PART IX WEIGHTS OF LIFEBOATS, EQUIPMENT, AND MATERIALS THE Scantlings of all material used in the construction of wooden lifeboats of Classes IA and IB are now practically standardised by the British Board of Trade, and it therefore becomes an easy matter to estimate the total dead load which must be supported by the davits. So much latitude has hitherto been given to boatbuilders, owing to the absence of any detailed specification, that it became a matter of pure approximation to estimate the weight of boats; shipbuilders were, therefore, placed at a disadvantage when calculating the sizes of davits, and the strength of their associated gear. The writer has weighed the various details of equipment as given in Table XXVI., and periodically checked the weights of the Dimensions. boats with the standard dimensions shown in Table XXVII. The particulars have been grouped together in such a form as will enable the shipbuilders to readily arrive at a very close estimate of the total weight coming on the davits. This information will also assist patentees of special appliances designed to operate the launching of ships' boats. The difference in weight between steel and wooden lifeboats constructed in Great Britain is now practically negligible. TABLE XXVII. DETAILS OF WEIGHTS OF WOODEN LIFEBOATS, CLASSES IA AND IB. The weights in Table XXVII. are based on larch being used for the planking. If teak is utilised then the weight is increased by about three-quarters of a pound for every cubic foot of capacity (LxB×D× 0.6). It becomes somewhat difficult to state with any degree of accuracy the exact weight of the various kinds of timber used in the construction of ships' boats. Timber felled in the spring Total weight of persons, and equipment. Total dead-load on davits, including blocks and falls. contains more moisture than that felled in the winter. Moisture adds to the weight; some trees when felled contain about 40 per cent. of moisture, and during the process of seasoning this is reduced to about 15 per cent. The wider apart are the annual rings, the more sapwood is present, and consequently contain a greater amount of moisture. The list of materials given in Table XXVIII. will be a satisfactory guide for all practical purposes in boatbuilding. Table XXIX. shows the weights of the boats based on the standard weight of one 165 lbs. occupants of person being PART X SECTION A.-BOAT STOWAGE AND TRANSPORTING ARRANGEMENTS ONE of the most important considerations dealt with by the shipbuilder and shipowner in working out the details of design for a large passenger vessel is the question of securing a practical arrangement on the boat deck, for dealing with the satisfactory stowage and speedy launching of the ship's lifeboats. The subject has riveted the attention of the general travelling public for many years, mainly as the result of several unfortunate and unavoidable disasters which have occurred to well-known ocean-going passenger vessels; and to the increased facilities provided during recent years for bringing the peoples of the United States of America, Canada, Great Britain, and the continental countries, into closer contact and with greater frequency. Royal Commissions, Departmental Committees, and an International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea-which included the best known authorities of all countries-have considered in great detail, all the difficulties which surround the general question of equipping cargo and passenger vessels with the most practical and satisfactory appliances, to ensure in the future a larger measure of safety for both passengers and crews. The regulations made by the Board of Trade in regard to the stowage of boats, rafts, etc., and embodied in the Rules for Life-saving Appliances of 1914, are as follows: 66 "(1) All boats and rafts shall be stowed in such a way that, even under unfavourable conditions of list and trim, as large "a number of persons as possible may be embarked in them, and "that as large a number of the boats as possible shall be capable of being launched on either side of the ship. The additional boats, or rafts, may be stowed in rows across a deck, bridge, or poop, or approved appliances for transferring the boats, or 'rafts, from one side of the deck to the other may be employed. 66 66 |