296 An Invention for preserving the Lives 



crevices of rocks, or where the vessel is near shore, will be 

 useful. . , 



A grapnel of this kind may be fired from a common can-? 

 non with an endless rope, running in a pulley or small block 

 fixed thereto, by which a raft may be successively drawn to 

 and from the vessel either by the persons on board the ves- 

 sel, or those on shore. 



Observations made by Lieutenant Bell, upon llirmving a Line 

 on Shore in case of a Ship being stranded. 



1st. From the proposed construction of the piece of ord- 

 nance, intended to throw the shot and line on shore, I sup- 

 pose it will be between five and six hundred weight. 



The chamber is to contain one pound of powder, and the 



bore to admit a leaden ball of sixty pounds or upwards; the 



. length of range, or distance, will depend upon the size of 



the line made use of; I suppose it will carry a deep sea-line 



between three and four hundred yards distance. 



2d. All ships that have iron ballast, may use this piece 

 as a part of it, and then there would be only the trifling dif- 

 ference of casting so much of the ballast into the form of the 

 piece; the leaden balls may likewise be used as ballast. 



3d. I am of opinion there are various ways, on board of 

 a ship, that the mortar may be placed in a proper position, 

 for firing without a carriage expressly made for it; it may 

 be placed upon a coil of rope, or its trunnions rested upon 

 coins, or any thing else, whereby the muzzle can be raised^ 

 so high that the groove upon the trunnion appears vertical, 

 as the piece in that position would be elevated nearly 4.5. 

 degrees. 



4th. As I imagine all ships carry deep sea-lines, on that 

 account I made use of it in the experiments at Woolwich ; 

 but if it should be thought too short for the distance, any 

 other light line may be added to the length of it. 



5th. Supposing a ship's owner to purchase such a piece of 

 ordnance with the leaden balls, and a block carriage ; I do 

 not think the whole would amount to more than ten or eleven 

 pounds expense. 



6th. Where a ship is driving, or unmanageable, near the 



shore, 



