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quence of which a gold medal was presented to the

inventor:

"The boat is thirty feet by ten, in form much resembling a common Greenland boat, except the bottom, which is much flatShe is lined with cork inside and outside of the gunwale, about two feet in breadth, and the seats underneath are filled with cork also.

ter.

"She is rowed by ten men, double banked; and steered by two men with oars, one at each end, both ends being alike.

"Long poles are provided for the men to keep the boat from being drove broadside to the shore, either in going off or landing. About six inches from the lower poles it increases in diameter, so as to form a flat surface against the sand, otherwise they would sink into the sand, and be of no use. The weight of the cork used in the boat is about seven cwt. She draws very little water, and when full is able to carry twenty people.

"The boat is able to contend against the most tremendous sea and broken water; and never, in any one instance, has she failed in bringing the crew in distress into safety. The men have no dread in going off with her in the highest sea, and broken water. Cork jackets were provided for them; but their confidence in the boat is so great that they will not use them.

"She has surprised every nautical man that has seen her contend with the waves."

This

called a coble, much used in the North; from this part to the top of the stem it is more elliptical, forming a considerable projection; the sides from the floor heads to the top of the gunwale, flaunch off on each side,in proportion to about half the breadth of the floor; the breadth is continued far forward toward the ends, leaving a sufficient length of straight side at the top; the sheer is regular along the straight side, and more elevated toward the ends; the gunwale fixed on the outside is three inches thick; the sides, from the under part of the gunwale along the whole length of the regular sheer, extending twenty-one feet six inches, are cased with layers of cork to the depth of sixteen inches downward; and the

thickness

This vessel went out for the first time on the 30th of January, 1790, and never from that day to the present

thickness of this casing of cork being four inches, it projects at the top a little without the gunwale; the cork on the outside is secured with thin plates or slips of copper, and the boat is fastened with copper nails; the thwarts (or seats) are five in number, double banked, consequently the boat may be rowed with ten oars; the thwarts are firmly stanchioned; the side oars are short, with iron tholes, and rope grommets, so that the rower can pull either way.

"The boat is steered with an oar at each end, and the steering oar is one third longer than the rowing oar; the platform placed at the bottom within the boat is horizontal the length of the midships, and elevated at the ends, for the convenience of the steersman, to give him a greater power with the oar. The internal part of the boat next the sides, from the under part of the thwarts down to the platform, is cased with cork; the whole quantity of which affixed to the life-boat, is nearly seven hundred weight: the cork indisputably contributes much to the buoyancy of the boat when full of water, is a good defence when going alongside a vessel, and is of principal use in keeping the boat in an erect position in the sea, or rather of giving her a very lively and quick disposition to recover from any sudden cant or lurch which she may receive from the stroke of a heavy wave: but exclusive of the cork, the admirable construction of this boat gives it a deGled pre-eminence. The ends being similar, the boat can be rowed either way, and this peculiarity of form alleviates her in rising over the waves; the curvature of the keel and bottom facilitates her movement in turning, and contributes to the ease of the steerage, as a single stroke of the steering.oar has an imme. diate effect, the boat moving as it were upon a centre; the fine entrance below is of use in dividing the waves, when rowing against them; and combined with the convexity of the bottom, and the elliptical form of the stem, admits her to rise with wonderful buoyancy in a high sea, and to launch forward with rapidity, without shipping any water, when a common boat would be in danger of being filled. The flaunching or spreading form of the

boat,

present has in one single instance disappointed the expectations either of the builder or the purchasers.

boat, from the floor heads to the gunwale, gives her a consider. able bearing; and the continuation of the breadth well forward is a great support to her in the sea; and it has beenfound by experience, that boats of this construction are the best sea-boats for rowing against the turbulent waves. The internal shallowness of the boat from the gunwale down to the platform, the convexity of the form, and the bulk of cork within, leave a very diminished space for the water to occupy; so that the life-boat, when filled with water, contains a considerably less quantity than the common boat, and is in no danger either of sinking or overturning. It may be presumed by some, that in cases of high wind, agitated sea, and broken waves, a boat of such a bulk could not prevail against them by the force of the oars; but the life-boat, from her peculiar form, may be rowed a-head, when the attempt in other boats would fail. Boats of the common form, adapted for speed, are of course put in motion with a small power, but for want of buoyancy and bearing are over-run by the waves and sunk, when impelled against them; and boats constructed for burthen meet with too much resistance from the wind and sea, when opposed to them, and cannot in such cases be rowed from the shore to a ship in distress. An idea has been entertained that the superior advantages of the life-boat are to be ascribed solely to the quantity of cork affixed; but this is a very erroneous opinion, and I trust has been amply refuted by the preceding observations on the construction of this boat. It must be admitted that the application of cork to common boats would add to their buoyancy and security; and it might be a useful expedient if there was a quantity of cork on board of ships, to prepare the boats with in cases of shipwreck; as it might be expeditiously done, in a temporary way, by means of clamps or some other contrivance. The application of cork to some of the boats of his majesty's ships might be worthy of consideration, more particularly as an experiment might be made at a little expence, and without injury to the boats."

It was found upon trial, that the peculiar nature of the curvature of the keel constituted the foundation of its excellence; and the spectators beheld with a mixture of joy and astonishment, that in consequence of her novel mode of construction, she was enabled both to ascend and descend with great facility across the breakers. The ends being reduced regularly from the centre to less than one third proportion of the mid-ships, were lighter than the body section; and the centre of gravity being placed exactly in the centre of the boat, she preserved an equilibrium in the midst of the broken water, while her internal shallowness left so small a space for the sea to occupy that there was no danger of sinking or upsetting.

As some accident might accrue, however, each of the crew was at first provided with a cork jacket, by way of precaution, which was actually put on during two or three trials; but the men, as already mentioned, soon became so well convinced of their security that they have long since omitted to carry any provision of this kind along with them.

Many lives having been saved by this fortunate invention, which would otherwise have been lost to the community, it may be supposed that in an enlightened age and country like the present the plan would have been immediately adopted in all our ports, and its author suddenly rewarded by means of fame and wealth; but we are sorry to observe that it was by slow degrees that the life-boat became known to the public, and that a period of more than ten years had

elapsed

elapsed before Mr. Greathead reaped any permanent

benefit from his labours.

It has already been noticed that we are indebted, if not for the discovery, at least for the practical effort which produced the actual construction to the spirited and humane exertions of the ship owners and inhabitants of South Shields in 1789. To the honour of the Duke of Northumberland be it recorded, that he soon after became sensible of the utility of the invention, and with a princely munificence employed the artist to construct a life-boat, which he himself presented to North Shields. This answering beyond expectation, he generously sent another to Oporto, where we have a flourishing factory.

The Literary and Philosophical Society* at Newcastle upon Tyne, also, at a very early period, noticed the discovery with applause, and passed a vote of approbation, which was accompanied by a donation of five guineas. In addition to this it recommended the inventor, in 1801, to one of its members.† On the 4th of March, 1802, the corporation of the Trinity House passed an unanimous vote, accompanying a donation of one hundred guineas; a like sum was

* Sir John Edward Swinburne was at that time the president; and to him, as well as to Thomas Bigg, Esq. a gentleman of liberal education and independent fortune, Mr. Greathead acknowledges himself to have been greatly obliged.

+ Mr. Burdon, M. P. for the county palatine of Durham.

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