The life boat is generally kept in a boat-house close to the beach, where it rests on four low wheels, or trucks, concave, for rolling on oars, or spars laid on the sand, so as to be run out on a moment's no tice. But, where the way over which she must be dragged is rough, and the safety of lter frame would be endangered, another expedient is adopted. This consists of two wheels, twelve feet in diameter, with a moveable arched axis, to which a pole is fixed for a lever. The boat is suspended between the wheels, under the axis, towards each extremity of which is an iron pin. When the pole is perpendicularly eleva ted, the upper part of the axis becomes depressed, and a pair of rope slings encompassing the boat being fixed to the iron pins, she is raised with great facili ty by means of the pole, which is then fastened down to her stern. There are commonly two crews, each consisting of twelve men, employed to navigate the life boat, to whom rewards are distributed, according to the success of their enterprise.
On the first alarm of a vessel in danger, the life boat immediately puts to sea, when some experienced steady person takes the command. Her head should be kept to the sea, and she must possess an accelera ted velocity to meet the wave. Great caution is to be observed on approaching a wreck, where the re flux of the waves is often productive of danger, and it is considered safest to go to the lee quarter. This, however, depends on circumstances.
Mile boat, built on the preceding construction by Mr Henry Greathead, the inventor, first went off from South Shields in January 1790, and complete ly succeeded in bringing the crew of a stranded ves sel ashore. After the value of the invention had been acknowledged, by the presentation of a gold me dallion to Mr Greathead by the Society for the En couragement of A rts, as also one by the Royal Hu mane Society, and various gratuities in money, par liament, on the 9th of June 1802, unanimously vo ted him R1200. The committee of underwriters likewise at Lloyd's Coffeehouse in London, having voted Mr Greathead 100 guineas, appropriated £2000 of their funds for the purpose of encouraging the building of life boats on different parts of the coasts of the kingdom. Life boats have been sent from Bri tain, on the order of the Emperor of Russia, who signified his approbation by presenting the inventor with a diamond ring ; by the Kings of Prussia, Den mark, and those of other states.
Although the life boat has been successful in innu merable cases, and has been the means of preserving many valuable lives, it has sometimes failed. Of this there was a deplorable instance in last year, 1810. The weather becoming more moderate on the 7th of April than it had been for some time past, induced several fishermen near Tynemouth to launch their boats and put out to sea. But a furious storm sud denly arising, great apprehensions were entertained for their safety, and the life boat was quickly procu red, which, amidst a high sea, rowed through breakers with fifteen men. The fishermen were safer ly taken on board, and 2000 people were collected on shore, anxiously expecting the return of the adven turers. Some difference of opinion prevailed among the crew of the life boat, regarding the most suitable place at which to land, and the majority determined to push for Hartley Bates, instead of making Shields' harbour, which they could have done within an hour. When nearly in a state of perfect security, a very high wave broke into the life boat, killed or dread fully maimed the steersman, along with two or three others, and almost stove her in pieces. Nevertheless she continued floating, though her gunwales were level with the broken water ; but the crew lost all command of her, and, drifting still nearer the shore, she struck and split asunder. Only two indi viduals out of twenty-seven, from this unfortunate circumstance, escaped. It is true, that there might here have been mismanagement, but there are situations where the attempts of the life boat may be abortive. It proves of infinite milky on a sandy beach, but can be less serviceable on a rocky shore. The great weight of this life boat is also a considerable impedi ment, both to dispatch in getting her out, and to management in a turbulent sea.
Previous to Mr Greathead's invention, a patent was granted to Mr Lionel Lukin, a coachmaker in London, for " an improvement in the construction of boats and small vessels, which will neither sink nor oversct." The essence of the invention rests on
the property and 'practice of outriggers, known to all the savages of the South Sea islands. Projecting gunwales are built to•vessels of the ordinary con struction, sloping from the top of the-common gun wale towards the water, so as not to interrupt the oars in rowing ;,and from the extreme projection •e turning to the side in a faint curve, at a suitable dis tance above the water line. These projecting gun wales are very small at the stem and stern, and gra dually increase to the requisite dimensions t and they may either be solid consisting of light substinces, of cork, or hollow. In the inside of the vessel at stem and stern, and at the sides where projecting gun wales are unnecessary, as also under the seats and •thwarts, are to be inclosures or bulk heads water tight, or filled with substances specifically lighter than water. " By this means," the inventor ob serves, " the boat or vessel will' be so much lighter than the body of the water it must displace in sink ing, that it will with safety carry more than its com mon burden, though the remaining space should by any accident be filled with water." To give stability to the vessel, the inventor further proposes to affix a false keel of cast iron or other metal along the centre of the real one. The patent granted to Mr Lukin is dated in 1785. We• do not discover that he ob tained any honorary reward for his invention, but •above twenty-years later we find a gold medal voted by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts to 'Mr Christopher Wilson, 'for a " sailing boat, or -life boat." This boat, which is called the neu tral built self-balanced .boat, is balanced exactly ac cording to Mr Lukin's device, by empty projecting gunwales.' Mr Wilson divides his projecting gun wales into compartments, by which means the failure of one will not injure the others, and is undoubtedly a• material improvement. The Chinese vescels 'are said to be on the same principle. Instead of a large open hold, as in European 'ships, there are so many chambers, all water tight, and unconnected with each other, so that a leak springing in one cannot communicate to the rest. There are some peculia rities in the construction of Wilson's boat,•in being neither clincher nor carvel 'built, which ena bles her to sail quicker ; and the oars, resting on the extremity of the projecting gunwale, rowing is also more easily accomplished. These gunwales are a foot in breadth ; and Mr Wilson affirms, that his boat cannot roll at sea, but- must always keep a level po sition, so far as the surface of the sea will allow. " She may heel, but cannot roll ; as the balances (projections) are always ready to catch either way, and the opposite one assists the other by its weight out of water and gravitation ; neither can this boat pitch like another; for the balance bodies (empty gunwales) being out of the water, and the breadth of six feet only in the water, it can act with a gra vity on the water equal to a boat of the weight (width) of six feet ; but the resistance of the water upwards equal a boat of eight feet wide." The au thor of this device is here exactly describing the pro perty of outriggers, to which his reasoning is appli cable in respect to the projections. But, excepting in the compartments of the hollow gunwales, we can scarcely discern any difference between his boat and Mr Lukin's. An experiment is said to have been made with it in 1806,,when eight persons put to sea and rowed through' very heavy breakers, during bois terous weather. She shipped very little water, and seemed to promise much utility. But we °cannot overlook, on a comparison with Mr Greathead's boat, that the latter, even though shattered, preserves a great degree of buoyancy from the quantity of cork used in its construction ; whereas Mr Lukin's or Mr Wilson's boat in that condition would only have the buoyancy of simple timber. A boat of su perior staunchness and strength, devised by Mr Bos well, cannot properly be included under this head, although ,the principles which he lays down merit consideration, because there is nothing to prevent them from being adopted in a life boat.