RAFTS V. BOATS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 437, 20 February 1909, Page 5

RAFTS V. BOATS.

BOTH NECESSARY. SOME VIEWS OF NAUTICAL MEN. ....THE LESSON OF THE PENGUIN. "Out of thirty Bavod from tho wreck of the, Penguin, twenty-one reached tho shore by me&ns of 'the two .rafts." . ; This, in brief, narrates how tho sdrvivors of last Fridij? night's disaster; reached the land. Twenty-one iVoro saved on the rafts, and all tho: others —eighty-six in number— either took to; tho ship's boats. /or were carried down when tho steamer plunged to tho bottom. What ;is. forced on ono'S considers-: jtion in. this regard is whether the saving of.'every ; 'So(ilithat sought Safety- on ,eith'er iof . tte jtwo raflsi; .'w&s a coincidence.' ; Was it chance that 'droWhed those in the boats ahd accounted 1 for the safety of the rafts ? Who can;say P'' To further elucidate what Udeed' might be a matter. of the- gravest i&port'ancs to the many who "go down to ithe sea in ships," a fev opinions have teen sought by a DoSiraxos. representative among those competent; to. speak on the subject .

I Lowering the Boats/ ■ " Tho I'vholo "question of maiming the boats safely: and;!expeditiously-*iii. an emergency is : a very -difficult one to deal;, with," 'said Captain Blackburne,. Nautical Advisor to the Government, "and there always will bo a good deal of'criticism over what is done afterwards; -. . For: instance, when I was in the P. and •0. service we always had the greater-iiumber of our boats swung outwardp perhaps, the big lifeboats) made of mahogany, whicn were swung inboard'out of tho way.. Now, I notice that nearly all the boats .of ■ steamers in. New Zealand are earned inboard, 011 .wh'at is called the boat deck; usually that dock is on a level with the captain's cabin.. I think it iB usual, even in, tliese waters; to'nave one boat swung out*, board in. case of accidents. ■ ; There shovud : be •one: at .least;ready; to b'e. lowered.: away : in oase.of any emergency. But that is only one phase of the.matter. v lf. a.steamer, strikes a rock: hard, and begins'to take in water; there is a. list ono way or the other at once, which inakes it very difficult to attend to all-tlie boats, by .means of. their regulation crews as is; the.:.case when. boat-drill • is ,being 'ptaotised., Your starboard boats .might be withinten. feet/of. the Vater, whilst' those to: port, are away up in tho air, and consequently diSjcult to get- at and lower;: ahdj you must decide at once which of the boats can, bo lowered with the;least prospect of being smashed up—and boats are smashed in every,. wreck. I havo known a vessel to strike a rock, and >then take: a heavy list to windward, . exposing her, deck ; to ;. the 'full effect of winds (and: sea. In 'such a 'case, how could boats bo lowered without being smashed? If tho list is the other, way, the vessel; itself; might giro a little . shelter, to ,the boats, ■ but. .the boats,,to windward would have a poor chance of being lowered Unless they wero launched over the leeward Side with tho use of tackle from aloft-.

The Value of Rafts. i'.Thi: very: fact that tho exigeileieg of -a. i sudden emergency has ovorytliihg to do with getting tho boats away, in safety improves the argument for tho rafts, which aro buoyant, are on a. levol with tho s«a, and-'hold a. good many people. They "must always bo considered a ; good. thing to hAvfe on any vessel, as.all ; that.ha6 to-be done in oa6e df accident: is.to'oht: away tho lashings, arid I when -. the vessel sinks the • raft Will rise quickly to the surface. . ; . -■ - ; "In caso of a breakdown at sea or'a fire,: I think I should prefer tho ship's boat as a ■ navigable . and seaworthy craft if well handled.- 1 ' .There' & 'anofhet j tli& " hbwever^'and l .that : ik 1 that"'wpgeii are so high p^fiffl^tA%<l£^t'ZitaUKd l .ih4.V if all the podplo 'on bbard could be stowed m. the boats, .thcro;would not be ehoi)gh ex-perienced-.sailors to matt them officioiitly." Each Good In Its Placo.

?;. to.say," said'a master 'of- wide and: varied experience. ,"To tMI you the wuth,;l : would hot' care to ship, wifchoufc either,.; ia good in its place; thete. are .certain. places • on : tho coast where f ■ would ;dccide4ly prefer a raft to' a . boat 111 the .event of-, a, .disaster, which would necessitate. leaving tho ship. If-you-can pic•ture a jscoiie such f . as. happened af Terawniti last Friday'jlignt, and then reflect upon the points of difference—tho , main points—between rftftg ,&nd; : bP9ts, .you.TviJl understand myv preference' ill"; slich. a situation. In ;a rolling surf, ..with' rooks;, about, a boat' will' 1 [ 'capsize soojier ; than a! raft,: and place its'occupant in. slitih positions: that: before .they could bo .extrioated they would bo in serious danger of drowning. .The capsizing of a raft .would oply occur, % l feel sure, on very rare occasions; should such an evehl ocoiir, the risk' of. entanglement'unqerileftth would bo very much diminished. < "In tho open sea, where a considerable distance may liavo to bo navigated from the locality of ,a ; fihippijig disagter.io the. iiearest Jdnding-plade,, ;rafts. Could rioi rbe' entertained. They . are. too: touch exposed, and difficult to navigate ; their rata of progress is .too slowy arid where, time: is. the essence of 't!u>-lindor-taking, the boats win all the way. :/ " 1 cbrtainlv think that all vessels should oarry rafts: Many do not. , Olio must r&member tb&t every vessel, whether coastal or ocean-going, is.liable.to be wrecked when lft coast waters; rafts,.lll Miy opinion, aro undoubtedly superior fo boats lyhen within teisy ;rfeach: of-the' shore. for tho tide ivill cast them up high and dry: "

Whore Rafto Might Pall. K i-Captaip Smith,- Superintendent of .Mercan-. .tile Marine, that rafts were certainly, a valuablo accessory to a steamer, but oh a ooast. where there ; is, a heavy surf tliey would only ho. effective: wijero . the occupants wore summers, a raft. is bound to ,bo turned over : and over, as was the case in the Penf?uin disaster. 'Tp and -women the;: faft wonW: not be nearly so good a roftlge as a ship's lifeboat, which could bo silocessffljly handled in a seaway and tho surf With'a good: man in charge. Captain Smith d'd not thin!? ;,tho seamen. whQ had served all their time'on''steamships. were as good boatmen as' the seamon i of other days. , This tfasiiqt'to their discredit. It was the natural :ovitcome, qf having' little necessity td use the boats, whereas in tho days of sailing vessels thoy had to lower and man their own boats to get ashorp in all sorts of weather. Evon When steamers wpro lying ont in .the harbour nOw there was littlo or no call for the use of the ship's boats, as thoy had tligs ,and launched aiid : shore boats to. meet their ■do-' mands, nil pf which tended to mako seamen less: competent boatmen than twenty or thirty years ago. . .'

The Penguin's Rafts. The rafts which' did such good service on Friday ; night: wero those provided fir in. the Board of Trade regulations which had been adopted by' the New Zealand Government. ''What; is required in this. direction is supplied in an Order-in-Council made oil September 30,1003, and issued in a little booklet entitled "Rules Fixihg' Life-Saving Appliances-for Ships.": Tljeso rules - are interesting: at-the: present juncture. > As plied to rafts,, they, are as follow: — _ •''flifeniimbet; of persons that any approved' lif<vraft for use at sea is to bo deemed Capable of carrying is tho. number: that: the raft ■is'able, to seat 'safely; provided-always that for every person so carried there are at least throe cubic feet of strong and Serviceable enclosed airtight compartments. :: "Approved buoyant apparatus is to be deemed sufficient for a nuinbor of persons to be ascertained, by dividing the numbef of pounds of iron which it is capable of irig in fresh Water by 32; provided also ;that tho sides and; ends .of the apparatus shall afford space of 1 horizontal foot for each person for whom it is certified, and that'a lino, for .the people to cling to is property becketed all round' it, Such buoyant apparatus shall not' requiro to be inflated before use, and-shall be qf approved Cotistruotiqn.