I should be guided primarily by the nature of the sea, whether running high or comparatively smooth; also by the position of the vessel, as regards her being near the land, or having sufficient sea-room. Having sufficient sea-room, and comparatively smooth water, I would take time and save as much as possible to rig jury masts fore and aft. In a gale and a strong sea, I would be obliged to cut much away to prevent the hull of the ship being stove, but should, if possible, try to save any spars that were not likely to damage the hull; any that would do, I should get up aft to set a staysail or any other small sail, iu order to keep the vessel's head to the sea, and with returning fine weather, I would rig the best jury mast I could with such materials as 1 had saved.

13. In case of your ship foundering, how would you provide for the safety of your passengers (if any) and the crew?

If I had passengers, I should, on leaving port, tell off men to the different boats, and these men would be made to understand that they formed the permanent crew of the boats to which they were told off. I should occasionally exercise them in getting ready the boats, and make it the duty of each officer daily to see that his boat was in proper order, with everything ready, a plug and also a spare one made fast by lanyards close to each plug hole, for immediate use; the rollocks with a lanyard to the foot of each passed through the rollock-hole and fast to the inwire or thwart of the boat, so that in an emergency there should be no searching for them; and above all, I would be sure that the boats' crews were trained for each man to look after the proper gear he had to use, so that every man knew his work in case of sudden necessity.

If my boats were lost previous to the catastrophe, I should then set about making rafts, by taking three of the longest spars I could get, and forming a triangle of them; then cross these by others and lash them securely together; cross these again by another layer, and so on till the spars are all used. If I had any empty casks, or water casks, or breakers, I would lash them to the undermost layer, and also rail the edges with small spars and ropes.

14. Name some of the things you would put on the raft ?

Provisions, all the water I possibly could, arms and ammunition, sails and small lines to rig tents to shelter the people, and a small yard with its sail to help the raft along. 15. If you were without water in the boats, how could you alleviate thirst?

By keeping the clothing damp with sea-water.

HEAVING A SHIP DOWN, &c.

1. How would you heave a ship down?

I should first of all clear her of everything not absolutely required; and, remembering that a part of my deck will be under water, I should have that part well caulked, I would have the masts fished, and shored from the waterways by two spars, with tom-shores in the hold under their feet, sheer fashion, well secured at the mast-head, and shores put in against the mast under the deck, to ease the strain on the partners on the under side in heaving down. I would get up as much preventer rigging as neccessary; and if the vessel is likely to be difficult to heave down, I would get one or two out-riggers out of each mast, taking the lower plank of bulwark off, so as to rest on the gunwale, with martingales passed round the keel and made securely fast on the side to be hove down; lead stays from the out-rigger ends to the mast-head; lash the purchase blocks aloft securely, the eyes of the block strop coming round the mast-head, and lashing on the same side as the block, as nothing can be too well secured in heaving a ship down. After I had got the proventer rigging well and equally set up, I should wedge the shores up till the main strain is taken off the standing rigging, so that all the preventers bear equally with it. I should then endeavour to get a pair of spare pumps to put down the hatchways into the lee bilge, to pump the ship out whilst hove down; but if I could not procure a pair, I would take the ship's pumps out, and use them for the purpose. When I had got all ready for heaving down, I would moor her head and stern with an anchor at each end, laid well off on the side to be hove out, with the stream chains fast to the anchors, I would pass them under the bottom, and make them securely fast to the side to be hove down, which would keep the ship from closing in on the vessel, lighter, or quay she had to be hove down by; and if I was going to heave

down by a ship or lighter, I should moor her with anchors, directly opposite the ones I had laid down, so that the ship or lighter might keep fair in heaving down.

2. After you had effected the necessary repairs, how would you ease your ship up again.

I would man the heaving down capstans, and walk them back, so as to ease the ship up regularly without jerking the masts, as lower masts are more liable to be carried away in easing the ship up than in heaving down, by the jerks in surging the falls, if you do not walk back steadily with the capstans.

3. If you had to heave down by another vessel not prepared for the purpose, how would you secure your lower blocks to bear the necessary strain without injury to that vessel ?

If the vessel had hatchways the same distance from one another as the masts of the ship to be hove down, a heavy spar secured under the lower deck beams with diagonal shores, would answer for the lower blocks to be lashed to; but if the vessel is much smaller than the ship to be hove down, the most secure method not to injure the vessel, is to pass sufficient turns of hawser entirely round the body of the vessel at a proper distance for each of the lower blocks, and to pass swifter lashings through the parts of the hawser outside the gunwale on each side, secured to the exact distance, so that the hawsers may not slip apart by the shape of the vessel in heaving down. In heaving the ship down, if I found her coming down very easily, I should pall the capstans, and have tackles got up to the mast-heads to prevent the ship falling too far over after losing her bearings, as ships of a certain build are liable to do.

4. Suppose the ship does not rise, what would you have done, before heaving her down, to meet this emergency

?

I would have taken a warp, middled it, and passed it under the ship, so that the bight is on the side to be hove down; then pass the ends through the bight, and so clinch it on the lee side. Then, if the ship wont rise, I could parbuckle her up with this warp.

5. Is there any other way of helping up a ship that wont se?

masts.

Yes rig a derrick on the barge, and lift her by her

6. If you had to heave her down, say two miles from the shore, and no barge?

I would make a raft, moor it well, and weight it as heavily as possible. The lashings for the purchase blocks to go all round the raft.

ADDITIONAL FOR EXTRA MASTER.

MANAGEMENT OF A SHIP ON THE STRAND. 1. Riding at anchor on a lee-shore, with no possibility of getting under weigh, what would you do?

I would slack both cables out to an end (provided I had sufficient room to do so) and have a good purchase on the cables abaft the windlass leading well aft. These purchases, set well tight, would greatly ease the strain on the windlass. I would also send down the topgallant yards and masts.

2. Finding the anchors still coming home, how would you act?

I would let go the stream anchor, with the best hawser fastened to it; send in the jib-boom; send down the lower yards and topmasts; and if, after due consideration, I found it to be expedient, I would cut away the lower masts.

3. Having done all this, still your cables part, and the ship drives on shore, what would you do?

My first consideration would be the preservation of the lives of all on board, and afterwards as much of the property as possible.

4. In what manner would you proceed?

The means necessary for the preservation and recovery of ships stranded do not admit of being limited to definite rules that can be applied to all cases of misfortune, which seldom occur under the same circumstances, are of the same nature, or to the same extent. The size of the vessel, the position in which she lies, the nature of the ground, (whether composed of rock, gravel, or sand,) whether the ship is in ballast or loaded, (if loaded, the description of the cargo,) and many other circumstances, require the greatest consideration for deciding the means to be adopted, as the urgency of the case may require, independently of the state of the

weather, by which the operations must, in a great measure, be directed and influenced. On the entire sea-coast of the United Kingdom there are not to be found two neighbouring bays or beaches to which the sea flows with equal force, or to equal depth. The declivities of the shores are more or less acute or precipitous, and the sea, in consequence, is more or less resisted in its approach, and precipitate in its retreat. It would therefore be absurd to prescribe determinately the course to be pursued in the varied cases of shipwreck, which alone can be suggested by experience, and will much depend on promptitude, activity, and perseverance for ultimate success.

5. Suppose your ship is stranded on a sandy beach in the United Kingdom, how would you act?

Having got on shore as much of the cargo (if any) and tackling of the vessel as possible, I would place them in a store, or any other suitable place, provided such place could be obtained. If not, I would rig tents with the ship's sails, and stow the materials therein.

6. Would you not deliver them over to some agent, (who might be on the spot,) to take charge of them, and see them attended to ?

No: I should have no authority to do so; but as soon as practicable, after getting on shore, I would communicate with the owners of the vessel and the owners of the cargo, stating full particulars of every circumstance relating to both the ship and cargo, and would retain full power, and hold all command over all things connected with the ship and cargo, until I received a reply, and on receiving it, I should most likely be advised how to act, and would act accordingly.

7. Your orders are to endeavour to get the vessel off, how would you proceed?

As a general rule, I would endeavour to get the vessel's bows on to the sea, by putting ballast or some other heavy weight close forward, thus keeping the fore end of the vessel down, while the after end is allowed to remain light; the action of the sea might then drive the after end up towards the land, while the fore end, by being well ballasted, would remain stationary. If this did not succeed, a good purchase from the shore to the after-part of the vessel might be used at the same time with success; then if the vessel was but