Hi Bob,
In the book "The Ship Magnificent." It show a different lifeboat plates
The 14 main lifeboats :Load Plates 30.0 9.0 x 4.0. 64P.
The 2 cutters lifeboats: Load plates. 25.0 7.0 x 3.0. 33P.
The 4 collapsible lifeboats: Load Plates 28.0 8.0 x 3. 40P
So which one is right?
Hello Mike.
The figures shown in that book are rounded-up to be practical. In fact, the BoT Rule for determining the capacity of a boat was to allow 10 cubic feet per individual. The plates simple showed arithmetic capacity...hardly practical.
Boat capacity rating was 10 cu ft/person. Hence a boat with the cubic of 648 was rated at 64.8.
The capacities in the Book are rounded up and practical. In practice, the capacity is found by multiplying the length x breadth times depth times the Coefficient of Fineness and dividing it by 10.
The C of F was the ratio of the boat's shape to a rectangular boat of the same dimensions. In the case of Titanic's big boats, it was 0-633.
The inside volume of a rectangular boat of the same dimensions is 1080 cubic feet, therefore, such a boat would hold 108 persons using the BoT Rule.
The fact that Titanic's boat was rated for 64.8 persons tells us that her boat was 0,633% the shape of a rectangular boat. These were what was termed "fine" boats. fatter boats would have had a C of F of closer to 0.75%.
Hope this helps.