Improvements in and relating to Means for Lowering Ships' Boats.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 7th Aug., 1897-Accepted, 9th Oct., 1897
[Communicated from abroad by GEORGE HOLFORD of Norfolk Street, Ponsonby
Auckland in the Colony of New Zealand Mariner.]
Improvements in and relating to Means for Lowering Ships' Boats.
I, ROBERT DOUGLAS LEONCE CLARKE of Belgrave Vicarage, Leicester, in the
County of Leicester, Clerk in Holy Orders, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in gear for lowering and disengaging
ships' boats, whereby the said boats may be more rapidly and easily lowered, and
disengaged from the lowering gear in case of necessity than has been possible
hitherto. The invention also provides for the lowering of the boats clear of the
ship when the latter has taken a list.
According to the said invention the chocks upon which the boat normally stands
ready for use are hinged to standards in such a manner that when the boat is
required to be lowered, a device for holding the hinged chock in position is
removed and the boat, tilting the chock by its weight, slides outward therefrom
automatically, thus obviating the necessity for lifting the boat from the said
chocks.
The davits are hinged to their standards so that when swung outward for
lowering the boat they may be rotated downward and outward until they are
perpendicular to the standards when they will allow the boat to be lowered clear
of the hull of the ship.
The davit standards are also each furnished with a pawl adapted to engage with
ratchet teeth surrounding the standards, this arrangement being adapted to allow
the davits to be swung outward while preventing the return of the davits until
the pawl is lifted out of engagement with the ratchet teeth.
For disengaging the boat from the lowering gear the rings of the lower tackle
blocks are held one in any eye bolt at the stem of the boat and the other in a
similar eyebolt at the stern. The pins coupling the block rings to the eyebolts
are carried by cranks mounted on a rod running lengthwise of the boat, a handle
being fixed to this rod to enable an operator to turn it together with the cranks
it carries so as to withdraw the pins from the eyebolts and block rings and thus
disengage the boat from the lowering gear.
For supporting the chocks above mentioned in their horizontal position I prefer-
ably employ arms mounted on a shaft or rod provided with a lever adapted to be
attached to one end of a chain or rope the other end of which is preferably
attached to a snap hook or the like in such a manner that the supporting arms
are caused by the chain or cord to hold the chocks horizontal until the said chain
is released from its hook. For placing the chocks horizontally the shaft is
provided with a hand lever by means of which the supporting arms may be
raised.
I prefer to hinge the davits to their standards just above the deck; and to

page_text: prolong the standards upward to nearly the height of the davits. At the top of
each standard is a sheave over which a rope or the like passes to be secured to
the davit at one end; this rope is used to lower the davit outwardly from the
standard, or to secure it in any desired position.
The pawl before mentioned, for holding each davit out when the boat is being
lowered may be carried by a ring or collar secured to the davit standard and the
ratchet teeth may be carried by a collar or flange fastened to the deck. Another
collar similar to that carrying the pawl but carrying a ring instead may be
attached to the davit standard for the purpose of enabling the davit to be turned
in its bearings by means of a capstan bar or the like when desired.
I prefer to locate the shaft carrying the cranks for disengaging the boat from the
lowering tackle, in the bottom. just above the keel, and to attach the disengaging
hand lever to it at about its middle.
1900
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in and relating to Means for Lowering Ships' Boats.
I, ROBERT DOUGLAS LEONCE CLARKE of Belgrave Vicarage, Leicester, in the
County of Leicester, Clerk in Holy Orders, 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:-
This invention relates to improvements in gear for lowering and disengaging
ship's boats, whereby the said boats may be more rapidly and easily lowered, and
also disengaged from the lowering gear, than has been possible hitherto. The
invention also provides for the lowering of the boats clear of the ship when the
latter has taken a list.
According to the said invention the boat is supported on hinged chocks which
when released are tilted up by the weight of the boats, and allow the boat to
swing freely from the davits, thus obviating the necessity for lifting the boat
from the chocks.
The said davits are arranged in such a manner that they can if desired be
turned or inclined downward in addition to the ordinary movement about the
longitudinal axes for the purpose of turning them outward, and means are also
provided to keep them in their outward position and prevent them from
accidentally turning inward again.
The disengagement of the boat from the lowering gear as soon as it has taken
the water, is effected by the withdrawal of a bolt at each end of the boat, these
bolts serving to normally connect suitable eyes by which the boat is suspended
from the lowering gear. The withdrawal of the bolts is effected by the operation
of a handle provided for the purpose in the boat.
In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect will proceed to describe the same by aid of the accompanying
drawings in which :-
Figure 1 is an end view of my improved boat lowering gear, the parts being in
the normal position.
Figures 2 and 3 are correspondingly views showing respectively the parts in
the positions they occupy when the boat is lowered under ordinary circumstances
and when the vessel has a heavy list.

page_text: Figure 4 is a side view of a portion of a vessel provided with the improved
boat lowering apparatus.
Figures 5 and 6 are detail views to a large scale showing in side view and
plan the means for keeping the davits in their outward position.
Figure 7 is a longitudinal vertical section of a boat fitted with my improved
disengaging gear and.
Figure 8 is a plan of the same.
aa are the chocks upon which the boat is normally supported, and bare
pillars or standards to which these chocks are hinged or pivoted as shewn at c.
On the inner end of each chock a is fitted a hinged supporting bar a suitably
curved for the side of the boat to rest against. The said bar has pivoted to it
a straight piece or strut working on a rack a³, whereby its inclination may
be varied as desired. d. d. are arms which serve for supporting the chocks in their hori-
zontal position. These arms are mounted on a shaft or rod e which is provided with
a short lever or projection f to which is attached one end of a chain or rope g
passing over a guide pulley g which extends upwards over one gunwale of the
hoat, and the other end of which is attached to a snap-hook h or the like connected
to a belt or strap i extending over the other gunwale of the boat and secured at
its lower ends to the standard b. This arrangement of chain or rope g and
snap-hook h serves to keep the shaft or rod with its arms in the raised position so
that the chocks are horizontal. The said arms are so arranged that they occupy
an inclined position when supporting the chocks, and are therefore free to
descend immediately, the shaft or rod e is set free to turn, which is brought about
by releasing the chain or rope g from the snap-hook h.
j is a hand lever secured to the shaft or rod e and serving. to enable the same to
be rotated so as to raise the arms d and bring the chocks into their horizontal
position.
kk are the davits and I are standards to which they are pivoted just above
the deck as shewn at k¹. These standards are secured in the deck at in such a
manner that they can be turned or swung about their vertical axis so as to turn
the davits inward as may be desired. At the top of each standard is a sleeve l³
over which a rope or the like m passes. This rope passes through a pair of
pulley blocks n and is secured to the standard by means of a cleat o or otherwise.
At its other end the rope is connected to a bracket m¹ secured to the davit kand
serves to enable the said davits to be turned on their pivots k¹ so as to cause them
to lie close up against their standards or to hang outward at any desired angle,
say up to a right angle, to the said standards, in order to keep the boat away from
the ship's side. are the ropes and the pulleys for effecting the raising
and lowering of the boat, these being substantially similar to the corresponding
parts of an ordinary davit.
The means for keeping the davit standards from turning accidentally when the
davits are in their outward position comprise pawls p as shewn more clearly in
Figure 5, carried by rings g on the said standards.
is a collar or ring surrounding the davit standard and fastened to the deck
by bolts r. This collar or ring is provided with ratchet teeth over which the
pawl is adapted to slide freely as the davit moves into its outward position, but
with which the said pawl engages when the davit tends to return to its inner
position. is a second collar on the davit standard, carrying a ring or loop for
the insertion of a hand-bar or lever to enable power to be applied to turn the
davit outward when the vessel has a list. This is shewn in Figure 3 as arranged
between decks but it may obviously be arranged in any suitable position.
Referring now more particularly to the disengaging gear shewn in Figures 7
and 8, this comprises a pair of eye bolts u w fitted in the stem and stern of the
boat each eye bolt having a pair of eyes u¹ arranged side by side at its upper
end and forming a fork to receive the rings of the lower pulley blocks 4, the
said rings are secured in the forks by pins on the extremities of levers w
pivoted at t. The said pins are withdrawn and the rings released from the

page_text: eyes of the eye bolts by operating the said levers, this being effected by cranks
engaging the inner ends of the levers w. The cranks are carried by a shaft l
mounted in bearings in the bottom of the boat just above the keel. To this
shaft is attached a hand-lever 3 whereby the shaft can be turned so as to cause
the cranks to turn the levers w and withdraw the pins v, from the eye bolts
so releasing the lower tackle blocks, and disengaging the boat.
The operation of my improved boat lowering and disengaging gear is as
follows:
When the snap hook h is disengaged the rope y no longer exerts a resistance on
the projection f and consequently the arms d d and with them the chocks a are
free to descend, thus leaving the boat suspended from, the lower pulley blocks k.
Moreover the inclination of the chocks tends to throw the boat outward with
considerable impetus, and the davits are free to turn and follow it, the pawl p
driving freely over the ratchet teeth in such outward movement but engaging
with them should the davits begin to turn inward accidentally. One man is
stationed at each davit to attend to the ropes while a third man remains in the
boat during the lowering operation, and operates the hand lever ³ of the dis-
engaging gear when the boat is water-borne so disengaging both the pins v
simultaneously the blocks at both ends of the boat.
If the vessel have a list, the turning of the davits may be assisted by means of
levers inserted in the rings or loops t and the davits may be turned down as
indicated in Figure 3 to keep the boat outward away from the side of the vessel.
It will be obvious that I may in some cases dispense with the arrangement for
enabling the davits to be turned downwards and form them in one with the
standards, so that they can only be turned outward and inward.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The combination with means for lowering ships boats, of hinged chocks
arranged and operating substantially as herein before described.
2. The improved construction of davits adapted to be turned downward at right
angles to their standards and provided with means for preventing them when turned
outward from accidentally turning inward, substantially as described.
3. The improved disengaging gear for enabling the boat to be released simul-
taneously at both ends, substantially as described.
4. My improvements in and relating to means for lowering ships boats substan-
tially as hereinbefore described and as shewn with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.