By Captain Howard F- J. Rowley, C.B.E., R.N., Chief Inspector of Life-boats.

IN 1922 the Institution, which, had then had nearly twenty years of experience with Motor Life-boats, designed an engine to meet the special and very exacting requirements of the Service.

This engine was of 76 h.p., and has been installed in a number of Motor Life-boats of the larger types. Three of these, of the 60-feet Baraett type, have two engines each, but in the 46-feet Boats of the Norfolk and Suffolk type, and the 45-feet Boats of the Watson Cabin type, one engine has been installed.

Two years ago it was decided that all the larger types of Motor Life-boat should be built with two engines each, and this made necessary a lighter engine.

Two engines, or rather two variants of the one engine, have now been designed.

The one has six cylinders giving 60 h.p.

and the other four cylinders giving 40 h.p. While all the larger types of Motor Life-boat—those over 40 feet—-will for the future have either two 60 h.p. or two 40 h.p. engines, the smaller will have one or other of these two engines, except the 35-feet Motor Life-boat, which, can be launched from a carriage. For this specially light type a third and lighter 35 h.p. Halford engine, adapted to the Institution's requirements, is to be used.

The first of these new engines, two of 40 h.p., have been installed in the new Watson Cabin Life-boat for Rosslare Harbour in Ireland, and at the end of March this new boat and her engines were submitted to a very severe test.

The engine-room was flooded with fresh water up to the outside water-level, the water weighing 5 tons, the equivalent of 83 men. In this condition, and with 17 men on board, so that the total weight represented 100 men, the Life-boat was taken to sea—a moderate wind was blowing and the sea was slight—and for two hours she ran at her full speed of 1200 revolutions a minute. The 5 tons of water in the engine-room was washing heavily over and round the motors and against the bulkheads, but every one on board felt complete confidence in the Boat's stability and sea-worthiness.

At the end of the trial the water was pumped out, and the next day the Life-boat was taken out for her endurance trials. A southerly gale was blowing, with a very heavy sea. She was tried with the sea ahead, on the bow, abeam and astern, and although nothing whatever had been done to her engines since the flooding, she ran for 8J hours at full speed, under these varying conditions, without a hitch.

Another interesting experiment is being made with the Rosslare Harbour Life-boat. She is the first of the Watson Cabin type, of which there are already twe ve on the coast, to have twin screws as well as twin engines. Another boat of the same type, -with one screw, will shortly be completed for Piel (Barrow) in Lancashire. Very careful comparisons between the two are being made. Films are being taken at Cowes of the two boats in movement, and the Piel boat will be sent to Wexford for a time, so that, under service conditions, the comparison may be continued.

This experiment will determine whether future boats of this type shall have one or two screws.

Finally, the Eosslare Harbour boat has the distinction of being the first of the Institution's Life-boats to be fitted with wireless. At the beginning of 1925 the Life-boat Station, which for 66 years had been maintained by the Institution at Wexford, had to be abandoned, as a large part of the promontory known as Rosslare Point, at the end of which the Station was situated, had been swept away by the sea.* It was decided to move the Station to Kosslare Harbour, where a Life-boat had been stationed in 1896, but from which it waa withdrawn in 1921 when a Motor Lifeboat was sent to Wexford. This Station is as well situated as the old Wexford Station for the outside sea service, but * Sae The. Lifeboat for May, 1925.

it is five miles from Wexford Harbour Bar, where many wrecks occur.

That is the reason why the Institution decided to send a boat of the Watson Cabin type to the new Wexford Station and also to fit her with wireless. When bad -weather sets in and the Wexford fishing Seet is at sea, she will cruise outside the bar, and at the same time she will be in touch with the shore so that she can be informed at once if the Station has received any call for her help.

The wireless installation, which has been placed in the cabin, is the kilowatt installation designed by the Radio Communication Company for ships' life-boats. The whole of the transmitting and receiving apparatus is enclosed in a water-tight case. As will be seen from the illustration,'the operator works through a hole in the case fitted with a waterproof sleeve, and in the front of the case there is a window, lighted by a. smal] lamp, through which he can see the controls, receiver valves, and writing tablet.

The, boat went from the building yard at Cowes to Ireland at the end of April, and the wireless was tested during the trip, getting communication with. Niton Wireless Station at a distance of 85 miles. Since then it has communicated with Port Patrick, a distance of 185 miles.

In his report of the trip the District Inspector wrote, " I do not think there is anything of interest to record except perhaps that fried sausages and tea were enjoyed on the passage. The former were cooked in the lid of a biscuit-tin slung over the funnel, and a kettle was boiled in eight miautes by the same method.".