Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/244

* LIFEBOAT. 222 XIFEBOAT. out air-oharabors, which is used in broken water along the seashore for rescuing life, is known as a surf-boat. The many supposed improvements that have been devised at one time or another for life- boats, wliieh have modilied or de|)arted from first principles, have generally resulted in no practical value, and there would be little ad- vantage in considering ■ them here. Neither would it serve any protltable purpose to go fur- ther back than the time of th(! origin of the jjrescnt Eng- lish model, even if tliiit could be done with any degree of certainty. In 1785 Lionel Lukin. a coach-maker of an inland town near London, put atioat on the Thames a Norway yawl, which he had fitted with water - tight compartments, .a heavy iron keel, and other essen- tials in buoyancy and stability, which are the car- dinal ami requisite features of the life- boat of to-day. Lukin did not suc- ceed in bringing his invention, which had many defects, into par- ticular notice up to the time of his ileath, which oc- rurred in ls;i4. An expert bont-biilder cif .South Shields, Henry Greathead, however, jiut Lu- kin's device into practical use as early as 1700. when he produceil a boat embodying the ele- ments of the orig- inal, but with a keel and DECK PLAN OF, A .'*KI,F-RIGHTING LIFEBOAT. HHOWIVG THE MAN.NEtt IN WBlnl THE tJEAU la STOWED. . Lf^tuf artlclesaliown: l,. chor: 2, cable; 3. bow ln-avlnn-line ur curved prapnel rope and prrapnel ; 4, drOKUO rope ; i), etern heavliifr- Ilne : r. and 7. veeriiijf-lines ; 8. jib outliaul or taek : it. iiiizzen slieets : 10, drojiue; 11. life bu<j.v : 12. loaded raue, heavliit-line. aiul tub; l:i. tailed bleii-k ; H, punip- well linteh ; l.i and Ifi. de<'k ven- tilallti^;- liat<'heH ; 17. footboards for rowers; 18. side air ca&ew ; I'J, relieving: tubes and valves; 'M, Samson post; 21. thwarts; 22, cen- tral batten, to whk'li the ma^ta and boat-hooks are la^^bed. the .substitution of cork for side air- chamljers. This boat had no means of freeing itself of water, or of self- righting in case of being capsized, .Tames Beechiiig, of Great Yarmouth, was really the first person to project a self-righting lifeboat, which he did in 1851, the design subsequently being bet- tered by James Peake. wlio added to it the self- bailing quality. This boat has since been much improved by study and experiment. The chief requirement of the English lifeboat is to counteract, as far as practicable, the ten- dency of the boat to swamp when it ships a sea, and to remain bottom up when capsized. It therefore must possess extra buoyancy, stability, self-bailing and self-righting qualities. Boats in general use are about 34 feet long and liave an extreme breadth of 8 feet. The frames are made of white oak, and the outside planking of Honduras mahogany, laid diagonally. To render the craft buoyant and insubmergilde, large air-tight bo.xes are built in at both ends, and copjier air-cases are placed under a water- tight deck, and along the sides of the boat above the deck and beneath the thwarts. Tiie dis- charge of water is accomplished by means of 10 draining-tubes extending from the deck, which is on a level with the load water-line, to the bot- tom of the boat, the top of each tube being lifted with a self-acting valve, which opens downward when tlicre is pressure from aliove and permits the water to flow out, but prevents it from en- tering from the opposite direction. The water on the raised deck, being above the outside level of the .sea, by the force' of its own gravity jiasses through the valves into the relieving tubes and escapes, A heavy gun-metal Ueel, three inches deep, is secured to the wooden keel of the boat, and this, in conjjinclion with the airchaml)ers, ell'eets the sclf-'rigliting properly. The craft, when bottom up, floats unsteadily on the bow and stern compartments, while the keel, being carried above the centre of gravity, falls on one side or the other anil drags the boat back to its natural, upright position, the water that has been shiliped in the process passing out through the tubes, A lifeboat has usually five thw;irts, wliieh can accommodate 10 oarsmen, double banked, is fitted with a centreboard, and pro- vided with movable masts and sails. Attached to the exterior sides are festooned life-lines to which persons may cling until they can be got into the boat. Owing to its great weight, some 4000 or 5000 pounds, this lifeboat can only lie used to advantage along steep shores or where it can be launched directly into deep water. It is very useful in going long distances in rough water under sail. When the boat is kept on shore a carriage is furnished for transporting and launching it, while portable roller skids are also supplied to aid, when required, in its con- veyance over the ground. The equipments, which are verj- complete, are carefully stowed in the boat always readj- for immediate service. The American lifeboat, extensively used on the ocean and lake coa.sts of. the United States by the life-saving service, known as the Beebe- McLellan self-bailing boat, is entitled to rank next to the English production in exceptional qualities, and in some respects it is superior to the latter in all-around work. The makers have applied the self-hailing principle to a conven- ient model of light weight, about 1000 pounds, which can be transported and launched almost anywhere with ease and celerity, and whose lia- bility to capsize is greatly diminished by rea- son of its ability quickly to free itself of water. It is a cedar, clinker-built boat, from 25 to 27 feet long, about 7 feet in breadth, with 4 thwarts, a centreboard or none, as desired, and is fitted with air-tanks and delivery -tubes. Its light weight, as compared with the cumbersome Eng- lish lifeboat, is of material advantage to boat- men in American waters, while the self-bailing feature gives confidence to those who handle the