ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION carried out at Lowestoft in 1892 a series of competitive trials and tests with, sailing Life-boats the details of which were subsequently published. The trials with the various types of pulling Life-boats were deferred until this year, and have now been carried out at Montrose, which place, although situated a long way from London, was selected as possessing the most suitable beach in the United Kingdom for many of the tests, and because it was believed that the necessary weather for the trials would be more likely to be experienced in a short period at Montrose than elsewhere, thereby conducing to economy.

The competitive trials with pulling Life-boats were carried out under the following conditions and regulations which were specially drawn up by the Committee for the purpose:— 1. All competitors must undertake to bear every expense, including the providing of crews, tugs and launchers, connected with the trials of their own boats, and they must give notice to the Secretary of the Life-Boat Institution in writing of their intention to compete on or before the 30th November, 1892, and sign the required undertaking.

2. The competitions shall be carried out at Montrose, Scotland, under the superintendence of a Committee consisting of five persons to be named by the Royal National Life-Boat Institution for the purpose, and all competitors must comply with the rules and regulations laid down for the competitions, as well as with any instructions they may receive from the supervising Committee; and all outside competitors must undertake that their coxswains and crews shall strictly comply with these instructions. Any boat not at Montrose, on or before the 15th January, 1893, and ready for the trials, will be disqualified.

3. The competing boats to be those, the principal motive power of which is their oars, their sails being only auxiliary. Competing boats must come within the following dimensions:— Length—34 to 38 feet.

Beam—7J to 10 feet, not including outside wales or fenders.

Depth, from inside of skin to level of gunwale amidships—3 to 4 feet 6 inches.

Extreme draught of water, with drop keels or centre boards up, not to exceed 2 feet 6 inches; and load displacement to be from 5 to 8 tons inclusive.

4. The qualities necessary to constitute an efficient Life-boat are:— a. Power to reach a wreck or vessel in distress in bad weather and heavy seas, both regular and broken.

6. Capability for getting alongside a wreck in heavy breakers and lying there, or near enough, to take off the people on board; general handiness for working the boat, in laying her alongside a wreck or in the required position.

c. General stability under canvas and the power of resistance to the capsizing force of a sea, in any position, whether afloat or aground.

d. Suitability for launching from and returning to an open beach in a surf.

e. Protection to the boat's crew against being washed out of the boat by seas breaking on board when on service.

/. Suitability for land transport on and launching from a carriage 5. The boats will be put to the following tests to enable the Judges to determine the degree in which they possess the qualities already enumerated :— a. Launching from an open beach through a surf and pulling off through breakers to a prescribed mark.

6. Running in a heavy sea, abeam, quarterly and right aft; landing on an open beach; hauling up and preparing for service again, e. Anchoring in heavy breakers as though to veer down to a wreck.

d. Towing by a powerful tug in bad weather.

e. Capacity for carrying rescued people.

6. All the boats to be tried at the same place and as nearly as possible at the same time, BO as to ensure their all being exposed to the same force of sea and weather for the comparison of their qualities. Owing to the number of boats competing they will be launched in detach- ments, but as quickly as possible after one another; not more than three boats in one detachment.

7. The Umpires or Judges of the trials to be taken from the coxswains of the Institution's Life-Boats, so selected as to include, as far as possible, those having experience in the different types of boats. Their number to be governed by the number of boats under trial, so as to give one for each boat.

Each test to be repeated as many times as there are boats under trial; the Judges to change boats each time so as to give all of them the opportunity of seeing each boat at work.

The Supervising Committee will, however, make any alteration in this regulation that they may deem fit.

8. The Judge shall not interfere with the Coxswain and crew in the management of the boat, but shall concentrate his attention on her behaviour.

9. No one excepting the coxswains, crews and judges to go in the boats when engaged in the trials.

10. At the end of every trial each Judge to record hiS opinions on the result on a form to be supplied to him for so doing. This he will put into a closed cover and deposit it, in the presence of one of the Supervising Committee, in the box provided for that purpose, 11. These reports to be strictly confidential, and the Judges are not to make known their contents. As soon as the trials are all concluded, the box containing the reports to be trans- mitted to the Head Office in London, to be opened under the directions of the Committee.

12. If a Judge consider a trial to have given no results, or from any cause not to have been sufficiently conclusive to enable him to report on it, he shall at once report this to the Supervising Committee, who will decide whether the trial should be repeated, first, if they deem it necessary, consulting the other Judges.

13. If the Supervising Committee are of opinion that for any reason it is desirable a trial should be repeated, they shall call for the opinions of the Coxswain Judges, and, having considered them, act as they may deem expedient.

Notwithstanding the trials were advertised all over the country no outside competitor came forward.

The boats which the Institution selected to take part in the trials were seven in number, viz. :— 1. THE CROMER TYPE.—This is a non-self-righting Life-boat resem- bling in a measure what was formerly known as the North Country Life-boat, but fitted with a deck, freeing valves, side air-cases and water-ballast tanks like the self-righting boats.

2. NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK TYPE.—This is also a non-self-righting Life-boat, after the design so long used on parts of the Norfolk and Suffolk coast, but now fitted with a water-tight deck throughout, confined water ballast and freeing valves.

3. THE SELF-RIGHTING TYPE, " A,"—This is the type of Life-boat now in such general use round the coasts of the United Kingdom. She is a decked boat with freeing valves and water ballast confined in tanks, is fitted with two metal drop keels, and large air cases at each end.

4. THE SELF-RIGHTING TYPE, " B."—This boat is similar to boat " A," excepting tliat she is four feet shorter, and is fitted with only one metal drop keel.

5. THE SELF-RIGHTING,_TYPE, " C."—This boat is the same as boat " B," excepting that she has six inches less beam, draws two inches less water, and has no drop keel.

6. THE SOUTHPORT TYPE.—This is a non-self-righting boat, fitted with a deck, side air-cases, freeing valves, a wooden drop keel, and two small air-cases at each end.

7. THE TUBULAR TYPE.—This form of Life-boat was originally designed and brought out about thirty-five years ago by two Welsh gentlemen, father and son, Messrs. H. and H. T. RICHARDSON. She is altogether different in principle from any other boat, and consists of two long tubes running parallel to each other a few feet apart. They are closed at the ends, and connected by a deck, thus leaving underneath an arched hollow space from three to four feet wide. This boat is not self-righting, but is fitted with freeing valves in her deck and with four small wooden drop keels.

The seven competing boats were all at Montrose in readiness for the trials on the 20th January, 1893, and before the tests began there were preliminary launches for purposes of exercise, in order to give the crews a knowledge of their boats, also to test the launching and hauling-up arrangements, including the organisation and discipline of the launchers.

The trials took place whenever suitable weather prevailed, and were finally concluded on the 27th March, and the Supervising Committee broke up three days later.

The Committee consisted of the following gentlemen :— Captain CAMPBELL, Anchor Line.

Baillie MEABNS, of Aberdeen.

Captain A. W. STUTE, I.M.

Captain the Hon. H. W. CHETTTTND, B.N., Chief Inspector of Life-boats to the Institution.

KEPPEL H. FOOTE, Esq., late Lieut. E.N., Inspector of the Northern District.

The following is a list of the Coxswain Judges, viz.:— Mr. K. GILPIN .. .. .. 1st Coxswain, Teignmouth.

J. HAYNES .. .. .. , Port Isaac.

Holy Island.

Southend, Essex.

Scarborough.

Penmon.

Skegness.

Boulmer.

M. KYLE F. MOORE J. OwSTON E. EGBERTS T. SMALLEY P. STEPHENSON Length. Breadth. Weight, ft. in. ft. in. tons cwt. qr. Ib.

35 3 10 3 4 3 - 19 32 - 10 - 2 16 - 7 38 - 8 - 4 14 2 - 34- 8- 4 - - - 34- 76 3937 38 - 94 4 11 1 26 35 6 10 - 533- Life-boats competing: — Cromer Type Norfolk and Suffolk Type "A" Self-righting do.

Do. do.

"C" Do. do.

Southport do.

Tubular.