page_title: Lyle gun
section_title: Beach apparatus gear
hierarchical_section_title: Lyle gun / Beach apparatus gear
caption_attribution_description: English: Portsmouth, North Carolina an abandoned village on North Core Banks: Lyle gun and Shot line in flaking box displayed in the Portsmouth Life-Saving Station.
context_page_description: A Lyle gun is a line thrower powered by a short-barrelled cannon. It was invented by David A. Lyle and were used from the late 19th century to 1952, when they were replaced by rockets for throwing lines.
context_section_description: The Lyle gun was just one component of the items carried on the beach cart; many other pieces of equipment were crucial to the proper execution of the beach-based rescue. The breeches buoy drill, as it was sometimes called, was practiced by the Keeper and all surfmen every Thursday at 2 pm as per the manual at all stations. Crews that couldn't perform the drill in adequate time faced dismissal from the service. It was the crew's responsibility to maintain each piece of equipment in ship-shape as the safety of the crew and the success of the rescues depended upon it.  Other items on the beach apparatus equipment list included:
   Shot line and flaking box:  The shot line is tied to the projectile and is the first line to reach the shipwreck. This is the thinnest line used in the drill and is stored in a special pattern the flaking box. This special pattern allows it to pay out freely as the gun is fired. After the drill, the shot line is returned to the box by carefully laying it in the flaking pattern, ensuring that it is ready for the next use.
  Heaving stick: The heaving stick was used in case the Lyle gun could not be deployed and substituted as a line throwing device. This was a most dangerous technique, as the surfmen would often have to wade deep into the surf in attempt to get a line aboard the ship.
  Tally board: The tally board is used to deliver instructions to the vessel in peril. It is simply a board with printed instructions (English on one side and French on the other) telling the mariners how to aid the surfmen in their rescue efforts. The tally board is tied to the shot line by the keeper at the same time as the whip line and hauled aboard.
  Whip line and block: The whip consists of two whip reels mounted on the beach cart, the whip line, and the whip block. Once the shot is fired across the wreck or wreck pole, the shore-side end of the shot line is tied to the tail block. At that point it is hoped that there is an able bodied seaman aboard the ship capable of hauling in the shot line and attaching the tail block high aboard the ship. Once it is determined that the line has been secured to the vessel, the whip will be used to haul items such as the hawser, breeches buoy and sometimes the life-cart back and forth between the beach and the wreck. This operates in the same manner as an old-fashioned clothes line with pulleys operates with the surfmen pulling on either the windward or leeward half of the whip from shore.
  Hawser and traveling block: The hawser is the work horse of all the lines. It is a thick, strong rope made from manila with a traveling block attached. This block travels along the hawser and carries the breeches buoy back and forth from the vessel by means of the whip.
  Breeches buoy: The breeches buoy essentially is a life ring sewn into a pair of short pants. It is used to transport the wreck victim from the ship to the beach. It is attached to the traveling block which rides along the hawser and pulled back and forth by the surfmen manning the whip line.
  Fall: The fall is a block and tackle pulling device used to place tension on the hawser. The fall consists of an inner block and outer block and has a ratio of 4:1, giving five surfmen the pulling strength of twenty. The outer* block is painted blue to indicate that it faces seaward and the outer* block is painted white to indicate that this block faces shoreward and is attached to the sand anchor pendant.  *One of these is Wrong, recheck ...
  Strap: The strap is a rope tied to itself to form a loop and is used to attach the fall's outer block hooks to the hawser by means of a knot named a cat's paw .
  Crotch pole: The crotch pole is used to keep the victims and equipment traveling along the hawser above the crashing surf. It consists of two boards approximately 8 feet (2.4 m) long fashioned together similar to a pair of scissors. Once tension is placed on the hawser by means of the surfman pulling on the fall the Keeper will give the command to raise the crotch pole in position. Now the hawser is high above the surf and is ready to transport eq
caption: Lyle gun, Shot line and flaking box
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