IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING VESSELS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HENRY PHIPPS, of Park Road, Stockwell, in the County of Surrey, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifth day of April,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty, in the thirteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Henry Phipps, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said George Henry Phipps,
my exors, admiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Henry
Phipps, my exors, adñiors, 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, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING VESSELS;" in which said Letters Patent is con-
tained a proviso that I, the said George Henry Phipps, should cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to, be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, to be inrolled 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
George Henry Phipps, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
The first part of my Invention consists in an improvement in the shape of
the sterns of vessels, intended to apply to such vessels only as are propelled by
the screw, and are limited in length by locks or other controlling feature of the
locality intended to be navigated. The objects sought to be attained by
the adoption of the proposed improvement are, firstly, to lose as little as
possible of the capacity of the vessel for tonnage after allowing the requisite
space for the screw propeller or propellers; and, secondly, that the run of water
to the stern and rudder may be interfered with as little as possible by the less
or greater degree of immersion of the vessel's stern.
The second part of my Invention consists in the application of a screw
propeller or propellers to the sterns of vessels, (whether of the present ordinary
shape, or of the form 'above described as constituting the first part of my
Invention,) in such manner that the said propeller or propellers may be.
elevated or depressed by suitable apparatus, and may be worked or set in
rotation by the motive power at any altitude within the range assigned for its
extreme elevation or depression.
The first part of the above Invention, namely, the improvement in the shape of
the sterns of vessels, is shewn upon Drawing No. 1, wherein Figure 1 shews a side
elevation, Figure 2 a plan or top view, Figure 3 an elevation of the end, Figure 4
a transverse section upon the line 1, 2. In all these views the machinery for pro-
pelling is shewn of the ordinary arrangement, for which no novelty is claimed.
The improved stern is also shewn at Figure 5, a side elevation; Figure 6, a plan
or top view; Figure 7; an elevation of the end; and Figure 8, a transverse
section upon the line 1, 2; and all these views shew also the peculiar form of
the stern above referred to, in combination with the improved propelling
machinery herein-before referred to as constituting the second part of my
Invention, which is herein-after more fully described.
The improvement in the shape of the stern consists in making the
upper portion of the vessel I, T, L, K, S, M, Figures 1 to 8, to overhang or
project beyond the lower part N, S, M, W, Q, P, so as to cause the lines
forming the boundaries of the different horizontal sections of the upper
part of the vessel to converge to a point at or about the vertical line I, K,
Figures 1 and 5; and the horizontal sections of the lower portion beneath the

page_text: line K, S, M, Figures 1 and 5, to converge in like manner to a point at or
about the line N.W. The upper and lower portions of the vessel are in this
case united by a horizontal surface, as shewn at I, S, L, N, R, L, Figure 2.
The peculiar form given to the vessel by the above arrangement may be easily
conceived by imagining a vessel of the usual shape cut in two horizontally
along the line K, S, M, Figure 1, and then that the upper portion is drawn
or slid along over the lower portion for the distance K, N, Figure 1. The
effects of the above construction will be as follows, namely, when the vessel
draws any depth of water up to the line K, S, M, Figure 1, the water will be
enabled to close in around the stern without impediment, giving the screw
propeller A less disturbed water to act in. When the vessel is immersed
deeper than the line K, S, M, Figure 1, she will have the advantage of the
additional buoyancy due to the wider portion I, S, L, R, N, Figure 2, and as
this portion is wholly above the screw propeller A, it will not interfere with
the water in which the screw has to act; also, as the boundary lines of all the
horizontal sections in this upper part of the vessel converge towards the line
I, K, Figure 1, there will be no addition to the usual quantity of the resist-
ance arising from minus pressure at the stern, nor any hindrance to the clean
run of the water to the rudder U. Thus, by the above construction a cleaner
run is obtained, and hence water less broken for the propeller to act in than
when it is situated in an aperture cut through what is commonly called the
dead wood of the vessel; also, that the diminished buoyancy occasioned by thus
fining away the lower portion of the vessel, is confined to the smallest possible
depth, as, immediately above the propeller, the vessel widens out.
It is to be distinctly understood, that although the nature of my Invention
is endeavoured to be described by the above Drawing, figures, and letters,
yet that I do not confine myself to any of the dimensions or proportions
there shown, or to any particular material for the construction of the same.
What I do claim as my Invention consists in a mode of forming the sterns
of vessels to be propelled by a screw or screws whereby the upper portion is
made to overhang or project beyond the lower portion in such manner that
the boundaries of all the horizontal sections, from the vessel's bottom up to the
level of the top of the screw propeller, may converge towards a vertical line
in advance of the said propeller, and that the boundaries of all the horizontal
sections above the said level may converge towards a vertical line further aft
than the said propeller.
In order to the more clear understanding of the objects of the Invention,
they are recapitulated as follows: First, to obtain the smallest amount of
resistance from minus pressure at the stern, and hence of securing more solid

page_text: water for the screw or screws to act in, as regards all the water on the same
level with the screw or screws; second, the obtaining a clear run of all the
water above the level of the screw propeller or propellers to the rudder; third,
the combination of the foregoing properties, with as small an abstraction as
possible from the buoyancy of the vessel through diminished displacement.
The screw propeller shewn on Drawing No. 1, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, as
before observed, is of the ordinary construction, wherein A shews the screw
propeller; B, its shaft or axle passing through the stern of the vessel and the
stuffing box S, and connected by the coupling r to the engine shaft C, of which
D shews the crank. For this machinery no novelty is claimed.
The second part of my Invention, namely, the application of a screw pro-
peller or propellers to the sterns of vessels, whether of the present ordinary
shape, or of the form herein described as constituting the first part of my
Invention) in such manner that the said propeller or propellers may be elevated
or depressed by suitable apparatus, and may be worked or set into rotation by
the motive power at any altitude within the range assigned for its extreme
elevation or depression, is shewn upon Drawings Nos. 1 and 2, where the
machinery is shewn in combination with the vessel, and upon Drawing No. 3,
where the machinery is shewn more in detail and to a larger scale.
In Drawing No. 2, Figure 1 shews a side elevation of a portion of the
vessel; Figure 2, a plan or top view; Figure 3, an elevation of the end; and
Figure 4, a transverse section upon the line 1, 2. The same letters are used
in the different Drawings and views to denote parts which are identical. The
machinery consists of a screw propeller A, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, of the usual
construction, fixed upon its axle B, which is connected with the shaft of the
steam engine or other motive power by the universal joint a. The propeller
shaft B, with the propeller A, are shewn by the full lines at their most elevated
position, and by the dotted lines A', B', in their lowest position; they are
placed in the first-named position when the vessel is loaded; and the water line
is represented by the line G, H, and in the lowest position, where the draught
of water is shewn by the line E, F. The steam-engine shaft C, Figures 1 and 2,
works through the water-tight stuffing box b, and is connected to the propeller
shaft B by means of the universal joint a, which admits of the raising or lower-
ing of the outer end of the propeller shaft in the case O, Figures 1, 2, and 4.
This elevation or depression is accomplished, when desired, by means of the
collard elevating screw c, turned by means of a handle fitted to its square end:
The screw passing through the female screw cut in the plug d, causes it to
rise or fall within the cylinder e, which is bored out accurately to fit the plug.
The slings, attached to the plug e, are connected at their lower ends to the

page_text: bearing R which embraces the propeller shaft B, and thereby causes.it to rise.
or fall according as the handle of the screw c is turned to the right or left.
The bearing R is guided laterally by means of the bars g, Figure 1, and in
Drawing No. 3, Figures 1, 2, 4, and 5. By means of the above apparatus the
propeller and shaft may be raised and retained. at any level between the centre
lines B and B', and worked by the engine in that position. In Drawing No. 2,
Figures 1, 2, and 3 shew the screw propeller as applied entirely beyond the
original stern of the vessel at I, K, Figure 1, the rudder being carried by the
projecting piece Q. In Figures 5, 6, and 7, the propeller is shewn as let in to
a cavity cut through the vessel's stern at i, k, l, Figure 5. In the above Figures
the casing O around the propeller shaft differs from that shewn at Figures
1, 2, 3, and 4, in having no bottom, the case being open to the bottom of the
vessel. It is quite immaterial whether the case be open or closed, as in either
case the water has at all times free access to it from the end. Access for
inspection and repairs is obtained to the universal joint a, by the removal of
the cover m on the casing O, of course when the level of the water is beneath
the part desired to be examined.
No originality is claimed in the forms of the
vessels shown in Drawing No. 2; but the originality claimed consists in the
application of a screw propeller and its axle capable of being worked at various
elevations to suit the varying draughts of water of the vessel according as she
is loaded. In the different Drawings above referred to a single screw propeller
is shewn. When it is proposed to apply two propellers, one of the modes of
so doing is shewn upon Drawing No. 4, where Figure 1 shews a plan or top
view, Figure 2 an end view, and Figure 3 a side elevation of the machinery
and propellers. A, A', are two steam cylinders upon the oscillating principle
working to two cranks B, B', on the shafts C, C', passing through the stuffing
boxes E, E. The cranks are kept in their original position nearly at right
angles to each other by means of the equal sized toothed wheels D and D'.
The crank shafts C, C¹, are connected to the propeller shafts G, G, attached
to the propellers H, H', by means of the two universal joints F, F. The
apparatus here shewn for elevating or depressing the ends of the propeller
shafts G, G¹, consists of the bearings I, I', through which the shafts, G, G', pass.
To these bearings are attached the two racks K, K', one on each side of the
vessel's stern. These racks are worked by the two pinions L, L, fixed upon
the shaft or spindle M, to which rotation is given, when desired, by means of
the handle O working the ratchet wheel N, by the ordinary motion now given
to drills, screw jacks for railways, &c.
It is to be distinctly understood, that although certain proportions of the
parts of the machinery and vessels are shewn in the Drawings herein referred