AN IMPROVED MODE OF REEFING CERTAIN SAILS OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WINSPEAR, of Liverpool, Ship Smith, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the sixth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Winspear, His especial license, that I, the said John Winspear, my exors,
adiñors, and assigs, or such others as I, the said John Winspear, 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 also in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED
MODE OF REEFING CERTAIN SAILS OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS;" in which said.
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said John Winspear,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same,
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Winspear, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist
in rolling or winding up the sail to be reefed over a false yard or spar, or a
spar in front of or underneath the ordinary yard or spar, as the case may be,
with a guide rod to keep the sail smooth and close as it is rolling up, and pre-
vent the false yard from bending too much, the rolling up or reefing being
accomplished from the deck by means of ropes and pullies.
And, in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said John Winspear,
do hereby describe the manner in which my said Invention is to be per-
formed by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawing
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, similar letters being
used to denote similar parts in each Figure:-
The sail I have chosen for the purposes of this description is a square
topsail.
Figure 1 is a ship's yard fitted with my reefing apparatus, and as it would
appear before the sail is bent. A, A, A, A, are four brass eyes or bearings
screwed, two into each end of the yard; these bearings support the ends of a
round iron rod one inch in diameter, covered with wood B, B, as far as the head of
the sail reaches on either side, in order to thicken the rod at that part. Between
each pair of bearings the rod supports a cast-iron reel or roller C, C, which is
keyed on to it to prevent its turning upon it. Round these reels small iron
chains are wound, which are connected with ropes R, R, which are then led
through the sheaves D, D, in the yard arms, and the sheaves E, E, towards the
centre of the yard, and so down on to the deck. By this arrangement it will
be seen that when the persons on deck heave on these ropes, the iron rod
covered with wood, which I call the false yard, will of course turn round, and,
if the sail is bent on this false yard at the time, will of course wind or roll up
the sail, and thus lessen its dimensions, which is, in fact, reefing on my plan.
In order to keep the false yard from bending out of its proper position, and
to keep it in its place, and to support it and keep the sail smooth, I have
added another iron rod as a guide rod G, G, of about half the size of the iron.
rod of the false yard, which guide rod I call a presser boom. This presser
boom is supported by three or more curved stays H, I, H, which will be
better understood by reference to Figure 5, which is a section through the
centre of the yard.
Figure 3 represents the yard in its position against the mast, with its sail
bent on the false yard as it is intended it should be, and reefed or rolled up.
Figure 2 is a plan of the yard, with the sail reefed upon the false yard in
ont of it

page_text: It will be seen, by reference to Figure 4, which shows the sail bent and
ready to be reefed, that the two lines leading from the chains are united just
below the yard, and go down to a tackle block, represented on Figure 4 by
the letters K, K, the fall of which reaches to the deck.
The Invention does not enable me to roll up the sail entirely, but only to
a state of close reef; it is, therefore necessary to state that in order to furl
entirely, the sail must be rolled up by the patent Invention to a state of close
reef, and then the remainder of the sail furled by bunt and clewlines on the
old plan; and it is only necessary further to state that the sail should be
lowered as far as it is intended to be reefed as the reefing tackle is hauled
upon.
Now, whereas I claim as my Invention the improved mode herein-before
described of reefing or shortening such sails, as my said apparatus of false yard
or spar, reels, presser boom, and curved stays is applicable to, and whether the
sails are connected with yards, gaffs, booms, or other spars capable of support-
ing my said apparatus, and whereby I am enabled to do away with all reef
tackles, reef earrings, reef bands, reef points, and cringles, thus rendering the
sail much lighter, more manageable, and capable of being reefed from the deck,
instead of aloft as heretofore. And such my intention being, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, entirely new and never before used within that part of
Her said Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, Her said Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, nor in
any of Her said Majesty's Colonies or Plantations abroad, I do hereby declare
this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my
said Specification doth comply in all respects fully and without reserve or
disguise with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent contained; wherefore I hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and
privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Winspear, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of October, One thousand eight
Lundred and funty thro

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-sixth day of October,
in the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid John Winspear came before our
said Lady the Queen, in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and of 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 Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.