The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-09-14
FOR WRECKED BOATS.
AN IMPROVED LIFE RAFT FOR YES
SELLS IN DISTRESS AT SEA.

At Present There Does Not Seem to Be
Any L.ifeboat That Answers All the Re-
quirements of Ship About to Founder.
Some Objections to Most Boats.
In the many methods adopted to prev
loss Of life at sea the use Of lifeboats L.
life rafts has not yet proved very success
full, and it 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 lfeboats would
be manifested in several ways.
In n moderate heavy sea it would be
difficult undertaking to lower them sue
cessfully from the davits, and almost an
impossibility to land the passengers in
them if once foated. The roll of the ship
and the swells of the sea would very likely
capsi2e 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.
If steamer is stranded upon deserted
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-of-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.
bardment Of Fort Fisher some forty boat
loads of the feet were dumped into the
surf while the troops were landing on the
beach near Cape Fear river.
A life raft has been invented at the Kit
;ery navy yard, in Maine, which is de-
signed to surmount all these difficulties.
and which may be used for war vessels
and for big ocean steamers. The raft re-
'embles in general shape that of cata-
maran, and it will be impossible to sink or
swamp it except in the heaviest kind of
sea.
The raft consists of two long floats made
of tobin bronze and about the size and
shape of canoes. These two floats are Sc
:ureiy fastened together by metallic bands
and fianges so that the heaviest strain in a
rough sea cannot part them. The level
platform is constructed over the top with
seats and rowlocks attached. A mast and
sail can also be quickly used if the float is
cast away upon the sea. Inside the hollow
floats lockers are built for storing water
and provisions, and in the toughest surf
they could not get wet On warships arms
and ammunition could be stored in these
water tight compartments.
A sudden collision which might break
into the water tight floats would be the
only way to swamp these improved life
RATS. Each raft could eplstain fifty per.
sons in rough sea, and in the event of be-
ing cast away upon the ocean during a
storm the mast and sail could be used as q
drag, and by means of oil, always kept in
one Of the compartments, the "combing''
OF the seas could be prevented from doing
any great harm.
When the storm was not raging the mast
and sail could be put up and the lifeboat
would make fair time in almost any direc.
tion, carrying its load Of people lightly
over the rolling waves In landing upon 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 car
be slowed away without occupying much
more room than the old fashioned lifeboat
which all the vessels are compelled by law
10 carry.
So light and buoyant are these meta
RATS it is estimated that not even the
heavy suoion of the sea when larg,
steamer went down could draw them int
the vortex with sufficient power to swami
them. No other lneboat of any descrip
tion has ever been supposed to be able t.
Withstand such strain upon her floating
powers. They are thus practically incapa
BILE of swamping, and this is one of tn,
greatest dangers experienced when steam
ers become total wrecks at sea. Nearl,
every month some terrible calamity at sci
illustrates the need of some such foatin,
raft to prevent shipwrecked crews ant
passengers from going to the bottom of tn
ocean.
The question of launching the RATS ant
then of landing the passengers on then
has been considerably discussed. Witt
both the raft and the disabled steame
rolling heavily in the sea this would be n
mean work to undertake, but it has beel
proposed to launch the. float and then t.
send the passengers dSgn what is com
monty known as the London fire escape.
The passengers would by this means b
shot down an inclined and inelosed plan
to the very deck Of the raft. This worl
would be performed over the stern of tn
vessel, where the rolling would be less SC
we're than elsewhere.
The use Of oil for calming the seas dun
ing the transference of passengers fron
the steamer to the floating raft ha
also been wisely recommended as goo
method Of performing the work easily an
successfully. So generally valuable is tn
use Of oil for this purpose that ever
steamer and vessel of any Importance cal
ries sufficient quantities to calm the sea
for long time. 1t could probably be pu
to no better use than that suggested q
quieting the waters long enough to enabl
the passengers to Reton board of the foat
ing rafts.-Detroit Free Press.