IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ADAPTATION OF APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING VESSELS ON WATER
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHRISTOPHER
DUNKIN HAYS, of Bermondsey, in the County of Surrey, Master Mariner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of December, in the ninth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Christo-
pher Dunkin Hays, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Christopher Dunkin Hays, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Christopher Dunkin Hays, my executors,
administrators, 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 mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonics
and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ADAPTATION
OF APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING VESSELS ON WATER," in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Christopher Dunkin
Hays, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her
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
Christopher Dunkin Hays, do hereby declare that the nature of my said In-
vention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention of Improvements in the Construction and Adaptation of Appa-
ratus for Propelling and Steering Vessels on Water is applicable either to vessels
in which steam or other power applied to a propeller is the principal agent for
propelling vessels through the water, or to vessels in which propellers are
merely used as an auxiliary power. The Invention consists in so constructing
and arranging stern propellers that the angle of the blades may be altered with
facility, and when required the blades may be brought into a direct line with the
keel of the vessel, so as not to interfere with the way or steering of the vessel when
the propeller is not in use. Also in so constructing and arranging the apparatus
that the blades may be removed and replaced, and the propeller unshipped,
with facility. The bringing the blades into the line of the keel will be found
to be of great importance when the propeller is applied to saling vessels, and
employed as an auxiliary power only, as it may occasionally be found advisable
and economical to dispense with the use of the propeller for a time, and if the
blades are not brought into a direct line with the keel, they materially affect
the steering of the vessel, and impede its progress. Various attempts have
been made to construct propellers in such a manner as to admit of the angle of
the blades being altered according to circumstances. I do not, therefore,
intend to claim as new the principle of altering the angle of the blades; but
the plans hitherto devised for this purpose having been complicated and too
cumbrous for general application, and having failed to attain the objects
required, my Invention is intended to simplify the means by which an alteration
in the angle of the blades may be effected, and to enable the blades to be
brought into a line with the keel, and to arrange the several parts in such a
manner that the propeller may be brought into or put out of use, and shipped
or unshipped with facility when required, without interfering in an objectionable
manner with the build or construction of the vessel.
In the Specification of a Patent granted to me, and dated Third July, One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four, I have shewn and described a mode of
constructing a propeller to be used as an auxiliary power to sailing vessels, in
which the angle of the blades may be altered to suit the speed of the vessel,
but a propeller constructed in the manner therein set forth could not have its
blades brought into the line of the keel or be conveniently altered without being

page_text: unshipped, and could not be unshipped and brought up on deck without a large
trunk or opening through the ship for that purpose, which is objectionable, and
ought to be avoided, if possible. By the peculiar construction and arrangement
of the parts of my improved propeller, and the means of actuating the same,
as herein-after described, I am enabled to ship and unship the propeller with
greater facility than by the plans already known and in use, and with less
interference with the build of the vessel; and in order that my Invention may
be perfectly understood, I have shewn in the accompanying Drawings various
views of a stern propeller with two blades, together with my improved plan of
altering the angle of the blades as may be required to suit various circumstances,
and of bringing the blades into a line with the keel, as also the means of
shipping and unshipping the propeller when required to bring the same up on
deck for repairs or other purposes.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal vertical section of part of the stern of a
vessel with my improved propeller adapted thereto, and shewing also the
apparatus whereby the angle of the blades of the propeller may be altered or
regulated, and the blades brought into a line with the keel.
Fig. 2 is a horizontal or plan view, the stern and rudder posts being shewn
in section.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken through the hollow shaft and boss, to
which the propeller blades are attached; and Fig. 4 represents part of the
stern of a vessel with the propeller applied thereto.
a, a, is the stern post of a vessel; and b, b, the rudder post. c, c, is the
hollow boss of the propeller shaft d, d, which is also hollow at one end. The
propeller blades e, e, may be either straight or curved, as may be thought
most desirable, and the pin stud or axle f, f, at their lower end (and which is
inserted into a hole or socket made in the boss of the shaft for that purpose) is
made round or cylindrical. But a portion of the extreme end of these pins or
studs is made square, as seen in the detached view, Fig. 5, for the purpose of
fitting into a pair of sockets connected with the apparatus for altering the angle,
as will be hereafter described. The boss c, c, of the propeller shaft is made
hollow, as before mentioned, and is of a conical form, as shewn in Figures
1 and 2, and the pins, studs, or axle f. f, of the propeller blades pass through
circular holes made in the conical boss, so as to allow the said blades to turn
on their centres when required, but at the same time the conical boss acts as a
shoulder or support to the blades, and keeps them in their proper position, as
will be clearly understood by referring to Fig. 1. To the outer or larger end
seen in Figures 1, 2, and 3),
of the conical buss c, c, a cap piece 9 is bolted (as
and carries a short shaft h, which forms, in fact, a continuation of the propeller

page_text: shaft. This shaft h is furnished with a moveable bearing or step i, which rests
upon and is supported by a block j, that is firmly secured to the rudder post b, b,
and fills up the lower half of the vacant space between the propellor blades
and the rudder post. The inner or smaller end of the hollow conical boss c, c,
is also furnished with a moveable plummer block or bearing i*, but of larger
dimensions, and also rests upon and is supported by a stationary block j*, which
is firmly secured to the stern post a, a, and fills up the lower half of the vacant
space between the propellor blades and the stern post. The hollow conical
bossc, c, and the short shaft h, together with their respective moveable bearings or
plummer blocks i and *, are held securely in their places, and kept from moving
either vertically or laterally by means of moveable blocks k, k, which are let
down from above, and by resting upon the conical boss c, and the short shaft
effectually prevent them from rising. These blocks k, k, when in their places,
are secured by pins or in any convenient manner, and fill up the other half
of the vacant spaces between the propeller blades and the stern and rudder
posts a and b. The inner end of the conical boss c, c, is furnished with a clutch,
which takes into a corresponding clutch inade at the outer end of the propellor
shaft, so that the propellor may easily be disconnected from the shaft, and
unshipped, when required, as will hereafter be more fully explained. It will
be remembered that the pins or axles f, f, of the propellor blades pass through
holes made in the conical boss, but that the lower ends of these pins or axles
are made square for the purpose of fitting into sockets. These sockets are
shewn in the detached views Fig. 6 and 7, 7, 1, and are enclosed in the hollow
conical boss, as shewn in Figures 1 and 3. The pin of one of the propellor
blades passes through one hole in the conical boss, and its square end is received
in the square socket of one of the pieces 7, and the pin or axle of the other
blade passes through another hole made on the opposite side of the conical boss,
and is received in the square socket of the other piece 2. When the blades are
to be placed in the proper position, the holes or sockets of the pieces l, l, must
be brought into coincidence, as shewn in Fig. 7. Then, when the blades are
placed in their proper sockets, the end of the pin or axle of one blade will abut
against the end of the other, and in order to keep them steady a pin or stud
on the end of one of the axles, as shown in the detached view Fig. 5, is made
to enter a corresponding hole or socket made in the axle or stud of the other
blade. The socket pieces 1, 1, are connected by means of links m, m, to a block
n, which is moved backwards and forwards in grooves made in the conical
boss c by means of the rod o, which is screwed at one end, and passes through
a female screw made in the block n, and carries at or near its opposite end a
bevil pin p in the box q. This pinion p gears into and is driven by a similar

page_text: pinion 7, the axle of which passes through the side of the box, as seen in
Figures 2 and 3, and may be turned by a small winch or key. It will now be
understood and clearly seen by reference to the Drawing, that upon communi-
cating motion by means of bevel pinions p and r to the shaft o, the inner end
of which bears against the end of the box q, the block n will be made to
advance or recede along the groove made in the conical boss, according to the
direction in which the screwed shaft o is turned, and as the block n is connected
to the socket pieces 7 by the links m, the said sockets will be caused to move
round, and will thereby turn the blades round on their axes, and consequently
alter the angle at which they were originally placed. The detached view Fig. 7
represents the position the block n, the link m, and the socket pieces 1, 1, would
assume when the blades are brought to form nearly a right angle with the keel ;
and the sectional Figure 3 represents the position of the several parts when
the blades are nearly in a line with the keel. Any angle between these two
positions (as, for instance, that shewn in Fig. 2,) would be a propelling angle,
and may be obtained simply by turning the axle of the bevel pinion 1', as
before mentioned; and in order to enable the engineer to ascertain the parti-
cular angle at which the blades are acting, I have placed a graduated dial
plate on the top side of the box q, as seen in Fig. 2, and adapted an index.
thereto, whichi is worked in the following manner:-The inner end of the shaft
o is furnished with a coarse threaded screw (as seen best in Fig. 3) which gears
into and drives a small horizontal wheels on the upper end of the shaft or
axle, on which an index is affixed, as seen in Fig. 2. The dial plate will be
graduated according to the pitch of the screws at the ends of the shaft o and
the number of the teeth in the wheels, so that the engineer will know by
inspection at what angle the blades stand, or how many revolutions to impart
to the shaft o to give a certain angle to the propellor blades. When the pro-
peller is not in use it may be covered up so as to be completely protected, and
to present a more even, regular, and unbroken surface to the run of the water
than is presented by the filling pieces. For this purpose the blades of the
propeller are brought into the line of the keel, as shewn by dotted lines in
Figs. 1 and 3, and the propeller and all its appurtenances are enclosed between
shutters, as shewn in Figs. 3 and 8.
Fig. 8 represents the propeller covered up by a shutter t, t, which is made
of iron, and runs in iron grooves u, u, bolted or otherwise secured to the stern
and rudder post a and b. These shutters are raised up and let down by me.ns
of ropes or chains attached to the eyes or staples v, v.
Fig. 9 represents in plan the aperture that it is necessary to make through
the deck for the purpose of unshipping and. bringing up the propellor and its

page_text: appurtenances, and letting down the shutters t, t, when required. If it is
required to unship the propeller, and bring it up on deck, the blades must be
-made to assume an acute angle with the keel, in order to admit of the filling
pieces or blocks k, k, being removed; and when the blades are by means of the
shaft o and its gearing brought to the proper angle, the filling pieces or blocks
k, k, are raised up by turning the pinions w, which gear into racks made on or
attached to the back of the blocks k, k. When these latter have been removed
from their grooves it will be necessary to remove the screwed shaft o, so as to
allow the hollow boss to be disconnected from the clutch of the propeller shaft.
In order to do this a short length of the propeller must be removed, as is gene-
rally the case in operations of this nature; then the end of the box q is taken
away, and the bevil pinion r and small horizontal wheels is removed, so as to
allow the shaft o to be unscrewed from the sliding block n of the conical boss,
and withdrawn from the latter. The propeller with the conical boss c and
short shaft k may then be raised up bodily, and brought on deck through the
opening shewn in Fig. 9. In order to facilitate this operation, and obtain a
secure hold of the propellor, which it will be recollected is some feet under
water, I have devised a simple instrument or apparatus, which is shewn in
Figures 10 and 11. This instrument consists merely of a bar of iron a curved
to the form of the blades, the ends of the bar being bent up, as seen in Fig. 10,
to embrace the edges of the propeller blades. It is furnished with an eye or
staple, through which a chain or rope is passed, and also with a socket y, which
receives a handle or shaft, by means of which the instrument is managed.
When the propeller is ready to be unshipped, the instrument is lowered down
by slacking out the chain or rope, and the face of the bar x is brought
against the side of the blade by means of the handle or shaft in the socket y,
and then, by hauling up the rope or chain, the bent up ends of the bar & come
against and securely hold the edges of the blades, as shewn in Fig. 11, and
prevent it from slipping away, its own weight being sufficient to keep it from
jumping out. The end of the shaft h and the smaller end of the conical boss
being guided up the grooves in the stern and rudder posts, it will only be
necessary to haul away at the rope immediately that a secure hold is obtained
by the bar x, and the propeller may be quickly brought on deck; and when it
is required to re-ship the propellor, it is lowered down into its place by means
of the same apparatus.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe that I do not intend to confine myself rigidly to
the precise arrangement and construction of parts herein shewn and described,
as they may be varied without departing from the nature and object of my

page_text: Invention; nor do I claim as new, or as of my Invention, the several parts of
the apparatus and arrangements for altering the angle of the blades when taken
separately; but what I claim as new, and as the Invention intended to be
secured by the hercin-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
Firstly, the construction and adaptation of a propeller in which the angles
of the blades may be varied, and the blades brought into a line with the keel,
as above described.
And, secondly, the construction and adaptation of a propeller, in which the
may be removed and replaced, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Christopher. Dunkin Hays, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.