IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING AND UNSHIPPING AUXILIARY SCREW PROPELLERS WHILST IN DEEP WATER
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Leach, of Leeds, in the County of
York, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF
AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING AND UNSHIPPING AUXILIARY SCREW PROPELLERS
WHILST IN DEEP WATER."
Sealed the 8th July 1870, and dated the 27th January 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Leach at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th January 1870.
I, GEORGE LEACH, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machinist, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING AND UNSHIPPING AUXILIARY SCREW
PROPELLERS WHILST IN DEEP WATER," to be as follows :-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the shipping and un-
shipping the auxiliary screw propellers used with or adapted to sailing
ships for the purpose of assisting them in calms and other occasions
when their sailing gear is either useless or insufficient. Heretofore the
auxiliary screw propellers adapted to sailing ships could only be shipped

page_text: and unshipped with difficulty, great labour, and loss of time, and some
danger to the crew of the vessel, and as auxiliary propellers are not
wanted to be used with a fair wind they would be an incumbrance under
such circumstances. It is of importance therefore on the one hand that
auxiliary propellers should be removed easily and quickly when not
wanted, so as not to interfere with the sailing qualities of the ship,
and it is on the other hand important that they should be so arranged
as to be available for use without difficulty when required.
In carrying out my Invention I prefer to employ twin propellers, or
one propeller under each quarter, and I adapt and secure the propeller
to the shaft in such a manner that it can be easily detached therefrom
and brought on board and stowed away until required. To this end I
affix to the outer or after end of the boss of the propeller a ball and
socket joint, and attach to the ball of the socket a rope or chain, whereby
the propeller when detached from the shaft may be hauled up inboard.
Through the central part of the propeller boss a taper hole is formed to
correspond with the taper end of the hollow driving shaft. This taper
hole is enlarged and extended at the front or leading end of the boss
into a trumpet-mouthed shape for the purpose of guiding the taper end
of the shaft into the boss. In the after end of this taper hole or to the
socket before named a wire rope or other equivalent device is secured
and passes out through the trumpet mouth and through the hollow shaft,
so that this rope leading out of the forc end of the propeller boss and
the rope
attached to the ball in the socket suffice to suspend the pro-
peller between them. The rope issuing from the trumpet mouth end
of the boss is passed through the hollow shaft to the inside of tho vessel,
so that by hauling upon this rope the propeller may be drawn upon the
taper end of the hollow shaft and held there, and afterwards jammed
up tight by screws or nuts or other mechanical devices inside the
vessel. The shaft so mounted required then to be connected with the
motive power in order to work or rotate the propeller. The wire rope
is made nearly to fit the hollow propeller shaft by being "served" in
the ordinary way, or otherwise covered, so that little or no water will
be admitted through the latter into the vessel. In order to prevent
the propeller from slipping upon the taper end of the inner hollow shaft
before named when the shaft is being rotated I place a second or sleeve
shaft around the first-named hollow shaft, and at the outer end of this
sleeve shaft a clutch piece is formed, which fits into a corresponding
clutch in the propeller boss. The end of this same outer or sleeve shaft

page_text: is coupled with the driving shaft inside the vessel, so that it revolves
simultaneously with the inner hollow shaft, and thus insures the
rotation of the propeller without slipping on the taper end of the said
inner shaft. When it is desired to unship: the propeller the strain upon
the hauling rope must be relieved and the outer shaft driven out against
the boss of the propeller, so as to case off the boss from the tapered
extremity of the inner shaft. The ball-and-socket rope will then
suffice to haul up the propeller on deck, where it may be detached from
the rope which has been drawn through the hollow propeller shafts
from the interior of the vessel. The end of this latter-named rope must
then be secured on board ready to be connected with the propeller
again when it may be required to be unshipped.
As a modification of the plan just described the propeller may be
secured in any convenient manner to a solid shaft which is capable of
being slidden in and out through the stuffing box. The shaft must be
provided with a knuckle joint so constructed that it will not exceed the
diameter of the shaft, and may therefore be pushed in and out of the
stuffing box. When pushed out the shaft may be turned up on this
joint in order that the propeller may be lifted out of the water and
detached from the 'shaft and stowed away until wanted, when it may be
again secured to the shaft and lowered into its placo. When the pro-
peller has been detached from the end of the shaft the latter is lowered
again into its horizontal position by means of the rope and ball-and-
socket joint, which when the propeller has been removed must be
reattached to the end of the shaft, which may then be drawn inboard
through the stuffing box, so that nothing may project outside beyond
the stuffing box and cause an impediment to the progress of the vessel
through the water.
0
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Leach in the Great Scal Patent Office
on the 27th July 1870.
:
'
1
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
LEACH, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
5 Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the

page_text: "
ycar of our Lord. One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Hér reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said George Leach, Her special licence that I,
the said George Leach, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said George Leach, my executors, administrators, and 5
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 MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR. 1
SHIPPING AND UNSKIPPING AUXILIARY SCREW PROPELLERS WHILST IN DEEP WATER,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Leach, my
executors or administrators, 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 1
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 George Leach, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to 2
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)
r
"The object of this Invention is to facilitate the shipping and un- 2
shipping of the auxiliary screw propellers used with or adapted to
sailing ships, for the purpose of assisting them-in-calms-and- other
--occasions when their sailing gear is cither useless or insufficient. Here-
tofore the auxiliary screw propellers adapted to sailing ships could only
be shipped and unshipped with difficulty, great labor, and loss of time, a
accompanied with some danger to the crew of the vessel while carrying
on the operation. This unshipping operation is absolutely necessary:
when there is a fair wind, as auxiliary propellers under such cir-
cumstances are not required to be used, and they would then be an
incumbrance. It is of importance therefore on the one hand that a
auxiliary propellers should be capable of being removed easily and
quickly when not wanted for use, so as not to interfere with the sailing
"qualities of the ship, and it is on the other hand important that they

page_text: should be so arranged as to be available for use without difficulty or
much loss of time when required.
In carrying out my Invention I prefer to employ twin propellers, or
one propeller under each quarter, and I adapt and secure the propeller
to the shaft in such a manner that it can be easily detached therefrom
and brought on board and stowed away until again required. To this
end I affix to the outer or after end of the boss of the propeller a ball-
and-socket joint, and I attach to the ball of the socket a rope or chain,
whereby the propeller when detached from the shaft may be hauled up
on board.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 represents part of
a ship's quarter with the propeller in place ready for use; Fig. 2 is
another view representing the propeller unshipped and being hauled up
on-board by means of the rope e. The other Figures represent various
parts of the apparatus or accessories of the propeller detached, and some
of them drawn upon an enlarged scale.
boss a.
The boss a of the propeller and also the propeller shaft are shown in
section in Fig. 2, and also in some of the detached Figures. Through
the central part of the propeller boss a a taper hole is formed, as shewn
in Fig. 2, to correspond with the taper end b¹ of the hollow shaft 6 on
which the propeller is intended to be mounted when in use.
This taper
hole is enlarged and extended at the front or leading end of the boss
into a trumpet-mouthed shape, for the purpose of facilitating tho
entrance of the taper end b' of the shaft b and guiding it into the
In the after or outer end of this taper hole there is a socket,
into which is screwed a plug c to which a wire rope d or other equivalent
device is secured, and passes out through the trumpet mouth and through
the hollow shaft 6 into the vessel. Another rope e is attached to a ball c
which works in a spherical socket, so that when the propeller is detached
from the shaft b it may be suspended by the two ropes à and e. The
rope d on issuing from the trumpet-mouth end of the boss a passes
through the hollow shaft b to the inside of the vessel, and is secured
there in the manner hereafter explained, so that by hauling upon this
d the propeller may be drawn upon the taper end of the hollow
shaft 6 and securely held there, and afterwards jammed up tight by the
screws or nuts or other mechanical devices placed inside the vessel, as
herein-after explained. The tightening of the roped is effected as before
mentioned by means of the compound jam nut k, shewn detached and in
rope

page_text: pieces at Fig. 4. This nut is composed of a split nut 1, 1, which fits on
and screws on to a screw 2 at the inner end of the rope d. The split
nut 1, 1, is also threaded externally to receive the nut 3, which when
screwed on to it holds the parts 1, 1, together, and causes the inner
thread of the nut to fit and work on the screw at the end of the rope d.
Then by screwing up the compound nut &, as shown in the detached
view, Fig. 5, the rope d is drawn in and tightened, and the boss a of the
propeller is held securely on the end of the hollow shaft b. The pro-
peller shaft when in place requires to be connected with the driving
shafts of the engine in order to work or rotate the propeller. To this
end the hollow shaft 6 is permanently fixed in the part i of a coupling i, i,
(shewn detached at Fig. 5) and when these parts i, i¹, are secured in place
by the bolts 1, 2, the propeller shaft 6 will be connected to and made to
rotate with the driving shaft j. The wire rope d is made nearly to fit
the hollow propeller shaft 6 by being "served" or coated in the ordinary
way, or otherwise covered, so that little or no water will be admitted
through the hollow shaft 6 into the vessel. The propeller shaft b is
enclosed within a sleevo shaft f, and the two shafts pass through and
are supported by the long tubular bearing m which passes from tho
inside to the outside of the vessel. In order to prevent the propeller
from slipping upon the taper end of the inner hollow shaft 6 (when the
shaft is being rotated) the outer end of the sleeve shaft f is provided
with a clutch piece formed as shewn in Fig. 3, which is a detached view
of the end of this shaft. This clutch g fits into a corresponding clutch /
in the propeller boss, as seen in Fig. 2. The end of this same outer or
sleeve shaft is coupled with the driving shaft j inside the vessel by
means of the coupling i, i, and it revolves simultaneously with the inner
hollow shaft b, and thus ensures the rotation of the propeller without
allowing the latter to slip on the taper end of the inner shaft. When it
is desired to unship the propeller the strain upon the hauling rope e
must be relieved, and the outer shaft f driven out against the boss a of
the propeller, so as to ease off the boss a from the tapered extremity of
the inner shaft b. This is effected by removing an intermediate shaft
which connects the propeller shaft 6 to the driving shaft j, as shewn in
the Drawing, or by disconnecting the coupling i, "; supposing that this
couples the two shafts band ƒ directly, the shafts b and ƒ may then be
pushed forward in their long tubular bearing m, and access obtained to
the tightening nuts k. It will be seen that the parts i, i, are connected
together by means of the hinged bolts 2, 1, which drop into notches in

page_text: the flange of the part of the coupling, and are held secure by the
tightening nuts at their ends. It will only therefore be necessary to
loosen the nuts of the hinged bolts 1, 2, and throw back the latter, and
the two parts i, i, of the coupling may then be drawn asunder, and
access obtained to the inner end of the rope d, which has a screw hole d'
tapped therein, as shewn in the detached views, Figures 6 and 6°. By
this device an additional length of rope de may be temporarily con-
nected to the end of the rope d. When the additional rope d is thus
connected with the rope d the tightening nut k may be loosened and
removed from the rope d; then upon turning the nut n which works on
a screw on the end of the sleeve shaft ƒ the latter will be moved forward
on the shaft b, and will ease the boss of the propeller off the taper end of
the shaft b, and allow it to be hauled up by the rope e. The ball-and-
socket rope e will then suffice to haul up the propeller on deck, whe it
may be detached from the rope d which has been drawn through the
hollow propeller shafts 6 from the interior of the vessel. The end of
the rope d must then be secured on board ready to be connected with
the propeller again when it may be required to re-ship the latter on
its shaft.
As a modification of the plan just described the propeller may be
secured in any convenient manner to a solid shaft which is capable of
being slidden in and out through the stuffing box or tubular bearing m,
as shewn at Fig. 1, Sheet II. This solid propeller shaft 6 must be pro-
vided with a knuckle joint so constructed that it will not exceed the
diameter of the shaft, and may therefore be pushed in and out of the
stuffing box or tubular bearing. This knuckle joint is shewn detached
· upon an enlarged scale at Fig. 2; the hinge or joint is made of several
thin steel plates t, t, t, which are held in place in the wrought-iron shaft
by means of pins or rivets. The propeller is secured on the end of the
shaft by means of a key or cottar and a jam nut on the end, as shewn at
Fig. 2, and over this is screwed the ball-and-socket joint c, to which the
hauling rope e is secured as in the former instance. In order to detach
the propeller from the shaft 6 the latter must be pushed out through the
stuffing box or tubular bearing, for which purpose an added shaft 6ª.
must be screwed into the inner end of the propeller shaft, which may
then be pushed out of the tubular bearing until the knuckle joint is
exposed. The propeller shaft b with the propeller thereon may then be
turned up on this joint, as indicated by dots in Fig. 1, in order that the
་

page_text: propeller may be lifted out of the water and detached from the shaft and
stowed away until wanted, when it may be again secured to the shaft
and lowered into its place. When the propeller has been detached from
the end of the shaft the latter is to be lowered again into its horizontal
position by means of the rope e and ball-and-socket joint, which when
the propeller has been removed must be reattached to the end of the
propeller shaft b. The propeller shaft b may then be drawn in board
through the stuffing box or tubular bearing by means of the added
shaft *, so that nothing may project outside beyond the stuffing box or
tubular bearing and cause an impediment to the progress of the vessel
through the water. The added shaft 6* may then be unscrewed and
removed from the propeller shaft and stowed away until again required
for use.
Having now described my-Invention of "Improvements in the Mode
of and Apparatus for Shipping and Unshipping Auxiliary Screw Pro-
pellers whilst in Deep Water, and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to mo
by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the mode herein set forth of mounting
the propeller on its shaft, so that it can be easily detached therefrom
and hauled inboard, or adapted to the shaft and secured thereon, as
above described.
I claim particularly the combination of the propeller with the hollow
shaft and the ropes d and e, or equivalent devices, and the sleeve
shaft, together with the devices herein set forth, or their equivalents,
for holding the propeller securely on the shaft..
I also claim adapting a propeller provided with a ball-and-socket joint
and hauling rope to the end of a jointed or hinged shaft, which is
capable of being moved-longitudinally in its bearings for the purpose of
unshipping the propeller, as hercin set forth.
-
• In witness whereof, I, the said George. Leach, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, the Fifteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
HA