IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOATS. BUOYS PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOATS. BUOYS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 13th April 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents,66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOATS, BUOYS.
FLOATS, OR OTHER BUOYANT VESSELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improvements in the construction of boats, buoys, floats,
or other buoyant vessels consists in the employment of gutta perchia or gutta
percha mixed with common glue and other materials in a heated state, and
the forming it in. previously prepared moulds, either so as to complete the
desired boat or vessel at one pressure, and in one entire piece, or to prepare
the air chambers, "timbers," supporters, thwarts, and other parts separately,
and then connect them altogether simultaneously and at one pressure, so as
to complete the, boat or vessel finally at one operation.

page_text: A mould is first to be made of iron or some hard substance. This mould or
model must be so constructed as,besides providing for the general form of the
boat, lighter, camel, buoy, or other float or vessel, shall contain parts for
moulding or receiving the moulds or forms of buoyant chambers, keel, keelson,
gunwales, both in and outside, and for brace pieces for the rowlocks and
gudgeons, and pintles for the rudder, if necessary; also for supporters for the
thwarts, and for the thwarts themselves, if required, to be cast with the other
parts; and also for supporting ring bolts, and a rope, padded or other braces,
or fender on the outside of the vessel; or for any contrivance for attaching
the "painter," stern sheets, or other ropes or fastenings; or for supporting or
strengthening any other parts that mayrequireeitherstay pieces,air chambers,
cutwaters, stern post, rib pieces, or supporters. When the mould or form
has been made, the gutta percha (generally mixed with common glue) is to be
reduced to a plastic state, then it is to be rolled into sheets adapted to the size
of the boat. The vessel may be provided with air chambers, so as to form
hollow gunwales, "timbers," keel, keelson, and other parts or supporters, or
they may be so constructed as to have all those parts filled with solid cork or
other light solid body. Those hollow portions may be so arranged as to be
made in parts and fitted on to the others, that is to say, the under parts or
portions of the buoyant chambers, brace pieces, or other supports may be
moulded in the cavities or suitable places made for the purpose in the general
mould of the vessel; and then the upper parts, after having been separately
prepared in other moulds of corresponding or suitable forms, may be cemented
and pressed on to those under parts, so to complete the required cylinders,
air chambers, braces, fenders, supporters, or other portion. If cork or other
light solid body is used to bo laid in the beds of the moulds for making the
cylinders solid, then the gutta percha may be applied to the general mould,
and the whole boat with all its buoyant and supporting parts may be made at
one pressure of the hydraulic or other power. The thwarts may be made of
the same material, if necessary, and hollow, with supporters in the centre of
light wood, in which latter case of course they must be made separately.
The admixture of the glue may be varied according to the hardness or pli-
ability of the gutta percha; and sometimes oil and varnish, or other materials
may be added, according to circumstances, to soften or assist the composition,
not only in its consistency, but also in its resistance of water, humidity, or
the atmosphere.
To give strength to the boat or vessel it should be encompassed by a stout
rope or strong pudding, so as to answer for a fender under the gunwales, and
also by having bights or loops at each end, with an iron cringle turned in,

page_text: to serve to connect the "painter" or other ropes at either end of the boat.
A light wood sheathing or platform may also be laid at the bottom of the
boat to stand or work upon. If the buoyancy in the whole construction
should prove too great, an iron keelson, made to suit the form of the inner
portion of the vossel. so as to be put on or off at pleasure, would remedy that
objection. The boat may also have air-tight lockers or bulkheads at each
end or prow, so as to prevent pitching.
The operation of making the boat by means of the two moulds is as
follows:-One mould is a male mould and the other a female mould. The
boat is placed in the female mould, when one of the two equal parts of
which that mould is composed has been unclamped and removed.
The forced to be applied to produce the form by pressure may be hydraulic,
steam, or other power. The male mould is made entire, or in one connection.
The female mould must be divided from stem to stern in the centre, so as to
make vertically two equal parts. These equal parts are to be arranged with
clamps, screws, and nuts, to hold them together while under pressure, and
allow them to be separated when the boat has been pressed, so that it may be
readily removed. The sheets of gutta percha, prepared as herein-before
described, are to be laid in the female mould, and then when it is intended to'
make the boat with solid ribs, braco pieces, keel, keelson, or other parts all of
the same material, the upper or male mould or form is put on and pressed down
with the necessary power. When it is desired to have the ribs, keel, keelson,
or other parts hollow, so as to act as air chambers, then the forms of the air
chambers, keelson, or other parts must be previously and separately prepared,
and then put on the respective and appropriate places, while the sheets of
gutta percha in the female mould are in a warm state. When hollow ribs
or other parts are not required, the sheets of gutta percha are to be laid in
the female mould, and the male mould pressed down with sufficient force, so
as to make the forms of ribs, keel, keelson, and other embossed or raised parts
entirely solid. Those solid parts will be necessarily produced by the rising of
the gutta percha into the different cavities while the pressure is applied to
the other portions of the sheets.
In like manner the hollow parts below or at the sides or ends of the surface
of the female form, such as the keel, gunwales, cutwater, and other like parts,
will receive from the force of such pressure the necessary quantity of the gutta
percha, and become solid portions of the boat.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th October 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, aud
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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOATS. BUOTE, FLOATS, OR
OTHER BUOYANT VESSELS," being a communication from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what inanner
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 Edward Newton, 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 Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention of "Improvements in the Construction of Boats, Buoys,
Floats, or other Buoyant Vessels," consists in the employment of gutta percha,
or gutta percha mixed with common glue and other materials in a heated
state, and the forming it in previously prepared moulds, either so as to complete
the desired boat or vessel at one pressure and in one entire piece, or to prepare
the air chambers, "timbers," supporters, thwarts, and other parts separately
and then connect them altogether simultaneously and at one pressure, so
as to complete the boat or vessel finally and at one operation.

page_text: A mould, having a form the reverse of the intended boat, or of the sections
if it is desired to make it, in parts, is first to be made of iron or other metal, or
Some hard substance, which will resist or support the necessary pressure. This
mould or model must be so constructed as, besides providing for the general
form of the boat, lighter, camel, buoy, or other float or vessel, shall contain
parts for moulding or for receiving the moulds or forms of buoyant chambers,
keel, keelson, gunwales, both in and outside, and for brace picces for the row-
locks and gudgeons, and pintles for the rudder if necessary; also for supporters
for the thwarts, and for the thwarts themselves, if required to be cast with the
other parts, and also for supporting ring bolts and a rope, padded or other braces,
or fender on the outside of the vessel, or for any contrivance for attaching
the "painter," stern sheets, or other ropes or fastenings, or for supporting or
strengthening any other parts that may require either stay picces,air chambers,
cutwaters, stern post, rib pieces, or supporters. When the mould or form has
been made the gutta percha (generally mixed with common glue in the propor-
tion of one ounce of the latter to one pound of the former, the latter being first
dissolved in hot water) is to be reduced or brought by heat to a plastic state
suitable to the character of the work and the intended pressure. Then it is to
be rolled into sheets adapted to the size of the boat, making an allowance for
the expansibility of the material. For this purpose the thickness of the sheets
is to be in the proportion of four to one of the ultimate thickness when the
pressure is finished. The vessel may be provided with air chambers, so as to
form hollow gunwales, "timbers," keel, keelson, knees, stern post, cutwater,
brace pieces, and other supporters; or they may be so constructed as to have
all those parts filled with solid cork or other light solid body. Those hollow
portions may be so arranged as to be made in parts and fitted on to the others;
(that is to say), the under parts or portions of the buoyant chambers, brace
pieces or other supports may be moulded in the cavities or suitable places
made for the purpose in the general mould of the vessel; and then the upper
parts, after having been separately prepared in other moulds of corresponding
or suitable forms, may be cemented and pressed on to those under parts, so as to
complete the required cylinders, air chambers, braces, fenders, supporters, or
other portion. If cork or other light solid body is used to be laid in the beds
of the moulds for making the cylinders solid, whether for gunwales, keel,
keelson, dagger, knees, or buoyant chambers, supporters, or other parts, then
the gutta percha may be applied to the general mould, and the whole boat
with all its buoyant and supporting parts, including even the thwarts if
necessary, may be made at one pressure of the hydraulic or other
power. The
thwarts be made of the same material, if necessary, and hollow, with
may

page_text: supporters in the centre of light wood, at the option of the maker of the vessel,
in which latter case of course they must be made separately. In the preceding
method, as regards the use of the solid cork, or other light solid material,
whose specific gravity is not greater than that of the gutta percha and admix-
tures, it would aid the buoyancy of and strengthen the vessel. The admix-
ture of the glue may be varied according to the hardness or pliability of the
gutta percha, and sometimes oil and varnish or other materials may be added,
according to circumstances, to soften or assist the composition not only in
its consistency but also in its resistance of water, humidity, or the atmos-
pliere. To give strength to the boat or vessel it should be encompassed by
a stout rope or strong padding, so as to answer for a fender under the gun-
wales, and also by having "bights" or loops at each end, with an iron cringle
turned in to serve to connect the "painter" or other ropes at either end of
the boat; a light wood sheathing or platform may also be laid at the bottom
of the boat to stand or work upon. If the buoyancy of the whole construc-
tion should prove too great, an iron keclson, made to suit the form of the
inner portion of the vessel, so as to be put on or off at pleasure, would
remedy that objection. The boat may also have air-tight lockers or bulkheads
at each end or prow, so as to prevent it from pitching.
In Sheet 1. of the accompanying Drawings two boats are represented, con-
structed according to this method. Fig. 1 in that Sheet is a plan of a boat;
Fig. 2, a side view of the same; and Fig. 3, a top view of the same, carcened
over to shew the interior of one side. Fig. 4 is a side view of another boat,
and Fig. 5 a plan of the same. In these Figures B, B, indicate the air
vessels, braces, or supporters, and D, D, the supporters for the thwarts.
The keel is solid generally, and the keelson may be either solid or hollow;
the forms of the air vessels may be varied, either like knees, cross or transverse
picces, supporters, or air chambers on bulkheads; they may likewise be solid
or hollow, as the size or kind of boats or buoy may require them to be.
The operation of making the boat by means of the two moulds, such as
are shewn in Sheet II. of the Drawing, is as follows:-One mould is a male
mould, and the other a female mould.
In Sheet II. Fig. 1 is an inverted plan of the male mould; Fig. 2 is a per-
spective view of the female mould; Fig. 3 is a side view of the boat in the
female mould, as seen when one of the two equal parts of which that mould is
composed has been unclamped and removed; Fig. 4 is a plan of the female
mould; Fig. 5 is a side view of the male mould; Fig. 6 is an end view of the
female mould; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an air chamber, with the under
part or slip removed; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the under part or slip to

page_text: be attached to the other portion of the air chamber that is shewn in Fig. 7,by
searing their edges together with a botiron before the whole is pressed intoits
place in the boat; Fig. 9 is a transverse section of the completed air chamber.
The force to be applied to produce the form by pressure may be hydraulic,
steam, or other power. The male mould is made entire or in one connection,
the female mould must be divided from stem to stern in the centre, so as to
mako vertically two equal parts, as seen in Figures 2 and 4. These equal
parts are to be arranged with clamps, screws, and nuts a, a, shewn in
Figures 2 and 4, to hold them together while under pressure, and allow them
to be separated when the boat has been pressod, so that it may be readily
removed. The sheets of gutta percha prepared as herein-before described are
to be laid in the female mould, Fig. 2, and then, when it is intended to mako
the boat with solid ribs, braco pieces, keel, keelson, or other parts, all of the
same material, the upper or male mould or form, Fig. 1, is put on and
pressed down with the necessary power. When it is desired to have the ribs,
keel, keelson, or other parts hollow, so as to act as air chambers, then the
forins of the air chambers, keelson, or other parts must be previously and
separately prepared, and then put on the respective and appropriate places
while the sheets of gutta percha in the female mould are in a warm state.
An air chamber in the form of a rib is shown by Fig. 7. This rib consists
of two pieces; one piece, shown in Fig. 7, containing the cavity, the other is
a flat strip of gutta percha made to fit upon and over the part which is to
lay upon the sheets in the female mould, so as to prevent any portion of
those sheets from rising up (while under pressure) into the cavities of the
hollow ribs or air chambers. When the chambers are not prepared, (that is
to say,) when hollow ribs or other parts are not required, the sheets of gutta
percha are to be laid in the female inould, and the male mould must be
pressed down with sufficient force, so as to make the forms of ribs, keel,
keelson, and other embossed or raised parts entirely solid. These solid parts
will be necessarily produced by the rising of the gutta percha into the
different cavities while the pressure is applied to the other portions of the
shoets. In like manner the hollow parts below or at the sides or ends of
the surface of the female form, such as the keel, gunwales, cutwater, and
other like parts, will receive from the force of such pressure the necessary
quantity of the gutta perchu, and will become solid portions of the boat. The
female mould is to be securely laid upon a fair level, to receive the male
mould after the heated sheets of prepared gutta percha are laid in the former.
The male mould may be supported directly over the fomale mould by falland
tackle or by any common mechanical contrivance, so as to be turned with its

page_text: cavities down and let into the female mould to receive. the, pressure. 10
make the air chambers, which must be prepared. separate, from the main
sheets of gutta percha or body of the boat, the necessary quantity of the
. material must be put carefully into a special female mould made of the form
.required or suited to the kind of air-chamber, whether as a rib, gunwale, or
other. such part, and then pressed down with a corresponding male mould,
which shall be of a size so much smaller than the female, mould as will be
supplied or filled up by the thickness of the parts of the air or hollow chamber..
When the cavity so formed is trimmed and made even, a. strip of gutta
percha previously made of an equal thickness with the sides or other portions
of the air chamber, or of a size to cover the open part of the hollow chamber,
is to be put upon that open part, and then the edges of the air chambers are
made to adhere to that strip by running over or searing them with a hot iron;
they are then, when the sheets of gutta percha are ready in the female mould,
carefully laid or put upon them in their respective and designed places, and
as the male mould descends mate into the corresponding cavities, which it, the
said, mould contains, to keep them from collapsing upon the sheets of warm
gutta percha, which are to form the general outline or body of the boat, the
.pressure of the male mould unites the air chambers and other hollow parts.
to the main body of the boat, and makes it entire, firm, and completo.
Although this description of making air chambers applies to all such parts of
the boat as are cavities, it has been found upon experience to be better to
make the keel or keelson when they are intended to be hollow, or nearly so,
a little stronger by inserting a piece of cork cut into the form of a semicircle,
and about half the size of the keel or keelson, and setting the same diagonally
in the hollow of the keel or keelson to prevent it from falling in from the
.sides. It is not essentially necessary that in order to make the air chambers
a separate mould should be made for every or each such chamber, as the
hollow places in the male mould, Fig. 1, and that mould itself can be used to
make separate air chambers by fitting corresponding parts to press upon, and
air chambers when taken out of such moulds even in a body can, after having
strips of gutta percha to suit, and the edges of those air chambers seared or
heated with a hot iron, so as to adhere to those slips, be pressed in upon the
sheets or body of the boat in the female mould, Fig. 2, to constitute one
compact and entire vessel. The pressing of the male into the female mould
will generally raise portions of the gutta percha above the gunwales: these
and other places must be trimmed off. The principle of making gutta percha
boats or 'vessels either with solid'or hollow ribs, or other parts, and at one
pressure, may be applied to any other shape or model that may be required.

page_text: The knees, "timbers," thwarts, or other pieces or parts, may be fashioned
to suit the purposes of the intended boat or the taste of the builder.
Having now described the "Improvements in the Construction of Boats,
Buoys, Floats, or other Buoyant Vessels," and having explained the means of
carrying the same into effect, as communicated to me by my foreign cor-
respondent, I would observe that I do not intend to limit myself to any
particular form of boat, nor do I intend to claim the exclusive right to use
air chambers, or bulkheads, or cylindrical or other supporters, or gunwales, or
to the mere making of gutta percha vessels; but that which I consider to be
new in the above improvements, and therefore desire to claim as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, is the method of making boats
or other vessels of gutta percha, or of gutta percha mixed with glue, so that
the air chambers or other parts if separately formed, may, together with the
boat body, be united and completed at one pressure, or (if the braces, knees,
thwarts, supporters, or other accessories to the boat proper are solid) that the
whole, with the inner and outer forms, may be all made or completed together
at one time and at one pressure, as herein shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)