IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS OR VESSELS, AND IN THE ARRANGEMENTS OF APPARATUS FOR STEERING THEM.
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Betteley, Naval Architect, and George
William Bremner, Shipowner, both of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS OR VESSELS,
AND IN THE ARRANGEMENTS OF APPARATUS FOR STEERING THEM.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Betteley and
George William Bremner at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 20th November 1871.
We, JOSEPH BETTELEY, Naval Architect, and GEORGE WILLIAM
BREMNER, Shipowner, both of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHIPS OR VESSELS, AND IN THE ARRANGEMENTS OF APPARATUS FOR STEERING THEM,'
to be as follows:-
"
The improvements in ships or vessels relate to the fixing of a trunk,
box, or casing, near the stern or other part of a vessel, either hori-

page_text: zontally, vertically, or inclined, in which a chain wheel, or toothed
wheel, or other means of rotation can be secured or held, the chain or
other gear being in connection with the shaft on which a screw is
mounted.
A steering screw is mounted in a tubular aperture at or near the heel
of the ship, or other suitable position athwart the ship, and is secured by
cross bearers having bushes on them so that its rotative power can be
utilized for turning or steering the vessel, either alone or in conjunction
with the rudder or rudders; the shaft of the chain driving wheel passe s
through the side walls of the trunk, packed water-tight, and has another
chain wheel upon it driven from any pontoon, direct or otherwise, by the
prime mover, or it may have a crank or disc screwed to it and driven
from above or below. We apply a steam engine, having its piston applied
to suit crank or disc, for turning the steering screw, or the engine may be
applied to the chain driving wheel, or a shaft turned by crank and fly
wheels supported or combined in an iron frame.
The screw aperture is according to our Invention below the line of
the ordinary propeller shaft, and when we fit the trunk or box in a vertical
position we divide it at certain points to clear the propelling shaft.
Another method of driving the steering screw is by direct action of
an engine cylinder arranged above or outside of the trunk, so that the
piston and connecting rods can work on it and thus cause the screw to
revolve when placed above; we prefer to use a forked connecting rod
the legs of which are connected to the crank or cranks, or propeller
shaft.
According to another method the screw itself would have a rim or
rim wheel on its outer periphery having cog teeth or lugs capable of
being worked by the combination of toothed wheels or chain wheels by
which it can be turned, thus dispensing with the crank on the shaft.
Again, in lieu of the steering screw having a rim wheel a wheel can
be fixed on the shaft intermediate to the screw, or between the ends of
the screw or screws.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Betteley and George William Bremner in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th May 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
BETTELEY, Naval Architect, and GEORGE WILLIAM BREMNER, Ship-
owner, both of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Joseph Betteley and George William
Bremner, Her special licence that we, the said Joseph Betteley and
George William Bremner, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Joseph Betteley and George William
Bremner, our 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 In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS OR VESSELS AND IN THE ARRANGEMENTS
OF APPARATUS FOR STEERING THEM," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said Joseph Betteley and George William Bremner, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our,
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 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 we, the said Joseph Betteley and George
William Bremner, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
-
This Invention relates firstly to improvements. in ships, which consists
principally in making the after part of the hull in such a manner that a

page_text: hollow trunk or box, and also a tube or opening in which one or more
screw blades, similar to propeller blades or screws, can be arranged for
moving the vessel over to one side or the other as desired, whereby, in
most cases, the ordinary rudder can be dispensed with.
The second part of the Invention relates to arranging the power,
appliances, and the connection gear or mechanism, so as to work the
steering screw in one or both directions if only screw be used for
the purpose, or for working two steering screws in opposite directions,
and so that the other can be thrown out of gear if desired or kept in gear
to assist the other.
The Invention will be well understood by reference to the accom-
panying Drawings :—
Figure 1 shows a view of a portion of a paddle-wheel steamer with
the after part constructed to receive a trunk or box a just above the
flooring, to be clear of the kelson, and so as not to interfere with the
stowing capabilities of the vessel to any extent. The trunk is shown
nearly horizontal, and with a shaft or spindle 6 across its inner end,
which is closed to prevent the entrance of water at that part. The spindle
lays athwart the trunk and is packed on either side for retaining the
spindle on which a whelp or other wheel c is placed in position to enable it
to be turned by a Vaucanson or other chain or band d, led over another
wheel e attached to a spindle f, which is itself driven by the shaft g of
the main engine of the vessel through another chain or band h, the main
shaft g being provided with clutch boxes and forks for turning the chain
in the proper direction for the "port" or "starboard" steering as
desired, and also for throwing the chain wheel h¹ out of gear with the
engine when the movement has been effected. The trunk spindle also
carries on the inside another wheel for communicating the motion to the
steering screwj by the chain or band k which takes round the boss of the
screw or over a wheel on the boss, the chain being kept from sagging
to within certain limits by rollers 1, 2, over and under which it passes
in its travel. The steering screw or screws ; work in a tube or trunk n
of their own, and it is of such a character that its form strengthens the
vessel at the heel, where it is placed, to a considerable extent, by reason
of its shape and of its flanges, inside and outside, being rivetted or bolted
to the main frame and the skin or planking of the vessel at several points,
and also to the keel q. It will be seen that the steering screw tube or trunk

page_text: is placed very low down and as near the keel and the stern post as possible,
to enable the screw to obtain a perfect bite upon the water where it is the
densest and the least disturbed by the onward motion of the vessel.
Figure 2 represents the after part of, say, a sailing vessel with the
trunk arranged in a vertical manner, the chains being led down to the
screw boss or the wheel upon it for turning the screw. Fixing the
trunk in this manner and its being carried up above the water line
dispenses with the necessity of packing the spindle and also of making
that end water-tight, so that the chain k from the prime mover can pass
freely through holes in the trunk, or the spindle can be turned direct
by a donkey or other engine, which can be arranged horizontally or at
an incline, as desired, such as we have represented in Figure 2, which
engine may be supplied with steam from a separate boiler or through
pipes from the main boiler.
Figures 3 and 4 show views in which the trunk is inclined slightly to
the rear and with the chain k in dotted lines on a wheel between the
two screws, the chain receiving its motion through the chain h and
wheel upon the steam winch r.
We prefer to place stay or tie bars across the screw tube to hold the
screw shaft in position, which bars may be simple bars to hold the shaft
or a kind of grating or network to prevent the entrance of floating
bodies or seaweed. By the two methods last described, the steering
screws can be worked at any time independently of the vessel having a
way upon her, by this means she can be moved over at the stern when
in dock or when lying alongside a quay or a wharf, or when riding at
anchor in a tide way.
Figure 5 represents a view with the steam or other cylinders in a
vertical (inverted) position to enable the connecting rods t to act direct
upon cranks u attached to the steering screw shaft, the piston rod being
guided in its up and down movements by its block sliding in the guide
straps depending from the cylinder cover. In this case the trunk is
vertical and the chains are dispensed with, a circumstance of importance
in many vessels where an after cabin is constructed, it being essential
for that part of the vessel to be kept as clear as possible from chains and
lumber of all kinds.
Figure 6 is a view with the trunk horizontal but of tapered form, or
bell mouthed at one end, to enable the throw of the crank connecting

page_text: rod to clear the sides, the inner end is parallel with the guide straps v
fixed to it, so that the piston rod passes through a stuffing box on the
trunk end perfectly water-tight. In the foregoing description we have
referred more particularly to paddle steamers or to sailing vessels, but by
fitting the vessel's hull with a similar trunk and strengthening the
frame at the stern the Invention is equally applicable to screw steam
propelled vessels, as will be understood by referring to Figures 7, 8,
and 9.
Figures. 7 and 8 show a screw propeller stern fitted with two trunks
arranged. to dip into the water at their lower ends and with their upper
ends "inboard" to enable the connecting rods t, t, between the two
cranks w, x, to be turned for transferring the motion from the crank y
and. engines for rotating the steering screw or screws ; in the proper
direction.
The: employment of the two trunks in the manner shown enables 1
them. to be fitted to existing screw propelled vessel, as the propeller.
shaft is not interfered with in the fitting of them or of the steering screw
tube which is at all times below the line of the propeller shaft and as
near the keel as possible, as before mentioned.
It will be understood that the steering screw tube is broader at one 2
part than it is at the other, so as to conform to the contour of the vessel
at that part; also that the steering screw can be used alone or in
conjunction with the rudder; by this means a few turns of the steering
screw by hand will move the stern over in a sluggish tideway where the
usual rudder is generally found to be a perfect incumbrance.
The
Figure 9 shows the after part of a screw propelled vessel with one
trunk only and that one fitted at an angle in the midship line.
propeller shaft passes through the trunk which is divided or partitioned.
off by a transverse tube, the chains k, k being arranged on either side
of the partition for working the steering screws in the manner before a
mentioned. In some cases the trunks are provided with stuffing boxes
where the propeller shaft passes through, and then we prefer to fork or
otherwise arrange the connecting rod or rods to pass freely down on each
side of that part of the propeller shaft which passes. through the trunk,
this will be understood by referring to Figure 10.
Figure 11 is a view of a steering screw with a rim on the periphery of
the blades, the teeth being arranged like an ordinary spur wheel to

page_text: enable a pinion or another wheel to gear into the teeth and so rotate it
and the blades for moving the vessel over in which the screw bladed
wheel is fitted. The trunk in this method can be of less length than in
any of the others, that being more or less dependent upon the diameter
of the wheel by which the screw rim wheel is actuated and the mode of
driving the pinion or wheel 2. We have shown and described the rim
blade wheel as having spur teeth, but the teeth may be of any shape
according to the shape of the vessel's stern, and it can be driven from
above, or at the side through other wheels, or by a crank or chain, as
desired. Again, the teeth as wheel teeth can be dispensed with, and
projections or lugs can be arranged upon the periphery for a chain or
links to take on or into to rotate the bladed wheel.
We do not restrict ourselves to the employment of any particular
make of screw as a steering screw, so long as it is fitted in a tube in the
lowest possible position near the keel, to enable the blades to act upon
the water which is the least disturbed by the vessel. Experience teaches
us that the steering screw should be placed as near the stern post as the
form of the hull will allow, and in most cases by means of our Invention
that can be done, as by arranging the trunk horizontally on the kelson
or on the flooring of the vessel the hull is again strengthened by the
form of the trunk and the screw tube and the way in which they can be

page_text: combination with it in which chains or other appliances for driving the
screw or screws are arranged, substantially as described and shown,
whether such vessel be propelled by wind, steam or other power.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph Betteley and George
William Bremner, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Eighteenth day of May One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.
Witness,
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet St.,
London.
JOSEPH BETTELEY.
GEORGE W. BREMNER.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)
1