Definition

Noun: A carling float is a specific type of life-saving raft. It is designed and stored on a ship to be used exclusively if the vessel must be abandoned during an emergency, such as sinking or a severe fire.

Usage

The term is used to refer to this emergency equipment in maritime contexts. * All ships are required to have a sufficient number of carling floats. * The crew practiced deploying the carling float during the safety drill.

Advanced Usage

• The term is highly specialized and primarily used in formal maritime safety regulations, shipbuilding specifications, and historical naval contexts. In modern everyday language, more general terms like "life raft" or "emergency raft" are more common.

Variants and Related Words

• Life raft (n): A more common, general term for any raft used for emergency survival at sea.
• Lifeboat (n): A rigid, often motorized boat carried on a ship for emergency abandonment.
• Dinghy (n): A small boat; can refer to a tender or, in some contexts, a type of lifeboat.

Synonyms

• Emergency raft
• Survival raft
• Abandon-ship raft

Related Phrases

• To abandon ship: The action for which a carling float is intended.
  • The order was given to abandon ship and deploy the carling floats.
• Safety equipment: The broader category to which a carling float belongs.
  • Regular inspection of all safety equipment, including the carling float, is mandatory.

Noun

1. a raft to use if a ship must be abandoned in an emergency