Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/243

* BOAT. 211 BOATSWAIN. and sails to be used -n-hen desired. Tn niodcin mon-of-war boats arc stowed on skid-frames amidships in order to keep tlioni out of tlic way of the guns; a certain number of davits are tilted, liowever, as a matter of convenience during or- dinary service. The boats of merchant ships are of various tjTJes, and their number depends upon the size of the vessel and the character of the service; dories are much used in the United States eoasting-vessels, but large boats are usu- ally carried; deep-sea sailing ships usually have one large boat, called the launch or longboat, in addition to smaller ones. Boats are usually built of wood; they are lia- ble to receive many minor injuries, and the re- pair of an iron hull is a much more difficult matter than that of a wooden one; moreover, an iron boat is much more likely to pimch a hole in her bottom or side in striking a sharp object than is a wooden one. There are three dilferent methods of building wooden boats: The carvel, with fore-and-aft planks, the edges meeting, but not overlapping; the clinker, also with fore-and-aft planks, but with the edges over- lapping each other like shingles ; and the diag- onal, the planking of which runs diagonally, the inside planks running in a contrary direction to the outside ones, and their edges meeting. On some steamers the number of passengers carried is so great that sufficient room cannot be found for boats of the ordinary type, and these vessels often carry a nimiber of collapsible boats with wooden frames and covered with canvas. Boats are single or double banked, as they have one or two oars to a thwart. The seats for the crew of a boat are called the thicarts, the strip on which the thwarts rest is called the rising, the space abaft the after thwart the stern sheets, that forward of the foremost thwart the fore- sheets, the spaces for the oars the rowlocks, and where the coxswain of a man-of-war boat sits, the coxsuain's box, Boat-Davit. Vhen 'not resting inboard on chocks or skid-frames, boats are carried at the davits. These are secured to the ship's side, the end resting in sockets or saucers (if the davits revolve), with a collar around the davit higher up and near the ship's rail. Davits are some- times straight, but are usually eured somewhat in the shape of an inverted letter J (thus £ ). The upper blocks of the boat-falls (see Block; also Tackle) are secured to the curved arms of the davits, and the lower blocks hook into rings in the boat. Boat-davits are usually made of round iron bars, but stronger and liglitcr davits are made of Trail iron or of box-girders. Bo.t-Haxdling Apparati'.s. The size and weight of many boats now carried by ships pre- clude their being hoisted by davits, and all boats carried inboard on men-of-war require special apparatus. Tn the United States Navy boats stowed on skid-beams are usually handled by a boat-crane, which is shai)ed like a boat- davit, but is many times larger. The power to operate it is either steam or electric. The boats, when about to be hoisted, have wire-rope con- trivances called slings fitted to them, and the tackle of the boat-crane hooks in the'ring of the slings. In the British Navy large boats and those on the skid-beams are handled wilii boat- derricks, consisting of strong booms hinged at the heel ia heavy sockets on the mast. Life- HEAD OP A BOATBILL. boats are carried at davits of the usual pattern, but they have special apparatus for lowering them and for detaching tlicni after they arc low- ered. There are many types of such devices in ise; the general feature which is common to all is an arrangement whereby the boat is instan- taneously released from the hoisting-gear, and it is customary to detach the boat two or three feet above the water and let it fall the rest of the distance. Tn a rough sea it is very difficult to unhook the ordinary falls, and a failure to do so promptly might cause the boat to swamp or be crushed against the ship's side. BOATBILL. A South American night-heron (Cancrumii eochlcuria), differing from the true herons mainly in the form of the bill, which is comparativeh- short and very broad, as shown in the accompanying illustration. Tt is about the size of a domestic fowl, has shorter limbs than most of the herons, but resembles them in plumage, and is abun- dantly provided with elongated feathers on the back of the head and neck, which it erects when irritated. The skin beneath the lower jaw is bare and distensible in a large gular pouch. Tts gen- eral color is rusty red, the forehead and breast whitish, Tt inhabits Guiana, Bra- zil, etc., sits perched upon trees which hang over streams, and darts down upon fish, which seem to be its principal food. Another species (Cancroma zelendoni) inhabits Central America. These form a sub- family, characterized by having four powder- down tracts. See Herox. BOAT-FLY, See Vater-Bug. BOATSWAIN (boat + swain, servant). An officer of the navy of warrant rank. On board ship he has, under the executive officer, charge of the rigging, anchors, cables, cordage, etc. He summons the crew at all general evolu- tions, and acts as assistant to the executive in carrying on the business of the ship; on old-type ships his station was on the forecastle. A boat- swain's call or whistle, which he uses in summon- ing the crew or to call attention as a preliminary to passing orders, etc., is his badge of office. In 1902 there were 73 boatswains on the active list of the United States Navy. When a boat- swain has served ten years in that grade, he is advanced to the grade of chief boatswain and (■(ininiissioiied with the rank of ensign. It is the custom at present to fill vacancies in the boat- swain's list by advancing competent petty officers who were formerly naval apprentices. The com- pensation when at sea is $1200 for the first three years' .service, and is increased $200 for every additional three years until the maximum of $1800 is reached. Chief boatswains receive the same pay as cnsijins. BOA'fsWAIN, or BOATSWAIN-BIRD. A sailor's name for two sorts of sea-wandering birds: (1) A skua-gull or jaeger, especially l?ich- ardson's (Htcrcorarius parasiticus) ; (2) a tropic bird (q.v.). The reference in each case seems to be to the long, pointed feathers in the tail, which