Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-12-29
FOR WRECKED BOATS.
N IMPROVED LIFE RAFT FOR YES
sells IN DISTRESS AT SEA.

At Present There Does Not Seem TO BE
Any Lifeboat That Answers All the Re-
quirements of ii Ship A bout to Founder.
Some Objections to Most Boats.
In the many methods adopted to prevent
13ss OF life at sea the use of lifeboats and
LIE RATS has not yet proved very success
ful, and 1t is doubtful if any great ocean
steamer carries lifeboats with sufficient
capacity to float the crew and the passen-
gers If the vesse' should go down at sea
the inadequacy of these lifeboats would
be manifested in several ways.
In moderate heavy sea it would be
difficult undertaking to lower them sue
cessfully from the davits, and almost an
lmposslblilty to land the passengers in
them if once fioated. The roll of the shin
and the swells of the sea would very likely
capsize them. Should they, however, es-
cape destruction so far the sudden sinking
OF the huge steamer would undoubtedly
draw them down into the terrible vortex
and swamp them.
III steamer is stranded upon deserted
coast, and attempts are made to land the
crew upon the beach, an ordinary rough
surf would make the lifeboat of steamers
an insecure craft for the purpose Many
instances are recorded where the boats
were quickly swamped and finally washed
upon the beach with the crew half dead
and drowned.
For men-ot-war the lifeboats are still
less adequate to meet sudden emergencies
OF this character. Ammunition must be
landed without getting wet, and the sailors
must be transported to the shore in num-
bers on short notice. Previous to the bonn
oarument of Fort Fisher some forty boat
loads OF the fleet were dumped into the
SURF while the troops were landing on the
beach near Cape Fear river.
A life raft has been invented nj tbo ~.
terry navy yard, in Maine, which is de-
signed to surmoVpt all these difficulties
| and which may be used for war vessels
and for big ocean steamers, The raft re-
sembles IN general shape that of cata-
maran, and it will be impossible to sink or
swamp 1t except in the heaviest kind of
sea.
The raft consists of two long floats made
OF fobin bronze and about the size and
shape OF canoes. These two floats ara CO
cure!y fastened together by metallic bands
ana hanSes so that the heaviest strain in a
rouEh sea cannot part them The level
platform Is constructed over the ton with
seats and rowlocks attached. A mast and
san can also I've quickly used if the float is
cast away upon the sea. Inside the hollow
floats lockers are built for storing u,ater
and provisions, and in the toughest snrf
they could not get wet. On warships arms
and ammunition could be stored in these
water tight compartments.
A sudden collision which might break
lnIo the water tight floats would be the
only way 20 swamp these improved life
rats. Each raft could sustain fiftv per
n rgI 10Th
ing cast away upon the ocean during a
storm the mast and sail could be used as
drag, and by means of oil, ALWAYS kent in
one OF the compartments, the ''combinpi
OF the seas could be prevented from doing
any great harm
w men the storm was not raging the mast
and sail could be put up and the lifeboat
would make fair time in almost apv direc-
ton, carrying its load of people lightly
over the rolling waves. In landing unon a
beach the rough surf could easily be ridden
by raft of this nature, and the rescued
people could be safely landed upon the
shore.
The improved life raft is not perfect in
every sense OF the word yet, for its weight
and cost make it impractical for MANY of
the ocean steamers to carry it. Their size
and shape, however, are such that they can
be slowed away without occupying much
more room than the old fashioned Iifeboat
which all the vessels are compelled by law
to carry.
80 light and buoyant are these metal
RATS 1t is estimated that not even tho
heavy suction OF the sea when a large
steamer went down could draw them into
the vortex with sufficient power to swarm
them. No other lifeboat of anv descrin-
ton has ever been supposed to be able to
Withstand such 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 at sea Nearly
every month some terrible calamity at 500
illustrates the need of some such floating
raft to prevent shipwrecked 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 in 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 an inclined and inclosed plane
to the very deck of the 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 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
to no better use than that suggested of
quieting the waters long enough to enable
the passengers TO get on board of the float