Improvements in Life Boats
Year: 1899

page_text: A communication from abroad by LORING WILLIS MYERS, of Lubec, Maine,
United States of America, Light House Keeper.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, M.I.E.E., M.I.Mech.E., of Norfolk House, Norfolk
Street, London, W.C., in the County of Middlesex, Chartered Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention (as communicated to me from abroad)
to be as follows:
This invention is characterized by the following features:-
A reversible life-float comprising a closed shell consisting of side walls, and
similar top and bottom portions connecting the side walls and having sub-
stantially flat exterior faces extending entirely across the float, and doors
arranged at the top and bottom of the float.
A life-float comprising a hollow shell composed of sides and substantially
flat top and bottom portions connecting the sides and provided with doors, and
a rudder arranged at the stern of the float and extending from the top to the
bottom thereof and adapted to have a tiller applied to either end of it.
A life-float comprising a hollow shell having similar top and bottom portions
and provided at opposite sides of the same with curved keels arranged at the.
edges of the shell, eyes arranged at the ends of the shell, the eyes of the bow
being adapted to receive a mast when either the top or bottom of the float is.
uppermost, a central tube adapted to form a step for the mainmast, and a rudder
adapted to be operated from either the top or bottom of the shell and hinged
to the eyes of the stern of the float.
3000
J. G. LORRAIN,
Communicatee.
Improvements in Life Boats.
A communication from abroad by LORING WILLIS MYERS, of Lubec, in the
County of Washington, and State of Maine, United States of America, Light
House Keeper.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, M.I.E.E., M.I.Mech. E., of Norfolk House, Norfolk.
Street, London, W.C., in the County of Middlesex, Chartered Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention (as communicated to me from abroad).

page_text: and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
The invention relates to improvements in life-floats.
The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of life-
floats and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one adapted to
be successfully launched from a vessel in any manner in any kind of a sea and
of sheltering its occupants to prevent them from being injured by exposure.
A further object of the invention is to provide a life-float of this character
which will accommodate a maximum number of persons with safety and which
may be navigated.
Another object of the invention is to provide a life-float which will be entirely
closed and which will be adapted to have either its top or bottom serve as a
deck to facilitate launching and prevent accidents resulting from it being over-
turned in heavy seas.
Either the top or bottom is adapted to serve as a hull or a deck, and it is
immaterial which is uppermost.
If the float were to capsize, the former top or deck would become the hull or
bottom and the part, which before the accident, was the hull or bottom would
become the upper portion or deck. The shape of the float, and the double set
of devices render this operation possible. The valve mechanism and the doors
hereinafter described, are duplicated and the rudder is oppositely tapered in
order that either end may form the top.
The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrange-
ment of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying draw-
ings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a life-float constructed in accordance with
this invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, the life-float being rigged for sailing.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view.
Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view.
Figure 5 is a sectional plan view.
Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view showing a locking lever connected with a
door and a keeper and Figure 7 is a more enlarged view of a locking lever.
Figures 8 and 9 are enlarged sectional detail views showing the arrangement
of a valve in a tube 14, the cut off valves and air tubes 17.
Figure 10 is an enlarged view of a casing and valve.
Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures
of the drawings.
1 designates a reversible life-float consisting of a hollow shell having its ends 2
and tapered, and the top 4 and bottom 5 are substantially flat and have a
slight curve transversely of the float to present a slightly rounded or convex
face to the water; but the inner faces of the top and bottom of the shell are
perfectly flat, and either is adapted to form the floor of the float, so that the
float may be launched in any position. The float is provided at opposite sides
with upper and lower bilge-keels 6, projecting from the top and bottom of the
shell at the side walls thereof and terminating short of the bow and stern, as
clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, and adapted to hold the float on
its course in sailing.
Access is had to the interior of the float by means of longitudinally-aligned
doors 7 and 8, arranged in pairs and located equidistant from the centre of the
float, and each door, which is preferably circular, is tapering or conical and
fits in a flared opening of the shell and is hinged at its outer side at 9. The
doors are provided at their inner faces with locking-levers 10, hinged at one
end to the doors and provided at the other end with an arm or hook 11 for
engaging a keeper 12. The levers are each constructed of a single piece of
metal having one end doubled on itself to provide a short substantially L-shaped

page_text: fulcruming-arm 13 and to form a bend which is linked into an eye of the door;
but the lever may be constructed in any other suitable manner. When the
doors are closed, their outer faces are flush with the outer surfaces of the life-
float, and by being tapered they form a solid construction and do not weaken
the float. In order to render them perfectly water-tight, the doors are provided
with a packing or gasket, which is compressed between the doors and the walls
of the openings when the former are closed.
The float is provided with a centrally-arranged vertical tube 14, forming a
conduit for air and adapted to serve as a socket or step for a mast or a signal-
pole and also serving to strengthen and support the hull. It is provided at its
ends with valves 15, and it has short tubes 15ª, arranged in pairs and located
near the top and bottom of the float, as clearly shown in Figure of the accom-
panying drawings. These short tubes 15 deliver air to the interior of the
shell, and means may be provided for pumping air through the vertical tube.
The valves 15 are removable, being preferably threaded in the ends of the
tube 14, so that they may be readily detached when it is desired to step a mast
or signal-pole into the tube. The rise and fall of the float on the sea will pro-
duce a circulation of air through the tubes 14 and 15, the valve at the top of the
tube 14 opening as the float rises and closing as the float falls.
These valves consist of casings 15, threaded into the tube 14 provided at
its inner portion with the recess 15°. A flap valve 15d is arranged at the
top of the recess, and a longitudinally movable plunger 15 passes through an
opening of that portion of the casing which is at the inner side of the recess 15.
The plunger which is provided at its inner end with a head 15, is adapted to
close the valve automatically when it is at the bottom of the float but when
the valve is an upright position at the top of the float, the parts are arranged
as shown in the drawings.
The inner portion of the casing is grooved to provide passages 158. The
short tubes 15" are provided with valves or cut-offs 15h, in order that those at
the bottom may be closed to prevent the entrance of water.
The short tubes, which are located near the top and bottom of the float,
have their terminals extended upward and downward in the direction of the
said top and bottom to prevent water running through them while the float
is pumping air.
Air-tubes 17, which extend through the top and bottom of the float, are
arranged at opposite sides of the central vertical tube and disposed in align-
ment with the doors 7 and 8. These short air tubes are provided with suitable
valves or cut-offs, so that those at the bottom may be closed, while those at the
top are open to supply fresh air to the interior of the float. The top and bottom
of the float are also provided with dead-lights 17ª, located at points between the
short tubes 17 and the doors 7 and 8. The central tube, which permits a signal
to be displayed, is adapted to receive a mainmast 18 in rigging the float for
sailing, as illustrated in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings, and a fore
mast 19 may be stepped into the eyes 20 of the bow of the float. The stern of
the float is provided with eyes 21 for the reception of a pintle 22, which hinges
an oppositely tapered rudder 23 to the float. The rudder extends from the top
to the bottom of the float, and a tiller 24 may be applied to either end of it,
so that the rudder may be operated when either the top or bottom of the float
is uppermost. Suitable stays 25 are provided for supporting the rudder and
preventing it from becoming lost, and these stays, which may consist of ropes
or any other suitable flexible connections, extend from the rudder to the bilge
keels 6, as clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Extending around
the sides and ends of the float is a series of air-tight compartments 26, designed
to contain provisions, clothing, and various other articles for the comfort of
the occupants of the float. The float is also designed to be provided with an
equipment of sails, oars, signal, and the like, and it has an exterior rib 1,
located between its top and bottom and provided with openings 1b, through

page_text: which a life-line may be rove. The bilge-keels are provided with openings and
may have life-lines attached to them, if desired.
The invention has the following advantages: The float by being closed and
having similar top and bottom portions is adapted to be launched from any
portion of a boat into heavy seas in any suitable manner, and either of the said
portions is adapted to serve as a bottom for the float. It is adapted to carry
with safety and comfort a larger number of passengers than an open boat, and
it will shelter them and prevent them from being injured by exposure. It is
adapted to be navigated when either of its hull portions is uppermost, and a
tiller may be connected with the rudder in either position.
Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction
within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing
from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A reversible life-float comprising a closed shell consisting of side walls,
and similar top and bottom portions connecting the side walls and having sub-
stantially flat exterior faces extending entirely across the float, and doors
arranged at the top and bottom of the float, substantially as described.
2. A life-float comprising a hollow shell composed of sides and substantially
flat top and bottom portions connecting the sides and provided with doors, and
a rudder arranged at the stern of the float and extending from the top to the
bottom thereof and adapted to have a tiller applied to either end of it, sub-
stantially as described.
3. A life-float comprising a hollow shell having similar top and bottom por-
tions and provided at opposite sides of the same with curved keels arranged at
the edges of the shell, eyes arranged at the ends of the shell, the eyes of the bow
being adapted to receive a mast when either the top or bottom of the float is
uppermost, a central tube adapted to form a step for a mainmast, and a rudder
adapted to be operated from either the top or bottom of the shell and hinged
to the eyes of the stern of the float, substantially as described.
Dated this 11th day of January 1900.