IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF IRON SHIPS, AND IN THE METHOD OF FASTENING METAL SHEATHING THEREON TO KEEP THEM FROM FOULING
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Griffiths, of 69, Mornington Road, Regent's
Park, London, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF IRON SHIPS, AND IN THE METHOD OF FASTENING METAL
SHEATHING THEREON TO KEEP THEM FROM FOULING."
Sealed the 28th January 1863, and dated the 29th September 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Griffiths
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 29th September 1862.
I, ROBERT GRIFFITHS, of 69, Mornington Road, Regent's Park, London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF IRON SHIPS, AND IN THE METHOD OF FASTENING
METAL SHEATHING THEREON TO KEEP THEM FROM FOULING," to be as follows:-
My improvements consist in having strips or bars of iron or other suitable
metal secured with screws or rivets along the longitudinal joints of iron ships
having rabbets or recesses on each edge of them, so that strips of wood or
other suitable material can be inserted so as to caulk and secure the joints
and keep the water from coming in contact with the joints and rivets or
passing through the joints in the skin of the ship. When the ship is built
with one row of plates lapping over the other, or what is generally termed
clinker built, the strips or bars in that case will only require to have the
rabbets or recesses on one edge, the recess on the other edge being formed
by the bar being placed as much over the edge of the plate, as will be
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page_text: required for the wood or other caulking material to be inserted. When the
iron ship is to be sheathed with metal sheathing, I coat over those parts which
are to be sheathed with marine glue or other suitable adhesive material that
is a non-conductor, and also the metal sheathing, which may be sponged over
with the ordinary solution used with marine glue, or made hot to make them
stick together just before the sheathing is put on; it is then nailed along its
edges to the wood or the material that is in the rabbets or recesses of the iron
strips along the joints of the ship. When the iron plates in the skin of the
ship are wider than it would be desirable to have the sheathing sheets, I then
put longitudinal strips of iron, with a recess on each edge of them for inserting
the wood in along the middle of such plates to secure the sheathing to. When
the sheathing is secured to the strips of wood in the recesses of the iron strips
or bars, I then cover the strips or bars with sheathing metal nailed to the
wood strips along the edges, or the longitudinal strips or bars may be
covered with a thicker metal than the sheathing, so as to clip the edges of
the sheathing shects, and secure the wood strips in the recesses of the
longitudinal bars; these covering metal I propose to secure to the wood strips
with metal screws, so that they can be readily removed when the sheathing
is to be replaced. In such ships when it is not necessary to caulk the joints
as already stated, I put longitudinal narrow cleats of wood at suitable
distances, to which I nail the sheathing in a similar way to that done when
iron strips with wood inserted on each side is used.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Griffiths in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 28th March 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
GRIFFITHS, of 69, Mornington Road, Regent's Park, London, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Robert Griffiths, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Griffiths,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert
Griffiths, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,

page_text: and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF IRON SHIPS, AND IN THE METHOD OE FASTENING METAL
SHEATHING THEREON TO KEEP THEM FROM FOULING," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Robert Griffiths, iny executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Griffiths, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements consist in having strips or bars of iron or other suitable
metal secured with screws or rivets along the longitudinal joints of iron ships,
having rabbetts or recesses on each edge of them, so that strips of wood or
other suitable material can be inserted, so as to caulk and secure the joint",
and keep the water from coming in contact with the joints and rivets, or pass
through the joint in the skin of the ship. When the ship is built with one
row of plates lapping over the other, or what is generally termed "clinker
built," the strips or bars in that case will only require to have the rabbets or
recesses on one edge, the recess on the other edge being formed by the bar
being placed as much over the edge of the plate as will be required for the
wood or other caulking material to be inserted. When the iron ship is to be
sheathed with metal sheathing, I coat over those parts which are to be
sheathed with marine glue or other suitable adhesive material that is a non-
conductor of electricity, and also the metal sheathing, which may be sponged
over with an ordinary suitable solution, such as is used for marine glue; or
the sheets of sheathing may be made hot (to make them and the non-
conducting materials stick together) just before the sheathing is put on it.
The sheathing is then nailed along its edges to the wood, or the material
that is in the rabbets or recesses of the iron strips along the joints of the ship.
When the iron plates in the skin of the ship are wider than it would be
desirable to have the sheathing sheets, I then put longitudinal strips of iron,
with a recess on each edge of them for inserting the wood in along the middle
of such plates to secure the sheathing to. When the sheathing is secured to
the strips of wood that are in the recesses of or formed by the iron strips or
bars, I then cover the strips or bars with sheathing metal, nailed to the wood.

page_text: strips along the edges; or the longitudinal strips or bars may be covered with
a thicker metal than the sheathing, so as to clip the edges of the sheathing
sheets, and secure the wood strips in the recesses of the longitudinal bars.
The strips of covering metal I propose to secure to the wood strips with metal
screws, so that they can be readily removed when the sheathing is to be
replaced. In such iron ships where it is not necessary to caulk the joints, as
already stated, I put longitudinal narrow cleats of wood at suitable distances,
to which I nail the sheathing in a similar way to that described when iron
strips with wood inserted on each side are used.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood, I will
proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same
into practice.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
The Drawing shews vertical sections and part of a side view of portions of
the sides of an iron ship or vessel constructed according to the first part of my
Invention, and having metal sheating fastened thereon (to prevent fouling)
according to the second part of my Invention.
a, a, in the several sections shewn, are strips or bars of iron or other metal
secured by screws, bolts, or rivets b, b, along the longitudinal joints of the
plates forming the shell of an iron ship or vessel constructed according to the
first part of my Invention. The application of the strips or bars a, a, to the
longitudinal joints of iron ships or vessels according to this part of my Inven-
tion, has the effect of imparting great additional strength to the sides of such
vessels, and also of protecting the heads of the rivets and joints which are
covered thereby. The sectional form of the strips: r bars a, a, also affords the
means by which the longitudinal joints of iron ships are effectually caulked
and prevented from leaking, as shewn by sections No. 1 and No. 2 of the
Drawing.
In place of the ordinary elastic caulking being employed for filling up the
grooves formed by the strips a, a, they may be filled with strips of metal, such
as zinc, lead, or alloys of soft metal. The strips or bars a, a, may either be
fixed over the longitudinal joints when constructing iron ships or vessels by
part of the bolts or rivets forming the joints passing through the bars a, a, and
the plates p, p, of the ship, or they may be fixed over the longitudinal joints of
vessels already constructed by rivets placed at an angle between the rivets
forming such joints. I prefer to roll or otherwise form the metal strips or
bars a, a, of such sectional form that when fixed longitudinally to the rides of
the vessel grooves, rabbetts, or recesses are formed between the inner surface

page_text: of the bars a, a, and the iron plates p, p, of the vessel, into which strips of
wood or other suitable caulking material c, c, is inserted for the
purpose of
making a secure joint, and also for the purpose when required of fixing and
securing the edges of the metallic sheathing according to the second part of
my improvements. The form of the bars a, a, may be varied, together with
the mole of securing and insulating the edges of the sheathing, and in the
Drawing I have shewn several modes of carrying the same into practice, at
the same time I would have it understool that I do not confine myself to the
particular form or arrangement of the parts shewn and described, so long as
the peculiar character of my Invention be retained. A coating of marine
glue, bitumen, Trinidad pitch, or or other suitable adhesive non-conducting
material e, e, is laid over the surface of that por: ion of the iron ship or vessel
to be sheathed of sufficient thickness to thoroughly insulate the iron plates
P, P, from contact with the sheathing metal d, d, when fixed thereon, the
surface of the iron being first well cleaned and "payed "over with a solution
of Trinidad pitch or other bituminous or adhesive material dissolved in
naptha, petroleum, or other spirit.
The method I prefer for conting the bottoms and sides of iron ships or
vessels with the non-conducting or insulating material e,e,and fixing sheathing
thereto, consists in employing canvas, felt, or other fabric for this purpose
coated with Trinidad pitch or bituminous compounds such as described in the
Specifications of Patents granted to the Earl of Dundonald,dated respectively
June 22nd, 1851, No. 13,698, and November 5th, 1852, No. 656, or such as
described in the Specification of a Patent granted to W. J. Hay, dated
February 1st, 1858, No. 186, but other suitable insulating compounds or
materials may be employed, the nature of the insulating materials employed for
this purpose forming no part of my present improvements. Sheets of adhesive
material prepared in this manner (the canvas, felt, or other fabric being by
preference coated on each side are first applied and fixed by heat or other
convenient means to the surface of the vessel to be sheathed, and over the
iron bars a, a, fixed thereto when they are made of iron, but at sections No. 3
and No. 4, I have shewn arrangements of the parts wherein the bars a*, a*,
are made of copper, brass, or other sheathing metal, the bolts b, b, which
secure them to the vessel being insulated from contact therewith by non-
conducting material e,e,as shewn. Having thus coated or covered the surface
of the vessel to be sheathed, I likewise coat or cover the inner surface of the
sheets of sheathing metal d, d, with canvas, felt, or other fabric prepared as
previously described; and in order to secure it more firmly thereto,small nails
may be driven through the sheathing and clinched at the back of the prepared

page_text: canvas, as shewn by a small section of the sheathing so prepared at section
No. 5. The sheets of sheathing metal d, d, thus prepared are then applied to
the prepared surface of the vessel to be sheathed, heat or other means being
employed to cause the two prepared surfaces to adhere firmly together. In
some cases the horizontal edges of the sheathing metal simply pass into the
grooves or recesses formed by the bars a, a, being held securely by the wood
or other filling c, c, as shewn in the Drawing; in other cases the edges of the
sheathing metal are turned up at right angles and secured, as shewn, to the
wood by screws or nails, or by the screws ff, which secure the caps g, 9,
of
sheathing metal, which cover and protect the bars a, a, such caps or covers
9,g, being readily removed at any time for examination or repair if required.
The caps g
which cover the bars a, a, I prefer to make of stronger metal than
the sheets of sheathing metal,as they serve as protectors to the sheathing from
the injurious action of chain cables or other rubbing surfaces. The vertical
joints of the sheathing metal are made secure by rivetting strips of metal
along the vertical edge of one of the sheets, and then inserting the edge of
the adjoiuing sheet between the strip and the sheet of sheathing to which
it is fixed, as shewn by the plan in section at No. 6 of the Drawing.
The sheathing metal which covers the longitudinal strips or bars a, a, the
bars a*, a*, in sections, Nos. 3 and 4, together with the nails or rivets
employed to attach the sheathing metal to the sheets of bituminous material
may be of different metal cr quality to the sheets of sheathing metal em-
ployed to cover the other surfaces of the iron ship or vessel, in order to cause
galvanic action to take place between the two distinct metals thus com-
bined, and giving to the sheathing metal cleansing properties caused by
the wearing away of its surface.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Griffiths, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
ROBERT GRIFFITHS. (L..S.)
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.