Engelhardt Dimensions Revised

The Difference in the Principal Dimensions of
the Engelhardt Collapsible Boats of Titanic vs.

Olympic
by Bob Read, D.M.D.

Introduction
Recent information has been uncovered which suggests that Titanic’s Engelhardt collapsible
boats had different dimensions than those of her sister ship Olympic. I say “suggests” because
the measurements depend on the landmarks from which the measurements were taken. The
source and meaning of the new information will be discussed.
Source of New Information

The Ballast Trust recently processed a collection of documents held by the Glasgow City
Archives. Among the documents was an order book from McAlister & Sons which was the
builder of the Engelhardt collapsible boats for Olympic and Titanic. This order book can be seen
here: http://ballastblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/r-mcalister-and-titanic-lifeboats.html
Part of the online article had an image of the page which contained the information about
Titanic’s Engelhardt collapsible boats. The cropped section from this page can be seen in Figure
1.
Figure 1
The Measurements
The measurements for Titanic’s Engelhardt collapsible boats as shown in the McAlister & Sons
order book are: length = 28 feet, breadth = 8 feet 6 inches, and depth = 3 feet 1 inch. Until now
we have assumed that the Engelhardt boats of Olympic and Titanic had the same dimensions.
Since we didn’t have the dimensions for Titanic’s Engelhardt boats, we relied on the
measurements found in the Drawing Office copy, a.k.a. “Andrews Notebook”. This book
documented main features of Olympic from the time she was built through her 1913 refit.
There are two sets of measurements for the same boats. The first is the notation originally
recorded in 1911. It can be seen in Figure 2.
Figure 2
As you can see, this notation has been marked through. This was not because these boats had
been eliminated but rather because a new listing of the ship’s boats was entered on the facing
page. The new list can be seen in Figure 3.
Figure 3
Figure three has the same original Engelhardt boat dimensions highlighted in yellow. The text
outlined in red indicates that these were the original Olympic boats from 1911 which were kept
as part of the complement of the 1913 refit.
What is evident in these two entries is that the dimensions are identical except for the length
measurement. Why is this? They were the same boats. The answer is because the length was
measured from two different landmarks. The 28 ft. length indicated the extreme length from
the outside of the stem and sternpost. The 27 ft. 5 in. length was measured using Board of
Trade landmarks which were considered the official dimensions. These landmark conventions
for measuring boats will be described in the following paragraphs.
The British Board of Trade had specific landmarks for each of the principal dimensions of
lifeboats. The length was measured from the point at which the upper plank met the rabbet of
the stem to the corresponding point where the upper plank met the rabbet of the sternpost.
This measurement for an Engelhardt boat is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4
The breadth is measured to the outside of the planking where the breadth of the boat is the
greatest. Figure 5 show where the breadth measurement would be taken on an Engelhardt
collapsible boat.
Figure 5
The depth measurement for a collapsible boat like an Engelhardt was taken differently than for
a regular wooden lifeboat. It was found from original Engelhardt drawings that the depth was
taken from where the garboard plank met the keel rabbet to the lowest point of the raised
collapsible bulwarks. On wooden boats it was taken from the inside surface of the garboard
plank next to the keel to the top of the lowest point of the sides of the boat usually found near
the middle of the boat. Since the interior of the wooden hull of the Engelhardt boat was sealed
over by the deck, a similar measurement to the inner surface of the garboard plank could not
be taken. So the measurement was taken on the outside surface of the garboard next to the
keel. This measurement for an Engelhardt boat is shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6
Analysis
The purpose of this analysis is to determine where the measurements of the Engelhardts of
Olympic and Titanic differed. If we look first at the length it appears that there is a difference of
7 inches between the 27 ft. 5 in. of Olympic and the 28 ft. of Titanic. If we look at page 44 of
the Andrews Notebook where the dimensions of Olympic’s boats are shown, the measurement
of the length shown in Figure 3 from the notebook is 28 ft. while that shown in Figure 2 from
the notebook is 27 ft. 5 in. Why the difference? I believe the difference in the length
measurements can be explained by the 28 ft. figure being the overall length (l.o.a.) which
includes the stem and sternpost. I believe the 27 ft. 5 in. figure is the length using the Board of
Trade method. So the length of Olympic’s Engelhardt boats and Titanic’s is practically identical.
The depth measurement is again almost identical at 3 ft. for Olympic and 3 ft. 1 in. for Titanic.
Where we find the biggest discrepancy is in the breadth measurement. Olympic’s 8 ft.
measurement vs. Titanic’s 8 ft. 6 in. measurement cannot be accounted for by measuring to
more extreme landmarks like on the length measurement. The length measurement has a
difference between the l.o.a. and the Board of Trade measurement of 7 inches. This can be
accounted for by the width of the stem and sternposts. There is no similar structure outside
the planking which could account for the difference in the breadth measurements. Therefore I
believe that Titanic’s Engelhardt boats were actually 6 inches wider than Olympic’s.
There are no known measurements of Titanic’s Engelhardt boats outside of the McAlister
figures. We have always used the Olympic figures. In Board of Trade documents, the only
numerical figure given for Titanic’s Engelhardt boats is their passenger capacity which was 47
persons per boat. This was calculated differently than for the wooden boats. To calculate the
number of persons an Engelhardt boat could carry, the area of the deck of the boat was
calculated using a Stirlings rule formula. Then 3.8 sq. ft. were allotted to each occupant. So
the occupant capacity was the deck area divided by 3.8. The depth of the boat was considered
immaterial to the calculation of the capacity.
Conclusion
Recently uncovered evidence from McAlister & Sons, which was the builder of Olympic and
Titanic’s Engelhardt collapsible boats, indicates that the dimensions differed primarily in the
breadth of the boats. Negligible differences can be found in the length and depth but the
breadth measurements are of a magnitude that cannot be explained by measuring to different
landmarks. Therefore the primary difference is that Titanic’s Engelhardt boats appear to be 6
inches greater in breadth than Olympic’s.

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The Difference in the Principal Dimensions of

the Engelhardt Collapsible Boats of Titanic vs.

by Bob Read, D.M.D.

Source of New Information

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