IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIP BUILDING FOR LIFE SAVING PURPOSES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Ledger, Engineer and Patent Agent, of 61, Fleet
Street, London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIP BUILDING FOR
LIFE SAVING PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by Felix Frédéric
Lemoine, of Paris, in the French Republic.
Sealed the 13th April 1877, and dated the 17th October 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Ledger at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th October 1876.
JAMES LEDGER, Engineer and Patent Agent, of 61, Fleet Street, London. "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SHIP BUILDING FOR LIFE SAVING PURPOSES." A communication
from abroad by Felix Frédéric Lemoine, of Paris, in the French Republic.
This Invention relates to certain improvements in ship building, whereby the
saving of lives of passengers and crew will be more effectually accomplished in case
of wreck, collision, or fire, than by the means now generally in use.
The following is the manner of building ships according to this Invention :-An
opening is cut out of the deck of the ship of sufficient length and breadth to
receive a smaller ship, the keel of which rests on the second or lower deck on
suitable trestles.
The second ship forms the saloon of the main ship, and may be reached from
below by means of ladders leading to doors placed in suitable positions. A certain
space is left all round the saloon ship and the deck of the main ship where brackets
(which may be easely removed) are fixed to secure firmly the two ships together.
An inclined plane leading from the keel of the saloon ship to the rear of the main
ship serves as a guide to float the said saloon ship after it has been made inde-
pendent from the main ship in case of wreck, collision, or fire.
The saloon ship is furnished with masts and all the necessary requisites in case of
its coming into use.
In order to keep the life-boats of the main ship steady when lowering them or
during a wrough sea I fix along the davits and parallel to each of them two vertical
rods, the object of which is to serve as guides to sliding hooks which are made fast
to eylets attached to the sides of the life-boats nearest to the ship. Another rod
goes from the opposite side of the said life-boats to the top of the davits, and thus
secures them fast. When the boats are lowered the sliding hooks keep them
parallel to the side of the ship until they reach the bottom of the rods aforesaid,
[Price Cd 1

page_text: when the boats unhook themselves. I also dispense with the blocks and lower
the boats with rops coming from the davits and passing through suitable rings at
the bottom of the life-boats.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Ledger in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th April
1877.
"IM-
JAMES LEDGER, Engineer and Patent Agent, of 61, Fleet Street, London.
PROVEMENTS IN SHIP BUILDING FOR LIFE SAVING PURPOSES." A communication
from abroad by Felix Frédéric Lemoine, of Paris, in the French Republic.
This Invention relates to certain improvements in ship building, whereby the
saving of lives of passengers and crew will be more effectually accomplished in case
of wreck, collision, or fire, than by the means now generally in use.
The following is the manner of building ships according to this Invention. An
opening is cut out of the deck of the ship of sufficient length and breadth to receive
a smaller ship, the keel of which rests on the second or lower deck on suitable
trestles.
The second ship forms the saloon of the main ship, and may be reached from
below by means of ladders leading to doors placed in suitable positions. A certain
space is left all round the saloon ship and the deck of the main ship where brackets
(which may easily be removed) are fixed to secure firmly the two ships together.
An inclined plane leading from the keel of the saloon ship to the rear of the main
ship serves as a guide to float the said saloon ship after it has been made inde-
pendent from the main ship in case of wreek, collision or fire.
The saloon ship is furnished with masts and all the necessary requisites in case of
its coming into use.
In order to keep the life-boats of the main ship steady when lowering them
during a rough sea I fix along the davits and parallel to each of them two vertical
rods, the object of which is to serve as guides to sliding hooks which are made fast
to eyelets attached to the sides of the life-boats nearest to the ship. Another rod
goes from the opposite side of the said life-boats to the top of the davits, and thus
secures them fast. When the boats are lowered the sliding hooks keep them
parallel to the side of the ship until they reach the bottom of the rods aforesaid
when the boats unhook themselves. I also dispense with the blocks and lower the
boats with ropes coming from the davits and passing through suitable rings at
the bottom of the life-boats.
And in order to explain this Invention more fully I will now proceed to describe
the means whereby it may be effected, reference being had to the illustrative
Sheet of Drawing accompanying these presents and to the numeral figures and
letters of reference marked thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation; Figure 2, a plan; and Figure 3, an elevation
of part of a ship furnished with my improvements for saving life at sea.
În each of these Figures similar letters of reference are used to denote corre-
sponding parts.
A is the body of the ship, the deck of which is cut out at B to allow the passage
of a smaller ship C, the keel of which rests on the second or lower deck on suitable
trestles or brackets D. The second ship C forms the saloon of the main ship and
may be reached from below by means of ladders leading to doors in suitable
positions.
The main ship is strengthen in a suitable way by means of iron stays E, angle
irons, girders, and by iron belts e, e¹, and the space round the saloon ship is closed

page_text: by a waterway plank F (Figure 5) hinged at f, and lined with india-rubber fl,
which rests against the sides of the saloon ship and kept in position by a counter-
weight f¹¹
A belt G (Figures 1 and 6) made in water-tight sections is fixed outside the
saloon ship over the waterway plank and helps to make it more buoyant. The
stanchions H support the deck an pass through it at H, so as to receive the screw
jacks K (Figure 4) which maintain the saloon ship in its place, and which can
easily be detached when the main ship sinks. Bridges I unite the saloon ship to
the main ship and serve to keep it steady.
Figure 7 represents an arched iron gallery serving to unite longitudinally the
columns . The space cut out of the deck of the main ship extends out at B¹ so as
to form a way, and allow the saloon ship to float easily off in the case of the main
ship sinking not in a horizontal position. An incline plane L furnished with rollers
and leading from the keel of the saloon ship to the rear of the main ship, serves as a
guide to launch the said saloon ship after it has been detached from the main ship
in case of wreck, collision, or fire.
The saloon ship is furnished with masts and all the necessary requisites in case of
its coming into use.
Figures 8, 9, and 10, are views of the manner in which I secure the life-boats M
so as to keep them steady during a rough sea.
In Figure 10, N, N¹, are two vertical guide rods fixed alongside and parallel to
the davits n; these guide rods rest on a hinged support O kept in position by a bolt.
The guide rod N is of a larger diameter than the guide rod N¹, which serves only as
a guide for the rod P, the object of which is to keep the life-boats in position.
The rod P is furnished with rings through which pass the guide rods N, N¹, and is
hooked at p (Figures 8 and 10) outside the life-boats. A second rod Q furnished
with a ring Q¹ serves as a stay inside the boat, and is kept in position by a second
stay Q The rods Q unite the boat to the top of the davits n, where they are
fixed by a screw and nut n². The object of this rod is to secure the life-boat when
struck from below by a wave.
When the boats are lowered the sliding rods P keep them parallel with the sido
of the ship until they reach the bottom of the guide rods N, N'; when the boats
unhook themselves I dispense with the usual blocks by using single ropes U
attached to the davits, and which are made to pass through the rings Q1, R, and S,
thence under the loops T, and are wound round the cross piece V.
Having now described and set forth the nature and object of this Invention, and
the means whereby it may be effected, I would remark in conclusion that what I
claim is,
Firstly. The method of building ships with an inner ship capable of being floated
in case of wrecks, collision, or fire, substantially as described and represented in
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Secondly. The method of lowering life-boats by means of guide rods, stays, and
ropes, substantially as described and represented in Figures 8, 9, and 10.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Ledger, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
JAMES LEDGER. (L.S.)