The Science record; a compendium of scientific progress and discovery . ofboats that could be successfully launched. The sad re-cords of shipwreck show how little reliance can be placedon this means of saving life. How frequently boat afterboat is swamped in launching, or capsized by overcrowd-ing by the rush of panic-striken people ! As a substitute for boats, large life-rafts have been con-structed, which can be carried on board ship more easilythan boats, can not be swamped in launching, nor cap-sized in any sea^i Many of our American steam ship lines 280 SCIENCE RECORD. now carry these raf
The Science record; a compendium of scientific progress and discovery . ofboats that could be successfully launched. The sad re-cords of shipwreck show how little reliance can be placedon this means of saving life. How frequently boat afterboat is swamped in launching, or capsized by overcrowd-ing by the rush of panic-striken people ! As a substitute for boats, large life-rafts have been con-structed, which can be carried on board ship more easilythan boats, can not be swamped in launching, nor cap-sized in any sea^i Many of our American steam ship lines 280 SCIENCE RECORD. now carry these rafts. They are placed on board all thesteamers running from New-York to Havana. An Eng-lish gentleman, Mr. Henry Christie, has also invented araft which promises well for the safety of the shipwrecked,engravings of which appear on this page. This raftcan be made to any size, but the depth need be no morethan from nine to fifteen inches. It is designed to form abridge, the roof of a deck-house, or a section of a bul-wark. There are thirty-six compartments made of zinc,. THE LIFE-RAFT BRIDGE IN POSITION ON BOARD SHIP. some of which would contain provisions and water, whilethe remainder would add to the buoyancy of the is space for masts, sails, oars, and other sections of the deck of the raft are heavily hingedso as to form a bulwark, affording shelter on all space would naturally be reserved for women andchildren. The first engraving shows the raft laid on abridge, the flooring of which being balanced on an axle, oneman can by drawing a bolt allow it to drop down to the MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 281 bulwark of the ship, from whence it flies off on rollersinto the sea. The second engraving shows the raft in thewater—a strong, serviceable craft that will live through seasin which ordinary boats would be swamped. The raft,even if not launched in time, will float away as the shipsinks, and can not be capsized by overcrowding or by theheavies
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubje, booksubjecttechnology
