AN IMPROVED METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING BOATS, SHIPS, AND VESSELS OF WOOD
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
CLINTON ROBERTSON, of No. 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventeenth day of August, in the tenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Joseph Clinton Robertson, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph Clinton
Robertson, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Joseph Clinton Robertson, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in
the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all. Her
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING BOATS, SHIPS, AND VESSELS OF WOOD," being. a com-
munication from a certain foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Joseph Clinton Robertson,
should cause a particular description of the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and

page_text: immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Clinton Robertson, hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, are, according as the same
have been communicated to me as aforesaid, fully described in and by the
present Specification thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
In constructing boats according to the said improved method a number of
skeleton frames similar to the ribs of a boat are first made from a draft or
model, and accurately formed upon their outer edges to coincide with the lines
of sections taken at various parts throughout the whole length of the intended
boat. Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of these frames; and Figure 2
*shows the manner in which a number of them are combined together. A¹, A³,
are the frames, securely fixed to a floor or to blocks placed on the ground at a
convenient height for carrying on the subsequent operations to be performed
thereon. Each frame A¹, A³, &c. exactly corresponds to the section of the
boat at the position assigned to it relatively to the other frames, and the outline
of the whole series together, when fixed in their proper places, forms an exact
model or counterpart to the inside of the boat (with the bottom upwards) to be
constructed thereon, in the manner herein-after described; and this model or
form when once constructed will answer for any number of boats. The whole
of the frames A¹, A³, have at their. upper ends, or those which correspond
with the bottom of the boat, a groove or notch for the reception of the kelson,
which for a boat of twenty feet in length should be about five inches in width
and one inch and a half in thickness; and where practicable the same piece of
timber used for the kelson B should be long enough to form of one piece the
46 apron " or "stemson" C and the "rise" at the stern or "sternson" D. The
piece of timber used for the construction of the "kelson," stemson," and
"sternson," should be made of one continuous length of strait-grained oak
plank, and bent into the requisite form upon the model frame in the following
manner: The side of the kelson which lies downward in the grooves E, E, of
the model frames A¹, A³, &c. is rounded on the edges, and the outside of the
ends which form the apron or stemson C and sternson or dead wood D, are
bevilled off from the centre towards each edge, so as to form a bed for the
reception of the ends of the exterior planking. In cases where the rise of
the stemson or sternson is very sudden and abrupt from the line of the kelson
then it may be necessary to have one, two, or more saw cuts run in a longi-

page_text: tudinal direction in those parts to admit of their being more readily bent over
the moulding frame. The kelson thus prepared is next to be steamed in the
same way as ship planking is generally done to prevent cracking in, being bent
into its place upon the moulding frames, for which it is then ready. For
this purpose one end, say that of the stemson C, is passed through a hole in
the floor or mortice in a block, where it is securely fixed by wedges in the line
of the grooves E, E, of the frames A¹, A, &c.; it is then bent into the
grooves, and the other end, namely that of the sternson D, is in a similar
manner fixed by wedges either to the floor or to a block. The upper or gun-
wale strake F may now be fitted to its place; for a boat of twenty feet in
length by five feet in width it ought to be made of oak plank about two inches
broad by one inch in thickness. The planking forming the shell of the boat
is put on in strips of about one inch and three quarters in breadth, and sup-
posing straight-grained pine or cedar timber is used it should be of about one
inch in thickness. The first strip of planking G is attached to the gunwale
strake Feither by nails or screws, which are made, to enter at the one edge,
and after passing through the strip in the direction of its breadth to enter the
gunwale strake F in the same direction. The two ends of the strips are nailed
or screwed to the stemson and sternson, the ends of those on the one side of the
boat being half lapped over or into those on the other side of the boat. Each
successive strip of planking as it is put in its place is secured to the succeeding
one in the same way as just described, until the last or garboard strakes are
arrived at, which will generally require to be tapered at the ends, and may be
nailed or screwed to the preceding strips like the others but diagonally to the
kelson. When the garboard strakes are put on, the boat, after being smoothed
off with a plane, will have assumed its exterior form without any nails or screws
being visible excepting those at the stemson, sternson, and garboard strake,
which will all be covered in by the subsequent operations next to be described.
For this purpose and also for forming the keel, the stem, and the sternpost,
a strip or rod of wood, in one continuous length if possible, is used, it may
be about two inches thick and three inches and a half in width; the ends
are made with a double bevil upon that side intended to go next to the boat,
with the inclinations of the bevilled parts tending towards the centre of the
piece of wood, so that they may house-in and fit close upon the ends of the
strips G, G. It may be found in some cases necessary to run a few cuts with
a saw across the inside of that part of this strip of wood at G¹ and H, which,
together with the aid of steaming, will be found quite sufficient to permit of its
being brought into close contact with the strips. The stem and stern of the
partially formed boat is first adjusted and secured in its place in the same

page_text: manner as has been already described in reference to the kelson, namely,
by having its two ends secured by means of wedges in a hole in the floor or
block; holes are then to be bored through the keel, the strips or garboard
strakes, and the kelson, and the whole effectually fastened together by bolts
passed through these holes and securely fastened on the inside either by nuts
or rivets; the same means are employed for fastening the stem and stern post
to the boat.
When it is deemed proper to strengthen the boat by timbers inside of the
shell thus formed, the moulding frames A, A, must be as much less as may be
necessary to suit the interior form of the boat, and the timbers must be
placed on the moulding frames. These timbers may either be cut from
crooked materials of the proper form or made from straight timbers steamed
and bent to the form of each moulding frame to which the timbers can be
secured with common wood screws, which can be removed as the planking
progresses. The latter mode of forming the timbers will generally be found
preferable in point of strength if well done, and be cheaper both in material
and labour; but when boats are built in this mode with timbers the kelson
groove E may be so much deeper as will allow for the timbers lying on the
kelson B, and the space between every two timbers must be filled with a
piece of deadwood to receive the nails of the last or garboard strake of the
planking strips, the work in all other respects proceeding as before, except
that the strips may be secured to the timbers by screws or nails driven
diagonally through the edges of the strips into the timbers without the heads
of the nails or screws at all appearing outside; and the holes made for the
screws in the timbers may be afterwards used to put in more screw fastenings
from the inside through the timbers, and into but not through the planking
strips. When it is desired not to shew any fastenings outside the boat, but
when it is deemed proper that saucer headed nails or bolts should be used for
greater strength, they may be driven through the screw holes from the
outside and clenched, rivetted, or screwed, inside upon the timbers. Where
the form of the boat, or other causes, make a different mode of attachment more
convenient, the timbers may be considered as futtocks with the lower end
abutting against the kelson, and may be of the same thickness; and floor
timbers may then be laid and secured with the thwarts over the kelson and
the arms over the lower parts of the futtocks; this mode will be generally
preferable where the timber would bend in an angle on the kelson or where
great strength is required. Whether the boat thus formed is fitted with
timbers inside or not, so soon as the keel bolts are in their place the wedges
that secure the ends and other parts may be removed, and the boat may then

page_text: be lifted off the moulding frame and will be found in the inside accurately
corresponding to the exterior of the moulding frame sections and ready to
have any fittings put in their places to complete the boat for the service for
which she is intended. The surfaces will in most cases require planing to
render them smooth all over. The scantlings given herein as for a twenty
feet boat may, as a matter of course, be varied according to the quality of the
materials, the size of the boat, or the nature of the service for which she is
intended. When it is not convenient to have planking strips or other portions
of the material of the entire length of the boat, any common form of scarfing
may be used at the discretion of the constructor, and nails, wire, or even
wood dowels may be used. It is thought, however, to be preferable to use
wood screws for connecting the planking strips together and to the stemson
and sternson; and also that moderate sized screwed and nutted bolts with thin
wide heads and washers, under the nuts should be employed throughout the
boat. It will not be either necessary or proper to caulk boats or other vessels
constructed according to the present improved method; but if any shrinkage
appears after completion the surface and joints or seams should be well served
with a good coat of white lead and oil of just consistence enough to run into
the seams, or marine glue may be used instead. These mixtures will harden
and form so much of a cement that the boat will seldom or ever shrink again
to open any of the seams.
The planking of the boats has been described as commencing from the
gunwale streak, but it may be commenced with equal facility at the garboard
streak, as shewn in Figure 3, which represents a plan of a boat in progress
of construction with a few of the strips G, G, put on their places, and shews
also how the streaks or strips terminate at and are joined to the kelson B.
The kelson, stemson, and sternson of boats covered with strips, fastened in the
manner herein-before described, instead of being made in one piece and of
straight grained wood may be constructed in the usual manner, namely of a
straight piece for the kelson with pieces cut out of naturally bent timber for
the stemson and sternson.
A farther improvement in the construction of boats has for its object the
rendering of the same more permanently buoyant, and also in certain.
contrivances connected therewith whereby a boat so constructed will throw
out any water she may ship over the gunwale. Figure 4 is a perspective
view of boat built in this manner, and Figure 5, a cross section of the same.
A, A, are two air-tight chambers; the flooring of the boat forms the roof to
these chambers, and they are divided in a longitudinal direction by the kelson.
The capacity of the chambers is such that the load water line of the boat is

page_text: below the flooring; B, B, are two openings (or there may be a greater
number), which, passing through the flooring and the bottom of the boat, are
open to the water below and the boat above, but have no communication with
the chambers A, A. Any water which may happen to come into the boat
runs immediately through these openings, on account of the level of the 5
flooring being higher than that of the surface of the water outside. The
water is prevented from entering the boat through the openings B, B, by the
valves C, C, which open only in a downward direction; D, D, are two
air-tight compartments, one in each end of the boat, which from their
elevated position cause the boat to "right" upon the water in case of 1
being upset.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what is claimed is,―
Firstly, the constructing of boats, ships, and vessels on skeleton model
frames, as before described.
Secondly, the mode or modes of giving the necessary curvature to the
different parts, as also before described.
Thirdly, the mode or modes of firmly securing the whole of the parts
together, as also before described.
And, fourthly, the mode of giving buoyancy to the same, as lastly before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Clinton Robertson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, in the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
year of
J. CLINTON (L.S.) ROBERTSON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventeenth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid Joseph Clinton Robertson came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Seventeenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.