Page 90 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 19 - 22

21295. Then it was your view, was it, that it was desirable to have these on board the ship, so that if the Board of Trade made greater lifeboat requirements than you were intending to give you could easily comply with them? - Yes. 21296. That was the object? - That is it. 21297. (Mr. Butler Aspinall.) When did this interview take place? - One took place in October, 1909, and the other in January, 1910. 21298. Was the interview in respect of the “Titanic” alone, or was it in respect of the “Olympic” as well? - Everything was taken to be doubled. It always meant the two ships. Anything which was taken up for one applied to the second ship the same. 21299. Was the second ship laid down at the same time? - The keels were laid down within a few weeks of each other. 21300. Speaking as a practical man, do those plans which were prepared for you by the davit constructors commend themselves to you as being a good working scheme? - Yes. 21301. Which? There are two; the davits which will carry two boats, and davits which will carry four boats? - No, they all carry four. 21302. They all will carry four? - They all will carry four. 21303. The scheme which will carry four - does that commend itself to you as being a good working scheme? - Yes. 21304. And would you, as a constructor, have any difficulty in putting boats upon the decks - four boats, which the one set of davits could work and serve? - I see no difficulty. 21305. (The Commissioner.) There is one which could never be on the deck at all; that is so, is it not? - One would be hanging outboard by the spar. 21306. Always? - Yes, the same as the P. and O. Company generally carry their boats. 21307. It would not incommode the deck at all? - I do not think so. 21308. I do not see how a boat hanging over the side would influence the deck at all? - No, the one overboard has nothing to do with the deck, of course. 21309. Would there be any difficulty in filling all these boats with passengers? - A great deal would depend upon the weather; in bad weather the boats would be little or no use. 21310. You are talking generally about lifeboats? - Yes. 21311. Well, I was not talking generally about lifeboats, but I was thinking about these four boats. Assume that four boats had been placed upon the davits according to your first design? - Well, I consider the whole of those boats ought to have been lowered into the water inside of an hour without any trouble. 21312. (The Attorney-General.) Does that mean the 32? - The 32 ought to be done in half an hour easily, because the one boat is in the tackles ready for lowering, and then you have to pull them up. I think with the present falls the greatest time would be lost in getting the blocks up again. That is really the complicated part of the lowering of boats. Of course since that was made, if it was used on a large scale like that, I think very likely wire ropes with gearing would be the proper thing, because there is a block invented and made that always hangs plumb. The difficulty with the ordinary block is that when you go to pull it up it turns round. 21313. (The Commissioner.) You say Lord Pirrie designed this ship? - Yes, what I call the design of the ship is the length, the breadth, the depth, and the modelling. 21314. Who was responsible for the supply of the lifeboats? - The supply of lifeboats comes entirely practically under the Board of Trade. 21315. Oh, no, because we know this ship was supplied with considerably more lifeboats than the Board of Trade required? - But we always do that. We always give something more. 21316. I want to know who was the person at Harland and Wolff’s responsible for saying, “So far with lifeboats and no further.” I am going to ask another question: Were you? - If I had been there I very likely might -