IMPROVEMENTS IN LIFE BOATS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO STEAM TUGS, PILOT BOATS, AND TENDERS
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Carl Wolfgang Petersen at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th January 1869.
I, CARL WOLFGANG PETERSEN, of Norton Folgate, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LIFE BOATS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO
STEAM TUGS, PILOT BOATS, AND TENDERS," to be as follows:-
In carrying out my Invention I construct life boats with a water-
tight chamber of oval or other form rising from the centre of a deck
for the purpose of rendering the boat self-righting in the event of its
being capsized by reason of the increased buoyancy obtained at the
upper part of the boat by means of said chamber. This chamber, which
may be provided with an air shaft or shafts, and with glazed openings
for admitting light, may also be applied to steam tugs, pilot boats, and
tenders, and to ordinary ships' life boats when decked for the purpose
above described, and may serve as a saloon, cabin, or for other purpose.
In applying these improvements to steam life boats, pilot boats, tugs,
and tenders, in order further to assist in the righting of the boat when
capsized, I dispose the coal bunkers at the bottom of the boat, and

page_text: provide them with lids hinged or otherwise with suitable fastenings to
prevent the coal falling out when the boat is bottom up, said bunkers
also serving as seats for the crew. I prefer to taper both ends of the
boat precisely alike, and provide a screw propeller at each end placed in
connection with the engine or engines disposed in the boat, which is
made sufficiently large for the purpose. In this manner I am enabled
to dispense with oars for propelling the vessel. The rudder also may be
readily unshipped and applied at either end of the boat by means of a
hinge formed in the following manner:-The-stem and stern post are
reduced so as to form a kind of circular bead, on to which the rudder is
hung by means of a tube fixed to the latter, having a longitudinal slit
to enable said tube to embrace the bead which forms a pivot for the
rudder. In addition to the rudder I provide two steering oars, one at
each end of the boat, to supply the place of the rudder should it be
carried away or rendered unserviceable, each steering oar being placed
in a rowlock formed of a metal ring pivoted at any convenient position.
In order to prevent the loss of said steering oars they are each provided
with a cross head to prevent their slipping through the-rowlocks.
I further construct the funnels and air shafts of said steam life boats,
tugs, and tenders with self-closing caps to prevent the extinction of the
fire and keep the water out of the boat should it capsize. This self-closing
cap I construct in the following manner:-The cap is hollow and hinged
to the top of the funnel or air shaft, and is provided with a counter-
balance lever weighted to keep said cap open so long as the boat is in its
proper position. A chain or cord is attached to the lid on the opposite
side to the hinge, which chain passes down into the boat, its end being
fastened to one or more weights or rollers contained in a chamber within
the boat. These weights are placed in a slight depression or recess in
the floor of the chamber, so that when the boat is inclined at a certain
angle they will escape from said recess and close the lid by drawing on
the chain. The counterbalance weight, and the pressure of the water
also assists in keeping the lid closed when the boat is capsized. Instead
of hinging the cap or lid to the funnel or air shaft, I may make it to
slide in guides and cause it to be retained in its raised position by means
of springs. This cap is connected as before by rods and chains with
weights placed on either side of the funnel, so that when the boat is
inclined at a certain angle towards either side one of said weights (each
of which I prefer to form of a pair of rollers coupled together) will
descend towards that side so as to close the cap before described. When

page_text: this sliding cap is employed I surround it with a suitable cowl to keep
out the spray, as will be herein-after described. I also provide a grating
placed above the fire-bars to prevent the fuel becoming displaced when
the boat capsizes.
The hatchways, of which there are two by preference, one at each
end, are provided with coverings of canvas or other material attached
to the sides of said hatchway so as to prevent the inflow of the water
when open, one hatchway only being used at a time. The cowl, which
is applied to the air shaft or shafts as well as to the funnel, is pivoted in
such a manner that it cannot be carried away by the wind. At the top
of the funnel I fix a vertical rod, upon which the cowl hangs and rotates
as on a pivot. At the top of the cowl, which I prefer to make of
conical form, is placed an oil cup for lubricating the pivot, the-bottom
of the oil cup (which is perforated for the passage of the oil) resting
on said pivot. I keep the cowl in position by means of a bent rod, the
ends of which are fixed to the funnel below the cowl. A vertical rod
fixed to said bent rod passes down into the oil cup before mentioned, on
the bottom of which it bears and so prevents the cowl from rising; the
bent rod also forms a guard for the cowl.