IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROWLOCKS FOR SHIPS' AND OTHER BOATS, AND IN OARS TO BE USED THEREWITH
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Searle Hazeland, of St. Sampson's, in the County
of Cornwall, Venetian Blind Manufacturer, for an Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROWLOCKS FOR SHIPS' AND OTHER BOATS,
AND IN OARS TO BE USED THEREWITH."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Searle Hazeland
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st March 1881.
SAMUEL SEARLE HAZELAND, of St. Sampson's, in the County of Cornwall,
Venetian Blind Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
ROWLOCKS FOR SHIPS AND OTHER BOATS, AND IN OARS TO BE USED
THEREWITH."
This Invention relates, first, to an improved construction of rowlocks, chiefly
intended for use in seagoing boats, whereby the motions of the oar may be easily
controlled by the rower; and, secondly, to an improved construction of oar to be
used with such rowlocks, the main feature of which oars is a self feathering.
blade.
It is well known that the strain on the wrists of the rower in order to keep the
oars in the exact position in the rowlocks to ensure good work is very great, owing
to the effort necessary, firstly, to prevent the oars from sliding in the rowlocks in.
or out board, and, secondly, to feather the oar by turning it in the hand on the
return motion.
The noise of the oars striking against the sides of the rowlocks or against the
thole pins is also in some cases (as, for instance, when making a night attack) a
source of considerable inconvenience, and the loss or breaking of the thole pins is
often the cause of serious delays at a time when every minute is of importance.
In order to overcome these difficulties and inconveniences I dispense with thole
pins and use instead what are known as crutch rowlocks, which rowlocks I
combine with the oar in such a manner that the proper position of the oar in the
rowlock shall always be maintained, and the verticality of the blade be ensured
without interfering in any way with the working of the car.
To this end I form a hole through the waist of the oar at the point where the
oar should rest in the rowlock and at right angles to the blade of the oar, and in
this hole I insert a tube of some suitable metal or other material. The tips of the
rowlock I pierce to correspond to the bore of the tube, and I insert through the

page_text: rowlock and the oar a metal pin which may be secured in any convenient manner.
The rowlock will thus be always connected with the oar, and will be shipped and
unshipped with it.
Or a band of metal provided with trunnions may be secured to the oar in any
convenient manner, the trunnions having their bearings in the rowlock.
The chief point in the construction of this rowlock is that the oar swivels on a
horizontal pin, the centre of which is vertically above the pin on which the rowlock
swivels in the gunwale of the boat.
By the means above described the motions of the oar are fully controlled and
a double swivel is obtained, an axial motion taking place in a horizontal direction
on the pin of the rowlock, and in a vertical direction on the crosspin.
Although this form of rowlock is especially intended for sea going boats it will
be evident that it may be equally applied to lake and river boats of the larger
kind, such as ferry boats or waterman's boats, in which the motion of "feathering
the oar is not generally practicable.
F
"2
In carrying out the second part of my Invention I construct that part of the
shaft of the oar which lies outside the boat of two flat iron or steel bars, and
connect them in any suitable manner with the handle, and I strengthen these flat-
bars by intermediate iron stays at right angles to the said flat iron bars after the
manner of a ladder. The effect of this is that the shaft of the oar while possessing
great strength and rigidity offers little or no resistance to the wind..
To further facilitate the pulling of a boat against a head wind I provide a self
feathering blade for the said oar. This blade is so mounted as to fall into a
horizontal position during the time that the rower is reaching forward for a new
stroke, but directly the oar enters the water the blade will assume a vertical
position and offer a firm resistance to the water. The said blade is provided with
strengthening pieces, which serve to give great. stiffness to it when in the vertical
position.
If desired the entire oar may be made of tubular galvanized iron or other
suitable metal, the outermost tube being made so as to turn freely for a quarter
of a circle in the tube immediately above it, a blade of wood or metal being firmly
attached to the said outermost tube.
This self feathering action of the blade may also be obtained by mounting the
said blade upon the outermost tube or bar of the oar by two or more slotted collars,
pins being passed through the slotted collars and screwed into the tube or bar
which passes through them. These pins and slots serve to limit the rotation of the
collars to which the blade is attached.
If desired blades of similar form may be mounted upon the upper tubular
portions of the oar, and will serve as sails when running before a high wind.
It will thus be seen that an oar constructed as above explained, and fitted with self
feathering blades, will offer but little resistance when rowing against a high wind,
and being mounted in a double swivelling rowlock, as above explained, it will have
no tendency to slip in or out of the boat, or to put any unnecessary strain on the
wrists of the rower.
When desired the improved rowlock may be secured in the gunwale of the boat
by a simple spring clip, consisting of two pieces of metal having spear shaped
heads, such pieces of metal being secured within the hollow stem of the rowlock,
and kept apart by means of a solid block of rubber or equivalent elastic medium.
The projecting spear heads will thus yield to lateral pressure, but will spring
outwards when this pressure is removed.
The above arrangement of double swivel rowlock will allow of the handle of the
oar being fitted within an adjustable weight (preferably a ball weight). This
arrangement will enable the rower to determine the exact bias to be allowed to the
outer portion of the oar.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Samuel Searle Hazeland in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th August 1881.
SAMUEL SEARLE HAZELAND, of St. Sampson's, in the County of Cornwall,
Venetian Blind Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
ROWLOCKS FOR SHIPS, AND OTHER BOATS, AND IN OARS TO BE USED
THEREWITH."
This Invention relates, first, to an improved construction of rowlocks, chiefly
intended for use in sea-going boats, whereby the motions of the oar may be
easily controlled by the rower; and, secondly, to an improved construction of oar
to be used with such rowlocks, the main feature of which oar is a self-feathering:
blade.
It is well known that the strain on the wrists of the rower, in order to keep the
oars in the exact position in the rowlocks to ensure good work, is very great, owing
to the effort necessary, firstly, to prevent the oars from sliding in the rowlock in
or out board, and, secondly, to feather the oar by turning it in the hand on the
return motion.
The noise of the oars striking against the sides of the rowlocks, or against the
thole pins, is also in some cases (as, for instance, when making a night attack)
a source of considerable inconvenience, and the loss or breaking of the thole.
pins is often the cause of serious delays at a time when every minute is of
importance.
In order to overcome these difficulties and inconveniences I dispose with thole
pins, and use instead what are known as 'crutch rowlocks," which rowlocks-
I combine with the oar in such a manner that the proper position of the oar in the
rowlock shall always be maintained, and the verticality of the blade be ensured*
without interfering in any way with the working of the oar.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents in side view an oar A constructed
according to my Invention, having the rowlock B attached thereto and fitted with
the self feathering blade.
Figures 2 and 3 shew on an enlarged scale in cross section and side view the'
construction of the rowlock B, and the manner in which it is permanently connected
to the waist of the oar A.
Figures 4 and 5 shew on an enlarged scale and in end view the construction of
the feathering blade C, and the mode of attaching it to the shaft a¹ of the oar,
Fig. 4 shewing the blade C raised as in the act of pulling, and Fig. 5 showing the
blade in the horizontal feathering position.
The handle a and shaft a' of the oar may be constructed entirely of wood, or
the handle may be of wood, and the shaft of metal. In the latter case I prefer
to construct the shaft of two flat bars of iron or steel strengthened by intermediate
iron stays or braces and nuts, as shewn at a² in Figures 1 and 3 of the Drawings;
but if desired the shaft of the oar may be made of tubular steel sections rivetted
together. The mode of attaching the feathering blade to the oar will depend upon
the construction of the shaft of the oar, and I have therefore shewn in Figures 6°
and 7 the mode of attaching the feathering blade to an oar having a tubular shaft.
The action of the feathering blade however remains the same whatever difference
may exist in the construction of the shaft of the oar. It will be seen that the
rowlock B consists, as is usual in crutch rowlocks, of a stem 6 which enters a
socket in the gunwale of the boat, and of arms b', 6', which embrace the waist
of the oar.
A hole is formed through the waist of the oar at the point where the oar should

page_text: rest in the rowlock, the said hole being at right angles to the blade of the oar
when the said blade is in the vertical position, as shewn at Figures 1 and 4, and
into this hole a tube of metal is inserted.
The arms b¹ of the rowlock are pierced towards their tips to correspond to the
bore of the tube above mentioned, and a metal pin 62 is passed through the row-
lock and the tube in the oar, the said pin 63 being secured by a nut or nuts 63, or
in any convenient manner. The rowlock B will thus be permanently connected
with the oar A, and will be shipped and unshipped with it.
The oar thus fitted will swivel on the horizontal cross pin 6' of the rowlock, the
centre of which pin is vertically above the stem 6 on which the rowlock swivels in
the gunwale of the boat.
A double swivel action is thus obtained, an axial motion taking place in a
horizontal direction on the stem 6 of the rowlock, and in a plane at right angles
thereto on the cross pin 6².
An alternative arrangement will be to fit the oar with a metal clasp having.
trunnions thereon, the said trunnions fitting into slots in the tips of the rowlock,
and being locked therein by springs or equivalent means.
An oar fitted with such a rowlock cannot be feathered in the ordinary manner,
and would therefore be difficult to work against a high wind; I therefore construct
the blade of the oar so as to be self feathering.
This blade is so mounted as to fall into a horizontal position during the time
that the rower is reaching forward for a new stroke, but directly the oar enters the'
water the blade will assume a vertical position and offer a firm resistance to the
water.
In Figures 4 and 5 C represents the blade, to which are securely attached the
strengthening pieces c. The blade C is hinged to the lower part of the shaft of
the oar at c', as is clearly shewn in the Drawing. When the blade C is in the
vertical or acting position it will rest against the edge of the upper flat bar of
steel or iron, and the strengthening pieces c will abut upon the top of the said
flat bar.
Fig. 6 shews the method of fitting the self feathering blade C to the lower part
of the shaft when this latter is of tubular form. This is effected by securing to
the blade or forming in one therewith two or more metal collars d, d, through
which is passed the tubular end of the shaft of the oar. These metal collars are
slotted for about a quarter of their circumference; pins d' are then passed through
the slots in the collars d, and are screwed into holes formed in the tubular portion
of the shaft.
As will be seen these slotted metal collars and pins limit the rotation of the
blade to the required extent, so that when the oar is pulled through the water it
will assume and maintain a vertical position, and will fall forward to the hori-
zontal position on leaving the water, and during its return passage through the air
when the rower is getting forward for a fresh stroke.
It should be observed that the acting surface of the blade is situate above a line
passing longitudinally through the centre of the oar when the oar is being pulled
through the water.
It will thus be seen that an oar constructed as above explained and fitted with a'
self feathering blade will offer but little resistance when rowing against a high
wind, and being mounted in a double swivelling rowlock, as above explained, it
will have no tendency to slip in or out of the boat or to put any unnecessary strain
on the wrists of the rower.
The self feathering oar would be incomplete without means for enabling the
rower to "back water."
In order to maintain the blade C when requisite in its vertical position a metal
rod is provided running in guides lengthwise of the shaft of the oar, as shown in
dotted lines, Fig. 1. The inner end of this rod is connected by a short length of
chaine (see Fig. 8) passing over a pulley f to a portion g of the handle of the oar,
which is capable of being partially rotated by the rower when desired. The outer

page_text: end of the rod is connected by another short length of chain el passing over
pulleys f¹, f, to the back of the blade C (as shewn at Figures 4 and 5).
When it is desired to retain the blade in its vertical position the moveable
extremity g of the handle of the oar will be partially rotated, thus drawing up the
rod and tightening up the chain e'. This moveable extremity of the oar may be
held in its acting position so long as the rower wishes, and the oar may then be
used to back water in the ordinary manner.
The movable extremity of the oar is shewn in Fig. 9 of the Drawing as connected
to the rest of the handle by means of a metal pin or bolt h, which is screwed or
fixed into the handle of the oar, and on which the movable portion g is allowed to
turn. This axial motion is restricted by grooving the bolt h, and screwing into
the groove a stop pin i. Another pin k is then screwed into the movable portion g,
and its end enters the groove in the bolt h, thus preventing the endway movement
of the portion g. The second pink engaging with the first stop pin & limits the
rotation of the movable part g in one direction, and serves to prevent accidental
winding up of the chain e. The movable handle g may be made of metal, and thus
any desired balance of the oar may be effected.
When desired the improved rowlock may be secured in the gunwale of the boat
by a simple spring clip consisting of two pieces of metal having spear shaped heads,
such pieces of metal being secured within the hollow stem of the rowlock, and kept
apart by means of a solid block of rubber or equivalent elastic medium.
The projecting spear heads will thus yield to lateral pressure, but will spring
outwards when the pressure is removed, see Figs. 2 and 3.
Having now described the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Construction of Rowlocks for Ships' and other Boats, and in Oars to be Used
therewith," and having explained in what manner the same may be carried into
effect, I wish it to be understood that I claim,-
First. In combination with a crutch rowlock furnished with a central stem on
which it swivels, a transverse fulcrum pin or its equivalent for connecting the oar
to the rowlock, substantially as and for the purpose above set forth.
Secondly. In combination with a swivelling rowlock or its equivalent which
permits of no feathering of the oar, an oar provided with a self feathering blade,
constructed and operating substantially as herein described, and fitted with means
for enabling the rower to "back water," substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Searle Hazeland, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
DAMUEL SEARLE HAZELAND. (L.S.)