The Spanish and Portuguese papers have recently made known some
interesting experiments that have been made by Mr. Carlos Relvas with
a new life-boat which parts the waves with great facility and exhibits
remarkable stability. This boat, which is shown in front view in one
of the corners of our engraving, is T-shaped, and consists of a very
thin keel connected with the side-timbers by iron rods. Cushions of
cork and canvas are adapted to the upper part, and, when the boat is
on the sea, it has the appearance of an ordinary canoe, although, as
may be seen, it differs essentially therefrom in the submerged part.
When the sea is heavy, says Mr. Relvas, and the high waves are
tumbling over each other, they pass over my boat, and are powerless to
capsize it. My boat clears waves that others are obliged to recoil
before. It has the advantage of being able to move forward, whatever
be the fury of the sea, and is capable, besides, of approaching rocks
without any danger of its being broken.
[Illustration: RELVAS'S NEW LIFE BOAT.]
A committee was appointed by the Portuguese government to examine this
new life-boat, and comparative experiments were made with it and an
ordinary life-boat at Porto on a very rough sea. Mr. Relvas's boat was
manned by eight rowers all provided with cork girdles, while the
government life-boat was manned by twelve rowers and a pilot, all
likewise wearing cork girdles. The chief of the maritime department,
an engineer of the Portuguese navy and a Portuguese deputy were
present at the trial in a pilot boat. The three boats proceeded to the
entrance of the bar, where the sea was roughest, and numerous
spectators collected upon the shore and wharfs followed their
evolutions from afar.
The experiments began at half past three o'clock in the afternoon. The
two life-boats shot forward to seek the most furious waves, and were
seen from afar to surmount the billows and then suddenly disappear. It
was a spectacle as moving as it was curious. It was observed that Mr.
Relvas's boat cleft the waves, while the other floated upon their
surface like a nut-shell. After an hour's navigation the two boats
returned to their starting point.
The official committee that presided over these experiments has again
found in this new boat decided advantages, and has pointed out to its
inventor a few slight modifications that will render it still more
efficient.--_La Nature._
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