AN IMPROVED SAIL HANK OR SHACKLE
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Flint Ramsay, of No. 13, Woburn Place, Russell
Square, in. the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED SAIL HANK OR SHACKLE."-A communication from
abroad by David Granville Low, of Chelsea, in the County of
Suffolk, in the State of Massachusetts, in the United States of
America.
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Flint Ramsay at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 28th May 1875, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FLINT
RAMSAY, of No. 13, Woburn Place, Russell Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
'
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
SAIL HANK OR SHACKLE," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto
me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters
Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that it has

page_text: been communicated to me from abroad by David Granville Low, of
Chelsea, in the County of Suffolk, in the State of Massachusetts, in the
United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Flint Ramsay, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand
and seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said In-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by
the following statement :-
The said Invention is clearly represented in the accompanying
Drawings, similar letters denoting like parts in all the Figures.
In the said Drawings, Fig. 1 is a top view of a hank as constructed
in accordance with the said Invention, the same being represented as
closed; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same as open; Fig. 3 is a
central and longitudinal section, and Fig. 4 is a side view of the said
Invention; Fig. 5 denotes a hank as ordinarily constructed.
The object of the Invention is to provide a simple, substantial, and
effective device for bending or unbending any sail on board ship, and it
can be applied with far greater facility and case than the hanks, hoops,
rings, &c., as ordinarily used.
The improved hank is intended as a substitute for the common iron
bank now in use on vessels of every description. The objections to
hanks of the ordinary construction are that they involve too great an
expenditure of time, labor, and expense, in "seizing" or lashing them
to the sail, and besides the "lashings" often become chafed and broken,
whereby the sail is rendered loose and flappy, and the hank becoming
disconnected is often lost. The said Invention completely obviates such
evils.
The nature of the said Invention consists in the peculiar construction
and arrangement of the several parts as herein-after described, whereby
all lashing yarn or "seizing" is dispensed with, and a non-detachable
locking bolt used in place thereof.
In the said Drawings, A denotes the body of the hank which consists of
a U shaped metallic bar; B is the locking bolt which passes transversely
through a hole O in the lower ends of the arms a, a¹, of the hank. The
said bolt at its outer end is provided with a head 6 while its inner end is
furnished with a short stud or projection c extending from its periphery
and at a right angle to its axis. Within the inner face of the arm ɑ and

page_text: just above the bolt thereof is a socket or recess d, to receive tho
projection c of the bolt when the latter is drawn back into the position
as shown in Figure 2, in order to afford a free and unobstructed entrance
to the eye of the hank. The said stud c is to be affixed to the bolt
after the same has been passed through the arm a, as such arm hás
no slot to enable the bolt to be introduced after the stud has been
secured to the bolt, the said pin or stud so affixed serving as one of its
functions to prevent the bolt from being drawn out or becoming
detached from the body of the hank. There is also formed in the
arm a¹ and above the bolt hole thereof a transverse and parallel groove
or channel e for the stud of the bolt to pass through. The said arm has
also a socket f made in its outer face and below the bolt hole, the same
being of sufficient depth to receive the said stud and thereby lock the
bolt to the hank; g is a helical spring which is coiled around the shank
of the bolt, one end resting against the head thereof and the other
against the arm a, the object of the said spring being to maintain the
stud of the bolt in the socket f when the hank is closed, and permit the
same to be readily unlocked and the bolt withdrawn whenever it may be
desirable.
The improved hank may also be employed to good advantage as a
shackle for blocks and various other appliances used on shipboard and
can be made of any metal or of wood. The said stud c can be made to
fix at any point round the circle of its revolution. The said groove e
may also be placed at any point round the said circle, the sockets d
and fin any other position, and the head of the bolt B can be made in
any shape, and the spring 9 may be spiral or of other construction, and
may be covered with metal or any substance for protection or otherwise.
The hank or shackle itself can be made of any form or shape, the
principle being applicable to any form or shape of hank or shackle. The
principle is applicable to any kind of method whatsoever by which sails
may be bent, and as a shackle to be used for any purpose on board ship,
or for any other purpose for which a shackle may be or become used in
harness or for gun carriages.
The principle of the said hank or shackle is also applicable, whether
on shipboard or elsewhere, in all cases in which the bank or shackle or
the hank or shackle principle is now or may become in use, whether the
said hank or shackle, or hank or shackle principle be or become used by
itself alone, or attached or fastened to, or part or member of any other

page_text: thing, or object, or principle whatever, or used or usable in connection
therewith.
In applying a sail to its stay by means of the improved hank the bolt
of the bank is to be drawn back or brought into the position as shown
in Figure 2; the arms of the hank are next made to straddle the wire rope
or "stay," the eyeleted edge of the sail is next to be drawn up to the
"stay" and between the arms of the hank, and so that one of the
thimbles or eyelet holes shall be in line with the axis of the bolt when
the latter is to be forced through the same and the arm a. The bolt is
next to be rotated one hundred and eighty degrees so that the stud of
the bolt will enter its socket in the said arm, the same being retained
therein by the expansive power of the spring.
In removing or unlocking the hank from the "stay" and sail we first
push inward the bolt a sufficient distance to withdraw the locking stud
from its socket, and next rotate the bolt one half of a circle or until the
stud comes in line with the channel e, when the bolt may be retracted
and drawn back into the position, as shown in Figure 2, when the hank
may be readily removed.
From the above it will be seen that a hank constructed in the improved
manner is one of great utility for the purpose designed, it being simple,
strong, and reliable, not liable to get out of order, can be readily applied
in the roughest weather, and very durable.
Having described the Invention, what I claim is, the improved hank
as described, the same consisting of the body A (provided with the bolt
receiving hole O, the groove e, the socket f, or the sockets fand d), and
the bolt B (furnished with the stud c and the spring 9), the whole being
constructed, combined, and arranged in manner and so as to operate as
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Flint Ramsay, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.