Liberty.-Leave to go ashore. Liberty-men.-Those belonging to a ship's company who are ashore on leave. Lie.-Lie by. To be waiting, or put by for a time. Lie over.-To be heeled or careened over, as a boat, when sailing under press of canvas, lies over. Lie within 4 points, 6 points, etc.-(See under SAILING.) Lie on the oars.-To pause in rowing: the same as lay on one's oars (which see). Lie to (in sailing).—To remain without motion. (See LAY TO.) Life.-Lifeboat.-The principle of the lifeboat as now used by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution is as follows. The boat is about 30ft. long with 8ft. beam, nearly flat bottomed and weighted with a heavy keel. It is propelled by eight or twelve oars, rowed double-banked; but is also rigged with two masts carrying working-lug and mizzen and fore-sails. Occasionally, though rarely, it is furnished with a steam engine and propeller. The bow and stern rise about 2ft. above the main portion, forming air-tight chambers: compartments also run all round just below the gunwales. The boat has a false bottom raised above the water line, the space between this and the bottom being packed with cork; and through this space run several valves, being open tubes through LIFEBOAT. which, should a sea fill the boat, her false bottom being above water line, the water is immediately discharged. Thus the boat is unsinkable and almost uncapsizable; and should she capsize must quickly right herself. An efficient lifeboat is held capable of carrying one adult person to every 10 cubic feet of capacity; to which capacity she must also have lift. of air-tight compartments. Lifeboats are kept up entirely by voluntary contributions. The Institution is, consequently, always in want of funds and support. The number of lives it saves annually may be counted in hundreds. Lifeboats are manned by volunteers; but only experienced men are chosen unless there be a lack of numbers. They are paid for work by day 10s., by night £1; day and night being counted from 12 o'clock to 12 o'clock. Lifeboat cutter (in the Royal Navy).—A long gig (from 23ft. to 28ft.), propelled by six or eight oars, for the use of superior officers. Life-buoy, life-belt, life-jacket.-Any apparatus which is sufficiently buoyant to support a man in the water may be called a lifebuoy. The use and appearance of life-buoys are well known; it cannot be too strongly urged that they be always kept handy, whether in boats or along shore. Besides the ordinary Kisbie's (zone shaped) buoys of canvas-covered cork, there are various kinds, the most convenient and portable being perhaps those which are blown out and tied round the body under the arms. Everyone learning to sail should wear one of these: their cost is from 58. to 10s., and they may be obtained from almost any indiarubber warehouse. The Board of Trade, however, recognises no contrivance that requires inflation as a life-jacket. According to its regulations every jacket or belt supplied to ships' boats (and there shall be one to each oarsman and one to the coxswain) must float for 24 hours with a weight of 23lbs. upon it, and must weigh only 5lbs. when dry. That shown in the figure is the one employed by the Admiralty. Buoys must be of cork and capable of bearing 32lbs. of iron for 24 hours, or if not of cork the weight to be borne is increased to 40lbs. : To use a life-buoy.-Keep as low as possible in it a person endeavouring to raise the body out of the water by the life-buoy is in danger of being turned over. To throw a life-buoy.-It should be thrown flat, as a quoit is pitched. This must be done with judgment and coolness; and if a person fall overboard from the fore end of a vessel, the life-buoy must be carried aft before being thrown. Life-line.-1. Any rope stretched along part of a vessel to prevent a person from falling overboard. 2. Any rope for throwing to a drowning person. Such ropes are always kept in readiness at the various stations of the Royal Humane Society. Life-saving.-1. Rocket apparatus.—Instruc LIFE-BUOY LIFE-JACKET. tions issued by the Board of Trade for the INFLATED LIFE-BELT guidance of masters and seamen when using the rocket apparatus for saving life, may be obtained by any person at any mercantile marine office, free of charge. They are also published in Lloyd's "Seamen's Almanac." (See under ROCKET.) 2. Restoration of the apparently drowned. (See under DROWNED.) Lifts. In square rigged ships, ropes passing through blocks at the mastheads, taking the weight of the yards, and enabling them to be trimmed. In some vessels they also act as sheets for the sails above. "The yards are said to be squared by the lifts when they hang at right angles with the mast, i.e., parallel with the horizon when the vessel is upright in the water." LIFT LIFTS. LIFT Topping lift.-A rope passing through a block at the mast-head and down to the guy end of a boom, to enable it to be topped (lifted) when reefing, tricing, etc. (See TOP.) Light.-A vessel is said to be "light" when she is without cargo, and consequently high out of water. To light is a term sometimes used by sailors instead of to help; as Light along that rope. 66 Light sails. In square rigged ships, the flying kites; i.e., as a rule, the sky sails and their accompanying studding sails. But there were extraordinary occasions when some of the old lineships and East Indiamen could set no less than three sets of square sails above the royals; viz.-the sky sails, the moon rakers, and the jumpers (or jolly jumpers). A ship thus equipped and with her six jibs was literally under every stitch of canvas, even to the last pocket-handkerchief. Lights.-The rules for lights to be carried and exposed by ships at sea come under the "Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea,' Articles 2 to 11. From these we may deduce the following. (See fig. page 160.) Art. 3.—A steamship under weigh exposes, on the starboard side a green light; on the port side a red light; on the mast (about 20 ft. up) a white light. Art. 4.-—A tug, or a steamship towing another vessel.-On the mast 2 white lights (one under the other); the starboard and port-lights as above. Art. 5.-A vessel not under command (¿.e., which cannot get out of the way), on the mast (about 20 ft. up) 3 red lights (one above the other), or if it be a vessel laying or picking up a cable, 2 red lights and 1 white one (the white one in the middle), one above the other; and by day— 3 black balls, or shapes, in the same position. Art. 6.—A sailing ship under way, or being towed, on starboard side green, on port side red, that is, side lights just the same as the steamers; but never a mast light unless at anchor. Art. 7.-" Whenever, as in the case of small vessels during bad weather, the green and red lights cannot be fixed, these lights shall be kept on deck, on their respective sides of the vessel, ready for use; and shall, on the approach of or to other vessels, be exhibited on their respective sides in sufficient time to prevent collision, in such manner as to make them most visible, and so that the green light shall not be seen on the port-side, nor the red light on the starboard side." Art. 8.-All and any vessels at anchor expose 2 white light (not more than 20 ft. above the hull), called the riding light. Art. 9.—A pilot vessel engaged on her station, 1 white light at the masthead, and flare-up lights at short intervals. Art. 10.-A vessel engaged in fishing, 2 white lights, between 5 and 10 ft. apart, one only a little lower than the other, the lower being the foremost. Art. 11.-A ship which is being overtaken by another shall show from her stern to such last mentioned ship a white light or a flare-up light. A dredging hulk in a channel shows 3 white lights in the form of a triangle. The diagram illustrating the meeting of vessels, end on, may be found useful. Here the port and starboard sides will, of course, appear to be reversed. -a landmark by day and by night, for which reason they are of various forms. (See figs.) In ancient times a lighthouse (that of Art. 3 Art.8 Art. 9 Lighthouse. A tower exhibiting a powerful light at its head Art. 10 DREDGE LIGHTS. Pharos) became one of the wonders of the world. The appearances of lights are varied so that navigators may know the coast they are approaching. This is done principally by varying the intervals between the appearance of the light; by the exposition of two or more lights; and sometimes by exhibiting a red light, the only colour which can be used, all others absorbing too many rays to be of general service at sea. There are, nevertheless, certain exceptions to this rule: the Mouse Light, for instance, in the Thames Estuary, is green. A revolving light is one in which there is a stated interval between each appearance. A flash light is that in which the flashes follow so quickly as to give almost the appearance of scintillations. An intermittent light is a fixed light suddenly eclipsed and as suddenly revealed, its appearance being quite unlike that of the revolving light. Light ship.-A light ship may be called a floating lighthouse securely moored on the margin of some dangerous rock or sand. These ships are of peculiar form, and easily recognized. They usually expose revolving lights. A Lighter. powerful hull or barge, flat bottomed, for transporting heavy goods ashore or up rivers. They are extremely common the London river, on THAMES LIGHTERS. where they may daily be seen dropping either up or down with the tide, being steered through the bridges by long sweeps (or oars.) (See fig.) Ligsam.-Another name for lagan (which see). Limbers.-Apertures in almost any part of a vessel, such as the flat floors or through coamings, which are put there for the purpose of allowing water to run away through them. But when the word "limbers " is used without further distinction, it is usually understood to mean the apertures through the flat-floor beams, at M |