Improvements in the Construction of Ships and Boats.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Oct., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 21st June, 1892-Accepted, 23rd July, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Ships and Boats.
I, REGINALD HADDAN of the firm of Herbert & Co. Patent Agents of
18 Buckingham Street Strand W.C. London Civil Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of this invention a communication to me from abroad by Alphonse
Tharin of 17 Rue de Birmingham Molenbeek St. Jean, Brussels, Belgium to be as
follows:-
The object of this invention is to improve the speed of ships or boats and more
especially of such as are driven by power through the intervention of screw
propellers.
•
Heretofore many attempts have been made to increase the speed of vessels by
making them as double or twin ships or by connecting more than two together in a
like manner, also by making vessels with tubes lying axially through the vessel so
that a firm body of water is brought aft, as far as possible undisturbed, to the screw
propeller. These attempts have however met with no success since whatever be
the size of the tubes or the spaces between the connected vessels a greater volume
of water tends to press into the tubes or openings than the latter can properly carry
along.
To bring a considerable body of water out at the rear end of the tube or tubes
without which no appreciable beneficial effect on the propulsion by the screw could
he had, the tubes had to have a considerable area of cross section. This required
the front opening to be large so that in effect the counter pressure of the water in
the tube was equivalent to driving a flat disk or head through the water, sufficient
to neutralize, or at times to more than neutralize any good effect in the lea of
water to the screw in the after part of the vessel.
The object of the present invention is to provide for lead of water to the screw
or screws by means of tubes along the vessel parallel to its general axis but to
avoid the back pressure in the bows, and this is effected by placing on the bows a
fore bow of wedge shaped pyramidal or conical shape with a number of compara-
tively small holes of such collective size that the amount of water which passes
into the compartment between the bow and this forebow and thence to the tubes
opening into this compartment is equivalent to the size of the tubes so that the
flow of water to, and therefore in, the said tubes is regulated for instance to the
same speed as that of the water passing outside the ship.
The water not passing through the holes in this forebow is divided in the usual
manner as by the ordinary bow of the ship and passes to each side of the
vessel.
By applying such a perforated fore bow or false-bow in front of any vessel with
tubes or passages through it or a twin or double vessel or the like a throttling of
the water at the entrance to such tubes or passages through or between the parts
of the vessel is avoided since the water passing through the bow is the quantity
which such tubes or passages will properly convey.
It will be understood that in place of any distinct fore bow or false bow the
bow of the vessel itself will be made or may be made perforated in a like
manner to let the water into an inner compartment into which the comparatively
large tubes open.
I do not confine myself to any particular number or construction of tubes or
passages, but whatever be the form and number the bow is to be made or provided
with a perforated shield adapted to allow passage of such amount of water as such
tubes or passages may be made to or found by practice most efficiently to carry.

page_text: This shield throwing the remainder of the water to the sides of the vessel and in
such a way as to cause the least disturbance of the water thrown off."
Dated this 13th day of October 1891.
HERBERT & Co.,
Agents to Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Ships and Boats.
I REGINALD HADDAN of the firm of Herbert & Co. Patent Agents of
18 Buckingham Street, Strand W.C. London, Civil Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of this invention a communication to me from abroad by Alphonse
Tharin of 17 Rue de Birmingham, Molenbeek St. Jean, Brussels Belgium 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 this invention is to improve the speed of ships or boats and
more especially of such as are driven by power through the intervention of screw
propellers.
Heretofore many attempts have been made to increase the speed of vessels by
making them as double or twin ships or by connecting more than two together in a
like manner, also by making vessels with tubes lying axially through the vessel so
that a firm body of water is brought aft, as far as possible undisturbed, to the screw
propeller. These attempts have however met with no success, since whatever be
the size of the tubes or the spaces between the connected vessels, a greater volume
of water tends to press into the tubes or openings than the latter can properly carry.
along.
To bring a considerable body of water out at the rear end of the tube or tubes
without which no appreciable beneficial effect on the propulsion of the screw could
be had, the tubes had to have a considerable area of cross section. This required
the front opening to be large so that in effect, the counter pressure of the water in
the tube was equivalent to driving a flat disc or head through the water, sufficient
to neutralize or at times to more than neutralize any good effect in the lead of
water to the screw in the after part of the vessel.
The object of the present invention is to provide for lead of water to the screw
or screws by means of tubes along the vessel parallel to its general axis, but to
avoid the back pressure in the bows, and this is effected by placing in the bows a
fore bow of wedge shaped, pyramidal, or conical shape with a number of compara
tively small holes of such collective size that the amount of water which passes into
the compartment between the bow and this forebow and thence to the tubes opening
into this compartment is equivalent to the area of cross section of the tubes, so that
the flow of water to, and therefore in, the said tubes is regulated for instance to the
same speed as that of the water passing outside the ship.
The water not passing through the holes in this forebow is divided in the
usual manner as by the ordinary bow of the ship and passes to each side of the
vessel.
By applying such a perforated forebow or false bow in front of any vessel with
tubes or passages through it or a twin or double vessel or the like, a throttling of
the water at the entrance to such tubes or passages through or between the parts
of the vessel is avoided since the water passing through the bow is the quantity
which such tubes or passages will properly convey.
It will be understood that in place of any distinct forebow or false bow, the bow
of the vessel itself will be made or may be made perforated in a like manner
to let the water into an inner compartment into which the comparatively large
tubes open.
I do not confine myself to any particular number or construction of tubes or
passages, but whatever be the form and number, the bow is to be made or

page_text: provided with a perforated shield adapted to allow passage of such amount o
water as such tubes or passages may be made to or found by practice most
efficiently to carry, this shield throwing the remainder of the water to the
sides of the vessel and in such a way as to cause the least disturbance of the water
thrown off.
This invention is illustrated in the annexed drawing in which
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of such a vessel.
Fig. 2 a sectional plan thereof.
Fig. 3 is a front elevation of this vessel when provided with two tubes.
Fig. 4 is a rear elevation thereof.
Fig. 5 is a cross section where only one tube is employed.
Fig. 6 is the front half of a sectional plan of the latter vessel with one tube.
Fig. 7 is the rear half of the former vessel with two tubes.
The arrangement, form and disposition of the parts are shown in the drawings,
the construction being omitted as within the capacity of any shipwright.
A is the vessel having projecting in front of the bow the perforated plates E F
FE forming the shield B. G is an inner partition, D the tubes or tube opening
into the compartment in front of the partition G and extending rearward to the
screw propeller or propellers. The partition G may be shaped as in Fig. 6 or as
in Fig. 2 with the salient angle S.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1
claim is.
A vessel having a tube or tubes extending from the bow to the stern for the
conveyance of water to the propeller in combination with a perforated bow or false
bow, the area of perforation being in proportion to the cross sectional area of the
tubes as herein described.
Dated th: 00th Jan TH 1900
HERBERT & Co.,
Agents to Applicant.