Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/332

300&#93; ;oo] O A lost in laying it in a proper posture in the boat ; for which purpose there is a kind of chair with an elevated back, on the stern of the. boat, marked ;?, in fig. ], and 3 ; which last exhibits the longitudi- nal section of the a cssel. M, GrNTTHER, one of the most active members of the Hamburgh Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and useful Trades, in- forms us in the third volume of their Transactions, published in 1/05, thathe has often been present when unfortunate persons have been rescued from untimely death, by means of the ice-boat, and that the swiftness and dexterity with which this machine may be managed by ex- pert assistants, is almost incredible. Hence the vessel is not intrusted to any other but skilful hands, and during summer it is deposited in an airy place, and the leather pre- served from becoming either too dry or mouldy. The whole of this useful apparatus costs only 150 marks currency, or about 101. sterling ; a sum so insignificant, that, while the city of Hamburgh has built five such ice-boats, the great city of I/Ondon ought to be in possession of at least one hundred. LIFE-BOAT, at Shields, one of die most useful modern inven- tions, by which many lives and much property have already been saved. It was built by Mr. Greathead, an eminent ship- builder, and generously present- ed to the inhabitants of South .Shields by the present Duke ot Northumberland, by v. beneficence North Shields has al-,o been supplied with a boat of a si- milar construction. Mr. Fatklf.ss, who furnished «ome useful hints respecting the original plan, describes the y BOA as measuring thirty feet by ten, re* sembling in form a common Green* land boat, but more flat in the bot- tom. The quantity of cork em- ployed in the construction is about seven hundred weight, with which the boat is lined, inside as well as outside of the gunwales, two feet in breadth ; the seats being also filled with the same material. It- is rowed by ten men, double bank- ed, and steered by one at each end with oars, being alike in its form at both ends, and contrived so as not to sir.k in the sand. This boat draws very little wa- ter, and can carry twenty persons, even when full of water. Being water-proof, and rendered buoyant by cork, it always keeps afloat, preserving its equilibrium without danger of oversetting, and is able to contend against the most tre- mendous sea, having never failed, in a single instance, of conveying a distressed ship's crew in safety. When taken out in the highest seas and broken water, the men testify no apprehension ; and though cork-jackets were at first provided for them, yet their confi- dence in die boat is so great, that they now refuse them. A model of diis useful boat is kept at Nordiumberland-house, in the Strand. It might be impro ed, by providing it with wheels, for its more ready conveyance to the place where it is immediately wanted. The vessel, when complete and copper-nailed, costs about 1501. — But in the moment of distress, what shipwrecked mariner would not think this article a cheap purchase, and pronounce the value of such a boat to be truly inestimable. A patent has lately been granted to Mr. Edward Steers, of the Inner.