Improvements in the Means of Carrying and Launching Ships' Boats, and Novel or Improved Means to Facilitate Access to the Boats when Suspended Outboard.
Year: 1899

page_text: :
Date of Application, 3rd May, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 5th Feb., 1900-Accepted, 24th Mar., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Means of Carrying and Launching Ships' Boats,
and Novel or Improved Means to Facilitate Access to the Boats
when Suspended Outboard.
We, WALTER JONES, of Holly Mount, Stourbridge, in the County of Worcester,
Engineer and Ironfounder, and WILLIAM COOK, of Abbey Hill, Edinburgh, Engi-
neer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has the following objects, namely, to carry a ship's boat clear
of the deck and in a manner which prevents it swinging and prevents access
thereto, to enable the boat to be turned outboard, in position for lowering into
the water, in an extremely short space of time, by apparatus which may be
readily manipulated, notwithstanding a rush of panic-stricken people to the place
where the boat is being lowered, and to afford safe and ready means of access
from the ship to the boat when the latter is outboard in position ready for
lowering into the water.
According to this invention, two stanchions are fixed upon the deck of the ship,
near to the side thereof, and carry a shaft which is mounted in bearings formed
with or fixed to their upper ends. Two arms, each formed as a short lattice girder,
are, pivoted, at what are their lower outer corners when the boat is inboard, to
the shaft, and are spaced a considerable distance apart. When the boat is
inboard, it rests, keel upwards, upon the inner ends of the girders. The main
portions of the girders extend, however, conveniently, only to about the middle
of the boat, but a bar or member of each girder extends sufficiently further in-
wards for the inner side of the boat to rest thereon. The boat is held down upon
the girders by suitable tackle. A worm wheel is fixed upon the shaft, and a
worm which gears therewith is fixed upon a spindle which is provided with a
suitable hand wheel and handle, and by these means the shaft may be caused to
turn and the arms be moved over in an outward direction, thus carrying the
boat over outboard, and bringing it into position with its keel downwards. The
arms then, of course, extend outwards from the ship's side, and the boat is sus-
pended by the tackle from what are then the outer ends of the arms. A platform
extends across between what are then the lower sides of the arms, and forms a
gangway which gives ready access from the ship's side to the boat, while the lat-
tice sides thereof, formed by the arms, afford protection against risk of falling
off the sides of the platform. The worm may be operated by a suitable motor, in
lieu of being worked by hand; and any suitable gearing for operating the shaft
may be substituted for that above described, and be worked by hand or by a
motor as desired. The boat may be readily lowered, either by persons within it,
or from the ship's side. Means are provided by which both ends of the boat may
be simultaneously disconnected from the tackle, as the boat reaches the water:
and a convenient means for the purpose comprise a pair of vertical levers which
are connected together at their lower ends by a rod which runs longitudinally
under the floor of the boat. The upper end of each lever is pivotally connected

page_text: with a pin by means of which a set of tackle is secured within a jawed upper end
of a stanchion to which the lever is pivoted. The longitudinal rod is pivotally
connected at its hinder end with a handle lever, and this lever is preferably under-
neath the steerer's seat so as to be out of the way. If the lever is pulled in the
proper direction therefor, the pins which retain the two sets of tackle are simul-
taneously withdrawn therefrom, and the boat thus released simultaneously from
both sets of tackle. Rigid arms, preferably, extend backwards from the upper
ends of the stanchions, and upon these the arms which are carried, by the shaft
rest when they are in their inward position; and struts may be fixed to the
moving arms, which will come against the ship's side when the boat is moved
outboard, and thus tend to support what are then the outer ends of such arms. .
Dated this 2nd day of May 1899.
STEPHEN WATKINS & GROVES,
Wolverhampton, Agents for the Applicants."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATIOA.
Improvements in the Means of Carrying and Launching Ships' Boats,
and Novel or Improved Means to Facilitate Access to the Boats
when Suspended Outboard.
We, WALTER JONES, of Holly Mount, Stourbridge, in the County of Worcester,
Engineer and Ironfounder, and WILLIAM COOK, of Abbey Hill, Edinburgh, Engi-
neer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:—
This invention has the following objects, namely, to carry a ship's boat clear
of the deck and in a manner which prevents it swinging and prevents access
thereto, to enable the boat to be turned outboard, in position for lowering into
the water, in an extremely short space of time, by apparatus which may be
readily manipulated, notwithstanding a rush of panic-stricken people to the place
where the boat is being lowered, and to afford safe and ready means of access
from the ship to the boat when the latter is outboard in position ready for
lowering into the water.
According to this invention, two stanchions are fixed upon the deck of the ship,
near to the side thereof, and carry a shaft which is mounted in bearings formed
with or fixed to their upper ends. Two arms, each formed, preferably, as a short
lattice girder, are pivoted at their inner ends to the stanchions by means of the
shaft, aforesaid, and are spaced a considerable distance apart. When the boat
is inboard, it rests, keel upwards, upon the inner ends of the arms. The main
portions of the arms extend, however, conveniently, only to about the middle of
the boat but a bar or member of each arm extends sufficiently further inwards for
the inner side of the boat to rest thereon. The boat is held down upon the arms
by suitable tackle. Worm wheels are fixed upon the shaft, and worms which gear
therewith are fixed upon spindles which are provided with suitable handles, and
by these means the shaft may be caused to turn and the arms be moved over in an
outward direction, thus carrying the boat over outboard, and bringing it into
position with its keel downwards. The arms then, of course, extend outwards
from the ship's side, and the boat is suspended by the tackle from what are then
the outer ends of the arms. A platform or web extends across between what are
then the lower sides of the arms, and forms a gangway which gives ready access
from the ship's side to the boat, while the lattice sides thereof, formed by the

page_text: arms, when such are made, as preferred, as lattice girders, afford protection
against risk of falling off the sides of the platform. The worms may be operated
by a suitable motor in lieu of being worked by hand and any suitable gearing
for operating the shaft may be substituted for that above described, and be
worked by hand or by a motor as desired. The boat may be readily lowered,
either by persons within it, or from the ship's side. Means are provided by which
both ends of the boat may be simultaneously disconnected froin the tackle, as the
boat approaches or reaches the water, and convenient means for the purpose com
prise, a pair of vertical levers which are connected together at their lower.ends
by a rod which runs longitudinally under the floor of the boat. The upper end
of each lever is connected with a bolt by means of which a set of tackle.is
secured within a jawed upper end of a stanchion to which the lever is pivoted;
The longitudinal rod is pivotally connected at its hinder end with a handle lever,
and this lever is preferably underneath the steerer's seat so as to be out of the
way. If the lever is pulled in the proper direction therefor, the bolts which
retain the two sets of tackle. are simultaneously withdrawn therefrom, and the
boat thus released simultaneously from both sets of tackle. Rigid arms, prefer:
ably, extend backwards from the upper ends of the stanchions, and upon these
the arms which are carried by the shaft rest when they are in their inward posi-
tion: and struts may be fixed to the moving arms, which will come against the
ship's side when the boat is moved outboard, and thus tend to support what are
then the outer ends of such arms.
In order that the invention may be clearly understood, we will now proceed
to describe a practical application of the same with reference to the accompanying
drawings, of which Figure 1 is a side elevation of apparatus, constructed accord-
ing to this invention, for use in carrying and launching a ship's boat, and affording
ready access thereto when suspended outboard. In this view, parts of the appara-
tus are shewn by full lines in their outboard position, and the. boat which. is
suspended therefrom appears in section but these parts and the boat are shewn
in this view by broken lines in their inboard position, also. Figure 2 is a front
or outer view of the apparatus. shewn by Figure 1, the boat being shewn.in
longitudinal section:
AA are two stancheons fixed to the deck B of the ship, near to the side thereof
and some distance apart. C is a shaft carried in bearings at the upper ends of the
stanchions. Dare arms formed, preferably, as lattice girders, as shown. These
arms are fixed to the shaft C, and the shaft is conveniently turned so as to bring
the arms from their outboard position, shewn by full lines Figure 1, into
their inboard position; shewn by broken lines in the same figure, and
vice versa, by means of worm wheels fixed to the shaft and gearing with
worms E fixed to the vertical spindles F which have handles G on their lower
ends, the two spindles being geared together by bevel gearing, as shewn, to
ensure that they will operate together. Brackets H are fixed to the stanchions A
and their outer ends are connected by a bearer i which assists in supporting the.
arms when in their inboard position, and struts are fixed to the arms-1) to
assist in supporting the arms when in their outboard position. To the end of each
arm which is remote from its pivot axis, and at the side thereof which is upwards
when the arms are inboard, is fixed a horizontal plate or bearer K, and the boat is
carried keel upwards upon these bearers, being held firmly down thereupon by
suitable tackle, such as that shewn. When the arms have been turned over
from their position shewn by broken lines Figure 1 into their position shewn by
full lines in the same figure, the boat becomes suspended by the tackle used to
hold it down upon the bearers.
A platform or web, which may be made conveniently of metal slats a; riveted
to the arms, extends across between what are the lower sides of the arms when the
arms are outboard, and thus á gangway is formed which gives ready access from
the ship's: side to the boat, the lattice sides formed by the arms affording pro-

page_text: tection against risk of falling off. Persons in the boat can pass around the ends
of the girders,, stepping in doing so over the bearers K.
The eyes
Stanchions b. are fixed within the boat, and have jawed upper ends c.
of the tackle pass within the jaws c, and are secured therein by bolts d... Each
bolt is pivotally connected with the upper end of a lever e which is fulcrumed
at and extends, downwards from the fulcrum; and the lower ends of these levers
are connected together by a longitudinal rod g which is connected at the stern
end of the boat: with a hand lever h. This lever is, conveniently, in position
beneath the steerer's seat. The two bolts d may be simultaneously withdrawn
from the jaws of the stanchions b, by a quick movement of the lever h in a
direction to draw the rod g backwards; and thus the boat may be simultaneously
released from both sets of tackle, as it approaches or reaches the water.
As the wheels D do not completely revolve, segments may be used in lieu
thereof; and though two wheels or segments are preferred, as avoiding liability
of twist of the shaft, a single wheel or segment may, of course, be used; if desired
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is: -
:
1. The improved means for use in carrying and launching a ship's boat, which
comprise a pair of pivoted arms of which the pivot axis is lengthways of the ship.
means for holding the boat keel upwards upon the arms when in their inboard
position and suspending it therefrom when in their outboard position, and means
for turning the arms from their inboard into their outboard position, and vice
versa, which comprise wheels or segments (or a wheel or segment) mounted on the
pivot axis of the arms and geared with mechanism for operating by hand or a
motor. substantially as set forth.
2. The improved means for use in carrying and launching a ship's boat which
comprise, a shaft carried in fixed bearings, arms fixed to the shaft, means for
holding the boat keel upwards upon the arms when in their inboard position and
suspending it therefrom when in their outboard position and means for turning the
arms from their inboard into their outboard position, and vice versa, which com-
prise wheels or segments (or a wheel or segment) mounted on the pivot axis of
the arms and geared with mechanism for operating by hand or a motor, sub-
stantially as set forth.
3. The improved means for use in affording ready access to a ship's boat, which
comprise a pair of pivoted arms of which the pivot axis is lengthways of the ship,
means for holding the boat to the arms, means for turning the arms from their
inboard into their outboard position, and vice versa, and a platform or web extend-
ing between the arms, substantially as set forth.
4. The improved means for use in affording ready access to a ship's boat, which
comprise supports spaced some distance apart, arms carried by such supports and
formed as lattice girders, means for holding the boat to the arms, means for turn-
ing the arms from their inboard into their outboard position, and vice versa, and
a platform or web extending between the arms, substantially as set forth.
5. In apparatus for use in carrying and launching a ship's boat which comprises
supports spaced some distance apart. arms carried by such supports, means for
holding the boat keel upwards upon the arms when in their inboard.position and
suspending it therefrom when in their outboard position, and means for turning
the arms from their inboard into their outboard position, and vice versa, means
for affording ready access to. the boat when outboard which comprise such arms
formed as lattice girders and, a platform or web extending between them, sub-
stantially as set forth.
6. The improved means for use in affording ready access to a ship's boat, which
coniprise supports spaced some distance apart. arms carried by such supports and
formed mainly as lattice girders, bearers which project beyond the outer ends of

page_text: the lattice portions of the girders, means for holding the boat to the arms, means
for turning the arms from their inboard into their outboard position, and vice
versa, and a platform or web extending between the arms, substantially as set forth.
7. The general combination and arrangement of parts constituting improved
means for use in carrying a ship's boat and swinging it outboard, substantially
as described and shewn by the drawings herewith.
8. The general combination and arrangement of parts constituting improved
means for use in carrying, swinging outboard, and affording ready access to, a
ship's boat, substantially as described and shewn by the drawings herewith.
Dated this 3rd doy of Wah…….. 1000
STEPHEN WATKINS & GROVES;
Chartered Patent Agents,
Wolverhampton, Agents for the Applicants.
STEPHEN WATKINS & GROVES;
Chartered Patent Agents,
Wolverhampton, Agents for the Applicants.