CERTAIN IMPROVED COMBINATIONS OF MATERIALS IN SHIP BUILDING
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
JOSEPH BRUNET, of the Canal Ironworks, Poplar, in the County of Middle-
sex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of
January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the fifteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Joseph Brunet, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her
especial licence, full power, .sole privilege and authority, that I, the said.
James Joseph Brunet, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said James Joseph Brunet, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and
Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVED COMBINATIONS OF MATERIALS IN SHIP BUILDING,"
communicated to me by Louis Armand, of Bordeaux, France, in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said James Joseph
Brunet, shall cause a particular description of the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in

page_text: writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Joseph Brunet, hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:--
The said Invention has for its object the combination of wood and iron in
ship building, in such manner that vessels constructed upon this plan shall
possess all or nearly all the strength, lightness, and rigidity of vessels built
wholly of iron, without that extreme liability to fouling and corrosion and
to injury from shot which has hitherto formed the great objection to the
adoption of iron as a material for ship building; and the manner of the said
construction is represented in the Drawings hereunto annexed, Figure 1 being
a vertical section of a vessel constructed according to the said Invention;
Figure 2, an interior view of one of the sides; and Figure 3, a plan on the line
of the keel. The lines in red exhibit those parts of the structure which are
of iron, and those in black the parts that are in wood.
A framing of timbers, but of considerably reduced scantling, and placed at
a greater distance than usual. from each other it is to be formed and secured
as generally done to the keel. The distances apart of the timber frame may
be increased as far as it can be done with a due regard to the thickness of the
outside wood planking. An iron kelson formed of plate and angle iron is
substituted for the ordinary wooden kelson. This iron kelson is securely
fastened on the timber framing and filling-in pieces between the kelson and
framing. Then beginning about midships and proceeding towards the fore
and after part of the vessel, a second framing of iron ribs, formed of double
.angle iron rivetted together, or iron rolled somewhat in the shape of the letter
Z is introduced, extending from the under part of the deck to the iron kelson,
as shown in the Drawings. These iron ribs are bolted and, secured to each of
the timbers of the wood framing, which they cross diagonally at an angle of
about 45°, and the lower ends of these iron ribs are continued forward or aft,
so as to connect with and to form a part of the iron kelson, as shown in the
Drawings. The distance of these diagonal iron ribs from centre to centre
will be according to the degree of strength required, and if the distance be con-
siderable, it will be advisable to introduce filling-in pieces of wood of the same
depth as the iron ribs, properly secured to the timber framing. These filling-
2

page_text: in pieces marked a, a, a, represented in the Drawings, will give additional
support to the longitudinal plate-iron strakes or lining hereafter mentioned.
Iron shelf-pieces, clamps, &c., are fixed to the above mentioned iron framing,
as generally introduced in iron vessels. The beams may be of timber or iron.
Engine bearers for steam vessels may be formed as usual of plate and angle
iron, and fastened on the timber framing previously to the outside planking
being bolted on. Iron bulkheads may also be bolted to the wooden framing
by angle iron in the usual manner. For additional strength and rigidity plate-
iron riders may be introduced, extending from the under part of the beams to
the iron kelson. When the diagonal iron frame is perfectly made fast, and
rivetted securely together with the iron kelson, shelf-pieces, clamps, &c. &c.,
the outside planking, main wales, &c. may be proceeded with as commonly
done, and bolted to the timber framing. It is advisable, then, that the whole
both wood and iron, should be well painted. Afterwards, longitudinal iron
strakes S, S, are rivetted or bolted to the inner surface of the iron ribs, as
shewn in the Drawings. These strakes may be so arranged as to divide equally,
or nearly so, the distance between the clamps and the floor or lower futtock
heads of the timber framing, or they may cover the whole of this space if
thought advisable or advantageous, or for the engine room as a preventive
against fire, as also shewn on one side of the vertical section Figure 1. But
if open spaces or interstices are left between the plate-iron strakes, the iron
framework or ribs, as well as the timber framing and inside part of the
outside planking, will be fully exposed to view, so that those parts may be
inspected, repaired, and painted from time to time (the cargo being
removed) with more facility than in other vessels; and consequently a ship
built according to this plan will last a much longer time than usual. This
is decidedly one of the greatest advantages of this system of ship building,
since a leak may be discovered and remedied without injuring or destroying
any part of the hull. To prevent any portions of the cargo from finding their
way into these interspaces, they may be covered with moveable or sliding
panels composed either of wood or iron. The union of the two framings, iron
and wood, allows of the introduction of the different systems of fastenings
applicable to each material, and it may justly be said that this plan of building
combines all the solidity and stiffness of iron vessels, and all the advantages of
a timber-built ship, coppered and copper fastened. The solidity added by the
iron framing to the timber frame permits the latter to be so considerably
reduced in bulk, that by this combination of timbers, angle and plate-iron hulls
of vessels built according to this plan will be both stronger and lighter than
those built according to the old system.

page_text: And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim in behalf of
my informant, the said Louis Armand, is the combination in ship building of
wood and iron frames, in the manner represented in the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Joseph Brunet, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.