Another compartment would hold drinking water, and still
another would be filled with food.
The pontoon would follow the line of the ship and seem to
be a part of it. The means for releasing it before the sinking of
the vessel present no mechanical problem. It would be too
large and too buoyant to be sucked down with the wreck.
The pontoon would accommodate, not comfortably but
safely, all those who failed to find room in the life-boats.
It is Mr. Nixon's plan to instal a gas engine in one of the
compartments. With this engine the wireless instrument
would remain in commission and direct the rescuers after the
ship itself had gone down.
LIFE PRESERVERS AND BUOYS
Life-preservers are chiefly of the belt or jacket type, made
to fit about the body and rendered buoyant by slabs of cork
sewed into the garment, or by rubber-lined air-bags. The
use of cork is usually considered preferable, as the inflated
articles are liable to injury, and jackets are preferable to belts
as they can be put on more quickly.
Life-buoys are of several types, but those most common
are of the ring type, varying in size from the small one designed
to be thrown by hand to the large hollow metal buoy capable
of supporting several people.
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