Improvements in or relating to the Construction of Vessels.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 7th May, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Feb., 1892-Accepted, 5th Mar., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Construction of Vessels.
I, HENRY CROMPTON ASHLIN of 34 Leadenhall Street, in the City of London,
Naval Architect and Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to the construction of new vessels or the modification of
existing ones the object being to obtain the necessary freedom from rolling in the
absence of the ordinary bar keel without the use of bilge keels which are found to
be an obstruction to speed and in other ways objectionable. This purpose I propose
to accomplish in either of the following ways.
In the first case I construct the vessel with a keel plate that is without an
ordinary keel and upon such portion of the hull as may be desired I form any
required number of longitudinal or fore and aft steps which may act as keels. Thus
for a distance of say one or two plates from the centre line of the vessel the bottom
would be flat and then would come an abrupt step of some inches, then another flat
and then another step and so on for such distance as the application of this invention
was carried. The arrangement of the plates and angles for producing these steps
may be considerably varied, some of them being as follows;-On the bottom plate
inside would be rivetted an angle iron which would abut against a fore and aft
keelson on the outer side of which would be rivetted another angle iron which would
carry the next horizontal plate. Or the two horizontal plates may be flanged and
the keelson plate placed between and the three rivetted together or the horizontal
plate may carry an angle iron (or Z bar) as before upon the inner side of which
the keelson plate would come; on the outer face of this angle iron (if used) would
be rivetted another angle iron which would carry the next horizontal plate, the two
angle irons (or Z bar) and the keelson plate being rivetted together. In yet
another instance the plates would be flanged as in the second illustration but the
keelson plate instead of being placed between them would be placed inside the
flange of the first plate. Other devices more or less might be used. The invention
as above described is applicable to vessels having a single skin but is particularly
suitable with those having a cellular double bottom.
A ship constructed in the ordinary way with a single skin or ordinary construction
of cellular double bottom may have my invention fitted to it by forming the steps
of bent or angled plates forming hollow spaces upon the outside skin of the ship
such hollow spaces being if desired filled in with timber or other suitable filling.
Any desired number and construction of these false keels could be employed and
besides acting to control the rolling motion of the vessel in a manner similar to
the ordinary bar keel they would form a protection to the ship's bottom when taking
the ground.
In both cases the steps may be worked off at the ends to take the shape of the
bow and stern of the vessel.
DJ f ... 1001
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant,

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Construction of Vessels.
1, HENRY CROMPTON ASHLIN of 34 Leadenhall Street in the City of London,
Naval Architect and Engineer, 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 :-
This invention relates to the construction of new vessels or the modification of
existing ones, the object being to obtain the necessary freedom from rolling in the
absence of the ordinary bar keel without the use of bilge keels which are found to
be an obstruction to speed and in other ways objectionable. This purpose I propose
to accomplish in either of the following ways.
In the first case I construct the vessel with a keel plate that is without an
ordinary keel and upon such portion of the hull as may be desired I form any
required number of longitudinal or fore and aft steps which may act as keels. Thus
for a distance of say one or two plates from the centre line of the vessel the bottom
would be flat and then would come an abrupt step of a few inches, then another flat
and then another step and so on for such distance as the application of this invention
was carried. The arrangement of the plates and angles for producing these steps
may be considerably varied, some of them being as follows:- On the bottom plate
inside would be rivetted an angle iron which would abut against a fore and aft
keelson on the outer side of which would be rivetted another angle iron which would
carry the next horizontal plate. Or the two horizontal plates may be flanged and
the keelson plate placed between and the three rivetted together or the horizontal
plate may carry an angle iron as before upon the inner side of which the keelson
plate would come; on the outer face of this angle iron would be rivetted another
angle iron which would carry the next horizontal plate the two angle irons and the
keclson plate being rivetted together. In yet another instance the plates would be
flanged as in the second illustration but the keelson plate instead of being placed
between them would be placed inside the flange of the first plate. Other devices
more or less modified might be used. The invention as above described is applicable
to vessels having a single skin but is particularly suitable with those having a
cellular double bottom.
A ship constructed in the ordinary way with a single skin or ordinary con-
struction of cellular double bottom may have my invention fitted to it by forming
the steps of bent or angled plates forming hollow spaces upon the outside skin of
the ship such hollow spaces being if desired filled in with timber or other suitable
filling. Any desired number and construction of these false keels could be employed
and besides acting to control the rolling motion of the vessel in a manner similar to
the ordinary bar keel they would form a protection to the ship's bottom when
taking the ground.
In both cases the steps may be worked off at the ends to take the shape of the
bow and stern of the vessel.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a part transverse section of the lower part of a vessel constructed
according to my invention, the line y z representing the centre line of the vessel.
Figures 2, 3 4 and 5 are sections drawn to a larger scale than Figure 1 showing
some of the various ways of carrying the invention into practice.
Figure 6 is a part transverse section showing one manner of applying my invention
to existing vessels.
Like letters represent like parts throughout the drawings.
A is the keel plate and B B B are three longitudinal or fore and aft steps which
act as keels in place of the keel ordinarily provided in connection with the keel
plate A and which according to this invention is dispensed with. These steps may
be constructed in any desired manner and in the same vessel may be of similar or
dissimilar construction.

page_text: Figures 1 to 5 show some of the various ways of constructing the steps. In
Figure 1 each of the steps is formed with a double angle iron or Z bar to the
two horizontal flanges of which are rivetted the two succeeding plates A D or
D D or D D and to the vertical portion of which is rivetted the appropriate
keelson E.
In Figure 2 an angle iron F is rivetted to the inside of the lower of the two
plates say A and D to be connected and to this angle iron is also rivetted the lower
edge of the keelson E another angle iron G being rivetted to the outer side of the
keelson E and to the outer face of the plate D as shown.
In Figure 3 the plates A and D are bent at their edges so as to form
flanges A D' and these are rivetted together with the keelson E between them.
In Figure 4 the angle irons F and G are respectively rivetted to the plates A
and D as in Figure 2 and are also rivetted together the keelson being upon the
inside of F instead of between F and G.
In Figure 5 the two plates A and D are flanged as in Figure 3 and the two
flanges A' D' and keelson E are all rivetted together, the keelson at the inside
instead of between the two.
When applying my invention to ship of ordinary construction I may as shown
in Figure 6 form the steps of bent or angled plates such as H suitably flanged and
rivetted to the outer skin I of the vessel. The hollow spaces between the skin I
and the inner surface of the plates H may be filled-in with timber J or other
suitable filling if desired.
The steps may be worked off at the ends to take the shape of the bow and stern
of the vessel.
It is to be understood that the number and construction of the before-described
steps may be varied to suit requirements and without departing from the spirit of
the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that
what I claim is :-
1. In a ship or vessel the employment of steps such as B B'or B one or more on
either side of the longitudinal centre line of the vessel substantially as described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a ship or vessel a longitudinal step such as B B or B2 constructed sub-
stantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. The combination with the hull of a vessel of steps such as H one on either
side of the longitudinal centre line of the ship substantially as described and illus-
trated in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of February 1892.
H. C. ASHLIN.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.