The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-11-15
FOR WRECKED BOATS.
AN IMPROVED LIFE RAFT FOR YES
sells IN DISTRESS AT SEA.

At Present There Does Not Seem to BE
ANY Lifcboat That Answers All the Re
| quiremeE;s OF II Ship About to Founder.
Some Objections TO lIost BOATS
| In the many methods adopted to prevent
! loss OF life at sea the use of lifcboats and
NE RATS has not yet proved very success
! full, and it is doubtful if any great occ,n
steamer carries lifcboats with sufficient
c&pacity TO float She crew and the passcn-
gers. Ii The vest should 20 down mt sea
the inndequacy Of these lifeboats would
DC manifested in several WAYS
IN moderate heavy sea it would be n
dliiicult Undertaking to lower them sue
ceSstElly from the davits and almost nm
imroSNibility to land the passengers in
them if once foatcd. The roll of the shin
ana thc swells of the sea would very likely
capsiIe them. Should they, however, es-
cape destruction SD far the sudden sinking
of the huge steamer would undoubtedly
draw them down into the terrible vortex
and swamp them.
III Il steamer is stranded upon deserted
coast, ami attempts are made TO land the
crew upon the beach, IN ordinary rourh
surf would make the lifeboat of steamers
an insecure craft for the purpose. Many
Instances are recorded where the boats
were quickly swampcd and finally washed
upon the beach with the crew half de,d
and drowned.
For men-ofwar the lifeboats are still
less adequate to meet sudden emergencies
OF this character Ammunition must he
landed without getting wet, and the sailors
must De transported! to the shore in nurn.
bc!S on short notice. Previous to the bo,n
bariieat of Fort Fisher some forty bont-
loads of the fleet were dumped into the
surf while the troops were andins, On the
beach near Cape Fear river
y ME raft has been invented Mt the Kit
terry navy yard, III Milne, which is de-
signed to surmount all these difficulties
and which may lie used for war vessels
and for big ocean steamers. The raft rn,
seinbles IN general shape that of n cnto
hiaran. and 1t will be impossible to sink mr.
swamp 1t except in the heaviest kind of
sea. VI
1he raft consists of two long floats made
of iobin bronze and about the sizr aud
shape of canoes. These two floats nrc So
curciy fastened together by metallic bands
ana lianSeS so that the heaviest strain in =
rough sea cannot part them The level
PLATFORM Is constructed over the top with
seats and rowlocks attached. a mast md
sail can also be quickly used if the float is
cast away upon the sea. Inside the hollow
iioats lockers arc built for STORING, wotc-
ana PROVISIONS, and i'll the toughest surf
ihey could not get wet On warships arms
ana ammunition could be stored in thcs,
| water tight compartments.
n sudden collision which might break
INTO the water tight floats would he the
| only way to swamp these improved lif,
Rats: Each raft could sustain fifty per.
| sons Ill rough SEA, and in the event of be-
ing cast away upon the ocean during \
storm tie St Il n 1
| uraS, ana by means of oil. ALWAYS kent in
| one oil the compartments, the ''combin.,''
! OF the seas could be prevented from tlcin,,
any great harm
| men the storm was not raging the mast
and sail could he put up and the lifcbont
would make fair time in almost any lircc
tlon carrying its load of people lightly
over the rolling waves. In landing upon n
beach the rough surf could easily be ridden
| py Il rait OF TINS nature, and the rcscnc,
people could be safely landed upon the
| shore.
The improved life raft is not perfect in
every sehie of the word yet, for its weight
ana coSt ma~e il impractical for many of
the ocean steamers to carry it, Their size
ana shape, however, are such that they can
be slowed away without occupying much
more room than the Old fashioned lifcLoat
which all the vessels are compelled by law
| to carry.
SO light and huoyana are these metal
! r"lS IL Is estimated That not even the
| heavy suction oil the sea when Il larpc
steamer went down could draw them into
the vortex with sufficient power to svamp
them. No other lfc5oat Of any descrio
ton has ever been supposed to be able to
| Withstand such Il strain upon her floating
| powers. They are thus practically incapa.
bic OF swapping, and this Is one of the
greatest dangers experienced when steam
ers become total wrecks mt sea. Ncarlv
every month some terrible calamity Mt sen
| illustrates the need of some such iloatinr
raft TO prevent shipwrccked crews and
passengers from going to the bottom of the
| ocean.
The question of launching the RATS and
then of landing the passengers on them
has been considerably discussed With
both the raft and the disabled steamer
| rolling heavily i'll the sea this would be no
| mean work to undertake, but it has been
proposed to launch the float and then to
| send the passengers down what is com
monty known as the London fire escape /"
The passengers would by this means be
shot down i'm inclined and inclosed plane
To the very deck of tho raft. This work
would be performed over the stern of the
vessel, where the rolling would be less Sc
we're than elsewhere.
The use of oil for calming the seas dur
ing the transference of passengers from
the steamer to the floating raft has
also been wisely recommended as n good
method of performing the work easily and
successfully. So generally valuable is the
use of oil for this purpose that every
steamer and vessel of any importance car
ries sufficient quantities to calm the seas
for long time. 1t could probably be put