Loss Of The Steamship 'Titanic' Part 14

WALTER J. HOWELL.

The SECRETARY,

_Merchant s.h.i.+pping Advisory Committee_,

_7, Whitehall Gardens, S. W_.

EXTENSION OF LIFE-SAVING APPARATUS TABLES.

It will be seen that I have given priority in importance to the form of s.h.i.+ps' boats rather than to their number on the principle that a few reliable boats are of greater value than a large number of indifferent ones; but if the former desirable condition can be obtained by the proposed alterations in our rules as to measurement, etc., we are freer to approach the question of adding to the number of boats provided for in the existing tables.

As with the question of ratio D: B dealt with by the advisory committee last year, so with the question of boat increase and relative increase of cubic capacity dealt with by them on the same occasion, perhaps the board might inform the committee that they are not satisfied that a slightly different recommendation might not have been made had the matter been still further considered at the time.

Referring to the table of boat capacities computed by them particularly it might be helpful if the board laid before them for consideration the table, which I attach hereto and submit, as showing a more reasonable proportionate increase in capacity than appears so far, in my opinion, in the other papers before us. It will be seen in this statement that the number of boats recommended by the advisory committee is practically retained, but the unit of increase in capacity is put at 300 cubic feet.

Perhaps I should state here what actuated me in fixing upon this rate of increase. I realized that in all probability it would become the practice on these large liners to provide boats under davits which would contain the entire cubic feet required by the L. S. A. Rules, that is--the quant.i.ty required by rule under davits plus the addition of three-fourths and it occurred to me that if, after the figure 5,500 cubic feet the increase of capacity were uniform and moderate it would result in a total at 1-3/4 which would by incidence fit in with the scale of boats already recommended as requisite in the report of the advisory committee and in my own, i. e., a.s.suming that the boats are of 500 cubic feet. Example: Take a vessel of 30,000 tons and under 35,000 tons, according to the table I submit she would be required to have by the 1-3/4 rule a total boat capacity of 12,500 cubic feet which at 500 cubic feet per boat equals 24 boats nearly. There should be no difficulty on the large s.h.i.+ps in carrying this quant.i.ty under davits, i.

e., 18 directly under davits and six boats inboard.

Please see incidental table attached.

(Mr. A. H. Young, professional adviser of the board of trade.)

MARCH 28, 1912.

_Proposed extension of boat scale._

---------------------------+----------+------------------ Minimum total cubic contents of Gross tons. Boats. boats required to be carried under davits.

---------------------------+----------+------------------ _Cubic feet._ 10,000 and under 12,000 16 5,500 12,000 and under 15,000 18 5,800 15,000 and under 20,000 20 6,100 20,000 and under 25,000 22 6,400 25,000 and under 30,000 24 6,700 30,000 and under 35,000 24 7,000 35,000 and under 40,000 24 7,300 40,000 and under 45,000 24 7,600 45,000 and under 50,000 26 7,900 50,000 and upward 26 8,200 ---------------------------+----------+------------------

Please see the accompanying incidental table showing how this number of boats can provide for the three-quarters additional capacity also, if of about 500 cubic feet per boat to 600 cubic feet.

A. H. Y.

_Table of incidence (informative)._

-----------------------+------+-----+-----------+------+----------- Equivalent boats.

Number Cubic Cubic feet Total -----+----- Gross tons. of feet. additional. cubic At At boats. feet 500 600 at cubic cubic 1-3/4. feet. feet.

-----------------------+------+-----+-----------+------+-----+----- 10,000 and under 12,000 16 5,500 4,125 9,625 19 16 12,000 and under 15,000 18 5,800 4,350 10,150 20 16 15,000 and under 20,000 20 6,100 4,575 10,675 21 18 20,000 and under 25,000 22 6,400 4,800 11,200 22 19 25,000 and under 30,000 24 6,700 5,025 11,725 24 20 30,000 and under 35,000 24 7,000 5,250 12,250 24 20 35,000 and under 40,000 24 7,300 5,475 12,775 25 21 40,000 and under 45,000 24 7,600 5,700 13,300 26 22 45,000 and under 50,000 26 7,900 5,925 13,825 27 23 50,000 and upward 26 8,200 6,150 14,350 28 24 -----------------------+------+-----+-----------+------+-----+-----

One-fourth of the above boats may be carried inboard, but they should not exceed 500 cubic feet in capacity, so that they may be readily drawn up to the davits.

A. H. Y.

MARCH 30, 1912.

DRAFT AMENDMENT OF GENERAL RULES.

(1) _Boats._--All boats shall be constructed and properly equipped as provided by these rules, and shall be of such form and proportions that they shall have sufficient freeboard, and ample stability in a seaway, when loaded with their full complement of persons and equipment.

All thwart and side seats must be fitted as low in the boat as practicable, and bottom boards must be fitted so that the thwarts shall not be more than 2 feet 9 inches above them.

All boats and other life-saving appliances are to be kept ready for use to the satisfaction of the board of trade. Internal buoyancy apparatus may be constructed of wood, or of copper or yellow metal of not less than 18 ounces to the superficial foot, or of other durable material.

SECTION (A). A boat of this section shall be a lifeboat of whaleboat form, properly constructed of wood or metal, having for every 10 cubic feet of her capacity, computed as in rule (2), at least 1 cubic foot of strong and serviceable inclosed air-tight compartments, so constructed that water can not find its way into them. In the case of metal boats an addition will have to be made to the cubic capacity of the air-tight compartments, so as to give them buoyancy equal to that of the wooden boat.

SEC. (B). A boat of this section shall be a lifeboat, of whaleboat form properly constructed of wood or metal, having inside and outside buoyancy apparatus together equal in efficiency to the buoyancy apparatus provided for a boat of section (A). At least one-half of the buoyancy apparatus must be attached to the outside of the boat.

SEC. (C). A boat of this section shall be a lifeboat, properly constructed of wood or metal, having some buoyancy apparatus attached to the inside and (or) outside of the boat, equal in efficiency to one-half of the buoyancy apparatus provided for a boat of section (A) or section (B). At least one-half of the buoyancy apparatus must be attached to the outside of the boat.

SEC. (D). A boat of this section shall be a properly constructed boat of wood or metal.

SEC. (E). A boat of this section shall be a boat of approved construction, form, and material, and may be collapsible.

(2) _Cubic capacity._--The cubic capacity of an open boat and of a deck boat of section (D) or section (E) shall be ascertained by multiplying the product of the length, breadth, and depth by 6, subject, however, to the following provisions:

The length shall be measured from the foreside of the rabbet on the stem to the afterside of the rabbet on the sternpost, and the breadth shall be measured from the outside of plank to the outside of plank amids.h.i.+ps.

The actual depth shall be measured from the top of the gunwale to the top of the bottom plank next to the keel, but the depth used in calculating the cubic capacity shall not in any case exceed 3.6 feet; and if the actual depth measured is equal to or less than 3.6 feet, the depth used in calculating the cubic capacity shall not exceed 45 per cent of the breadth measured, as indicated above.

If the oars are pulled in rowlocks, the bottom of the rowlock is to be considered as the gunwale in measuring the depth of the boat.

If any question is raised requiring absolute accuracy, the cubic capacity of a boat shall be ascertained by Stirling's rule, subject to the foregoing provisions as to depth.

(3) _Number of persons for boats._--(_A_) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (_b_) (_c_) and (_d_) of this clause the number of persons[5]

an open boat of section (A) shall be deemed fit to carry shall be the number of cubic feet ascertained as in rule (2) divided by 10, and the number of persons[6] an open boat of section (B) or section (C), or an open or decked boat of section (D) or section (E) shall be deemed fit to carry shall be the number of cubic feet ascertained as in rule (2) divided by 8. The s.p.a.ce in the boat shall be sufficient for the seating of the persons carried in it and for the proper use of the oars.

(_B_) An open boat of section (A) or section (B) or section (C) or section (D) or section (E) shall not be deemed to be fit to carry the number of persons ascertained as in paragraph (_A_) of this clause unless the boat is so constructed that it has a mean sheer of at least half an inch for each foot of its length and that the boat's half-girth amids.h.i.+ps measured outside the planking from the side of the keel to the top of the gunwale is at least equal to nine-tenths of the sum of the boat's depth inside and half its maximum breadth amids.h.i.+ps, and that the mean of the half-girths measured in the same manner at two points, one-quarter of the length of the boat from the stem and sternpost, respectively, is at least equal to eight-tenths of the sum of the depth inside and half the maximum breadth amids.h.i.+ps.

(_C_)--A decked boat of section (D) or section (E) shall not be deemed to be fit to carry the number of persons ascertained as in paragraph (_A_) of this clause, unless the top of the deck amids.h.i.+ps is at a height above the water approved by the board of trade, when the boat is so loaded.

(_D_)--If the surveyor is doubtful as to the number of persons any open or decked boat is fit to carry, he may require the boat to be tested afloat with the intended number of persons on board.

(_E_)--The rules numbers 1, 2, and 3, as now amended, are not to be retrospective, and are to apply only to boats built after.

s.h.i.+P'S BOATS.

The salient feature of the reports of the board's officers on this subject is the consensus of opinion that the form of a boat is the chief factor to be considered in determining its value as a life-saving appliance.

It has been found that while there are many boats of good form supplied to s.h.i.+ps, there is yet a large proportion where the boats are not only not so good, but which can only be regarded as unsafe if they had on board anything approaching the number of persons for which they measure.