IMPROVEMENTS IN SPARE RUDDERS FOR SHIPS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Hepplewhite, of Grosvenor Street, Com-
mercial Road East, in the County of Middesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SPARE RUDDERS FOR SHIPS"
Sealed the 18th January 1856, and dated the 21st July 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Hepplewhite at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st July 1855.
I, GEORGE HEPPLEWHITE, of Grosvenor Street, Commercial Road East, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SPARE RUDDERS FOR SHIPS" to be as follows:-
My improvements in spare rudders for ships consist in constructing them as
herein described, so as to be easily fitted and applied to a vessel when at sea;
the several parts of which, I purpose, should be furnished to ships going to sea.
After having lost her proper rudder, I erect a standard of about six or seven
feet high from the deck close to the trunk-hole of the rudder; this is fitted
into a shoe firmly bolted to the deck, and is further stayed from the top in
several directions in order to render it fixed and immoveable.
This standard is furnished with bearings near the top and bottom to receive
the stem or shaft of the spare rudder, which is fitted thereto, and passes down
the trunk-hole; this may either be in one piece or in two or more lengths for

page_text: ease of stowage and application; the lengths may either be scarfed and bolted
together, or united by sockets and bolts, or in other suitable manner. The
upper parts of the rudder. shaft is fitted with a sheave on the side next the
deck standard, which shcave rests ou a shoulder formed on that standard, and
carries the weight of the whole rudder, and permits it to move freely in its
bearings.
I prefer to make the temporary rudder stem or shaft in two lengths, to the
lower one of which I attach the steering surface of the rudder, which I
construct in different forms. When the trunk-hole is large I form the steering
surface in the manner of a fan, so as to shut up within the limits of the
rudder shaft, or nearly so, the parts of the steering surface being jointed
thereto. The whole may be lowered down through the trunk-hole when collapsed,
and spread out when down. Suitable chain geer is attached to the parts of
the spreading surface, to spread them out and retain them in that state so as
to present a steering surface. Instead of one fan surface, two fan surfaces
may be employed, one above the other, taking care in either case to expose as
mucli surface as will steer the ship properly.
Instead of forming the steering surface collapsible, I construct it somewhat
in the form of an ordinary rudder. To effect this, I prepare the lower part of
the rudder shaft with a vertical groove, somewhat after the fashion of gutter
iron; into this groove the several pieces that form the steering surface are
fitted, and fixed by means of bolts passing through the whole. These several
parts may be further supported from each other by grooving and tongucing into
each other. When these parts are made of wood, they may be strengthened
and further secured to each other by bands of iron, one on either side, inlaid
across the several pieces, and bolted through to each other; the groove or
gutter. in the stem of the rudder, will have to be, of a considerable width to
receive the necessary thickness of wood.. In spare rudders made with a fixed
steering surface they must necessarily. be put over the side of the ship, and
the stem or shaft passed up the trunk-holé from. below; when the shaft is in
two pieces it can. at the same time be-united-to the upper part, which may
have been previously fitted into its.bearings.
In order to steady the rudder.and afford greater security, a piece of metal
is jointed to the 'rudder. shaff, near the bottom to which jointed piece two
chains are attached as guy's, which are: brought up one on each quarter of the
ship and firmly. secured. On the side of the deck standard a bearing is
formed to receive one end of the wheel shaft, the other bearing being moved a
little on one side to correspond. A. suitable tiller is provided, and shipped on
and bolted to the rudder shaft, or head: In forming the steering surfaces, I
.

page_text: keep the surface as low down as possible, anil so as not to come above the
surface of the water, taking care to expose sufficient breadth to effect a proper:
steerage of the ship..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Hepplewhite in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
. 21st January 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HEPPLEWHITE, of Grosvenor Street, Commercial Road East, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, ITer heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Hepplewhite; Her special licence that I, the said George Hepplewhite,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Hepplewhite, 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
SPARE RUDDERS FOR SHIPз," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said George Hepplewhite, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly 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 nionths next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Hepplewhite, 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 follow-
ing statement, reference being had to the two Sheets of Drawings herento
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My improvements in spare rudders for ships consist in so constructing them
as (herein-after described) as to be easily fitted and applied to a vessel when
at sea. I erect a standard about six or seven feet high from the deck close to
the trunk-hole of the rudder; this is fitted into a shoe or clamp firmly bolted

page_text: to the deck, and is further stayed from the top in several directions in order to
render it fixed and immoveable. This standard is furnished with bearings near
the top and bottom to receive the stem or shaft of the spare rudder, which is
fitted thereto, and passes down the trunk-hole; this may either be in one
piece or in two or more lengths for ease of stowage and application; the
lengths may either be scarfed and bolted together, or united by sockets and
bolts, or in other suitable manner. The upper part of the rudder shaft is
fitted with a sheave on the side next the deck standard, which sheave rests on
a shoulder formed on that standard, and carries the weight of the whole rudder,
and permits it to move freely in its bearings.
I prefer to make the temporary rudder stem or shaft in two lengths, to
the lower one of which I attach the steering surface of the rudder, which
I construct of different forms. When the trunk-hole is large I form the
steering surface in the manner of a fan, so as to shut up within the limits of
the rudder shaft, or nearly so, the parts of the steering surface being jointed
thereto. The whole may be lowered down through the trunk-hole when
collapsed, and spread when down. Suitable chain gear is attached to the parts
of the spreading surface, to spread them out and retain them in that state so
as to present a steering surface. Instead of one fan surface two fan surfaces
may be employed, one above the other, taking care in either case to expose as
much surface as will steer the ship properly.
Instead of forming the steering surface collapsible, I construct it somewhat
in the form of an ordinary rudder. To effect this, I prepare the lower part of
the rudder shaft with a vertical groove, and somewhat after the fashion of
gutter iron; into this groove the several pieces that form the steering surface
are fitted, and fixed by means of bolts passing through the whole. These
several parts may be further supported from cach other by grooving and
tongucing into cach other. When these parts are made of wood, they may be
strengthened and further secured to each other by bands of iron, one on
either side, inlaid cross the several pieces, and bolted through to each other;
the groove or gutter in the stern of the rudder will have to be of a considerable
width to receive the necessary thickness of wood. In spare rudders made
with a fixed steering surface they must necessarily be put over the side of
ship, and the stem or shaft passed up the trunk-hole from below; when the
shaft is in two pieces it is at the same time united to the upper part, which
may have been previously fitted into its bearings. In order to steady the
rudder and afford greater security, a piece of metal is jointed to the rudder
shaft near the bottom, to which jointed piece two chains are attached as
guy's, which are brought up one on each quarter of the ship and firmly

page_text: secured. On the side of the deck standard a bearing is formed to receive one
end of the wheel shaft, the other bearing being placed a little on one side to
correspond. A suitable tiller is provided and shipped on and bolted to the
rudder shaft or head. In forming these steering surfaces, I keep the surface
as low down as possible, and so as not to come above the surface of the water,
taking care to expose sufficient breadth to effect a proper steering of the ship.
In providing a spare rudder for ships, it is an essential requisite that its con-
struction should be such that the spare rudder may be so fitted as to be readily
and easily applied at sea and in rough weather. When a vessel loses her
rudder, the pintles and the eyes in the rudder post become so strained or
destroyed, that a spare rudder, a duplicate of the rudder lost, is perfectly useless
from the difficulty of applying it, and the derangement of the parts into which
the lost rudder was fitted. Now, in remedying the evils resulting in the loss of
a ship's rudder, the point of importance is, the readiness of application and the
degree of usefulness of the spare rudder, which readiness of application and
usefulness when applied I have endeavoured to provide by my Invention.
In the Drawings annexed I have represented different forms of rudder, but
all somewhat similarly fitted to the support in which they move.
Figure 1,
Sheet A of the Drawings, represents the stern of a ship in section,
showing my improved spare rudder attached; Fig. 2, a transverse section of
the same. This rudder is constructed solely of iron. a, a, is the rudder stem or
shaft. This I prefer to form in two parts or lengths, fitted together by means
of a socket joint at b, where it is secured by bolts c, c; the upper part of stem a¹
is fitted to move in bearings d, d, the lower one forming part of foot plate or
socket e, which is firmly bolted to the deck of the ship in close proximity to
the trunk-hole of the rudder; the pillar f, carrying upper bearing d, is shipped
into the socket foot e, and is securely stayed aft to the tafrail, and on either
. side by stays g, g, to the gunwale, these stays being made to ship on a pin in
the top off, and held on by a nut above. h is the tiller, fitted to a¹, and fixed
with a through bolt i. In order to permit friction on the bearings d, d, and
insure the free motion of the rudder, a sheave or roller is fitted to the rudder
shaft a', which rests and traverses on a shoulder k formed on pillar f, which
thus carries the weight of the temporary rudder as it turns round in its bear-
ings. The lower part of the shaft a is separately represented at Fig. 3; it is
formed with a groove or channel m, into which the plates n, n, forming the
steering surface, are fitted; one of these plates is shown separately at Fig. 4. In
this Figure they are represented as being recessed and tongued into each other,
but that is not essentially necessary; or they may fit together with steady pins,
as shown dotted in the lower division. In Fig 1 the several pieces n, n, are

page_text: fitted into groove m, and secured by through bolts o, o. To fix and steady the.
lower part of this rudder I bolt a bracket piece p to the shaft; to this bracket,
pa plate q is jointed, to either end of which plate guy chains,, arc attached ;,
these chains are carried round the quarters and up over the gunwale of the
ship, and made fast inboard, and thereby support and steady the temporary
rudder in lieu of the one lost. The fitting and fixing of the rudder stem f
will be readily understood. The shaft a' is then placed in its bearings; the lower
shaft a and rudder is then handed over the ship's side, and hove up into the
rudder trunk into its socket b, and there joined and fixed with bolts; the guy
chains 1, 2, are then hove taut and secured as described, when the rudder will
be ready for steering. s is a bearing for one end of the steering wheel shaft,
the other bearing is to be placed in line therewith. The steering wheel chains
are conducted and attached to the tiller h, and act in the ordinary manner.
will be observed that the steering surface is wholly immersed and below the
surface of the water, as represented by the blue lines, and is therefore always
in solid water, and not so subject to the violent action of the waves and broken
water, as would otherwise be the case if carried up nearer to or above the
surface. The whole of the parts of this spare rudder, it will be seen, are readily
capable of stowage in any ship, and can be quickly fitted when required. In
small ships, or indeed in any case, the rudder shaft may be formed in one
piece, and passed over the side and up the rudder trunk into its bearings d, d;
but I believe it will be found more convenient in two pieces, as shown in the
Drawing.
It
Fig. 5 represents a side view, and Fig. 6 an end view, of a rudder some-
what similar to the foregoing, but with the steering surface formed or con-
structed of wood. I have merely represented the lower part of shaft, which is
formed square, and has two plates of iron t, t, one on either side, bolted to it,
with the pieces of timber n', n, placed between them, with separate bolts in
each piece of wood; in addition to these bolts by which the metal is united,
the pieces of wood n', n', are further secured to each other by metal bars v,
recessed into each side and stayed by chain 2 to shaft a.
Eig. 7 represents a side view, and Fig. 8 an end view, of a collapsible
rudder, whose shaft may be in one piece from top to bottom (but if pre-
ferred it may be jointed for stowage), the whole being so arranged that it
may be passed down the trunk-hole from the deck. Where the rudder
trunk is small, as in iron ships, this could not take place; but when the
trunk-hole is large the collapsible steering surface may be folded up, as
represented in Fig. 7, and passed down, and therefore without the necessity
of passing the spare rudder over the ship's side, as beforo mentioned. The

page_text: steering surfaces consists of a number of plates b, c, d, e, f, and f¹, arranged
to open in the manner of a fan, being jointed to the shaft a on the pin g;
the several plates are connected to each other by short chains h, i, k, l, m,
which limit their separation; a chain o is also attached to the upper plate
b, which chain is led up to the deck over a sheave or roller at p, and
through the rudder trunk. The shaft a and plates b, c, d, e, f, and f¹, in the
collapsed form of rudder, as shown at Fig. 9, and as seen in dotted lines at
Fig. 7, are lowered down to position and secured by the guy chains r,r; the
chain o is then hove upon, so as to expand and open out the several plates,
until the upper one babuts against a stop 7; a stop is also provided in the joint
for the lower plate f' to abut against, so as to maintain the proper spread of
the plates, the intermediate ones being kept in proper position by the short
chains h, i, k, l, m.
same.
Fig. 10 represents a side view of a double collapsible rudder, constructed
on the same principle as the foregoing; and Fig. 11, an end view of the
The only difference is this, that it has two sets of collapsible plates
B, B, which are, however, fitted and fixed in a manner similar to that before
described; it has two chains 0, 0, leading up to the deck to expand the
steering surfaces when down. In this case stop chains a, a, are adjusted to
limit the rise of the fan surface, which remain in an expanded state by the
chains o, o, being kept taut up. In this manner a steering surface will be pre-
sented that may be readily fitted and adjusted in any weather. In fixing these
collapsible rudders, it will be necessary to pass a line over the taffrail and up
the rudder trunk to attach to the guy chains, in order to bring them inboard
when let when let down the rudder trunk, as will be easily accomplished and
readily understood. In all cases I take care to present a sufficient amount of
surface to steer the ship that shall be at some depth below the surface of
the water in order that it shall not be subject to the action of waves breaking
under the counter.
Fig. 12, Sheet B, represents the section of the stern of a ship, having
another arrangement of the temporary rudder post or pillar, which carries the
bearings to support the temporary rudder. The fixing and fitting of the
standing pillar f is very similar to that before described, with the exception
that the lower end of it is carried down the trunk-hole some considerable
distance, and has the lower bearing fixed at the bottom, which affords greater
support to the rudder stem or shaft than the arrangement before explained.
The same letters of reference being used to denote similar parts where they
occur in this Figure, any further description will be unnecessary.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which it

page_text: is carried into practical effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details shown, so long as the peculiar character of either
part of my Invention be retained; but that what I claim is, the arrangement
and construction of temporary rudders, and the method of fixing them from the
deck, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof; I, the said George Hepplewhite, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
W. CLARK, Patent Agent,
GEORGE HEPPLEWHITE. (LS.)
53, Chancery Lane, London.