IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM VESSELS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Louis Winans, of Grosvenor Square, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM VESSELS."-Partly a communica-
tion from abroad by Thomas Winans, of Baltimore, in the State of
Maryland, United States of America.
Sealed the 8th August 1873, and dated the 7th May 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Louis Winans
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th May 1873.
I, WILLIAM LOUIS WINANS, of Grosvenor Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM VESSELS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements upon an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted 19 June 1858, No. 1386, to Ross
Winans and Thomas Winans.

page_text: The present Invention relates to an improved method of construction
which we employ for the purpose of reducing the draught of water of
spindle-shaped steam vessels such as are described and shewn in the
Specification of Ross and Thomas Winans' Patent above referred to,
whereby we are enabled to make an important reduction in the draught
of water of spindle-shaped vessels.
When constructing our improved vessels according to our present
Invention we make them with flat or nearly flat bottoms, such as would
result from cutting off a segment from the lowest submerged portion of
a true spindle-shaped hull.
The form will be more or less flattened according to the circumstances
of each case, such as the size of the ship or the purpose for which it is
intended, and this may be done with success without going so far as to
affect materially the principles involved in the spindle form, while
increased advantages may be obtained from the use of that which will
remain substantially a spindle-shaped hull.
The Invention likewise relates to reducing in a similar manner the
draught of water of steam vessels constructed with spindle-shaped hulls
and flat or nearly flat decks, such as those described in the Specification
of Patent granted to myself and Thomas Winans, dated 20th June
1863, No. 1555.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letter's Patent,
filed by the said William Louis Winans in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th November 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM 2
LOUIS WINANS, of Grosvenor Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty- 3
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Louis Winans, Her special licence
that I, the said William Louis Winans, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Louis Winans, my

page_text: 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM VESSELS," the same being the result.
partly of a communication to me from abroad by Thomas Winans, of
Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, United States of America, and
partly of Invention and discovery made by myself, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Louis Winans, 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 months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Louis Winans, 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, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
This Invention consists in certain improvements upon an Invention
for which Letters Patent of Great Britain were granted to Ross Winans
and the said Thomas Winans, dated June Nineteenth, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-eight, for "A New and Useful Improvement in
the Form of the Hulls of Steam Vessels."
The present Invention relates to a form of construction which we
employ for the purpose of reducing the draught of water of spindle
shaped steam vessels such as are described and shewn in the Specification
of Ross and Thomas Winans' Patent above referred to.
When constructing our improved vessels according to our present -
Invention we make them with flat or nearly flat bottoms, such as would
result from cutting off a segment from the lowest submerged portion of
a true spindle shaped hull.
The form will be more or less flattened according to the circumstances
of each case, such as the size of the ship or the purpose for which it is

page_text: intended, without, however, going so far as to affect materially the
principles involved in the true spindle form.
The Invention likewise consists in a similar application of a flat or
nearly flat lowest submerged portion to a spindle shaped hull having a
flat or nearly flat upper deck with bulwarks, railing, or cabin or cabins 5
with an upper or hurricane deck, similar to that for which Letters
Patent were granted to the present Inventors on the Twentieth June
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, No. 1555.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a diagram representing the
outline of a longitudinal vertical section taken in the line of the axis 1
of the vessel, and Fig. 2 is the outline of a transverse vertical section
through the line A, B, of Fig. 1 of one of the forms of hull patented
by Ross and Thomas Winans as aforesaid with our present Invention
of a flat bottom adapted thereto.
The dotted lines a, a, a, a, in both Figures represent the outline of 1
the lower portion of a spindle shaped hull when constructed according
to the Invention of Ross and Thomas Winans above referred to. The
chord subtended between the letters C, D, Fig. 1, and E, F, Fig. 2,
represents a flat bottom applied to the spindle shaped hull in accordance
with our present improvements.
Similar adaptations of a flat or nearly flat bottom may also be applied
when required to the various other forms of spindle hulls described in
the aforesaid Patent of Ross and Thomas Winans.
2
From the above description it is obvious that the present improve-
ment upon Ross and Thomas Winans' original Invention, which required?
that all the transverse sections of the hull should be true circles, affords
a great advantage over the original Invention, in all cases where large
displacement or capacity with limited draught of water are necessary
or desirable.
Without materially impairing any of the essential properties peculiar
to the spindle form the advantage would be gained of being able to use
very much larger spindle vessels in water of equal depth than would be
possible with the true spindle shaped vessels constructed under the
Patent of Ross Winans and Thomas Winans aforesaid.
In constructing the hulls of spindle shaped vessels according to our
present Invention the framing which may be of any description used in

page_text: ship building is to be bent or moulded to the proper shape, and the
corners formed by the intersections of the chord with the arc may be
slightly rounded, and although we have shown the bottom as perfectly
flat it will be evident that the cut off portion may be slightly curved
without departing from our Invention, which has for its object the
reduction of the draught of water of spindle shaped steam vessels.
Having now described the said Invention of "Improvements in the
Construction of Steam Vessels," and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim, the making flat or nearly flat the
lowest submerged portions of the hulls of spindle shaped steam vessels
as herein set forth so as to reduce the draught of water thereof, sub-
stantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Louis Winans, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the First day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
WILLIAM LOUIS WINANS. (L.S.)