Improved Life Rafts Obtained by Securing Together Ships' Deck-ventilators.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 4th June, 1886.
Complete Left, 3rd Mar., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 29th Apr., 1887.
Improved Life Rafts Obtained by Securing Together Ships'
Deck-ventilators.
1 WILLIAM GEORGE ROTHWELL of The Hermitage Litherland Park Litherland in
the County of Lancaster, Master Mariner, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :-
The object is to provide in addition to the usual life boats and appliances for saving
life at sea in case of collisions, foundering, or other disasters which necessitates the
abandonment of the ship or vessel, convenient and efficient means readily available as
a life raft for such passengers and crew as cannot avail themselves of tho usual and
nearly always insufficient life saving appliances now carried on passenger ships.
The invention consists essentially in making ships deck-ventilators detachable and
in combining therewith suitable connections such as flanges and bolts or equivalent
devices whereby the said ventilators may be secured together to form life rafts.
In addition to attaching devices the ventilators are fitted with suitable pieces for
forming rudders, oars, masts, and other necessaries.
Dated this 3rd day of June 1886.

page_text: Deck Ventilators.
I, WILLIAM GEORGE ROTHWELL, of the Hermitage, Litherland Park, Litherland, in
the County of Lancaster, Master Mariner, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
--
The object is to provide in addition to the usual life boats and appliances for saving
life, Mails, or valuables, at sea in case of collision, foundering, or other disasters which
necessitate the abandonment of the ship, or vessel, convenient and efficient means
readily available as a life raft for such passengers and crow as cannot avail themselves
of the usual and nearly always inefficient life saving appliances now carried on
passenger ships.
The invention consists essentially in making Ships deck Ventilators detachable and
in combining therewith suitable connections such as flanges and bolts, or equivalent
devices, whereby the said ventilators may be secured together, to form life rafts, each
ventilator being practically a section of a life raft, carried in a vertical position and
utilized as ventilators.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
1
Figure 1. is a plan, Figure 2. is a side elevation and Figure 3. an end elevation
of a life raft, obtained by connecting together four deck ventilators with the
ventilating cowls in an upward direction. a. Ventilators, b. cowls, c. connecting
flanges, d. attachments, forming decks and sides the cowls are made with wedge a
shaped end to form bows.
Figure 4. is a plan of a modification of raft in which the Ventilator cowls b. are
united together, face to face at d. The ventilators may be made with double attach-
ments so that they may be united either as at Figure 1. or at Figure 4. as may be
desirable.
It will be evident that in addition to the attaching devices shown, provision may be
made for masts, sail, paddles, Boathooks and boilers, rudders, lockers and other
necessaries and that shape of ventilators may be varied.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :—
First. Lifo Rafts, obtained by securing together, ships deck ventilators,
substantially as set forth.
Second. Ships Ventilators with connections, substantially in the manner and for
the purpose set forth.
Dated this Second day of March 1887