk, when impelled 

 againft them ; and boats conlliuaed for burthen meet with 

 too much refinance from the wind and fea, when oppofed 



to 



