Year: 1899

page_text: I, JOHN CHRISTOPHER NICHOL, of No. 7, Beaver Hall Square, in the City of
Montreal, in the District of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Dominion of
Canada, Dentist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:_
My invention relates to the manufacture of boats, canoes and the like and has
for its object to provide a boat that is produced by a moulding operation and
that will be more durable and can be constructed in less time that has been
possible heretofore.
To this end I saturate a fabric either in one piece or in a number of sections,
in a solution of shellac or other resinous substance, and I apply the saturated
fabric to a mould or pattern from which the desired shape is imparted to the
fabric, and upon which it is allowed to dry.
The preferred manner of carrying out my invention is to saturate a sheet of
felted fabric in a solution of shellac; this sheet, while wet, is applied to a pat-
tern or mould either by laying it upon or stretching it over the mould and the
ends of the sheet are joined together over the bow and stern portions, or such
ends are folded and joined, the shell thus moulded then being allowed to dry,
and trimmed and furnished as usual, after it is ready to take water.
The mould or pattern may be of any desired contour; and preferably has a keel
strip rectangular in cross section, and a series of strips of semi-circular cross-
section laid upon the portion thereof from which the bottom of the boat is
moulded.
The felted fabric is saturated by immersion in shellac solution which renders it,
while wet, perfectly pliable and in a condition to be readily manipulated.
The fabric thus saturated is then laid upon the pattern and spread over it, and
over the strips to all of which it will cling owing to its pliable nature.
To ensure the fabric taking the exact shape of the pattern it can be pressed
into the interstices between the keel strips and the semi-circular strips (which are
located equi-distant apart and on each side of said keel-strip) and between the
said strips, although I have found this unnecessary as the natural weight of the
saturated fabric will cause it to sink into all recesses.
The edges of the folded portions of the end of the sheet, that envelopes the bow
portion of the mould, are joined together preferably by stitching.
A pair of stretcher strips secure the fabric to the sides of the mould in order to
cause it to adhere firmly to the gunwale-portions thereof, and finally the other
end of the sheet is preferably spread over to completely cover the stern portion
of the mould, and the folds thus presented, are then stretched over the stern and
stitched or otherwise fastened securely in place.
The shell of the boat thus moulded is then allowed to dry thoroughly; the
stretcher-strips are then removed and the shell which, when dry, is comparatively

page_text: rigid although slightly elastic, can then be removed from its mould and after
receiving the flooring, seats, and usual fittings is ready to take the water.
I prefer, in heavy boats, to allow the keel strip and the other strips to remain
in their places embedded in the felted fabric in order to give greater rigidity to
the bottom, and serve as means whereby the flooring, foot rests, and the like,
may be secured in place, although in light boats or canoes, the corrugations formed
by the strips and keel moulded by the keel strip will impart sufficient rigidity
to the bottom of the boat.
It is obvious that, (as the saturation of the sheet and drying thereof require no
attention) according to my invention the time expended in spreading the fabric
over the mould or pattern and forming the joint at each end is all that is required
in the construction of the shell of a boat, canoe, or the like, according to my
invention, and consequently any intelligent person can manufacture a craft of
this nature in about one tenth the time it has heretofore taken a skilled boat
builder to build one.
It is further obvious that if a punt form is desired, both ends can be con-
structed according to my description of the construction of the stern, or both ends
may be finished according to the bow, or other changes made in the precise
construction of the boat without departing from the spirit of my invention.
Dated this 11th day of Nov 1899.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, JOHN CHRISTOPHER NICHOL, of No. 7, Beaver Hall Square, in the City of
Montreal, in the District of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Dominion of
Canada, Dentist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what man-
ner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to the manufacture of boats, canoes and the like and has
for its object to provide a boat that is produced by a moulding operation and
that will be more durable and can be constructed in less time than has been
possible heretofore.
To this end I saturate a fabric either in one piece or in a number of sections,
in a solution of shellac or other resinous substance, and I apply the saturated
fabric to a mould or pattern from which the desired shape is imparted to the
fabric and upon which it is allowed to dry.
The preferred manner of carrying out my invention is to saturate a sheet of
felted fabric in a solution of shellac; this sheet, while wet, is applied to a pat-
tern or mould either by laying it upon or stretching it over the mould and the
ends of the sheet are joined together over the bow and stern portions, or such
ends are folded and joined, the shell thus moulded then being allowed to dry
and trimmed and furnished as usual, after which it is ready to take the water.
The mould or pattern may be of any desired contour, and preferably has a keel
strip rectangular in cross section, and a series of strips of semi-circular cross
section laid upon the portion thereof from which the bottom of the boat
moulded.
The felted fabric is saturated by immersion in shellac solution which renders it,
while wet, perfectly pliable and in a condition to be readily manipulated.

page_text: The fabric thus saturated is then laid upon the pattern and spread over it, and
over the strips to all of which it will cling owing to its pliable nature.
To ensure the fabric taking the exact shape of the pattern it can be pressed
into the interstices between the keel strips and the semi-circular strips (which are
located equi-distant apart and on each side of said keel-strip) and between the
said strips, although I have found this unnecessary as the natural weight of the
saturated fabric will cause it to sink into all recesses.
The edges of the folded portions of the end of the sheet, that envelopes the bow-
portion of the mould, are joined together preferably by stitching.
A pair of stretcher strips secure the fabric to the sides of the mould in order to
cause it to adhere firmly to the gunwale-portions thereof and finally the other
end of the sheet is preferably spread over to completely cover the stern portion
of the mould and the folds thus presented are then stretched over the stern and
stitched or otherwise fastened securely in place.
The shell of the boat thus moulded is then allowed to dry thoroughly; the
stretcher strips are then removed and the shell which, when dry, is comparatively
rigid although slightly elastic, can then be removed from its mould and after
receiving the flooring, seats, and usual fittings is ready to take the water.
I prefer, in heavy boats, to allow the keel strip and the other strips to remain
in their places embedded in the felted fabric in order to give greater rigidity to
the bottom, and serve as means whereby the flooring, foot rests, and the like.
may be secured in place, although in light boats or canoes, the corrugations formed
by the strips and keel moulded by the keel strip will impart sufficient rigidity
to the bottom of the boat.
It is obvious that (as the saturation of the sheet and drying thereof require no
attention) according to my invention the time expended in spreading the fabric
over the mould or pattern and forming the joint at each end is all that is required
in the construction of the shell of a boat, canoe, or the like, and consequently
any intelligent person can manufacture a craft of this nature in about one tenth
of the time it has heretofore taken a skilled boat builder to build one.
It is further obvious that if a punt form is desired both ends can be con-
structed according to my description of the construction of the stern, or both ends
may be finished according to the bow, or other changes made in the precise
construction of the boat without departing from the spirit of my invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate one form of boat constructed according
to my invention.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a boat in course of construction, upon its mould.
Fig. 2 is a rear end view of the completed boat; Fig. 3 is a transverse section
taken about midway of the length of the boat, and Fig. 4 is a similar view to
Fig. 3, but showing the shell upon the mould.
The pattern b may be of any desired contour, and preferably has a keel strip c
of rectangular section, and strips d of semi-circular section laid upon the part on
which the bottom of the boat is moulded.
The felted fabric e is saturated by immersion in shellac solution which renders
it while wet, quite pliable.
A sheet of the felt thus saturated is laid upon the pattern and over the strips c
and d.
It may be pressed into the intervals between the strips c and d, in order to
impart a superior finish but this is unnecessary as the weight of the saturated
fabric causes it to sink into the recesses.
The edges of the sheet at the bow are joined together preferably by stitching 9.
A pair of stretcher strips h are secured along the side edges and finally the end i
of the sheet is spread over the stern portion of the mould and the folds are
stretched over the stern and stitched or otherwise fastened together.
When the felt is quite dry the stretcher-strips h are removed and the shell
which although slightly elastic is comparatively rigid, can be removed from the

page_text: mould and after receiving the flooring, seats, and usual trimmings, is ready to
take the water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
.and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. The herein described manufacture of a boat, by moulding its shell from a
layer of fabric treated with a resinous substance.
2. The herein described process of manufacturing a boat, by saturating a sheet
of felt with a solution of shellac, applying this sheet to a mould or pattern having
strips to form bottom ribs and a keel and joining the edges of the sheet at each end.
3. A boat manufactured as above set forth.
Dated this 25th day of January 1900.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.