IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR LOWERING RAISING AND RELEASING SHIPS BOATS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles James Fox of Birkenhead in the County of
Chester Master Mariner for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING
TO APPARATUS FOR LOWERING RAISING AND RELEASING SHIPS BOATS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles James Fox at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th December 1883.
CHARLES JAMES Fox, of Birkenhead, in the County of Chester, Master Mariner
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR LOWERING, RAISING AND
RELEASING SHIPS BOATS
My Invention has for its object the arrangement and construction of an apparatus
whereby ships boats are so carried that they can be launched from either, or both
sides of the ship, and they can be lowered in succession into the water by the same
apparatus, such apparatus also serving for raising the boats.
In carrying out my Invention I use a framework which extends athwart ships
from side to side over and across the ships deck, or superstructure. The boats are
slung fore and aft and side by side under the said framework and are so slung by
their tackle as to be supported by the overhead framework. For example, the
framework consists of two athwart ship beams spaced apart to correspond with the
length of the boats. These beams are supported by staunchions or their equivalents
and extend across the deck, or superstructure and each beam is provided with a
railway, or equivalent device on which runs a wheel, block, or blocks, or runners
to which is connected, or through which is reeved the boat tackle, that is to say,
the tackle by which the ends of the boat are slung. At each of the four ends of
the beams, there is provided a folding davit similar in principle to what is known
as a wall crane and arranged so that they will swing inboard and be parallel to
the ships side. When not in use these folding davits when outboard become
continuations of the thwartship beams and are provided with railways which form

page_text: continuations of the railways on the beams. The runners for each end of the boat
may be connected together and form a carriage from which the boat is suspended.
The carriage may be worked by a rack and toothed wheel mechanism, or other
suitable mechanism running on the beams and which serves to move the carriage
with the boat to one side, or the other of the ship for launching.
By my Invention several boats may be suspended on the same apparatus side
by side, either over the top of a deck house, or other superstructure, or on deck
and can be expeditiously launched from either side of the ship and thus all the
boats in one group can be easily launched from the lee side of a ship and by the
same apparatus.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles James Fox in the Patent Office on the 19th June 1884.
CHARLES JAMES Fox, of Birkenhead, in the County of Chester, Master Mariner
IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR LOWERING, RAISING AND
RELEASING SHIPS BOATS
My Invention has for its object the arrangement and construction of an apparatus
whereby ships boats are so carried that they can be launched from either, or both
sides of the ship and they can be lowered in succession into the water by the same
apparatus, such apparatus also serving for raising the boats
In carrying out my Invention, I use a framework which extends athwart ships
from side to side over and across the ships deck, or superstructure. The boats are
Blung fore and aft and side by side under the said framework and are so slung by
their tackle as to be supported by the overhead framework. For example the
framework consists of two athwart ship beams spaced apart to correspond with the
length of the boats. These beams are supported by staunchions, or their equivalent
and extend across the deck, or superstructure and each beam is provided with a
railway, or equivalent device on which runs a wheel block, or blocks, or runners
to which is connected, or through which is reeved the boat tackle that is to say,
the tackle by which the ends of the boat are slung. At each of the four ends of
the beams, there is provided a folding davit similar in principle to what is known
as a wall crane and arranged so that they will swing inboard and be parallel to
the ships side. when not in use; these folding davits when outboard become
continuations of the thwart ship beams and are provided with railways, which
form continuations of the railways on the beams. The runners for each end of the
boat may be connected together and form a carriage from which the boat is
suspended. The carriage may be worked by a rack and toothed wheel mechanism,
or other suitable mechanism running on the beams and which serves to move the
carriage with the boat to one side, or the other of the ship for launching.
By my Invention several boats may be suspended on the same apparatus side by
side, either over the top of a deck house, or other superstructure, or on deck, and
can be expeditiously launched from either side of the ship and thus all the boats
in one group can be easily launched from the lee side of a ship and by the same
apparatus.
The beforegoing being the nature, object and purposes of my Invention, I will
now proceed to describe more in detail how the same may be put into practical
operation and for that purpose I have hereunto annexed three sheets of Drawings
illustrative of my Invention and marked with letters and figures of reference
corresponding with those in the following description, like letters and figures being
used to denote like, or corresponding parts throughout the various views.
REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS,
Figure 1 is an end elevation of an apparatus constructed according to my
Invention.
Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a detail of the boat carriage and rail.
Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a detail of folding davit.
Figure 6 is a plan of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is an end view of Figure 5,
Figure 8 is an end elevation showing an alternative arrangement of davit

page_text: According to my Invention, I use a framework A extending across the ships
deck, or superstructure. The boats B are slung as hereafter described so as to be
supported by the framework A. The framework consists of two athwart ship
beans A spaced apart to correspond with the length of the boats. The beams À
are supported by staunchions C. Each of the beams A is provided with a railway a
on which runs a wheel block, or runner c. The runners c for each end of the boat
are connected together by a bar c' so as to form a carriage from which the boat B
is suspended by the hook c² which takes into the suspending ring, or its equi-
valent b. At each of the four ends of the beams A, there is provided a folding
davit D, which is hinged to the end of the frame A at d so that the davit D will
swing inboard and be parallel to the ships side when not in use. When in use the
davits D become continuations of the beams A being provided with a railway a so
that the boat carriages c will travel to the ends of the davits D and bring the boat
outboard as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. To lower the boat, blocks and
tackle e are connected from the bar c to the suspender b and the hook c² is released
from the suspender b, the tackle e is led to the winch E by which the boat is
lowered. As each boat is lowered, the following boat is run outboard into position
and then lowered by the tackle e, which in each case is secured to prevent it
running inboard.
In the alternative arrangement shown in Figures 8 and 9 the davit D is arranged
to lower down into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 8 and its action is
repeated as each boat is run out to the ends of the beams A and the boat is lowered
with the tackle e from the winch E. A separate block and tackle e' is in this case
provided for operating the davit D.
Having now described my Invention and shown how the same may be put into
effect, what I claim is
First In apparatus for operating ships boats the use of a railway, provided with
carriages from which the boat, or boats are suspended and whereby a number of
boats are arranged in a group and all can be lowered, released and raised from
either side of the ship substantially as herein set forth.
Second An apparatus for lowering, releasing and raising ships boats consisting
of two athwart ship railways a carriage c and davits D and tackle e constructed,
arranged and operating as herein described and shown in reference to Figures 1
to 7 inclusive of the Drawings hereto annexed.
Third An apparatus for lowering, releasing and raising ships boats consisting of
two athwart ship railways a carriage c and davits D and tackle e constructed,
arranged and operating as herein described and shown in reference to Figures 8
and 9 inclusive of the Drawings hereto annexed.
In Witness whereof, I, the said Charles James Fox, have hereunto set my
hand and seal this eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty four.
OTLADI DO TAME
1
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