IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEA-GOING VESSELS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Norman Willis Wheeler, of Brooklyn, in the
County of Kings, State of New York, and United States of America,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEA-GOING
VESSELS."
Sealed the 18th May 1866, and dated the 28th December 1865.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Norman Willis Wheeler at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 28th December 1865, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law. Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NORMAN
WILLIS WHEELER, of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, State of New
York, and United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF SEA-GOING VESSELS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to
grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal
Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn declaration that I am
the true and first Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Norman Willis Wheeler, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and seal

page_text: fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following statement :-
The first part of my Invention consists in giving one or more of the
decks a sheer or vertical curve in the opposite direction to the sheer
of the rail, so that while the rail or bulwarks is highest at the ends
for the purpose of better receiving the action of the waves in heavy
weather the decks serve more efficiently to brace the ship to resist hogging
strains.
The second part of my Invention consists in the employment in com-
bination with the above of a curve. or quadrant form of a portion of the deck
beams on such vessels, so that the decks midships are curved higher at the
middle than at the sides, and are joined to the sides by the said curves or
quadrants with one or more recesses when the quadrants are omitted and
the decks not extended with a curve at the side but dropped with a right
angle or nearly right angle off-set.
I will now proceed to describe what I esteem the best means of carrying
out my Invention, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this Specifica-
tion, in which Figure 1.is a cross section; Figure II., a deck plan; Figure
III., a longitudinal section; and Figure IV., a general outline of a vessel
constructed in my improved mode. Like letters refer to the same parts
in the different Drawings.
I construct the hull of the vessel of any known materials used for the
purpose, as wood and iron, with frames, planking and ceiling (a, a,) and
one or more main decks c, c, and sometimes with a whole or partial upper
deck d, d, with the beams curved downward at the ends and resting upon
the rail b, or upon the uppermost of the main decks c, c.
So far I have described a vessel differing in no essential particular from
those in common use in which the upper part of the main frames and the
sides are bounded by a curved rail b, b, [Figures III. and IV.], which rail
is higher at either end than at or near the mid length of the vessel. This
curve of the rail, usually denominated "sheer," obtains in common practice
and in my improvement for the reason that the well-known exigences of
service in rough water require the heavy and strong sides of the vessel to
be built up to a greater height above the water at the ends than at the
mid length. If the vessel were built without sheer to the rail the ends
would either be too low to prevent water coming on board in great quantity
or else the sides near the mid length would be higher than would be
necessary to prevent water coming on board at that place, an increased

page_text: surface be exposed to the action of the wind, and a greater weight of
"topsides" carried than is found to be necessary. Heretofore the decks.
of vessels have been 'sheered in the same way as the rail, more or less, so as
to make the upper deck nearly flush with the rail or at a nearly uniform
distance below it from end to end, or at most the decks have been laid
without sheer, so that, considering the hull as a beam, the least depth has
been at or near the mid length, and consequently the least strength to
resist the vertical strains to which these structures are exposed chances to
fall where the effect of such strains is greatest. In my improvements I
make one or more of the decks, or by preference all of them, with sheer
opposite to that of the rail; thus obtaining obviously a greater amount of
strength derived from the deck than is now the case where the decks are
sheered lowest in the mid length and a greater amount of space within the
hull, for the greatest hight corresponds in location with the greatest
width. Another advantage of sheering the deck in my improved way is
that if water-come on board at either end it will easily escape through
scuppers placed near the same end, instead of running down amidships
and slowly finding its way through scuppers placed at that part of the
deck which chances to be for the time being nearly level. It is presumed
that instances have occurred wherein vessels have been built in so slight a
manner, or in which they have been changed from their original form by
strains so much greater than they could bear, that the ends have drooped
so much as to give an apparent sheer to the deck similar to the improved
sheer, before described, and if the sheer were originally greater in the rail
than in the deck it might happen that there would be some vestige
remaining of the original rail sheer while the deck sheer would be reversed,
but in such case the keel and whole bottom would have become also.
distorted and the hull would not have possessed the qualities of a beain
deepest in the mid length. Hence in the foregoing description of the
decks and rail sheered in opposite ways the construction must be such as
will convey the idea of sheer in relation to the straight keel or right base
line. In cases where it is desirable to have more enclosed space than is
included in the hull proper I construct a quadrant deck, which is a deck.
having the greater part of its surface fair or nearly so with the deck below,
but at the sides the beams are curved downwards and rest upon the rail
or some part of the hull, and with the deck planking continued around the
curve as seen at ff. A deck of this kind may be safely carried to a
greater height above the water than can the nearly vertical top sides or

page_text: the usual deck houses for the reason that the action of the wind is less
upon the rounded sides of the quadrant deck than upon the straight
top sides or deck houses of equal height, and the quadrant deck is a light,
though a stronger structure than the deck houses. With the improved
sheering of the deck and the rail the quadrant deck will naturally fall to
or below the level of the rail at the ends, and afford fair and nearly level
spaces of considerable extent near the ends upon which men may stand
while working the mooring and anchor gear. If the quadrant deck be
continued intact the whole length of the vessel as above described, it
would be difficult and sometimes dangerous for men to approach the
extreme side of the vessel except near the ends where the curve ff, has
disappeared, still it is necessary that men have a secure foothold at the
sides upon the upper deck for the purpose of making the vessel fast to
wharves, &c., and it is also necessary that bitts or timber heads be placed
in convenient positions along each side of the vessel. In response to these
requirements I construct recesses E, E, E, etc. at the proper places, with
their floors near or below the level of the rail, the inbound sides vertical or
nearly 'so and extended so far inbound as does the curve f,f, or farther,
and in these recesses I place the bitts or timber heads, and sometimes coal
shutes and ventilators. These recesses may be covered when the vessel
is at sea or the recesses not in use by shutters, not represented, fitting the
curve and sliding fore and aft, as will be readily understood by mechanics,
thus when the shutters are closed presenting a fair curved surface to the
action of the wind and sea. The curved roof or quadrant deck may be
built over any part of the hull and omitted over. others, provided one or
more recesses are left amidships for the purposes described, also forecastle
and poop decks may
be built in at the ends, terminating where the sheer
of these decks meet the sheer of the rail, or continued as quadrant or other
decks further amidships, thus leaving a " waste."
Vessels for smooth water navigation have heretofore been built with
the deck sheer highest at the mid length, but it is obvious that they did not
have the sea-going qualities of the kind of vessels herein-before described,
from the fact that the ends were too low or the mid length too high to
secure the best results, as they have all lacked the bulwarks and rail
sheered highest at the ends.
Having described ny Invention, I will proceed to state what I
consider new and useful therein, for which I desire to secure Letters
Patent, viz.

page_text: First, I claim constructing navigable vessels with one or more decks
c, c, d, d, sheered in a way opposite to the sheer of the rail b, b, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes described.
Second, I claim the quadrant deck d, d, in combination with the recesses
E, E, substantially as and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Norman Willis Wheeler, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of December 1865..
NORMAN WILLIS WHEELER. (L.S.)