IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STOWING, LOWERING, RAISING, AND RELEASING SHIPS' BOATS."
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Fogaty, of the City and County of
Bristol, Surveyor of Shipping, and James Jewell, of Bideford, in
the County of Devon, Shipwright, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STOWING, LOWERING, RAISING, AND RELEASING
SHIPS' BOATS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Fogaty and
James Jewell at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 11th June 1875.
We, THOMAS FOGATY, of the City and County of Bristol, Surveyor of
Shipping, and JAMES JEWELL, of Bideford, in the County of Devon,
Shipwright, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STOWING, LOWERING, RAISING, AND RELEASING
SHIPS' BOATS," to be as follows :—
The first part of our Invention relates to the stowing of the boat in
the crutches or boat's chocks in safety, and in such manner that she
shall be ready for lowering at any moment required. For this purpose
we construct the crutches in the form of levers, and so that they also

page_text: form the chocks to receive the keel of the boat. When the boat is
lowered into the chocks by means of the tackles the outer ends of the
crutches are raised by means of the levers, and are then secured in place
by pins, the boat will then be safely held. When it is required to lower
the boat the pins are removed, and the crutches then fall by their own
weight (assisted if necessary by a man acting on the levers), and the
boat swings clear. By this means it is not necessary to lift the boat in
order to get her into the water.
The next part of our Invention relates to the davits and consists in
fitting them so that they can be made to slide in and out. We secure to
the spar deck or other place (according to the description of vessel)
transverse guide ways in which the keels of the davits work. The davits
are run in and out in the guide ways by means of an endless chain and
blocks or otherwise, and to enable them to work easily we provide them
with wheels or rollers. These sliding davits allow of the boat being
loaded inboard, and there is no fear of the boat becoming injured by
striking the davits, as is frequently the case when ordinary swinging
davits are used. We mount the lowering drum on a bar or plate which
connects the heels of the two davits, this drum thus always travels in
and out at the same time as the davits. The two falls of the tackle are
each led through a swivel block on the corresponding davit, and then
through a block or cleat on the travelling drum, and they thus unwind
from the drum together. The boat is therefore lowered on an even
keel and the operation can be effected by one man, the lowering being
in fact caused by the boat's own weight, while the man controls or stops
the motion as required by means of a brake on the drum.
The next part of our Invention relates to the means of securing the
boat to the tackles and of releasing it therefrom when lowered. We
employ a hook to which a link on one of the tackle blocks is attached
after passing through a guide in one of the thwarts of the boat. This
hook is placed between two standards or checks fixed at one end of the
boat, and an excentric pin passes through the cheeks and through a hole
in the hook. This pin is provided with a handle or lever. The tail of
the hook is in the form of a catch, which in the normal position takes
on to a catch on the standards, and below the said tail is a sliding paul
which holds up the hook. To the lower end of the hook is jointed a
longitudinal rod which leads along the bottom of the boat to another
hook, to which a link on the other lowering tackle block is attached.
'

page_text: In the normal position of the parts, that is to say, when the boat is
stowed or is being lowered the hooks are in the vertical position, and tho
lever or handle before-named is prevented moving by any suitable
catch. When it is required to detach the boat the coxswain or other
person pulls out the paul which is below the tail of the hook, and then
pulls over the lever or handle. The pulling over of the lever causes the
excentric pin to move the hook backwards sufficiently to enable it to
fall into a horizontal position so that it is clear of the link, and as the
same movement is imparted by the longitudinal rod to the hook at the
other end of the boat both hooks are released simultaneously and
the boat is clear.
In case it should be desired to have the releasing mechanism self-
acting we make the hole in the hook oblong so that when the boat
becomes water borne, the hook drops and then falls back into a hori-
zontal position. The paul must in this case be moved clear of the hook
before the boat is lowered.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Fogaty and James Jewell in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 11th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
FOGATY, of the City and County of Bristol, Surveyor of Shipping, and
JAMES JEWELL, of Bideford, in the County of Devon, Shipwright, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Fogaty and James Jewell, Her
special licence that we, the said Thomas Fogaty and James Jewell, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Thomas Fogaty and James Jewell, our 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 and vend, within the

page_text: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
STOWING, LOWERING, RAISING, AND RELEASING SHIPS' BOATS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Fogaty and James
Jewell, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or one of our, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Thomas Fogaty and James Jewell,
do hereby declare the nature of our 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, reference
being had to the accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
The first part of our Invention relates to the stowing of the boat in
the crutches or boat's chocks in safety, and in such manner that she
shall be ready for lowering at any moment required. For this purpose
we construct the crutches in the form of levers, and so that they also
form the chocks to receive the keel of the boat. When the boat is
lowered into the chocks by means of the tackles the outer ends of the
.crutches are raised by means of the levers, and are then secured in place
by pins, the boat will then be safely held. When it is required to lower
the boat into the water the pins are removed, and the crutches then fall
by their own weight (assisted if necessary by a man acting on the
levers), and the boat swings clear. By this means it is not necessary to
lift the boat in order to get her into the water.
This part of our Invention will be fully understood on reference to
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings, which is a side elevation of one of
our improved crutches; a is the crutch which is prolonged in the form
of a lever 6 pivoted at c to a standard or upright d; e is a back limb
of the crutch fixed to the standard c. When the boat has to be lowered
into its crutches (of which there will be one for each end of the boat),
the lever crutches a are in the position shewn in dotted lines, and after
the boat is lowered therein by means of the tackles the crutches are
lifted by means of their levers 6 into the position shewn in full lines,
and pins are inserted into the holes f to secure them in place, the boat
will thus be securely held. When, on the other hand, the boat has to be

page_text: lowered into the water the pins at fare withdrawn, when the crutches a
will fall into the position shewn in dotted lines and the boat swings
clear. Our improved crutches are also seen on a smaller scale in
Figures 2 and 3 herein-after described.
The next part of our Invention relates to the davits, and consists in
fitting them so that they can be made to slide in and out. We secure to
the spar deck or other place (according to the description of vessel)
transverse guide ways in which the heels of the davits work. The
davits are run in and out in the guide ways by means of an endless chain
and blocks or otherwise, and to enable them to work easily we provide
them with wheels or rollers.
r
8
Figure 2 is an end view partly in section; Figure 3, a side view, and
Figure 4, a plan representing this part of our Invention; g, g³, are the
davits, the heels of which are provided with wheels or rollers, as shewn,
and run in transverse guide ways h, h. For the purpose of running the
davits in and out in these guide ways we have shewn by way of example a
barrel or drum i (Figure 2), from which a chain k is passed through a
hole in the vessel's side, then over a pulley 7 and through swivel blocks
m and n to a travelling block o. From this block o a chain p is carried
round a pulley q to the outer end of the heel of the davit 9, while another
chain from the block o is carried round rollers s and t to the outer end
of the heel of the other davit g¹. Thus it will be seen that by hauling
on the chain k by means of the drum i the davits will be run out. Then
for running them in a chain u from the drum i is likewise carried
through the side of the vessel over a pulley and through swivel
blocks w and x to a travelling block y. From this block y a chain z is
carried round the roller a¹ to the rear of the heel of the davit g' while
another chain z¹ is carried from the block y round rollers 6' and c¹ to the
rear of the heel of the davit g. These sliding davits allow of the boat
being loaded inboard, and there is no fear of the boat becoming injured
by striking the davits, as is frequently the case when ordinary swinging
davits are used. We mount the lowering drum d' on a bar or plate e',
which connects the heels of the two davits; this drum thus always
travels in and out at the same time as the davits. The two falls of the
tackle are each led through a swivel block f¹, f2, on the corresponding
davit, and then through a block or cleat h³, h³, on the travelling drum,
and they thus unwind from the drum together. The boat is therefore
lowered on an even keel and the operation can be effected by one man,

page_text: the lowering being in fact caused by the boat's own weight, while the
man controls or stops the motion as required by means of a brake on the
drum.
The next part of our Invention relates to the means of securing the
boat to the tackles, and of releasing her therefrom when lowered. We
employ a hook to which a link on one of the tackle blocks is attached
after passing through a guide in one of the thwarts of the boat. This
hook is placed between two standards or cheeks fixed at one end of the
boat, and an excentric pin passes through the cheeks and through a
hole in the hook. This pin is provided with a handle or lever. The
tail of the hook is in the form of a catch, which in the normal position
takes on to a catch on the standards, and below the said tail is a sliding
paul which holds up the hook. To the lower end of the hook is jointed
a longitudinal rod which leads along the bottom of the boat to another
hook to which a link on the other lowering tackle block is attached.
Figure 5 is a side elevation partly in section, and Figure 6 an end
view shewing our apparatus for securing the boat to the tackles and of
releasing her therefrom when lowered. The apparatus is also seen on a
smaller scale in Figures 2, 3, and 4. A is a hook to which a link, B on
one of the tackles is attached after passing through a guide in one of the
thwarts C; this hook is placed between two standards D, D, fixed at
the stern of the boat. E is a pin carrying an excentric F; this pin passes
through the standards D, D, and through a hole in the hook A, and
the excentric F fits the said hole. G is a check or piece fitted against
the standard after the pin and excentric are in place; H is a lever
handle fitted to the pin E. The tail of the hook A is in the form of a
catch I, which takes on to a catch K on the standards D, D; Lis a
sliding paul to hold up the hook A; M is a longitudinal rod jointed to
the lower end of the hook A, and extending along the bottom of the
boat to another hook N to which a link O on the other lowering tackle
block is attached.
Having described the parts of which this apparatus is composed,
I will now proceed to explain their action. In the normal position, that
is to say, when the boat is stowed or is being lowered, the hooks A and
N are in the vertical position, and the lever or handle H before-named is
prevented moving by any suitable catch. When it is required to detach
the boat the coxswain or other person pulls out the paul L which is
below the tail of the hook A, and then pulls over the lever or handle H,

page_text: The pulling over of the lever causes the excentric pin E, F, to move the
hook backwards as represented in dotted lines, so that it is clear of the
link B, and as the same movement is imparted by the longitudinal
rod M to the hook N at the other end of the boat, both hooks A and N
are released simultaneously and the boat is clear.
In case it should be desired to have the releasing mechanism self-
acting, we make the hole in the hook A oblong, as indicated by dots at
F, Figure 5, so that when the boat becomes water borne the hook drops
and then falls back. The paul L must in this case be moved clear of
the hook before the boat is lowered.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we claim,―
First. Constructing boats' crutches or chocks, substantially as herein-
before described and represented in the annexed Drawings.
Second. Fitting davits in such manner that they can slide in and out,
substantially as hercin-before described and represented in the annexed
Drawings.
Third. Mounting the lowering drum so that it travels in and out with
the sliding davits, substantially as herein-before described and represented
in the annexed Drawings.
Fourth. Leading the falls of the tackle through swivel blocks on the
davits, and then through blocks or cleats on the drum so that they
unwind from the drum together, substantially as herein-before described
and represented in the annexed Drawings.
Fifth. Constructing apparatus for securing the boat to the tackles and
releasing her therefrom, substantially as herein-before described and
represented in the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Jewell, on behalf of myself
and the said Thomas Fogaty, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Tenth day of December, One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-five.
JAMES JEWELL. (L.S.)