CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PADDLES FOR STEAM VESSELS
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATTHEW
AUGUSTUS CROOKER, Engineer, of the City of New York, United States of
America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-eighth day of
June, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Matthew Augustus Crooker, my exors, admors, and assigns, Fer especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Matthew
Augustus Crooker, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Matthew Augustus Crooker, my exors, adññiors, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and
Man, and also in all IIer said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PADDLES FOR STEAM VESSELS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Matthew
Augustus Crooker, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in

page_text: and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Matthew Augustus Crooker hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully de-
scribed and ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed (that is to say):-
My Invention has for its object the attainment of a more direct action of
the side paddles of vessels in their passage through the water, when actuated
by a rotary or crank movement, than is obtained by the ordinary radial paddle
wheel. To accomplish this I dispense with the wheel arrangement altogether,
and employ instead a system of levers combined with the revolving shaft by
means of cranks. By this arrangement a path for the paddle is traced, which
will be an irregular curve, differing in shape according to the stroke and
length of levers and their simple or compound formation, as more fully here-
after described, but of such nature so that the direction of that portion of the
curve intended for the immersion of the paddle in the water will be coincident
with the course of the boat, the paddle being perpendicular or nearly so to it.
This arrangement effects, in addition to its superior mechanical action upon
the water, a great saving in weight and in room, while, there being no wheel
houses required upon the guards, the resistance produced by exposing their
large surface to the wind is also avoided. The principle aimed at by me in
this Invention is, to produce a movement somewhat in imitation of that
employed in nature by aquatic birds for their propulsion, as ducks, geese, &c.
In place of the contraction of the paddle to represent the movement of the
foot, the paddle is lifted from the water, but the propelling action is sought
to be the same, and is as follows:-
Figure I. is a perspective view of a portion of the guard of a vessel having
the propelling arrangements attached; and Figure 2 is a side elevation of
the same, with a diagram tracing the path of the paddle during one revolution
of the crank shaft. In the floor of the guard are three longitudinal openings,
or more, according to the number of paddles and cranks. The main shaft is
passed through the side of the vessel, and has affixed to it three cranks, as
seen at a, a¹, a¹¹. These cranks are arranged to form three equal angles as
respects each other, by which means one paddle is always in the water. A
lever of the third class is next affixed to each crank, as seen at b, 61, 6¹¹. The
fulcra of these levers are at the ends of three arms c, c', c¹¹, which have their
axes upon a cross bar d supported by the uprights d', d', upon each side of
the guard. Beneath the guard the paddles are arranged upon levers sup-

page_text: ported on moving fulcra, which slide in guides parallel to the line of motion
of the boat. These levers are seen at e, e', e, one to each of the vertical
levers b, to which they are fastened at the lower ends. The opposite ends of
each of these horizontal levers are bent down at right angles, or nearly so,
as shewn at f; and the paddles g are attached by bolts or otherwise thereto.
h is one of a series of guides to support the levers e upon their fulcrum i. A
guide is placed upon each side of the levers, and the pin constituting the
fulcrum extends across one end, resting upon each guide. Rollers are put
upon the pins to run upon the guides and diminish friction. The operation
of this arrangement is as follows:-Rotary motion being given to the main
shaft, the cranks transmit the motion to the paddles through the intervention
of the levers, by which means the paddles are made to describe a series of
irregular. curves, being figures compounded of the circular motion of the
cranks with the angular throw of the levers. The form of the irregular
figure described by the paddle may be greatly varied by the length of the
levers and the positions of their fulcra; but I have found one of the best ar-
rangements to consist in connecting the levers together and with the cranks by
dividing the points of contact into equal divisions or nearly so. This gives to the
paddle a direct horizontal motion during its immersion in the water, with a
sudden curve at leaving and entering, and a constantly rising one during the time
of its track through the air, to renew its stroke upon the water, as is clearly
shewn in the dotted lines in Figure 2.
In addition to this, the vibrating
motion of the horizontal levers e gives to the position of the paddles various
angles during their rotation, whereby a movement is produced similar to that
known as " feathering" during the operation of rowing by manual power. In
Figure 2 are seen the several angles assumed by the paddles in the different
positions of the crank and levers. Thus, while the paddle is in the water it
is vertical, in order to produce the greatest resistance. On leaving the water
it inclines forward, and in this position it is withdrawn from the water, thus
leaving it with the least disturbance, and again entering in like manner.
Hence the greatest mechanical effect is produced with least loss of power.
In addition to the angular position of the paddles at different parts of their
course, by which, as has been described, the horizontal and feathering move-
ments are produced, the guides h can also be shaped to modify still further the
motion of the paddle. Thus, to accelerate the motion at the moment the
paddle is about to leave or enter the water, (which is obviously an advantage
to accomplish,) the groove h, forming the slide, after proceeding horizontally
for a greater part of the stroke, is rounded up at each end as shewn in the
Drawing. The fulcrum pin i reaches this curve just before the termination

page_text: of the stroke, and at the moment that one of the cranks, being near its lowest
point, has thrown down one of the vertical levers b, projecting with it the
attached end of the horizontal lever e, the fulcrum pin i then enters the curve
in the guide, and this upward movement of the fulcrum being in addition to
the regular movement of the lever causes the accelerated motion described.
The entering motion is effected in the same manner.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as of my
Invention is the construction of paddles for steam vessels arranged and
operating, substantially, as herein-before described and represented in the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Augustus Crooker, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
MATTHEW AUGUSTUS (L.s.) CROOKER.
Taken and acknowledged by Matthew
Augustus Crooker, (party hereto,) at
New York, in the United States of
America, this 16th of November, 1852,