IMPROVE- MENTS IN COLLAPSABLE BOATS AND PONTOONS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough
Park, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN COLLAPSABLE BOATS AND PONTOONS."-A communication from
Nathan Thompson, junior, of Brooklyn (Eastern District), King's County,
New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 24th July 1857, and dated the 30th April 1857.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Tomlinson Bous-
field at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 30th April 1857, pursuant to the 9th section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County of
Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COLLAPSABLE BOATS AND PONTOONS," (communicated to me by Nathan Thompson,
junior, of Brooklyn (Eastern District), Kings County, New York, United
States of America,) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:―
The boat or pontoon as described in the present Specification is, like many
boats invented prior to this discovery, capable of being expanded so as to have
capacity for carrying crew, passengers, and cargo, like any ordinary boat,

page_text: while it is at the same time susceptible of being collapsed, folded, or shut up
so as to occupy but a small space when stowed away on a vessel's deck or
other proper place.
It resembles somewhat in appearance and as in many respects similar
in construction to a collapsible boat for which Letters Patent were granted
to the said Nathan Thompson on the Twenty-third day of February, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty five, but is stiffer or less liable to capsize
when opened and ready for use,-is also stronger and works less in a sea-
way, is not as expensive in construction-is of less weight for any given
size and has more room for stowage; being in all these respects an
improvement upon the former boats.
Experiments in the construction and management of the former boat have
led to the present Invention.
In the Drawings which accompany this Specification, Figure 1 is a top
view of the boat opened out or expanded and ready for service; Figure 2 is
a longitudinal section through the boat in the same condition; Figure 3 is a
cross section through the boat when opened; Figure 4 is a partial cross section
through the same, on a larger scale; Figure 5 is a side elevation of the boat
when shut up or collapsed ready to be stowed away.
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are detail views, on a large scale, of the hinges at the
side and centre of the bottom and of one end of a thwart; Figure 9 is a
cross section through the boat when collapsed; and Figures 10 and 11 are
respectively a cross section and partial plan of the boat with its appendages
as modified for use as a pontoon. The same letters refer to the same parts in
all the Figures.
In the construction of the boat two sides are employed, each usually com-
posed of three pieces a, a, b, the latter being the centre piece or side proper,
and the other two constituting the bow and stern. These sides may be
constructed of thin planks framed together in any proper way, or of metal,
corrugated or plain, supported by framing or unsupported, in fact, of any
usual construction, and may be provided with air chambers, or have such
attached, or may be protuberant, as at c, c, to receive a cork filling.
In all the Figures except Figures 10 and 11 the sides are represented
as constructed of sheet metal upon a wooden frame. The centre pieces are
hinged to the bow and stern pieces by strong hinges, and a piece of vulcanized
india-rubber cloth, or strong canvas, or some similar material is attached to
each of the meeting edges, so as of itself to form a hinge, and to make the
joints water-tight. On the inner sides of the bow and stern are secured strong

page_text: eyes d, d, through which an eye bolt f is passed, and secured by rivetting or a
key. This bolt and the eyes hinge the two sides of the bow and stern
together.
A suitable bottom h, h, constructed in a manner similar to the sides, is next
procured, to that shewn in the Drawings of the boat, being of sheet metal,
secured upon a wooden framing, while the pontoon is represented with a plank
bottom. This bottom is in two pieces, hinged together along the centre, as
at g, g, by canvas or rubber, applied substantially as shewn in the Drawings
(see specially (Figure 7), metallic hinges being also applied to increase the
strength if deemed necessary. The edges of the bottom at the bilge of the
boat are also binged to the centre pieces 6 of the sides by canvass or rubber,
as at k, k, (see specially Figure 6), and I intend usually to form a rabbett or
ledge all around the inner part of the sides for this bottom to rest upon when
the boat is expanded, as at l, l. This bottom is shorter than the boat when it
is shut up, but of such length and configuration as just to fill up the space
between the sides (centre pieces bow and stern) when the boat is expanded.)
Now, if this were the whole construction, water would probably leak in between
the bow and stern sections of the sides and the bottom, and also at the upright
joints at stem and stern. Flaps of sheet rubber, rubber cloth, or some similar
material, flexible and wholly or partially waterproof, are therefore procured
and secured to the sides, as at o, o, and also to those parts of the bottom
which abut (when the boat is open) against the bow and stern pieces. These
flaps constitute a flexible side inside of the rigid bow and stern pieces, covering
the slit or aperture between them, and also form a flexible junction between
these pieces and the bottom. In order to protect these flexible pieces from
wear, and also to hold the bottom down when the boat is expanded, I attach
to the bow and stern pieces by suitable hinges certain hinged pieces or shutters
9, 9', which when the. boat is collapsed lie along the bow and stern, as at q', q¹,
but when the boat is opened out ready for use are to be forced down, as at
9, 9, with their lower edges resting against and preventing the rising of the
bottom. One of these pieces is shewn in the position it occupies when the
boat is collapsed at q', in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4. Now, I prefer and usually
intend to make the bottom of the boat of such proportional width and length,
as compared with the sides, that it shall not be capable of being shoved so far
down as to lie flat or have dead rise when the boat is ready for use, but on
the contrary, shall have a reversed dead rise or inverted bottom, as shown in
the Drawings representing the boat as opened or expanded.
I prefer this construction for three reasons:-First, because such a shape of

page_text: .
bottom makes a much stiffer boat; secondly, because I can thus avoid making
the bow and stern pieces bend downwards at their ends; thirdly, because a
boat thus constructed can be collapsed or expanded in less time and with
less labour. I, however, intend at times to construct them without this реси-
liarity. At the angles formed by the sides and bottom there are attached by
hinged joints t, t, strong braces t³, t³, jointed and hinged at t¹, t, and again
hinged to the opposite side at t³, t. These braces are further provided with
knuckles and pins, as at s, s, so constructed that when the pins are forced into
the holes in the knuckles they will retain the braces in a straight line, but when
drawn out will permit them to bend. It will be observed that the hinges at
t', t, are constructed on a sort of arm, thus permitting the braces to take
the position shewn in Figure 9 when the boat is folded up for stowage.
These braces, when brought into a straight line, lie along and in contact
with one or other half of the bottom, keep the sides distended, hold tho
bottom down, and brace the boat, so as to prevent wearing or twisting of the
sides. I intend to apply thwarts u, u, to the boat after she is expanded,
either dropping one end of them into a socket and supporting the other upon.
a bracket, where it may be secured by a button or pin, or by a spring catch,
as shewn in Figure 8, or else hinging them at both ends and in the middle.
The boat may also be fitted with stretchers, thole pins, rudder, masts, and in
fact with all or any of the usual accessories of ordinary boats. At each end
of the boat are strong eyes x, x, capable of supporting her whole weight.
These eyes may be formed upon the hinge bolts, or attached to either side
very near to her extremities, and from side to side of the boat, firmly attached
to each run span chains y, y, of such length that they will just reach across
the boat when opened out. These chains act as check chains, preventing the
boat from spreading too far, and also as attachments for falls or tackles, by
means of which the boat can be collapsed by the same force which lifts her
out of water.
A boat constructed substantially as above described when expanded and
ready for use presents on both the outer and inner sides surfaces of metal or
wood throughout, except at a small portion of the inside at the extreme bow
and stern, and the flexible hinges and flaps act merely as caulking or leak
stoppers, and such a boat, if well constructed with close fitting joints, might
be kept afloat even if the pieces of rubber or canvas were removed, or worn
out, or fractured. The boat is, therefore, substantially a flexible collapsable
boat, built of inflexible materials, differing in this respect from the great
majority of flexible collapsable boats, whose sides and bottom are wholly or in

page_text: great part composed of canvas, rubber, or some similar material. The boat
is, therefore, less liable to deterioration when used among rocks or by being
beached, and will be less affected by ordinary wear and tear as contrasted
with boats built of flexible materials.
If the boat be collapsed or shut up, as represented in Figures 5 and 9, and
hanging from davits by the spans y, y, she will remain collapsed, but when
other falls are hooked on to the eye bolts x, x, especially if such falls lead
a little towards each other, see Figure 5, and these falls be strained on, or
those attached to the spans be slacked up, then the boat by its own weight
will commence to open out, for the reason that the boat is shorter when
expanded than when collapsed. Men may now jump into the boat, whose
weight will force the bottom down, and they can force the hinged braces into
a straight line and ship the pins. The hinged pieces at the bow and stern
are next shoved down into place, and the rudder, masts, and thwarts may
then be fitted, and the boat cast off ready for use. In stowing her away
again the reverse process is followed, and as soon as the pins in the braces
are unshipped, and the braces themselves beat slightly out of a straight line,
the falls may be hooked on to the spans, and the boat will nearly or quite
shut itself up while being hoisted in. The collapsing can then be completed
by hand if necessary, and the boat secured in its collapsed state by lashings,
when she can remain either hanging upon the davits or be stowed upon
deck. A mere inspection of the Drawings will shew that the boat when
collapsed may be stowed in at least one-fourth of the space of an ordinary
boat of the same size would occupy, or even in a smaller space, and when
expanded she will be quite as strong, staunch, stiff, and buoyant as boats of
ordinary construction. These boats may be built with any amount of sheer
in their length, or any desirable flare of sides, and their rowing and sailing
qualities are sufficiently good for all ordinary purposes where great speed is
not of importance. They are chiefly intended for use in sea-going vessels
carrying large numbers of passengers, but may be employed for other
purposes, and will be specially useful when fitted as pontoons.
In constructing boats for that purpose they should be made with blunter
ends and without any sheer, but in other respects like the boats herein
described, except that they should be more strongly built. They may be
provided with binged braces, but do not need thwarts or rudders. In their
sides near the gunwale are morticed or otherwise formed slots 2, 2, into
which may be. slipped beams 21, 2, which serve as deck beams, and upon
these may be laid a deck 23, 2, which I intend usually to construct of two

page_text: pieces, each half the width of the expanded boat, and hinged to the inner side
of its gunwale. When the boat is collapsed such a deck will occupy the
position shewn in dotted lines in Figure 10, but when the boat is expanded
it may be lifted into a vertical position, when the deck beams can be
introduced, and the deck can then be turned down again till it rests on top
of them. To each side of such a pontoon, but at opposite ends, are attached by
suitable hinges truss frames A, A, which, when the boat is shut up for trans-
portation, will lie along its side, but are in use to be opened out, as shewn in
the Drawings. These truss frames are to be provided with eye bolts at their
loose ends, by which and by means of suitable bolts they may be fastened to
other eye bolts in the next boat in the bridge, or may be secured for trans-
portation to the other end of the boat, to which they are attached. These
trusses when properly secured form a bridging between the boats, which may
be strengthened by adding other similar loose truss beams extending from
boat to boat, and resting upon proper brackets or otherwise secured: sce
dotted lines at A', A', for the position of these trusses. Upon these trusses
plank or flooring are to be laid, thus forming a continuous platform from boat
to boat, which, in connection with their decks, will make up a bridge. These
pontoons are to be anchored in any ordinary manner, may be used as boats as
well as for mere floating supports of a bridge, and can be stowed in a small
space upon waggons.
I claim as the Invention, first, a bottom made in sections and hinged along
the centre in combination with hinged sides, bow and stern pieces, to the
former of which the bottom is hinged, the whole being of rigid materials and
put together substantially in the manner specified.
Second, in combination with sides, bow and stern pieces, and bottom, sub-
stantially such as are described, I claim flaps and binges and of flexible
material substantially as herein set forth, the whole constituting a collapsable
watertight boat or pontoon.
Third, I claim hinged diagonal braces attached and constructed sub-
stantially in the manner and for the purposes herein set forth, in combination
with substantially such sides, bow and stern pieces, and bottom, as are
herein-before described.
Fourth, I claim inflexible protecting and holding-down shutters, sub-
stantially such as are herein specified, attached and acting as described.
Fifth, I claim an inverted bottom substantially such as is specified, in
combination with a collapsible boat, such as is herein described.
And, lastly, I claim span chains, attached and acting in the manner

page_text: specified, in combination with a collapsible boat, substantially such as is
herein-before specified..
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
W. S. HARRISON,
New Court, St. Swithin's Lane,
London.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.S.)