IMPROVEMENTS IN OR ADDITIONS TO BOATS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jesse Koy, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR ADDITIONS TO
BOATS."
Sealed the 15th January 1875, and dated the 1st August 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jesse Key at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
August 1874.
I, JESSE KEY, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR ADDITIONS
TO BOATS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the improvements in or additions to boats
herein-after described, the objects of my said improvements or additions
being to give boats increased buoyancy and stability, and to reduce the
danger of capsizing to a minimum.
My Invention consists essentially in disposing or attaching on each
side of the boat a buoyant chamber, the said chambers being separated.
a short distance from the boat so as to leave water spaces between them
and the said boat. The said buoyant chambers are connected at their

page_text: ends to the ends of the boat by long stays or connecting pieces, and at
their sides to the sides of tho boat by short stays or connecting pieces.
These stays or connecting pieces are mado capable of removal for the
purpose of detaching the buoyant chambers from the boat for facilitating
the transport of the boat and its buoyant parts. I prefer to give the 5
buoyant chambers a rectangular figure in cross section, the middle of
the tops of the said chambers having longitudinal ridges or projections
upon them.
The rowlocks for the oars may be fixed on the summit of the buoyant
chambers, but I do not limit myself thereto. Nor do I limit myself to 10
the sectional figure described of the buoyant chambers as they may
have a nearly semicircular figure or a conical figure, or the figure of an
inverted trough in cross section.
The ridges along the tops of the buoyant chambers serve in case of
wreck or capsizing of the boat for persons to grasp, and ropes may 18
be fixed along the outer sides of the buoyant chambers for a like
purpose; or instead of continuous ridges on the buoyant chambers
ropes may be attached to the summits of the said chambers.
The buoyant chambers described on either side the boat, besides
giving increased buoyancy and stability to the boat, also protect the 20
sides of the boat against the action of the waves in a rough sea.
My improvements are applicable to pleasure boats, life boats, surf
boats, and other boats.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jesse Key in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25
26th January 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JESSE
KEY, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of August, in the year of our 30
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Jesse Key, Her special license that I, the

page_text: said Jesse Key, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Jesse Key, my 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. Mañ, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR ADDITIONS TO BOATS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Jesse Key, my executors or admini-
strators, 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 Jesso Key, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of the improvements in or additions to boats
hercin-after described, the objects of my said improvements or additions
being to give boats increased buoyancy and stability, and to reduce the
danger of capsizing to a minimum.
My Invention consists essentially in disposing or attaching on each
side of the boat a buoyant chamber, the said chambers being separated
a short distance from the boat so as to leave water spaces between them
and the said boat. The said buoyant chambers are connected at their
ends to the ends of the boat by long stays or connecting pieces, and at
their sides to the sides of the boat near the middle thereof by short
stays or connecting pieces. These stays or connecting pieces are made:
capable of removal for the purpose of detaching the buoyant chambers
from the boat for facilitating the transport of the boat and its buoyant
parts. I prefer to give the buoyant chambers a nearly semicircular
figure in cross section, the middle of the tops of the chambers having,
longitudinal ridges or projections upon them.
The rowlocks for the oars may either be fixed on the summits of tho
buovant chambers or on the boat as usual. I do not limit myself to
:

page_text: a rectangular figure or a conical figure, or the figuro of an inverted
trough in cross section.
The ridges along the tops of the buoyant chambers serve in case of
wreck or capsizing of the boat for persons to grasp, and ropes may be
fixed along the outer sides of the buoyant chambers for a like purpose,
or instead of continuous ridges on the buoyant chambers ropes may bo
attached to the summits of the said chambers.
The buoyant chambers described on either side the boat, besides
giving increased buoyancy and stability to the boat, also protect the
sides of the boat against the action of the waves in a rough sea.
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan a boat with which my Invention is com-
bined; Figure 2 represents a side elevation of the same; and Figuro 3 1
represents a cross section of the same. The same letters indicate tho
same parts in the several Figures of the Drawing.
a, a, is the boat, and b, b, are the closed buoyant chambers attached
on cither side the said boat a. The said buoyant chambers have by
preference the general figure of a boat, as seen in the cross section, 2
Figure 3. Each of the said buoyant chambers b, b, is divided into
water-tight compartments. The said chambers b, b, are connected at
their ends to the ends of the boat a by the long stays or connecting
picces c, c, and at their middle to the middle of the sides of the boat a by
the short stays or connecting pieces d, d. The said stays or connecting 2
picces c, c, and d, d, are connected to the boat and buoyant chambers,
and disconnected therefrom when required by the following arrange-
ment of parts:-Along the middle of the tops of the buoyant
chambers b, b, are longitudinal ridges or projections 62, 6. To these
ridges and to the sides of the buoyant chambers cruciform metallic a
bars e, e, arc connected, as best seen in the side elevation, Figure 2, and
cross section, Figure 3. Similar cruciform metallic bars marked ƒ, ƒ, aro
fixed at the ends of the boat a. Projecting from the middle of each of
the cruciform bars e, e, on the buoyant chambers b, b, is a screw rod g,
with a thumbscrew or fly nut on its end, and similar but shorter g
screw rods (see Figure 3) project from the cruciform bars f, f, on tho
boat a, with thumbscrews or fly nuts on their onds. Tho long

page_text: •
By means of chains m, m, stretched across the ends of the boat a and
buoyant chambers b, b, as represented in Figure 1, boats or other
floating objects are prevented from passing between the boat and
buoyant chambers b, b, and injuring the same.
The rowlocks n, n, may either be attached to the boat as usual, as
represented in the Drawing, or to the buoyant chambers.
Although I have found the arrangement of parts described and
represented for connecting the buoyant chambers b, b, to the boat a to
answer well in practice, yet I do not limit myself to that arrangement
as other arrangements may be employed for effecting the samo objcct.
My improvements are applicable to pleasure boats, life boats, surf
boats, and other boats.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illus-]
trated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of my Invention, but I claim as my Invention the improvements in or
additions to boats hercin-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawing, that is to say, disposing or attaching on each side of
a boat a buoyant chamber, the said chambers being connected to the
said boat by stays or connecting pieces, the combined parts being con-
structed and arranged and used substantially as and for the purposes
described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jesso.Key, have hereunto set my.
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and soventy-five
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JESSE KEY. (L.S.)