dimensions and arrangements as the board of supervising inspectors by their regulations shall prescribe, which boats shall be carried in the most convenient manner to be brought into immediate use in case of accident. But where the character of the navigation is such that, in the opinion of the supervising inspector, the metallic lifeboats can be dispensed with, he may exempt any such vessel from carrying the same; or may require a substitute therefor, at his discretion. (R. S., 4481.)

Every such steam-vessel carrying passengers shall also be provided with a good life-preserver, made of suitable material, for every cabin passenger for which she will have accommodation, and also a good life-preserver or float for each deck or other class passenger which the inspector's certificate shall allow her to carry, including the officers and crew; which life-preservers or floats shall be kept in convenient and accessible places on such vessel in readiness for immediate use in case of accident. (R. S., 4482.)

Every steamer navigating the ocean, or any lake, bay, or sound of the United States, shall be provided with such numbers of lifeboats, floats, rafts, life-preservers, line-carrying projectiles, and the means of propelling them, and drags, as will best secure the safety of all persons on board such vessel in case of disaster; and every seagoing vessel carrying passengers, and every such vessel navigating any of the northern or northwestern lakes, shall have the lifeboats required by law, provided with suitable boat-disengaging apparatus, so arranged as to allow such boats to be safely launched while such vessels are under speed or otherwise, and so as to allow such disengaging apparatus to be operated by one person, disengaging both ends of the boat simultaneously from the tackles by which it may be lowered to the water. And the board of supervising inspectors shall fix and determine, by their rules and regulations, the character of life-boats, floats, rafts, life-preservers, line-carrying projectiles, and the means of propelling them, and drags that shall be used on such vessels, and also the character and capacity of pumps or other appliances for freeing the steamer from water in case of heavy leakage, the capacity of such pumps or appliances being suited to the navigation in which the steamer is employed. Every vessel subject to the provisions of this title [R. S., 4399-4500] shall, while in operation, carry one life-preserver for each and every person allowed to be carried on said vessel by the certificate of inspection, including each member of the crew: Provided, however, That upon such vessels and under such conditions as are specified in section forty-four hundred and eighty-two floats may be substituted for life-preservers. Any person who willfully and knowingly manufactures or sells, or offers for sale, or has in his possession with intent to sell, life-preservers containing metal or other nonbuoyant material, for the purpose of increasing the weight thereof, or more metal or other such material than is reasonably necessary for the construction thereof, or who shall so manufacture, sell, offer for sale, or possess with intent to sell any other articles commonly used for preservation of life or the prevention of fire on board vessels subject to the provisions of this title, which articles shall be so defective as to be inefficient to accomplish the purposes for which they are respectively intended and designed, shall upon conviction, be fined not more than two thousand

dollars, and may, in addition thereto, in the discretion of the court, be imprisoned not exceeding five years. (R. S., 4488; Mar. 3, 1905, sec. 3.)

The powers bestowed by this section upon the Board of Supervising Inspectors in respect of lifeboats, floats, rafts, life preservers, and other life-saving appliances and equipment, and the further requirements herein as to davits, embarkation of passengers in lifeboats and rafts, and the manning of lifeboats and rafts, and the musters and drills of the crews, on steamers navigating the ocean, or any lake, bay, or sound of the United States, on and after July first, nineteen hundred and fifteen, shall be subject to the provisions, limitations, and minimum requirements of the regulations herein set forth, and all such vessels shall thereafter be required to comply in all respects therewith: Provided, That foreign vessels leaving ports of the United States shall comply with the rules herein prescribed as to life-saving appliances, their equipment, and the manning of same. (Mar. 4, 1915; sec. 14.)

Each boat must be of sufficient strength to enable it to be safely lowered into the water when loaded with its full complement of persons and equipment.

ALTERNATIVE TYPES OF BOATS AND RAFTS.

Any type of boat may be accepted as equivalent to a boat of one of the prescribed classes and any type of raft as equivalent to an approved pontoon raft, if the Board of Supervising Inspectors, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce, is satisfied by suitable trials that it is as effective as the standard types of the class in question, or as the approved type of pontoon raft, as the case may be.

Motor boats may be accepted if they comply with the requirements laid down for boats of the first class, but only to a limited number, which number shall be determined by the Board of Supervising Inspectors, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce.

No boat may be approved the buoyancy of which depends upon the previous adjustment of one of the principal parts of the hull or which has not a cubic capacity of at least one hundred and twentyfive cubic feet.

BOATS OF THE FIRST CLASS.

The standard types of boats of the first class must satisfy the following conditions:

1A.-OPEN BOATS WITH INTERNAL BUOYANCY ONLY.

The buoyancy of a wooden boat of this type shall be provided by water-tight air cases, the total volume of which shall be at least equal to one-tenth of the cubic capacity of the boat.

The buoyancy of a metal boat of this type shall not be less than that required above for a wooden boat of the same cubic capacity, the volume of water-tight air cases being increased accordingly.

1B.-OPEN BOATS WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BUOYANCY.

The internal buoyancy of a wooden boat of this type shall be provided by water-tight air cases, the total volume of which is at least equal to seven and one-half per centum of the cubic capacity of the

boat.

The external buoyancy may be of cork or of any other equally efficient material, but such buoyancy shall not be secured by the use of rushes, cork shavings, loose granulated cork, or any other loose granulated substance, or by any means dependent upon inflation by air.

If the buoyancy is of cork, its volume, for a wooden boat, shall not be less than thirty-three thousandths of the cubic capacity of the boat; if of any material other than cork, its volume and distribution shall be such that the buoyancy and stability of the boat are not less than that of a similar boat provided with buoyancy of cork.

The buoyancy of a metal boat shall be not less than that required above for a wooden boat of the same cubic capacity, the volume of the air cases and external buoyancy being increased accordingly.

1C.-PONTOON BOATS IN WHICH PERSONS CAN NOT BE ACCOMMODATED BELOW THE DECK, HAVING A WELL DECK AND FIXED WATERTIGHT BULWARKS.

The area of the well deck of a boat of this type shall be at least thirty per centum of the total deck area. The height of the well deck above the water line at all points shall be at least equal to one-half per centum of the length of the boat, this height being increased to one and one-half per centum of the length of the boat at the ends of the well.

The freeboard of a boat of this type shall be such as to provide for a reserve buoyancy of at least thirty-five per centum.

BOATS OF THE SECOND CLASS.

The standard types of boats of the second class must satisfy the following conditions:

2A.-OPEN BOATS HAVING THE UPPER PART OF THE SIDES COL

LAPSIBLE.

A boat of this type shall be fitted both with water-tight air cases and with external buoyancy, the volume of which, for each person which the boat is able to accommodate, shall be at least equal to the following amounts: Air cases, one and five-tenths cubic feet; external buoyancy (if of cork), two-tenths cubic foot.

The minimum freeboard of boats of this type is fixed in relation to their length; it is measured vertically to the top of the solid hull at the side amidships, from the water level when the boat is loaded. The freeboard in fresh water shall not be less than the following

The freeboard of boats of intermediate lengths is to be found by interpolation.

2B.-PONTOON BOATS HAVING A WELL DECK AND COLLAPSIBLE BUL

WARKS.

All the conditions laid down for boats of type 1C are to be applied to boats of this type, which differ from those of type 1C only in regard to the bulwarks.

2C.-PONTOON BOATS, IN WHICH THE PERSONS CAN NOT BE ACCOMMODATED BELOW DECK, HAVING A FLUSH DECK AND COLLAPSIBLE BULWARKS.

The minimum freeboard of boats of this type is independent of their lengths and depends only upon their depth. The depth of the boat is to be measured vertically from the underside of the garboard strake to the top of the deck on the side amidships, and the freeboard is to be measured from the top of the deck at the side amidships to the water level when the boat is loaded.

The freeboard in fresh water shall not be less than the following amounts, which are applicable without correction to boats having a mean sheer equal to three per centum of their length:

For intermediate depths the freeboard is obtained by interpolation. If the sheer is less than the standard sheer defined above, the minimum freeboard is obtained by adding to the figures in the table one-seventh of the difference between the standard sheer and the actual mean sheer measured at the stem and sternpost. No deduction is to be made from the freeboard on account of the sheer being greater than the standard sheer or on account of the camber of the deck.

MOTOR BOATS.

When motor boats are accepted, the volume of internal buoyancy and, when fitted, the external buoyancy, must be fixed, having regard to the difference between the weight of the motor and its accessories and the weight of the additional persons which the boat could accommodate if the motor and its accessories were removed.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR CLEARING PONTOON LIFEBOATS OF WATER.

All pontoon lifeboats shall be fitted with efficient means for quickly clearing the deck of water. The orifices for this purpose shall be such that the water can not enter the boats through them when they are intermittingly submerged. The number and size of the orifices shall be determined for each type of boat by a special test.

For the purpose of this test the pontoon boat shall be loaded with a weight of iron or bags of sand, equal to that of its complement of persons and equipment.

In the case of a boat twenty-eight feet in length two tons of water shall be cleared from the boat in a time not exceeding the following: Type 1C, sixty seconds; type 2B, sixty seconds; type 2C, twenty seconds.

In the case of a boat having a length greater or less than twentyeight feet the weight of water to be cleared in the same time shall be, for each type, directly proportional to the length of the boat.

CONSTRUCTION OF BOATS.

Open lifeboats of the first class (types 1A and 1B) must have a mean sheer at least equal to four per centum of their length.

The air cases of open boats of the first class shall be placed along the sides of the boat; they may also be placed at the ends of the boat, but not in the bottom of the boat.