AMONG the many busy years of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, 1887 and 1888 were the busiest so far as boat-building and altering existing Life-boats was concerned. In 1887, as will be seen on referring to page 244 of the August 1901 number of this journal, the standard of self-righting for the self-righting Life-boats was much in- creased, and as by far the greater pro-1 portion of the fleet of Life-boats were of the self-righting type, it became necessary to test all these boats to ascertain what their self-righting power actually was ; the result of this proved that a very large number had less than the new standard, and consequently it became necessary either to replace them by new boats, or if possible to alter them in such a way as to increase their self-righting properties up to the requisite power. To meet the great strain on the technical officers, it became necessary to increase the surveying staff, and also the Committee of Management decided to add to the number of expert officers by creating the important post of Consulting Naval Architect. The Committee were fortunate enough to secure the services of Mr. G. L. Watson for the new post.

Mr. Watson's reputation then, as now, was of the highest, and his success as a designer of a large variety and size of vessels, but chiefly of the most important classes of yachts is well known to the maritime world. The care and thought necessary to produce the success that the Consulting Naval Architect had obtained was soon applied to his new work, and it was particularly gratifying to find that the latest existing types of Life-boats which had been built under the officers of the Institution, excepting in some small details, generally met with his approval.

It was not until July 1890 that the Consulting Naval Architect was called upon to design two new Life-boats, although of course since his appoint- ment he had assisted with his knowledge in the design of others, notably a large sailing Life-boat stationed at Southport.

The Committee in July 1890 decided to have a series of competitive trials for different types of Life-boats, the first series for the larger or sailing Life-boats, and the second for the pulling Life-boats; the two series of trials to take place in the winters of 1892 and 1893 respec- tively.

Mr. Watson was consequently asked to prepare drawings of a sailing and a pulling Life-boat; these drawings were produced at the November 1890 Com- mittee meeting, and the Life-boats were ordered forthwith. These two boats con- stituted the prototypes of the " Watson Life-boat," now one of the standard types used by the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION. Both Life- boats were non-self-righting, but it is not to be deduced from this that Mr. Watson has an objection to all self-righting boats. Like all broad-minded men of experience who have divested themselves of prejudice and made a careful study of Life-~boats, Mr. Watsop can see where the advantage of the self-righting principle comes in.

In 1897 the Consulting Naval Archi- tect told the Select Committee of the House of Commons as follows:—"My feeling with regard to the self-righting boat is, in the case of the smaller pulling boat, certainly, and possibly even in the case of the larger pulling boats too, that it would be unwise and unsafe to aban- don the self-righting principle. With the large sailing boats I think we can get a better boat by abandoning the self-righting principle, but I would not like to risk it with the small boats." This statement was made after ten years' experience, and Mr. Watson also told the Parliamentary Committee that, as a Naval Architect of 30 years' experience, he could not see where the existing type of self-righting boat could be improved.

These remarks will quite show the atti- tude of the Consulting Naval Architect as regards the much-vexed question of self-righting versus non-self-righting.

Now to return to the first two Life- boats designed by Mr. Watson. The Life-boat designed to compete in the sailing trials was 43 ft. long by 12 ft. 8 in.

beam (greatest at about the water line).

Depth amidships, 5ft. ll in.; to level of stem head, 7 ft. 8J in.; to level of stern post, 6 ft. 1| in. She was fitted with end boxes rising very little above the gunwale, the foremost one being 5 ft.

9 J in. long, and the after one 6 ft. 4 in.

long, and she was also fitted with a solid cork wale or fender 15 in. by 6 in.

She had fourteen relieving valves arranged to discharge into the drop-keel aperture, there being one drop-keel pro- vided, made of wood, extreme length of which was 15 ft. 9 in. She had no less than six water-ballast tanks and a lead keel weighing 3 tons 2 cwt. The total weight of the boat was 10 tons 19 cwt. With her crew and gear on board her deck was about 7 inches above the water, which is rather a higher deck freeboard than usual in Life-boats. Her rig was a standing fore lug and jib, and a small mizen lug, and her sails were made by Messrs. Ratsey of Cowes. Her lines reflected the master hand of her designer. The boat had a more rising floor than was customary in Life-boats, and she was rather full aft. She was built by Messrs. D. & W. Henderson & Co., of Glasgow, and cost £1,564.

One of the crucial tests for the sailing Life-boats was to launch off an open beach into a heavy sea and be hauled out clear by means of a haul-off warp, these being the circumstances which many of the large sailing Life- boats which do so much good work on the East Coast and at Deal, fec., have to contend with, the nature of the beach making it quite impossible to provide any sort of slipway. Under these con- ditions the "Watson" boat was considerably handicapped, for she was 3 tons heavier than her competitors and her rising floor made it extremely diffi- cult for the men to keep her upright whilst launching, and in addition to this her lead keel was not well adapted for travelling over skids. When once at sea she won golden opinions, showing a great turn of speed and splendid weatherly qualities. In justice to her designer, it must be explained that he did not contemplate launching from the without the drop-keel, much to the dis- advantage of the boat. However, one of the principal advantages derived from these trials was instruction and the finding out of weak points, and it is not too much to say that every one connected WATSON TYPE BODY PLAN MIDSHIP SECTION.

A.—The deck.

S.—Believing valves for the automatic discharge of water off the deck.

0.—Side air-cases above deck and thwarts.

D.—End air-compartments.

E.—Wale or fender.

F.—Iron keel ballast.

G.—Water-ballast tanks.

H.—Drop-keels.

open beach in the manner described when he submitted his plans. Consider- able trouble was experienced with her drop-keel, which could not be kept free from the shingle which worked into the aperture, and the trials were all made with Life-boat work learned a great deal from them.

The Life-boat designed for the pulling Life-boat trials was of the largest class of pulling Life-boat, and in appearance and fittings practically a smaller edition of the sailing Life-boat, her principal dimensions being as follows: length,38 ft.j beam, 9 ft. 4 in.; depth amidships, 4 ft. 5 in.; to level of stem head, 5 ft.

9 in. j to level of stern post, 5 ft. 4 in.

Her end boxes were, foremost 6 ft. 11 Jin.

long, after 4 ft. 9 in. long. A cork wale was fitted to her, 10J in. deep by 3| in.

She had eight relieving valves, arranged to discharge into the drop-keel aperture and a wood drop-keel; three water- ballast tanks, 10 cwt. of iron on her keel, and the boat weighed 4 tons 14 cwt.

She was rigged like the larger boat, and was built by the same firm at a cost of £924.

At the competitive trials for pulling Life-boats, this boat, like her larger sister, was found difficult to launch (all the pulling boats were launched off carriages on a flat sandy beach), but when once clear of the beach her merits as a sea boat and for working in a surf soon asserted themselves.

Of these two boats the larger, after having her lead keel taken off and a cast-iron one substituted, and also her water-ballast tanks closed up and filled with air-cases, and her wood drop-keel replaced by a steel one, was sent to a station where she has not had much opportunity of distinguishing herself; but is very much appreciated nevertheless.

The smaller boat was sent on trial to Blackpool; but as she did not meet with the requirements of that station, was withdrawn after having been there a few months, and is now at Poole, where she is held in very high esteem. She also has had her water-ballast tanks closed up, and has had a ton of lead ballast introduced into her to take the place of the water, also her wood drop- keel substituted by a steel one. The accompanying diagrams (p. 291) show the leading features of the latest Watson type Life-boat, such as supplied to Dungarvan, Wexford and Piel (Barrow).

These are moderate-sized sailing Life- boats about 40 ft. long and 11 ft. beam, but a larger class of the same type is also built. It will be seen from the diagrams that the floor is more " rising " than in the other types, the greatest beam is about at the water-line, and from there to the gunwale the sides slightly tumble home. The body plan, as shown in Fig. 3, is rather too small to detect this " tumble home." There are no hollow lines in the bow, and the run is considerably finer than in the first boats, and the lines are certainly beautiful. The outer wale or fender is of small section, constructed of solid cork, and intended as a fender, and not with a view to additional buoyancy, like the unsightly " pads " in the Norfolk and Suffolk boats, which do not meet with favour in the eyes of the Consulting Naval Architect. These Life-boats (see Fig. 1) have a moderate and graceful sheer, with low end-boxes in bow and stern, not for the purpose of giving the boat self-righting power, but to act as breakwaters, protect the crew, and keep the weights out of the ends; it also will be observed that the ballast- keel, F, does not extend to the ends.

Another feature shown in Fig. 1 is the peculiar shape (quadrantal) of the drop- keels ; but this peculiarity is not found in all the boats of this type. On referring to Figs. 2 and 4, it will be found that a great deal of pains is taken in restricting the space which might be filled with water by shipping a heavy sea. Not only are there large side air-cases between the deck and the thwarts, but also small ones (see Fig. 4) from the thwarts to the gunwale to prevent the lee-water from remaining in that place when the boat is heeling over. The height of the deck above the water, or deck freeboard, is well provided for, and at load draught is about 6 inches.

The diagrams show a Life-boat fitted with water-ballast tanks, but this is not a distinctive feature in this type.

Water-ballast is only employed when there are local reasons for keeping the Life-boat as light as possible whilst launching or hauling up on shore.

Where weight is not detrimental in launching, the whole of the ballast is put on the keel either iron or lead.

There is no doubt that this type of Life- boat is in possession of very great stability, will easily clear herself of water, and it is perhaps needless to say, seeing who designed them, that the boats are very fast, very weatherly and quick in staying.

There are at present 18 Watson type Life-boats on the coast; of these, 12 may be considered as purely sailing Life- boats of dimensions varying from 40 ft.

long by 11 ft. beam up to 45 by 12 ft.

3 in. Four are of a class suitable for sailing and pulling, and are 38 ft. long by 9 ft. 4 in. beam, very similar to the original Life-boat built for the pulling competitive trials. The remaining two are intended for use under oars and are light boats ; one is 36 ft. long by 8 ft.

10 in. beam, weighs 2 tons 19 cwt. and is stationed at Blackpool; the other is 32 ft. long by 8 ft. beam, weighs 3 tons 5 cwt. and is stationed at Tramore in Ireland. Both these boats have been out in very heavy seas on wreck service and have been exceedingly well reported on.

(To be continued.).