ONE of the chief difficulties attendant upon life-boats, consists in launching them from an exposed beach. It is rarely, if ever, that a boat can be launched from a carriage direct into the open sea in a gale of wind ; although it is probable that it may be safely done from the carriage built by Col. COLQUHOUM', R. A., and now stationed at Cullercoats, near the Tyne. Generally speaking, however, this preliminary difficulty causes great delay, grejtt 'waste of valuable time, and expends the strength of the boat's crew before they begin to use their oars. Any good method, then, of facilitating this operation would be a valuable boon. At Yarmouth, Aldbro', and some other places on the east coast of England, it is the usual practice, when the winter season sets in, to lay out an anchor with a warp, brought to the beach ; and a good practice it is. But it only enables the boat to be launched at one spot; and it not unfrequently happens that a wreck takes place at some distance to windward, when it is easier to transport the life-boat by land opposite the wreck, than to row there under oars. On such occasions the anchor-shot proposed by Captain JERNINGHAM, R.N., and the grapnel-shot by Mr. DUFFIELD OFFORD, of Great Yarmouth, may be found very useful. The former of these is fully described in the Appendix to the Report of the Northumberland Committee on Life- boats, where a woodcut of it is given; the latter, which is in no respect inferior to the former in usefulness, is not so well known as it deserves to be, although a full-sized specimen of it was shown at the Great Exhibition.

The characteristic feature of both the anchor and grapnel-shot is, that the flukes are made movable at the crown (which is oval in the grapnel and rather more cylindrical in the anchor), and close up when inserted in the mortar: each weighs about 45 Ibs., and is fitted to be fired from the usual 5 inch mortar supplied to the Coast-guard. The anchor has, as usual, a stock; also a small clip, which falls over the points of the flukes when shut, to secure them close to the shank, and falls off when fired. The grapnel has five flukes, no stock, no clip, but a sort of latch loaded at one end, which shuts up into the shank until fired, when it falls across, and prevents the flukes from closing.

The length of the shank in each case is about 30 inches, and either could be made for about 3?.

The accident which led to the invention of the grapnel-shot was the destruction of the Ptuxnix, a large yawl of Great Yarmouth, on the 26th January, 1845, when going to the assistance of a collier-brig wrecked at the north end of the Scroby Sand, opposite Caister, in a N.W. gale, when seven beach- men perished. On the 24th December of that year Mr. OFFORD'S model was exhi- bited at a meeting of the Yarmouth Ship- wreck Society, and much approved. In January*, and again on the 7th February, 1846 (as it appears from the Norfolk News), the shot was tried on the beach in presence of Captain MANBY, and many persons, and gave great satisfaction. In March, 1846, both it and the anchor-shot were tried at Woolwich, in the presence of Col. DUNDAS, R.A., and others, and were successful,—yet, strange to say, neither seems to have been adopted at any Life-boat Sta- tion—so slowly do improvements work their way.

An opportunity was recently afforded of trying both these shots on the Herd Sand at South Shields, in the presence of many of the Tyne pilots, also at Grimsby on the Humber, the results of which are annexed in the following Table. They show that with a, charge of 8 oz. of powder the anchor or grapnel may be thrown from 120 to 150 yards, carrying out a 2-in. Manilla line, and that its holding power in tolerable ground is equal to the strength of 12, or occasion- ally of 15 men. It is recommended to use two anchors, or grapnels, fired one after the other, and to marry the lines together, which, there is little doubt, would enable the crew to haul the life-boat off against a moderately heavy sea.

As while lying on the beach, sand is likely to get into the hinges of the grapnel-shot, it is advisable to dip it once or twice into a bucket of clean water, just before placing it in the mortar; with this simple precaution there is no fear of the flukes not opening out.

The shots were in each case fired from the same sized 54-in. mortars, laid at 30° elevation, with the same charge of powder, the same 2-inch Manilla line, and by the Coast-Guard; at Shields under charge of Mr. MILLER, Chief Officer, and at Grimsby under Inspecting Commander POWER and Lieut. HAY, R.N.

To haul it home.

Anchor-Shot.

Trial.

Range.

Charge.

oz.

10 12 8 8 10 10 men.

10 Of 10 »t 15 0§ yds.

150* 170* 164* 158 160 160 Grapnel-Shot.

To haul it home.

Trial.

Charge.

Range.

oz.

8 8 10 12 12 10 men.

8 8 12 yds.

126 126 170 155 140 160.