IMPROVEMENTS IN SLIPS OR WAYS FOR HEAVING UP AND MOVING SHIPS, AND IN CRADLES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Turnbull, of Harwich, in the County of
Essex, Foreman Shipwright, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SLIPS OR WAYS FOR HEAVING UP AND MOVING SHIPS, AND IN CRADLES FOR
THE SAME."
Sealed the 24th July 1857, and dated the 9th April 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Turnbull at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th April 1857.
I, ROBERT TURNBULL, of Harwich, in the County of Essex, Foreman Ship-
wright, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SLIPS OR WAYS FOR HEAVING UP AND MOVING SHIPS, AND IN CRADLES FOR THE
SAME," to be as follows:-
My Invention, of improvements in slips or ways and in their cradles for
heaving up or moving ships, relates to ways adapted for moving ships by means
of improved cradles of my Invention, for which Invention a Patent was
granted to me, and dated on or about the Eighth day of January 1857 or
cradles may be specially constructed adapted to my improved slips.

page_text: By means of my improved slips or ways I am enabled to heave up
the ship, and afterwards by means of transverse subways to move the ship
transversely away from the heaving up slip. For this purpose I form the
cradle in detached sections or pieces, dividing the cradle transversely, but
which are readily connected by means of sliding or temporary pieces of
timber adjusted to permit a certain separation of the pieces of the cradle,
which I make in parts of ten, fifteen, or other number of feet in length.
The sections of the cradle are distributed at equal distances apart under
the ship's bottom, and she is hove up on them as on an ordinary cradle.
The frames or plates of the slip are divided into lengths at distances according
to the lengths of the sections of the cradle and the spaces between. The
alternate parts, of the slip are arranged, the one series of parts on the solid
ground, while the next is mounted on rollers and supported on subways placed
transversely to the heaving up slip. When the vessel is hove up the several
sections of the cradle rest on the moveable frames or plates of the slip, and
when in this position the vessel may be moved sideways away from the heaving
up slip. When so moved the vessel is then shored up at those parts between
the sections of the cradle; the connecting bars of the several sections or parts
of the cradle may then be removed, and the cradle traversed transversely from
under the vessel to its position on the heaving up slip in readiness to heave up
another vessel. By these means great trouble and time is saved in taking the
cradles to pieces to remove them from under a ship as .at present constructed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Turnbull in the Great Scal Patent Office on the
8th October 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
TURNBULL, of Harwich, in the County of Essex, Foreman Shipwright, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victória, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert Turnbull, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Turnbull,
my executors, administrators,' and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Robert Turnbull, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any

page_text: time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SLIPS OR WAYS FOR HEAVING UP AND MOVING SHIPS, AND IN CRADLES FOR
THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert
Turnbull, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, 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 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 I, the said Robert Turnbull, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention, of improvements in slips or ways and in their cradles for
heaving up or moving ships, relates to ways adapted for moving ships by
means of improved cradles of my my Invention, for which a Patent was
granted to me, dated the Eighth day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-seven, and numbered Seventy-five, a Complete Specification of which
was filed on or about the Eighth day of July, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-seven; or according to my Invention cradles may be specially con-
structed and adapted to my improved slips.
By means of my improved slips or ways I am enabled to heave up the ship,
and afterwards by means of transverse subways to move the ship transversely
away from the heaving up slip. For this purpose I form the cradle in
detached sections or pieces, dividing the cradle transversely, but which are
readily connected by means of sliding rods or temporary bars of iron or pieces
of timber adjusted to permit a certain separation of the parts of the cradle,
which I make in parts of ten, fifteen, or other number of feet in length.
The sections of the cradle are distributed at equal distances apart under
the ship's bottom, and she is hove up on them as on an ordinary cradle.
The frames or plates of the slip are divided into lengths at distances according
to the lengths of the sections of the cradle and the spaces between them.
The alternate parts of the slip are arranged, the one series of parts on the solid
ground, while the next is mounted on rollers, and supported on subways or on

page_text: hollows and rounds placed transversely to the heaving up slip. When the
vessel is hove up the several sections of the cradle rest on the moveable
frames or plates of the slip, and when in this position the vessel may be moved
sideways away from the heaving up slip. When so moved the vessel is then
shored up at those parts between the sections of the cradle; the connecting
bars of the several sections or parts of the cradle may then be removed, and
the cradle traversed transversely from under the vessel to its position on the
heaving up slip in readiness to heave up another vessel. By this means great
trouble and time is saved in taking the cradles to picces to remove them from
under a slip as at present constructed.
In heaving up ships on slips for repairs or other purposes it has been the
practice heretofore in heaving up more than one ship on the same slip either
to extend the length of the slip, or, where that is impracticable, to heave
or move the ship in a transverse direction on temporary ways, termed hollows
and rounds, or on rollers or other suitable appliances. Now, according to my
present Invention I adapt the slip or way to my improved construction of
cradle, herein-before referred to, and provide it with transverse ways, consisting
of hollows and rounds, or of rails, or other suitable parts on which the cradle
supporting the ship may be traversed. For this purpose I prefer to use under
platforms, which constitute a part of the heaving up slip, supported on rollers
and rails, on which the cradle is received and traversed in a transverse

page_text: the Invention. The slip B, C, is the same as an ordinary slip for heaving up
ships, while from A to B consists of a number of detached parts A¹, A², the
rails or ways of which are in line with B, C; between the parts A¹, are a
series of transverse ways D, D, placed at a lower level, each having a carriage
or platform E mounted thereon, whose surface carries rails, which when
in position coincide with the rails of A¹, A', and complete the rails of the slip
from A to B, and receive the cradle F, F, and ship when hove up. Tho
cradle and ship thus disposed, and as represented in Fig. 2, is free to be
traversed sideways from the main slip, as no part of the cradle rests on the
parts of the slip A¹, A¹.
When the ship is traversed sideways as far as is necessary she is shored up
from from the ground, see Fig. 4. The weight of the ship being removed
from the cradle, the connecting rods or timbers of the parts of the cradle are
removed from the centre, and on that side furthest from the main slip, when
the whole cradle and under platform may be traversed back to the inclined
slip and prepared to raise another ship to be traversed the same way, and so
on, for as many ships as the transverse ways will accomodate.
G is the heaving up windlass or engine, and H, H, are windlasses or
engines for heaving the ships in a transverse direction, which need not be
described.
The plan of the ways shows at Fig. 1 the outline of a large ship shored up
on the main slip or ways, an end view of which is seen at Fig. 5, with
another large ship at one side at Fig. 6, and two smaller vessels on the
opposite side of the main slip, as at Figs. 7 and 8.
The plan, Fig. 1, at E, E, represents the traversing tables or platforms as
arranged to receive the cradle, while E' and E" show the same tables or plat-
forms with the parts F, F, of the cradle placed thereon; E' represents the
part of the cradle having the bilge coads run out on one side, and with the
chocks and upper parts of bilge coads canted half down, while E" represents
the bilge coads on one side canted quite down. The other parts will be
sufficiently explained by the Drawings and the inscriptions thereon.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that I am aware ships have heretofore been traversed
sideways from the heaving up slips on ways laid transversely to the heaving up
slip, therefore I make no claim to the moving of ships on ways transverse to
the heaving up slip; but what I claim as my Invention, to be secured by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the construction of cradles in
sections or parts, and the adaptation of ways to the same, as herein-before

page_text: described, whereby ships are raised, sustained, and moved on lower tables or
platforms and transverse ways, which sections or parts of cradles, tables, or
platforms and ways have sufficient space between them for shoring up the
ship from the ground and permitting the removal of the cradle, all as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Turnbull, have hereunto set my
-hand and seal, this Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
ROBERT TURNBULL. (L.S.)