IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM AND SAILING VESSELS FOR NAVAL AND MERCHANT SERVICE, AND IN THE MODE OF ARMING AND WORKING THE SAME
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Augustus Walker at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th June
1864.
I, AUGUSTUS WALKER, of the City of Buffalo, State of New York, United
States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM AND SAILING VESSELS FOR NAVAL
AND MERCHANT SERVICE, AND IN THE MODE OF ARMING AND WORKING THE SAME,”
to be as follows:-
My Invention consists ehiefly in constructing vessels with one or more
arches or truss frames applied longitudinally in the centre of the hull; in the
peculiar form of the bottom; in the peculiar mode of armour plating vessels ;
in the novel construction of the prow; in the peculiar manner of mounting
and sustaining the turret; in the device for ventillating the interior of the
vessel; in the novel construction of a movable pilot house, and of a device
for raising and lowering the same; and in the mode of working and securing
the anchors.
At or near the centre of the vessel is placed an inverted and a corresponding
direct arch, both terminating at each end at a king post placed near the bow
and stern. Vertical frame pieces or posts are fixed near the longitudinal
centre of the vessel, and to these posts are firmly fixed the said arches by
means of metallic rods or other suitable device, so that the whole will con-
stitute a truss frame of the greatest strength and rigidity, and thereby pre-
venting injury to the vessel when supported by the ends or solely by the centre.

page_text: The bottom of my improved vessel is constructed with a central keel, on each
side of which is a concavity, and on the outside of each concavity a straight
and nearly horizontal surface from near the stern to near the stem. The
prow is constructed of iron or steel, and is arched both vertically and
horizontally. To give it sufficient strength to prevent injury when used as a
ram, an arch extending from one of the central posts before mentioned to the
extreme bow encloses and protects the prow. To better adapt it to sustain a
crushing strain, and at the same time avoid unnecessary weight, the interior
of the prow is filled with timber. The external shape of the prow is such
that it does not interfere in any manner with the correct lines of the vessel.
When designed for naval purposes the vessel is provided on its exposed parts
with a metallic armour, which consists of two straight plates with a corrugated
plate between them. The corrugations are filled with india-rubber or other
elastic materials. This armour is adapted, by its yielding nature to resist pro-
jectiles very effectually, and requires therefore a comparatively small weight of
metal. The shot-proof turret is placed near the centre of the vessel, and is
supported upon or within a casing. The turret may be constructed to revolve,
or it may be stationary and permanently secured to the said casing or foun-
dation, and pierced with ports at suitable distances. I prefer however to
construct the turret in two parts,, the lower part, constituting the gun carriage,
being made to revolve, while the upper part remains stationary. The dome or
upper part may be supported on separate ways to permit its rotation indepen-
dent of the lower part, or both parts may be connected at any time by means
of screw bolts or other suitable device. The casing is constructed in the
form of a circular arch, giving great strength vertically and horizontally.
This arch may be surmounted by a rebate to support the revolving parts.
The required ventillation of the turret. is provided by means of two or more
tubes extending from either side of the vessel inwards and upwards in a
curved form to the interior of the casing. A series of apertures are made in
the turret on a level, with the inner end of the tubes, so as to admit fresh air
into any portion of the turret. Any desirable number of the tubes may be
employed converging in any direction forward and abaft as well as to the sides
of the vessel. These tubes are narrow at their outer ends and square and
larger at their inner ends. This form and the curve in the tubes effectually
prevent the water or shot from entering, while they are well adapted to create
a strong and constant draft of air. Tubes are also employed for admitting
air and light into the hold and cabin of the vessel. The tubes for the hold
incline upward from the outside, and under ordinary circumstances will in this
way be protected from the entrance of water, and the tubes for the cabin and

page_text: state rooms may be advantageously closed by metal caps for excluding both the
water and shot. Sliding stanchions are also employed for closing the tubes
when in action. The dome-topped pilot houses, of which two are employed,
are constructed to slide up and down in the upper deck. These houses con-
stitute the only means of ingress to the interior of the vessel, and being raised
when the vessel is moving they afford additional means of ventilation and an
unobstructed look-out. Stationary screws, windlasses, or other suitable means
may be employed for raising the pilot houses. When in action these houses
are lowered so that the domed roof only is presented to the enemy's shot.
These roofs are pierced with narrow slits sufficiently wide for look-out, but so
narrow as to prevent the entrance of large or small shot. Circular fluked
anchors, which are attached to cables running out through hawse holes at the
bow, are employed. The anchor being hove up to the hawse hole in the
usual manner, a stopper leading up from the port hole to the capstan is rove
through the ring and the anchor drawn back. When the anchor approaches
the anchor port, a block and tackle suspended from a crane is attached to a
small ring in the crown of the anchor, by which means the latter is raised to a
horizontal position and the anchor is then hove inboard by the stopper attached
to the capstan; when thus hove in, the circular flukes completely close the
port. These ports are on an inclined plane, being reduced in size as
they extend inward to about one-fourth of their outer diameter. From the
peculiar construction of the anchor ports the anchors go overboard by their
own weight when released from the stopper. Should the vessel be in action
while at anchor, the ports may be closed by any suitable device. The deck
is raised around the turret, thereby affording it support, and declines.in all
directions towards the sides of the vessel, and the turrets and other parts of
the vessel above the water line are so shaped as to present when in action a
slanting surface to the shot of the enemy. The smoke stack may be lowered
to a level with the deck, and the propeller is well protected by this form of
construction.