IMPROVEMENTS IN SAILS AND RIGGING FOR VESSELS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stephen Rossin Parkhurst, of the City, County,
and State of New York, United States of America, for the Invention
Sealed the 29th July 1856, and dated the 14th February 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stephen Rossin Park-
burst at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th February 1856.
I, STEPHEN ROSSIN PARKHURST, of the City, County, and State of New
York, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAILS AND RIGGING FOR VESSELS," to be as
follows:-
. I construct a ring or circular frame of wrought-iron pipe, or similar material,
and fit sails within the same in segments of a quarter, or other portion of the
circle, which sails are attached near the centre of the ring, and provided with
rings over the circular frame, before mentioned, and the two straight sides of
each segmental sail are attached respectively to one of the arms connected to
the circular frame, before mentioned, and to a stretcher on the other side, so
that on giving said stretcher a quarter circle motion, or motion equal to the

page_text: length of the sail at the circular frame, the said sail is either spread to the
wind or furled away in a manner similar to shutting a fan, and a rope
attached to the inner corner of said quarter circle or said segmental sails
serves to tighten the same when stretched. The circular sail, thus constructed,
is mounted on a horizontal ring or circular way, and sustained by metallic
pipes or other supports to the centre of the sail, so that each sail can be
turned around into any desired position relatively with the vessel to take the
wind correctly. And I propose to mount a range of these circular sails on
each side of the vessel at or near the bulwarks, and also a range centrally
of the vessel sufficiently above the side sails to swing clear of the same.
By this construction of sail, and mode of fitting, the sails can be spread or
furled almost instantaneously and without the least handling, and the sail can
never become loose so as to be blown away in a gale, because it is attached
at the centre and circumference of the circle, and is always under strain even
when furled. These circular sails may be mounted on the ordinary masts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Stephen Rossin Parkhurst in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th August 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, STEPHEN
ROSSIN PARKHURST, of the City, County, and State of New York, United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,, give and grant unto
me, the said Stephen Rossin Parkhurst, Her special license that I, the said
Stephen Rossin Parkhurst, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Stephen Rossin Parkhurst, my 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 United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAILS AND RIGGING FOR VESSELS," upon condition
(amongst others) that. I, the said Stephen Rossin Parkhurst, by an instrument

page_text: in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said Stephen Rossin Parkhurst, 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
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
Fig. 1 is a plan, and Fig. 2 an elevation, of the bows of a vessel, shewing
the manner in which I propose to construct and arrange the sails relatively
with the vessel; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the sails in larger size;
Fig. 4 is a cross section of the bed plate on which the mast rests, and shewing
said mast above; and Fig. 5 is a plan of said bed plate and the winch barrels
used for raising or lowering the sails.
. In the present method of constructing sails, difficulty arises in hoisting or
furling said sails, because the same hanging loosely are apt to be caught by
the wind, flapped about, and torn; and said sails require considerable labor in
folding away and tying the same up. The nature of my said Invention consists
in constructing sails of quarter or other sectional parts of a circle, and either
stretching or furling the same by the motion of a radius bar or yard, actuated
by competent power. And in order to carry out this Invention, I fit the
circular frames carrying these quarter circle sails on a peculiarly constructed
mast and bed plate, so that the same can be turned to the wind in the desired
position. And to provide the necessary sail room, or extent of surface, I pro-
pose to mount said circular sails at or near the bulwarks at suitable distances
apart, one on each side of the deck, and erect a mast on the deck centrally
between the surrounding sails, and on said mast fit a circular sail of larger
size than the side sails, and sufficiently above to swing clear of the same,
thereby obtaining a very large spread of canvas, and the whole so completely
under control that it can be set in any desired position to take the wind,
or can be furled in a very short space of time, and that without being handled
by the sailors.
In the Drawing, a represents the hull of a vessel; and b, the bowsprit, from
which stays may extend to the masts of the circular sails, and jibs may be
set over said bowsprit in the usual manner if desired; c, c, represent the
positions in which I propose to place sails on or near the bulwarks, said sails

page_text: being constructed and attached to the circular bed plate, as hereafter
detailed, and said bed plate being sustained by suitable rods and braces to the
sides of the ship. The centre circular sail d is mounted on a bed plate
similar to that of the sails c, c, and said bed plate is elevated the desired
height upon a light but strong framework e, suitably braced, and the spindle
on which said sail is turned into the desired position may in these centre
sails extend down to the deck and there set into a socket. The size and
distance apart of these sails must be regulated according to the size of the
vessel as well as the number of sails, but I prefer that the side sails "be
about thirty feet in diameter and forty feet apart, and that the centre sails
be forty to ninety feet in diameter for a large sized merchantman or
clipper ship.
Having thus set forth the general features of construction and fitting 'my
improved sail, I shall now proceed to give the details of construction of the
sails themselves, reference being had to Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
f is a circular bed plate of metal, attached securely at the desired place,
and receiving a circular traveller or bed g, that is formed of two pieces, and
has a groove turned around on its inner edge, fitting a rib ou the bed f, so
that said bed g can turn on the bed f, but cannot be disconnected therefrom
after the halves of said bed g are firmly screwed together. 1 is a gear wheel
or pinion, taking teeth on the rim of the bed g, so that said bed can be rotated
into any desired position by means of a handspike or crank applied to the
shaft of said pinion 1; 2 is a ratchet wheel on the same shaft with double
pawls, so as to hold the pinion 1 and bed g in any required position; h, h, is
an open lattice framing of metal of sufficient strength, and as light as possible,
forming the mast, and near the centre of the said mast cross bars k, k, are fitted,
to which braces i, i, are attached, passing down to the bed'g, so as to sustain
said mast h; and from the ends of said horizontal cross bars k'tie rods or braces
3, 3, pass to the ends of the horizontal arms or yards ; these should also be
made of light open work or metallic lattice to obtain the required strength, and
pass between the vertical parts of the mast h. m
a circle of thin-strong
metallic pipe, or equivalent material, attached at the supports 4 on the bed y at
the ends of the arms 7 (at 5, 5), and on the top of the mast h at 6, and the upper
end of the mast h may be formed as a flag pole 7, or fitted with a gudgeon to
take a ring from any suitable brace, so as to aid in supporting said mást, but
allow the same to turn. The foregoing parts become fixtures to and turn
with the bed g, and carry the moving parts and sails, as follows:-n, n, are
stretchers or yards, attached by joints 8 near the junction of the horizontal

page_text: arm land mast h, having a fork or ring at their outer end travelling over the
circle m,
and to these stretchers the lower sails ŕ, s are attached, and said
sails are also provided with rings around the circle m; 0, 0, are similar
stretchers above the arms 1, that receive the upper sails t, u. If desired the
lower pair of sails (r, s.) might be made in one piece and pass through the
opening in the mast.h. Upon drawing either of the stretchers n, n, or o, o up,
the sails attached will be spread to the wind, or furled away fold by fold, when
said stretchers are lowered; in the one instance, the said sails furl away against
the mast h, in the other on the yard 1, and to tighten any one of said sails it
simply becomes necessary to stretch the inner corner by means of a suitable
rope; and for raising or lowering the stretchers n, n, and o, o, any suitably
arranged ropes or chains may be made use of, the same passing through
blocks or pulleys and actuated by competent power. These ropes are shewn
in the Drawing in dotted and red lines, one for spreading each of the upper
sails passing over the pulley 11 at the upper end of the mast h, and thence
descending to a suitable barrel or winch q, and another for furling the sail
passing from each stretcher o, o, over sheaves at 10, and along nearly hori-
zontally and over a roller 9, down to the winch barrel (p); by this arrangement
either sail t or u can be partially or entirely spread or furled away.
The lower sails (r, s,) are spread or furled away by a similar arrangement
of ropes or chains, the spreading being effected by chains from the ends of
the stretchers n, n, over sheaves at 10, 10, along over the rollers at q, q,
thence to the winches p, and the furling of said sails is effected by ropes
directly from the stretchers n to the winches, or passing through suitable
blocks or pulleys near the winch; and 12, 12 are pulleys, over which the
ropes pass to stretch the inner corners of the sails. These sails are thus
sustained all around their edges, and cau be presented to the wind in any
desired manner, and the furling is accomplished without any handling, and
there is no chance for the sails to blow away, as the same are always under a
strain, and fold away somewhat similar to a fan.
What I claim is, constructing circular sails of any desired number of
sections that can be partially or entirely folded away or furled by the motion
of a stretcher, or its equivalent, moving on the radius of the circle, or nearly
so, substantially as specified.
I also claim sustaining a mast and frame for sails constructed substantially
as specified on a circular bed in such a manner that said sails and frame can
be rotated into any desired position to take the wind.
And I claim arranging a series of circular sails along on the edges of the

page_text: deck or bulkwarks, when combined with an intermediate sail or sails on the
centre of the vessel, placed so as to swing clear of the side sails..
In witness whereof, I, the said Stephen Rossin Parkhurst, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witnesses,
LEMUEL W. SERRELL,
New York City, U.S.
THOMAS G. HAROLD,
New York City, U.S.
S. R. PARKHURST. (L.S.)