i838.] 



Raft for Saving SMinvrccked Persons. 



Description of a Raft for saving Shipwrecked persons, — B>j 

 Lieut. Congreve, Madras Artillerij, 



To the Editor of the Madras Journal of Literature and Science. 



Sir, — ^The numerous disasters which occur to vessels in the Indian seas 

 render it very desirable that some plan be introduced by which those on 

 board may have it in their pov^^er to quit the ship in safety, as soon as 

 all hope is abandoned of saving her : the crew on such occasions gene- 

 rally fly to the boats which fi-om being overloaded are not unfrequently 

 swamped, if they have previously succeeded in getting clear of the hull 

 of the broken vessel without being stove in, and the method of putting 

 rafts together from the timbers and spars of the ship is so very precarious 

 and consumes so much valuable time, that in one of the hurricanes which 

 are experienced in these parts without some more certain and speedy 

 method of extricating themselves from a wreck, the unfortunate sufferers 

 On board have but a very narrow chance of escape. Captain Manby's 

 apparatus was found to answer ail the purposes expected of it in saving 

 shipwrecked crews, but it is only practicable on the coast and in situa- 

 tions where a communication may be had with the shore, and as I have 

 never seen any plan made use of by our cruisers or merchantmen to ef_ 

 feet the object in view, I may venture for want of a better, to recommend 

 to public notice the following method of saving the crews of wrecked 

 vessels by means of portable folding rafts. 



These rafts should be constructed 24 feet square, of 12 planks, each 

 24 feet long by 2 broad, the whole shutting up by means of hinges into 

 a compact pile which, taking the thickness of each plank at 2 inches, 

 would occupy but a very small space on deck — the under surface of each 

 plank ought to be armed with three loops or hoops which close into a 

 groove in the plank on a rolling hinge, in order to be out of the way when 

 the raft is not made use of and folded up — these clasps are meant to 

 receive three sleepers, the breadth of each being one third that of a 

 plank; thus they will lie compactly on, and form an upper tier to the pile 

 when it is put aside. 



In making- use of the raft all that is called for is to draw it from the 

 corner in which it has been stowed away in company with its fellows in 

 sufRcient number to sustain the whole crew — to remove the three 

 sleepers — open out the folds or planks— then the hasps — pass the three 

 sleepers through the three lines of them, and cast away. 



It is calculated two minutes and a half, or three at the very utmost, 

 would be ample to effect all this, and moreover th.it six rafts of the 



