Page:Walker - An Unsinkable Titanic (1912).djvu/83

AN UNSINKABLE TITANIC rule called for the extension of the bulkheads amidships only to the upper deck, which, at the loaded draft of 34 feet, was only 10 feet above the water-line! Compare this with the safe construction adopted by Brunel and Scott Russell over fifty-four years ago, who, in constructing the Great Eastern, extended all the bulkheads (see page 83) to the topmost deck, fully 30 feet above the water-line.

Before leaving the question of bulkheads, the writer would enter a strong protest against the present practice of placing watertight doors in the main bulkheads below the water-line. They are put there generally for the convenience of the engine- and boiler-room forces, whose duties render it necessary for them to pass from compartment to compartment. As at present constructed, these doors are of the sliding type, and they can be closed simultaneously from the bridge, or separately, by hand. The safer plan is to permit no bulkhead doors below the water-line, and provide in their place elevators or ladders, enclosed in watertight trunks. Access from compartment to compartment must then be had by way of the bulkhead deck. [ 65 ]