(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 amidships.
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 space 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
amidships 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 amidships, 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 amidships.
(_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 amidships 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.