IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL SHIPS AND OTHER FLOATING. BODIES, AND IN THE MODE OF ATTACHING OR CONNECTING AND FIXING WOOD PLANKS TO THE SIDES AND BOTTOMS THEREOF TO RECEIVE THE METAL SHEATHING AND OTHER EXTERNAL AND ALSO INTERNAL FITTINGS OF IRON AND STEEL SHIPS AND OTHER FLOATING BODIES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Taylor, of Woodstock Road, Poplar,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL SHIPS AND OTHER FLOATING.
BODIES, AND IN THE MODE OF ATTACHING OR CONNECTING AND FIXING WOOD
PLANKS TO THE SIDES AND BOTTOMS THEREOF TO RECEIVE THE METAL
SHEATHING AND OTHER EXTERNAL AND ALSO INTERNAL FITTINGS OF IRON
AND STEEL SHIPS AND OTHER FLOATING BODIES."
Sealed the 10th November 1868, and dated the 13th May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Taylor
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 13th May 1868.
I, WILLIAM TAYLOR, of Woodstock Road, Poplar, in the County of
5 Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL SHIPS AND OTHER FLOATING
BODIES, AND IN THE MODE OF ATTACHING OR CONNECTING AND FIXING WOOD
PLANKS TO THE SIDES AND BOTTOMS THEREOF TO RECEIVE THE METAL SHEATHING
AND OTHER EXTERNAL AND ALSO INTERNAL FITTINGS OF IRON AND STEEL SHIPS AND
OTHER FLOATING BODIES," to be as follows:-

page_text: The object and intention of this Invention is to dispense with the
necessity for making holes in the bottoms and sides of iron or steel
sphips or other floating bodies, or using bolts, nuts, washers, and filling
pieces for securing wood planking to the sides and bottoms; thus the
inside of the ship or other floating body is left perfectly flush and smooth
to receive the frames, stringers, intercostal keelsons, and other tie plates
that are to be fayed thereto, thereby avoiding the expense of joggling
and upsetting the said stringers, intercostal keelsons, and other tie
plates as at present practised in the construction of iron and steel ships
and other floating bodies, the whole of the rivetting by these improve-
ments being effected from the inside of the vessel and made flush, the
heads of the rivets being on the outside. I propose to make straps of a
ribbed dovetail shape or of a double T shape in cross section.
I use the
aforesaid straps cither longitudinally or vertically, and fit them on to
the outside of the vessel over the joints of the plates thereof and rivet
them by preference at the inside of the vessel, and by fitting the ends of
the planking to the sides of the dovetail or double T shape, and fitting
and fixing the planks by their ends between each pair of one or
other of such said straps, the planks will thus be securely held and
connected to the sides and bottoms of ships and other floating bodies
without the aid of fastenings passed through the bottom and sides of
the ship or other floating body. The wood planking may be placed
either horizontally or diagonally over the bottom and sides of the ship or
other floating body and one or two thicknesses of planks be employed,
and when a second thickness of planks is required I connect them to the
inner planks by suitable external fastenings. I also propose to make
the vertical and horizontal joints jump-jointed by preference, and when
the inner planking is placed diagonally and two thicknesses of planks
are used I place and fix the outer planks either horizontally or in a
reverse position diagonally to the inner planking. The spaces between
the wood planking and bottom and sides of the ship or other floating
body I propose, if desirable, to fill with Portland cement or other
'suitable composition or materials to preserve the iron plating between
the aforesaid straps. The aforesaid dovetail or double T-shape straps
may be fixed either horizontally or vertically to the bottom and sides of
the ship or other floating body, but when placed horizontally the inside
planking must be placed diagonally; when fixed vertically the said
planking may be placed either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. I
propose also to form the keel and stem and stern posts of iron and steel

page_text: ships and other floating bodies upon the above principle, filling in
between the aforesaid ribbed straps with wood to receive the keel and
stem and stern posts. I also propose to rivet the aforesaid straps to
reverse angle iron of the frames on the inside of the ship or other
floating body to receive wood foot lining and ceiling to be fixed in the
same manner as the outside planking above described. To adapt these
improvements to iron and steel ships and other floating bodies already
built in the ordinary way the dovetail or double T-shape straps may be
fixed to the sides and bottom thereof from the outside by screw bolts
or rivets to receive the wood planking and metal sheathing.
And in constructing new iron and steel ships and other floating
bodies intended to receive wood sheathing I propose to fix somo, or if
desirable, all of the ribs diagonally outside of the vessel and sheath with
wood and metal, as above described, and when the frames are affixed to
the outside of the vessel I propose to fix the stringers, intercostal keelsons,
and other tic plates over the joints of the sheathing plates at the inside
of the ship or other floating body, so as to form a substitute for the
horizontal straps at present employed in the construction of iron and steel
ships and other floating bodies.
The above improvements apply to all iron and steel ships and other
floating bodies in which the iron and steel sheathing plates are either
jump-jointed or lap-jointed in their construction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Taylor, in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
TAYLOR, of Woodstock Road, Poplar, in the County of Middlesex, send.
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Taylor, Her special licence
that I, the said William Taylor, my exccutors, administrators, and

page_text: assigns, or such others as I, the said William Taylor, 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 IRON AND STEEL SHIPS AND OTHER FLOATING BODIES, AND
IN THE MODE OF ATTACHING OR CONNECTING AND FIXING WOOD PLANKS TO THE
SIDES AND BOTTOMS THEREOF TO RECEIVE THE METAL SHEATHING AND OTHER
EXTERNAL AND ALSO INTERNAL FITTINGS OF IRON AND STEEL SHIPS AND OTHER
FLOATING BODIES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Taylor, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Taylor, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be. particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say :-
7
The object and intention of this Invention is to dispense with the
necessity for making holes in the bottoms and sides of iron or steel ships
or other floating bodies, or using bolts, nuts, washers, and filling pieces
for securing wood planking to the sides and bottoms; thus the inside
of the ship or other floating body is left perfectly flush and smooth to
receive the frames, stringers, intercostal keelsons, and other tio plates
that are to be fayed thereto, thereby avoiding the expense of joggling and
upsetting the said stringers, intercostal keelsons, and other tic plates as
at present practised in the construction of iron and steel ships and other
floating bodies, the whole of the rivetting by these improvements being
effected from the inside of the vessel and made flush, the heads of the
rivets being on the outside. I propose to make straps of a ribbed
dovetail shape or of a double T shape in cross section. I use the
aforesaid straps either longitudinally or vertically, and fit them on to
the outside of the vessel over the joints of the plates thereof, and rivet
them by preference at the inside of the vessel and by fitting the ends
of the planking to the sides of the dovetail or double T shape, and

page_text: fitting and fixing the planks by their ends between each pair of one
or other of such said straps the planks will thus be securely held and
connected to the sides and bottoms of ships and other floating bodies
without the aid of fastenings' passed through the bottom and sides of
the ship or other floating body. The wood planking may be placed
either horizontally or diagonally over the bottom and sides of the ship
or other floating body, and one or two thicknesses of planks be employed,
and when a second thickness of planks is required, I connect them
to the inner planks by suitable external fastenings. I also propose to
make the vertical and horizontal joints jump-jointed by preference, and
when the inner planking is placed diagonally and two thicknesses of
planks are used; I place and fix the outer planks either horizontally
or in a reverse position diagonally to the inner planking. The spaces
between the wood planking and bottom and sides of the ship or other
floating body I propose if desirable to fill with Portland cement or
other suitable composition or materials to preserve the iron plating
between the aforesaid straps. The aforesaid dovetail or double T-shape
straps may be fixed either horizontally or vertically to the bottom and
sides of the ship or other floating body; but when placed horizontally
the inside planking must be placed diagonally, when fixed vertically the
said planking may be placed either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
I propose also to form the keel and stem and stern posts of iron and
steel ships and other floating bodies upon the above principle, filling
in between the aforesaid ribbed straps with wood to receive the kecl
and stem and stern posts. I also propose to rivet the aforesaid straps
to reverse angle iron of the frames on the inside of the ship or other
floating body to receive wood, foot lining, and ceiling, to be fixed in
the same manner as the outside planking above described. To adapt
these improvements to iron and steel ships and other floating bodics
already built in the ordinary way, the dovetail or double T-shape
straps may be fixed to the sides and bottoms thereof from the outside
by screw bolts or rivets to receive the wood planking and metal
sheathing.
And in constructing new iron and steel ships and other floating bodies
intended to receive wood sheathing, I propose to fix some or, if desirable,
all of the ribs diagonally outside of the vessel and sheath with wood
and metal, as above described, and when the frames are affixed to the
outside of the vessel I propose to fix the stringers, intercostal keelsons,
and other tie plates over the joints of the sheathing plates at the inside

page_text: longitudinally, also T-iron straps over the longitudinal joints inside
the vessel to which the intercostal kcelsons and other tie plates are
attached, also keel formed with ribbed dovetail straps to receive wood
keel.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my
said Invention for "Improvements in the Construction of Iron and
Steel Ships and other Floating Bodies, and in the Mode of Attaching or
Connecting and Fixing Wood Planks to the Sides and Bottoms thereof
to receive the Metal Sheathing and other External and also Internal
Fittings of Iron and Steel Ships and other Floating Bodics," together
with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that what I claim as my
Invention intended to be secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is as follows:-I claim the modes above described
with reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings of constructing
iron and steel ships and other floating bodies, and of attaching or
connecting and fixing wood planks thereto to receive the metal sheathing
and other internal and external fittings, as above stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Taylor, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.