IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OR SYSTEM OF CONSTRUCTING BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County.
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, second greeting.
Her
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirtieth day of May, in the sixth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Edward Newton, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,,
that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors,
administrators, 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 mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
METHOD OR SYSTEM OF CONSTRUCTING BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS," which the inventor
intends to denominate "The Mondotian System," being a communication from.a
foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso-
obliging me, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to.
cause the same to be inrolled in Her 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 and by the same, reference being thereunto had,,
will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: William Edward Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are parti-
cularly described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof,
reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention, which has been communicated to me from abroad, consists,
first, in a novel mode of constructing vessels to be propelled on the water; and
secondly, in a peculiar method of propelling and navigating the said vessels;
and from its peculiar construction the vessel may be donominated a rolling boat
or floating railway.
The Figures in the accompanying Drawing represent the manner in which
the inventor proposes to carry his improvements into effect:-Fig. 1 is a
longitudinal section taken vertically through the centre of the apparatus;
Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same; Fig. 3 is an external elevation of
the front of the drum; and Fig. 4 is an external side view. The vessel consists
of a large horizontal cylinder or drum a, a, a, a, of about twenty feet in diameter,
and twenty or twenty-five feet in length, covered with sheet iron or other suit-
able material. The frame b, b, may be constructed of iron or wood, and the
drum is furnished externally with float boards c, c, c, like an ordinary water
wheel. Both the ends of this drum or cylinder are closed, except at the centre,
where circular openings d, or port holes, about eight fect in diameter, are left
for the purpose of admitting air and light into the interior of the drum. The
apparatus is constructed in such a manner as to cause the lowest part of this
aperture always to be considerably above the surface of the water. Inside
this floating drum or cylinder, and extending all round it in the form of rings,
is a circular iron railroad e, e, consisting of two rails; and on the lower part of
this annular road a locomotive engine, with four or six wheels f, f, runs as on
an ordinary railway. The movement of this engine, when in motion, is similar
to a squirrel's in its cage, thereby making the boat revolve and advance along
the surface of the water, the engine itself, however, always remaining in a hori-
zontal position, or nearly so. The locomotive engine is situated beneath the
platform g, g, which is furnished with chairs, tables, and other conveniences for
the passengers. The fuel and other materials that are required for the engine
are contained in receptacles constructed under the flooring; and the chimney or
flue, for conducting the smoke, issues through one of the port holes d, d. The
iron plates with which the ends of the cylinder are covered are made of such a
diameter as to extend to the outer edge of the float boards, and the space
between the float boards is thereby enclosed at the ends, thus forming an open

page_text: box. These boxes are further sub-divided by transverse partitions h, h, h, h,
thereby presenting a series of open chambers or boxes. Upon referring to
Fig. 1 it will be seen that as the vessel revolves these chambers retain the air,
and carry it with them under the water, and thereby tend to support the vessel,
and by being thus held it also prevents the sheet iron which envelopes the
cylinder from coming in contact with or resting on the surface of the water, as,
being supported upon a bed of air, it rests above the water. The weight of
the boat, however, sufficiently compresses the air to allow the floats or paddles.
to enter the water. If thought desirable, the platform or flooring which is
placed above the locomotive may be extended on the right or left through one
or both of the portholes. The vessel is steered by means of an oar which
projects through one of the portholes. The vessel is steered by means of an
oar, which projects through one of the portholes. This oar is not shewn in
the Drawing, but when in use it must be plunged more or less into the water,
and by bearing against the edge of the porthole or opening it will answer the
purpose of a rudder. The dimensions and form of the various parts, as well
as the materials of which they may be constructed, together with the interior
fittings, &c., may be varied according to circumstances, and whether the boat
is destined for sea, lake, or river navigation.
The Inventor further intends to apply some parts of these improvements
to steam boats of the ordinary-construction. Four propelling wheels are to
be employed, and are. constructed upon the same plan as the revolving cylinder,
drum, or vessel above described; that is to say, instead of attaching the
paddles or floats to radial arms, with vacant spaces between them, in the
ordinary manner, they are mounted on or attached to a cylinder, and their
end spaces covered with plates, so as to make the said spaces between each
pair of floats assume the character of an open box of the form of a prism,
thereby confining the air, and making the wheels revolve upon a bed of air.
By this means the entire vessel is raised, and the draught of the water dimi-
nished, and the speed of the vessel consequently increased.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me
from abroad, and also the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to
be understood, in conclusion, that I claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent,―
First, the novel method above described of constructing vessels to be pro-
pelled uppon the water:
Second, the manner of propelling the same, that is, by causing the vessel to
turn instead of being drawn:
Thirdly, closing the spaces between the floats, in order that a quantity of air

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of September,
in the seventh year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said
William Edward Newton came before our said Lady the Queen in Her
Chancery, and acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing
therein contained and specified, in form above written. And also the instru-
ment aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Thirtieth day of November, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-three