Improvements in the Construction of Navigable Vessels, Especially Adapted for Rivers, Canals, Lakes, and Coasting Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 9th Nov., 1889-Accepted, 21st Dec., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Navigable Vessels, Especially
Adapted for Rivers, Canals, Lakes, and Coasting Purposes.
A communication from abroad by Chevalier MORITZ VON SZABEL, of Vienna,
Austria, a retired Imperial Austrian Naval Officer.
I, JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of the present invention is the construction of navigable vessels, which
may be used as transport freights or goods vessels for rivers, canals, lakes and coasting
purposes with little draught, and two of which vessels in a loaded or unloaded state
may be converted into or combined to form one vessel with more draught, if the
depth of the water allows it. On the other hand two such vessels if combined into
one vessel in a loaded or unloaded state may be separated again, and each float
separately as a distinct vessel if the small depth of the river, canal etc. requires
such separation.
The invention thus consists in two vessels, which may be called half vessels, and
which may be combined into one complete vessel; or inversely in one complete vessel
which may be separated into two half vessels which can float independently. The
two half vessels are constructed each with decks of corresponding or equal area and
of rectangular form, and each half vessel has one side forming a vertical plane, so
that the two half vessels may be brought together with these vertical sides adjacent.
These adjacent vertical sides of the two half vessels may be coupled together by suit-
able hinges, these hinges forming the pivot on which the two half vessels, by means
of hauling devices attached to the two outer sides may be turned or swung towards
each other and each to the extent of 90°, so that the decks which were previously
horizontal will be vertical and face each other. In this position the two half vessels
form a complete vessel. The forms or configurations of the hulls of the half vessels
are such that after combining them in the manner described into one complete
vessel they will form the water lines and the submerging forms of the hull of the
complete vessel.
The forms of the ends of the half vessels, as also the forms of the ends of the
complete vessel will allow of such vessels being easily towed or propelled in either
direction, which is of great advantage in navigating narrow rivers or canals.
It is well known that large vessels (that is the complete vessel) offer great
advantages in carrying freights or goods; on the other hand it is obvious that in
navigating rivers or canals where the depth of the water is irregular, or in navigating
a main river and its subsidiary rivers and canals it will be of great advantage to have
the means ef reducing the draught of the loaded vessel by separating the same into
two half vessels without unloading or lightening.
For instance a loaded complete vessel of say 8 or 9 feet draught may be reduced
by separating it into two half vessels which will each draw about 5 feet only.
The position of the hatchways in the two half vessels offers certain advantages for
ready and quick loading or unloading. They are placed at an angle to the deck
and to the side, they are formed by frames and may be closed by covers provided
with packing. Between the hatchways alongside the vessels planks may be placed,
which, when the two half vessels are combined, form part of the deck of the complete
vessel.
Each half vessel is provided at the ends of the deck with horizontal gudgeons or
eyes, which, when the two vessels are turned to the extent of 90°, form vertical
Gudgeons for receiving the rudder of the complete vessel.

page_text: The vessels may have water reservoirs which communicate by means of pipes,
provided with cocks or valves, with the water. These reservoirs serve to increase in
weight the adjacent sides of the half vessels by automatically filling with water and
thereby facilitate the turning of the half vessels in the act of combining the same
into one complete vessel. "When the vessels are combined, or if they are detached
again, these reservoirs may be pumped out again, or they may be kept partly filled for
regulating the point of gravity of the half vessels.
:
In order to make use of the rudder of the half vessel for the complete vessel, a
prolonged shaft with a coupling device is employed the shaft is mounted upon the
rudder pintle and is pivotted by means of a hook into an eye or gudgeon provided
for the purpose.
Dated this 10th day of February 1809.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Navigable Vessels, Especially
Adapted for Rivers, Canals, Lakes, and Coasting Purposes.
A communication from abroad by Chevalier MORITZ VON SZABEL, of Vienna,
Austria, a retired Imperial Austrian Naval Officer.
I. JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of the present invention is the construction of navigable vessels which
may be used as transport, freight or goods vessels for rivers, canals, lakes and coasting
purposes with little draught, and two of which vessels in a loaded or unloaded state
can be converted into or combined to form one vessel with more draught if the depth
of the water allows it. On the other hand two such vessels if combined into one
vessel in a loaded or unloaded state may be separated again and each float separately
as a distinct vessel if the small depth of the river, canal &c. requires such separation.
The invention thus consists in two vessels, which may be called half-vessels and
which can be combined into one complete vessel; or inversely in one complete vessel
which can be separated into two half-vessels that can float independently. The two
half vessels are constructed each with decks of corresponding or equal area and of
rectangular form, and each half-vessel has one side forming a vertical plane, so that
the two half vessels can be brought together with these vertical sides adjacent. These
adjacent vertical sides of the two half-vessels may be coupled together by suitable
binges, these hinges forming the pivot on which the two half-vessels by means of
bauling devices attached to the two outer sides may be turned or swung towards each
other and each to the extent of 90 degrees, so that the decks which were previously
horizontal will be vertical and face each other. In this position the two half vessels
form a complete vessel. The forms or configurations of the hulls of the half vessels
are such that after combining them in the manner described into one complete
vessel, they will form the water lines and the submerging forms of the hull of the
complete vessel.
The forms of the ends of the half-vessels, as also the forms of the ends of the
complete vessel, will allow of such vessels being easily towed or propelled in either
direction, which is of great advantage in navigating narrow rivers or canals.
It is well known that large vessels (that is the complete vessel) offer great advan-
tages in carrying freights or goods, on the other hand it is obvious that in navigating
rivers or canals where the depth of water is irregular, or in navigating a main river
and its subsidiary rivers and canals it will be of great advantage to have the means
of reducing the draught of the loaded vessel, by separating the same into two half-
vessels, without unloading or lightening.
For instance a loaded complete vessel of say 8 or 9 feet draught may be reduced
by separating it into two half vessels which will each draw about five feet only.

page_text: The position of the hatchways in the two half-vessels offers certain advantages for
ready or quick loading or unloading.
In the accompanying drawings I show in Figure 1 a perspective view of the two
detached half-vessels AA', cach half-vessel floating separately. In Figure 2 the two
half-vessels A A' are shown in perspective view, floating with their vertical sides
alongside each other, being connected together at the top of these sides by suitable
hinges a a' and also connected by the ropes at their opposite sides ready for being each
turned at an angle of 90 degrees so as to combine the two half-vessels into one vessel
which is shown in Figure 3. In Figure I show the two half vessels A A' in the
act of being combined into one vessel as in Figure 3.
The combining or joining of the two half vessels into one is effected by two or
more windlasses or capstans B B indicated in Figure 4 and more fully shown in
Figures 9 and 10; these windlasses or capstans are placed at the opposite sides of the
half-vessels to those at which the latter are hinged together.
Figures 5 to 8 show details of the rudder arrangements which are more fully herein-
after explained.
Referring again to Figures 1 to 3 a and a¹ are the parts near the edges of the
decks of the half vessels, by which these two vessels can be hinged together, the sides
of the vessels from these edges down to the water line being vertical or nearly so, so
that the two half-vessels A A¹ can be floated or brought alongside each other as in
Figure 2. The parts a a¹ may consist of gudgeons or eyes and holts or of bolts and
hooks so as to couple the vessels together and to form in the line of these hinges the
pivot for turning the half vessels.
eclare suitable fillets or pieces of wood fixed to the decks of the half-vessels and so
arranged that if the half-vessels are combined into one the vessels are unable to
separate lengthwise, the one piece c coming next to the other piece c', preventing the
one vessel moving forward or backward without the other. On the outer sides of each
half-vessel or series of rope blocks d d' are arranged for receiving a rope or several
ropes fixed at suitable places and terminating in the windlasses or capstans B B¹.
Each half-vessel is provided at each end with a suitable bolt or bar with an eye!!,
for receiving the rudder C. At each end of the said vessels eyes are arranged,
standing at right angles to the eye g to take the rudder pintle or pins fitted to the
rudder when the two half-vessels are combined into one complete véssel.
The
Each half-vessel is further provided at its outer edge with hatchways D D¹ arranged
in a slanting position or at an angle to the deck and so as to be partly in the deck
and partly in the side of each vessel. This position of the hatchways materially
increases the facility of loading and unloading the half-vessel separately and also
renders facilities for loading and unloading the vessels when combined into one.
position of these hatchways when combined is clearly seen in Figure 3. The hatch-
ways are provided with frames for receiving suitble covers. There are small
cabins EE for the crew, arranged on the deck of the half-vessels; these cabins are
pivoted to the deck and counterbalanced by stairs F F (Figure 4) so that in every
position of the half-vessels whether separated or combined, the cabins and the stairs
stand upright. Each half-vessel is provided at the inner edge formed by the deck and
by the vertical side with one or more tanks or reservoirs H H', which may be of any
suitable shape and which may be filled with water in order to shift or displace the
point of gravity of each half-vessel towards the lines of the hinges or pivot when the
turning of the half vessels is taking place for the purpose of combining them. If these
tanks are in the lowest position they may be emptied by pumping. The combining
of the two vessels into one by turning the vessels coupled by the hinges at 90 degrees
is illustrated in Figure 2 in which the loaded vessels are prepared for said action,
Figure 4 showing the windlasses or capstans B B' at work and Figure 3 showing the
combination of the two vessels into one complete. For this purpose the rudders CC¹
are first removed from each vessel and one of such rudders is subsequently attached
to the combined vessel.
As the half vessels when detached are intended to float in shallow water or in water

page_text: is
of varying depth I have shown in side view and plan in Figures 5 and 6 the mode
of attaching the rudder so that it can yield to any obstruction in the water or on the
bottom of the canal or river. For this purpose the bolt or harf with its eye g
hinged at k, and the pintle or pin of the rudder takes into the gudgeon or eye m
formed by two rods nn which are free to swing atoo. In this manner any obstruction
met with by the rudder will cause the latter to yield and to rise automatically and
sufficiently to avoid injury.
Such arrangement is not necessary for the rudder of the complete vessels as this
is intended to float in deeper water. However in this case the stem or pintle of
the rudder will be too short and I therefore arrange it at top to be coupled with a
prolongation Figure 7, which allows the tiller to come over the deck and to be
worked in any suitable manner.
I give more detailed views of the windlasses BB in Figures 9 and 10. The
windlass is composed of a drum or cylinder, a ratchet wheel on the shaft of said
drum, a lever with a pawl to work the drum by means of the ratchet wheel ³,
and a pawl for keeping the drum in position on the return stroke of lever On
one side of the drum a fixed pulley is arranged, surrounded by a steel band fixed
at its two ends to the short end of an angle lever by which a brake action may
be caused against any undue tendency of the drum to return. The windlass is
combined with a pump which can be worked by the lever. For this purpose
the end of the shaft of the drum faces the end of a rocking shaft ; the shaft
and the shaft can be coupled by the sleeve 70 From the rocking shaft an
arm projects which is connected to the piston rod of the pump 7. For using
the pump the pawl is turned so as to be out of the way of the ratchet wheel and the
pawl is united to the lever by a hook 13. On now imparting a rocking motion
to lever the ratchet wheel and the shaft will not rotate, but rock only, thereby
causing the pump piston to make the necessary up and down motion.
The pump can be used to empty the tanks H H while in the lowest position, or to
pump oil or any other liquid if such liquid forms the freight of the vessels, into casks
or tanks; or to pump water out of the ship if necessary.
In the half-vessels two of which can be transformed into one complete vessel as
described the freight must of course be safely stowed so as to avoid any movement.
in such freight in the action of turning the vessels to the extent of 90 degrees.
In applying the windlasses B B¹ for turning the two half-vessels a block K (Figure 4)
of suitable shape and suspended in any suitable manner can be placed hetween the
edges of the two vessels to receive the pressure of the two latter and to prevent any
inequality of declination of the two vessels during the action of turning.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me and in what manner the same is to be performed I
declare that what I claim in respect of the construction of navigable vessels is:-
:-
1. The construction of vessels in such manner that two vessels hereinbefore called
balf-vessels, having corresponding or equal deck area and each of which can be
navigated independently can be combined together into one vessel herein before called
a complete vessel by connecting their corresponding sides together and then turning
or swinging them in vertical planes until their decks are vertical and face each
other, being then in the centre of the complete vessel, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
2. In a half vessel as referred to in Claim 1, the arrangement of a rudder as set
forth so that it is free to rise in the event of its meeting with an obstruction.
3. In a complete vessel composed of two half-vessels as referred to in Claim 1, the
fitting of a prolongation to the rudder used in the half-vessel as and for the purpose
set forth.
4. In vessels capable of being converted from half vessels to complete vessels and
vice versa as set forth, the windlasses B B₁ constructed and working as ratchet devices
by means of a lever as described with reference to Figures 9 and 10.

page_text: 5. In vessels capable of being converted from half-vessels to complete vessels and
vice versa as set forth the windlasses B B used as ratchet devices for turning the two
half-vessels into one complete vessel, in combination with pumps r worked by means
of the ratchet levers as described with reference to Figures 9 and 10.
Dated this 9th day of November 1889.
J. C. MEWBURN.