A NEW LIFE-SATING APPARATUS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5584, 17 January 1879, Page 5

A NEW LIFE-SATING APPARATUS.

A contemporary says:—“ The disaster to the Princess Alice has been a prolific cause of suggestions for invent ions of life-saving apparatus, capable of being easily conveyed, and so formed as to be useful for others as well as the prime object of their construction. Among those which have been patented is Rose’s life-buoy seat and firc-buckets combined, which is made of block tin, in the form of au hour glass, and is capable of being unscrewed in the centre, so as to form two buoys if necessary ; or one end can be filled with fresh water, (lour, biscuits, ship’s papers, or any other valuable property, and the other will still be buoyant enough to sustain a couple of men above water with the utmost security. This was shown at experiments recently made. After some bathers had tried to sink it by their accumulated weight in the water, several dead weights in the shape of -16 lb and 281 b were added, and it was not until 1001 b had been attached to it in the shape of solid metal that the buoy was totally submerged. The “ Life-buoy” is made so as to form a seat, and would supply the place of camp stools all round the quarter-deck. By simply running a line through the brass rods that form the means of grasping the buoy at both ends, it would be fast, and secure from getting adrift in any weather. Then there is a corkwood cushion on each life-buoy scat, capable of supporting a single person in the water, so that, in case the ship wont down suddenly, one cut with a knife of the cord which forms the lashing would bo sufficient to set the whole of the buoys on board free, and as each buoy could sustain the weight of a half a dozen people, if there were time for boats to bo launched, there could bo little doubt that all would be picked up. In case an alarm of fire was raised aboard, in less than two minutes, every buoy could bo unscrewed in the middle and formed into two buckets, containing four gallons each. To dip these over the side, by means of a rope that is attached to the centre, and would form a lanyard for such a purpose, every seat could bo brought into immediate requisition and so a ship haring 100 such seats aboard could have at once 2CO fire buckets in use.” The Mr Rose referred to was, wo behove recently a lesident in Christchurch.