IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PORTABLE SHIPS AND BOATS, AND THEIR APPURTENANCES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Lungley, of Deptford Green Dockyard.
Shipbuilder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
PORTABLE SHIPS AND BOATS, AND THEIR APPURTENANCES."
Şealed the 19th October 1858, and dated the 23rd April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Lungley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd April 1858.
I, CHARLES LUNGLEY, of Deptford Green Dockyard, Shipbuilder, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF PORTABLE SHIPS AND BOATS, AND THEIR APPURTENANCES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel mode of constructing ships and boats,
which will admit of being taken to pieces and stowed awayin a comparatively
small space when not required for use, and of being enlarged or diminished in
capacity as required to suit changing circumstances. The ships or boats I
make of plates of metal, which are provided with flanges standing up from
their edges, for the purpose of facilitating the attachment of the plates and
affording rigidity to the structure. The plates, which are intended to form
the head and stern of the boat, are tapered and shaped to a suitable form,and
bolt holes being punched through the flanges of all the plates, they may be
readily connected together by bolts and nuts. Or, in place of using flanged
plates, I may rivet angle iron to the plates,and connect the plates together by
passing screw bolts through the angle iron. By giving a uniform shape to the
middle lines of plates, I am enabled by the addition or subtraction of one, two,

page_text: or more lines of plates in the direction of the ship or boat's lengtb, to enlarge
or diminish the capacity thereof, and in like manner by raising or lowering
the height of the gunwale, and increasing the length of the boat, the same
object may be attained.
I also propose to place between the central line of junction of the plates
forming the hull of the ship or boat, strips of iron to form a keel, stem
and stern posts, and rudder guard, and also to apply decks, bulkheads &c,
to the vessels.
The metal used in the construction of my portable vessels, I propose to
coat with zinc or enamel or other protector from oxydation; I propose also to
provide both ends of the vessels with steering apparatus, and when I fit a
vessel with a screw propeller, I prefer using a peculiar construction of double
rudder. The screw is to be fitted so that its height may be adjusted at
pleasure. For this purpose it may be mounted in a trunk or in a frame,
having a regulating wedge, which, as it is drawn in, will adjust the screw and
shaft to the desired level. The screw being so placed, I use two rudders, one
on each side of the shaft. These rudders are made hollow to afford a free
passage for water through them, and they are so mounted that the one rudder
may be moved at any angle, while the other remains amidship. To the two
rudders, a tiller having a double fulcrum is applied, which acts so as to put
the one rudder over without the other, and vice versa, thereby enabling one
fairly to act without any impediment from the other. I also propose in some
cases to fit a rudder at each end of the vessel in such a way, that both rudders
may be used to advantage, either together or separately. These rudders will
hang on to the keel and post, and will be capable of swinging completely
round, so as always to have their tails or greatest length aft. In order that
the rudders may present the least possible resistance to the water, I propose
to chamfer their forward ends. The tiller is fitted so that on the vessel
requiring to go the reverse way, it will only be necessary to lift the tiller, and
the tail of the rudder will swing the way required, thus the foremost rudder
may be used according to the amount of strength that can be put to it, but
will always hang to its place, and cannot obstruct the progress of the vessel.
To permit of boats constructed according to my Invention being used as
land carriages, I propose to build up in them trunks, in which are mounted
wheels capable of being raised or depressed by means of regulating screws,
their bearings sliding for that purpose in vertical guides, and being provided
with springs to ease the draft.
The great advantage of ships and boats constructed of flanged plates as
described will be their portability, as by simply withdrawing the bolts which

page_text: hold the plates together, they may be stacked up in the hold of a ship, and
taken in large quantities, and at small expense, to any distant part of the
world, no skilled labor being required to put them together and make them
fit for service. It will also be understood that all the fastenings being
inside the vessel, they will not be exposed to the destructive action of the
water.
In order that the anchors to be used with these boats may be both portable
and strong, I propose to make the crown of the anchor of two plates of iron
rounded and lapping at their ends, and carrying between them plates which
form the flukes. The shank I secure to the crown by a bolt, and to distribute
the strain, I connect the crown at both ends with the shank or the shackle
by means of tension chains. The shank may for large anchors be made in
two or more pieces to facilitate its transport.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Lungley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
LUNGLEY, of Deptford Green Dockyard, Shipbuilder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Charles Lungley, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Lungley,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Lungley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF PORTABLE SHIPS AND BOATS, AND THEIR APPURTENANCES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Lungley, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent;

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Lungley, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to he
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates, firstly, to a novel mode of constructing metal ships
and boats, which will admit of being taken to pieces and stowed away in a
comparatively small space when not required for use, and of being enlarged
or diminished in capacity as required to suit changing circumstances.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 shews in perspective
view a portion of a boat constructed according to the first part of my
Invention, and Figures 2 and 3 shew, in sectional elevation, the mode of
putting together such structures.
The ships or boats I make of plates of metal, which are provided with
flanges standing up from their edges, as shewn in the plan and sectional views
of a detached plate at Figures 4, for the purpose of facilitating the attachment
of the plates, and affording rigidity to the structure. The plates which are
intended to form the head and stern of the boat, instead of being rectangular,
which will be the prevailing form employed, will be tapered and shaped to a
suitable curved form to correspond to the contour of the vessel at those points.
Bolt holes are to be punched through the flanges of all the plates that
they may be readily connected together by the insertion of screw bolts or
rivets. In Fig. 2, a, a, are the flange plates, and 6 is an interposed vertical
strengthening plate, two or more of which may run from head to stern of the
vessel. These several plates are united into one structure by the application
of screw bolts and nuts or rivets, as shewn in the Drawing, the plates being so
arranged that they will break joint with each other. In place of using plates
with the flanges stamped up, I propose to rivet angle iron to the plates,
and connect the plates together by passing screw bolts through the angle iron.
This modification is shewn in the sectional view, Fig. 3. By giving a uniform
shape to the middle lines of plates, I am enabled by the addition or subtraction
of one, two, or more lines of plates in the direction of the ship or boat's length,
to enlarge or diminish the capacity thereof, and in like manner by raising or
lowering the height of the gunwale and increasing the length of the boat, the
same object may be attained. I also propose to place between the central
line of junction of the plates forming the hull of the ship or boat strips of iron
to form a keel, stem and stern posts, and rudder guard, securing them in the
manner indicated at Fig. 2; I likewise propose to apply decks, bulkheads,
and other necessary appendages to the vessels. The metal used in the con-

page_text: struction of my portable vessels I propose to coat with zinc or enamel, or other
protector from oxydation; I propose also to provide both ends of the vessels
with steering apparatus. When fitting vessels with a screw propeller, I prefer
using a peculiar construction of double rudder, to be presently explained. The
screw is to be fitted so that its height may be adjusted at pleasure. For this
purpose I mount it in a trunk or in a frame provided with a regulating wedge,
which as it is drawn in will adjust the screw and shaft to the desired level
Fig 5 shews in longitudinal sectional elevation a vessel with a screw
propeller fitted according to this part of my Invention. a is the propeller
shaft, which passes through a trunk 6 firmly secured to the vessel's stern. At
its inner end this trunk is fitted with a stuffing box c, to receive the shaft and
prevent the admission of water into the vessel, and at its rear end it is fitted
with a metal bearing d of a tapering form. Jointed to the tapered bearing &
is an adjusting rod e, which passes through the closed head of the trunk b, and
is tapped to receive an adjusting but f; as, therefore, the screw shaft becomes
loose in its outer bearing, it is only necessary from time to time to draw
forward the tapered bearing slightly by means of the nut f on the adjusting
rod e,
and the position of the screw and shaft will be maintained. To either
side of the screw propeller shaft I apply a rudder, as shewn in plan view at
Fig. 1, Sheet II., and in elevation at Fig. 2. These rudders I make hollow
to afford a free passage for water through them, and I so mount them that
the one rudder may be moved at any angle, while the other remains amidship.
To this end I provide the two rudders with a tiller having a double fulcrum,
which acts so as to put the one rudder over without the other, and vice versa,
thereby enabling one e fairly to act without any impediment from the other.
In Figures 1 and 2, a, a, are the hollow rudders placed at opposite sides of
the propeller shaft and swinging in suitable bearings;affixed to the rudder heads
are arms b, over each of which slides a loose socket c, and to these sockets the
tiller & is jointed. Standing up from the deck or other convenient part of the
vessel are two fixed sockets e, e, which severally form a fulcrum for the tiller
to rock in. This tiller consists of a three-armed lever, the forward limb of which
works in a double segment guide f, while the other limbs are forked (as shewn
best by the detached views of the tiller, Figures 3), to receive a pin by which
they are respectively jointed to arms g, which arms connect the tiller at two of
its extremities to the fixed sockets e, e, the forked limbs of the tiller being
respectively connected to that one of the fixed sockets which, when the tiller is
in its normal position, is situated farthest from them. By referring to Fig. 1,
it will be seen, that while one of the rudders is moved into the position shewn
byred lines, the other will remain stationary, and that at that time the sliding

page_text: socket on the arm of the acting rudder will have left its bearing in the fixed
socket, the fulcrum for the tiller being in the other fixed socket. For mov-
ing the other rudder, the reverse movement will take place; or the two
rudders may be caused to remain parallel to each other by keeping the
tiller in its normal position, as shewn at Fig. 1.
In some cases I propose to fit a rudder to each end of the vessel in such
a way that both rudders may be used to advantage, either together or
separately. This arrangement is shewn at Fig. 4, Sheet II, where it
will be seen that the rudders hang on the keel and posts, and are capable of
swinging completely round, so as always to have their tails or greatest
length aft.
In order that the rudders may present the least possible
resistance to the progress of the vessel, I propose to chamfer their forward
ends, as shewn in the Drawing. In this arrangement the tiller must be
fitted so that on the vessel requiring to be propelled in the reverse direction,
it will only be necessary to lift the tiller free of a holdfast, and the tail of
the rudder will swing the way required; thus the foremost rudder may be
used according to the amount of strength that can be put to it, but will
always bang to its place, and cannot obstruct the progress of the vessel.
In order to permit of boats constructed according to my Invention being
used as land carriages, I propose to build up in them trunks, in which are
mounted wheels capable of being raised or depressed by means of regulating
screws, their bearings sliding for that purpose in vertical guides, and being
provided with springs to ease the draft. This part of my Invention is
illustrated in Fig. 5, Sheet I., wherein 1, 1,is the sliding frame which carries
the bearings of the running wheels 2, 2; this frame is mounted in vertical
guides 3, 3, set up in the trunk formed in the body of the vessel. Attached
to the sliding frame are vertical screws 4, 4, which pass through cross beams 5,
and are sustained by nuts, the adjustment of which will cause the rise or
depression of the wheels. The wheels which I employ may with advantage
have a broad tyre, with either a groove or a rebate formed therein, (as shewn
at Figs. 6 & 7, Sheet I.,) as they will thus be enabled to run on common
roads or traverse a rail or tramway. The addition of wheels, it will be readily
seen, will add greatly in some localities to the utility of the portable boat.
The chief advantage of ships and boats constructed of flanged plates as
described will be their portability, as by simply withdrawing the bolts which
hold the plates together, they may be stacked up in the hold of a ship, and
taken in large quantities and at small expense to any distant part of the
world, no skilled labor being required to put them together and make them
fit for service. It will also be understood that all the fastenings being

page_text: inside of the vessel, they will not be exposed to the destructive action of
the water.
In order that the anchors to be used with these boats may be both portable
and strong, I propose to construct them as shewn at Figs. 8, Sheet I. The
crown of the anchor it will be seen is made of a plate of iron 1; shaped to a
rounded or arched form, or in place thereof two plates of thinner material may
be used. At the opposite ends of the plate 1, plates 2 are secured by bolts and
nuts to form the flukes. The shank 3 I secure to the crown by a bolt 4, and
to distribute the strain I connect the crown at both ends with the shank or the
shackle by means of tension chains 5, or tension rods may be used for the like
purpose. The shank may for large anchors be made in two or more pieces to
facilitate its transport.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
the Construction of Portable Ships and Boats, and their Appurtenances,"
and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First, the employment of flanged metal plates, as above described, in the
construction of ships and boats.
Secondly, I claim the mode described for adjusting the level of the screw-
propeller shaft.
Thirdly, I claim the peculiar arrangement above describod for steering
vessels fitted with a stern propeller.
Fourthly, I claim applying rudders constructed as above explained to the
opposite ends of vessels.
Fifthly, I claim applying to my improved portable metallic boats running
wheels, as described, to facilitate their transit on land.
And, lastly, I claim the mode of constructing anchors, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Lungley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
CHARLES LUNGLEY. (L.S.)