IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING SHIPS AND VESSELS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Burch, of Crag Hall, near Macclesfield, in
the County of Chester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONSTRUCTING AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING SHIPS AND
VESSELS."
Sealed the 5th November 1861, and dated the 9th May 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Burch at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
May 1861.
I, JOSEPH BURCH, of Crag Hall, near Macclesfield, in the County of Chester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN CONSTRUCTING AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING SHIPS AND
VESSELS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in forming the lower portion of the after or buttock
parts of ships or vessels of iron or metal, the other parts of which are intended
to be of wood or other material. The parts so constructed of iron are for the
purpose of fitting therein the boiler and machinery, and thereto the propeller,
rudder post, and other parts.
It also consists in the mode of uniting the iron and wood, or the two
materials thus used, in the construction of ocean, river, and canal steamers by
means of lap joints and angle or curved iron attached thereto.

page_text: It also consists in the mode of arranging and fixing the boilers and
machinery for propelling vessels entirely in iron or metal sterns.
It also consists in the peculiarity of the form of such iron sterns when
attached to vessels which are intended for inland navigation, so that although
below the water the run is narrow, the breadth and bearing on the surface is
nearly equal to the full width of the vessel to which they are to be attached.
It also consists in the mode of applying an auxiliary screw propeller to
vessels ordinarily used as sailing vessels by a frame and joint for the purpose
of raising and lowering it at the stern to its proper position when in and out
of use.
And it also consists in the use of blades or fins made entirely of malleable
metal, and in filling them into oblique narrow slots formed in the central part
of propellers, there to be held by a single screw, key, or bolt, in order that
they may be quickly removed when the vessel is required to go under canvass
alone, or changed when broken or disabled when the vessel is under weigh or
afloat, without removing the central part of the propeller from the propeller
shaft.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Burch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
November 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPII
BURCH, of Crag Hall, near Macclesfield, in the County of Chester, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Joseph Burch, Her special license that I, the said Joseph Burch, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph
Burch, my executors, administrators, and 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 CONSTRUCTING
AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING SHIPS AND VESSELS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Burch, by an instrument

page_text: in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the 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 Joseph Burch, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings,.
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
Firstly, my Invention consists in the use and application of iron for
constructing the after or buttock parts of ships, and other vessels, and of
attaching such iron sternposts to the hulls of vessels which are otherwise built.
of wood. This part of my Invention is applicable only to screw steam vessels.
An iron stern post and parts adjacent of the same material will resist the
usual vibration caused by the action of the propeller to a much greater degree
than when the same parts of such vessels are constructed entirely of wood.
In narrow canal steamers, where but a limited space can be spared for the
machinery, I have found that planking up to a wooden stern post will not
stand the vibratory strain from the screw, wood planking is also soon affected
by the heat from the boiler, it soon becomes so shrunken and dried that
a leaky state of the vessel is sure to be the result; by the use of iron this
objection is removed and greater strength is given to those parts which have
to bear the constant strain and vibration which chiefly occurs about the
stern post. The iron stern should be of sufficient length to contain the
boiler and machinery. In a small canal. steamer the length of the iron
stern will be about sixteen feet, but in an ocean steamer it will require to
be much longer. By means of this combination of materials I am enabled
to construct vessels possessing all the strength and advantages of iron screw
steamers, while economy of cost may be practised by using wood for con-
structing the main bulls of such vessels..
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 represents a side view of the after part of a canal
screw steamer; and Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is transverse
section from A to B; Fig. 4 is a transverse section from C to D, and Fig. 5
is a section from E to F. The parts marked a and tinted light blue are
intended to represent iron, and the parts marked b and tinted buff color are
intended to represent wood, the sheet iron overlaps the wood planking to a
considerable length, there is an internal washer. plate c, between which and
the outer plate the wood planking is bolted or rivetted. I prefer to fit

page_text: the top side wood planking down to the curved side plates to which the
stern deck is attached, but this is not necesary when the side plates have
sufficient lap on the top side planking; angle iron ribs or frames are to be
used in the construction of the iron sterns as in the ordinary way of iron
ship-building.
Secondly, my Invention consists in the peculiar form of such iron sterns
when used in the construction of canal steamers, the sectional Figs. 3, 4 and 5,
on Sheet 1 exhibit this peculiarity, by reference to which it will be seen that
although the lines below water have a fine run which is for the purpose of
getting a clear way for the water to feed the propeller, the lines above water,
forming the upper part of the boat, continue on to nearly the full breadth of
the vessel; the horizontal plates uniting the two form a stern deck, the use and
object of this arrangement, which is only required in vessels employed in
inland navigation, is chiefly for the purpose of effectually protecting the fins
of the screw propeller, when the vessels' side rubs against a wharf, or the
banks of the navigation, the diameter of screw propellers used in inland navi-
gation cannot with advantage be greater than three or four feet according to
the depth of the water, now the breadth of the counter of a narrow canal boat
may be six feet, so that it overhangs the propeller to a breadth of sixteen or
eighteen inches on each side, which I find quite sufficient protection for the
fins of the screw, when laden the stern deck bears upon the water and thereby
gives additional buoyancy to the stern.
Thirdly, my Invention consists in the use of propeller fins or blades which
are constructed entirely of wrought iron or malleable metal. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, and 11 on Sheet 1 exhibit this improvement in detail; d is the wrought-
iron propeller blade into which the wrought-iron lug e is rivetted or welded.
The blades fit into the oblique narrow slots f which should be planed out of
the solid metal at suitable distances round the propeller case or disc i; there is
an opening to be seen in Fig. 8 beside the narrow slot f into which the
lug e sinks when the blade is in its place, where it is securely held by the bolt
g which screws into the solid metal of the propeller case; by the withdrawal
of the bolt g, the fin blades d can be removed at pleasure, access being had to
them through the fin scuttle h, the operation being with ease performed
under water by the aid of a long socket wrench made to fit the top end of the
bolt; on Sheet 1, Figs. 6 and 7 are front and side views of a propeller
blade; Fig. 8 is an edge view of the propeller case; Fig. 9 is an edge view
of a propeller complete with blades; Fig. 10 is a section of the propeller
shewing the manner of fixing the propeller blades into the propeller case;
and Fig. 11 is a front view of a propeller complete with blades, when a vessel

page_text: is required to go under canvass alone, the blades of the propeller by the simple
means herein-before described may be withdrawn and lifted through the
fin scuttle upon deck, or when, as is often the case in canal navigation, a
blade by coming in contact with something floating or at the bottom becomes
disabled, it can be removed in a few minutes and replaced by one that is
perfect without (as is the case when the blades of screw propellers are broken)
the necessity of going into dock to refit with an entire new screw.
Fourthly, my Invention consists in the application of propellers to ordinary
sailing vessels chiefly to be used during calms or head winds as auxiliary
screws; the Figures on Sheet 2 exhibit the mode of applying them to such
vessels. A vessel may be fitted with only one of these propellers with
advantage, and although placed beside the dead wood, and not as usual in the
centre, it will be found not to drive the vessel out of her course.
All screw
propellers more or less require helm in consequence of the lateral course given
to the surface water, which is more easily displaced in the direction with the
way the propeller revolves than the water beneath, therefore by placing the
propeller on that side of the dead wood which has this inclination, com-
pensation for this natural defect in the working of screws will be obtained and
turned to advantage. When not in use these propellers are to be raised by
means of the chain, which is shewn to be attached thereto, and passed over a
stern pulley on the top rail to a windlass on deck. The propeller shewn in
the Drawing is constructed on the principle of my Patent screw, for which
Her most Gracious Majesty, on the Second day of October One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-two, granted me Her Letters Patent, but any other
screw propeller may be used. A shaft tube m, which springs out of the
bullock lines of the vessel is required. The end of this tube contains the
stuffing box; the propeller frame n is securely attached thereto by means of
the screw bolts o, o. The propeller frame is fixed at its upper end upon a
strong cross shaft p; this shaft rests in bearings q, in which it turns when the
propeller frame is raised out of the water. The dotted lines on Fig. 1 indicate
the position of the propeller when raised and out of use. Although the upper
end of the propeller frame is shewn. to be within the vessel, it may be fixed
under the counter, my object in putting it as shewn in the Drawing being to
remove all obstructions during rough weather. The slot opening r is made
water-tight by metal plate linings. s is the propeller shaft; the end is made
tapering and square, and fits into the centre of the propeller when the frame
is drawn up to the shaft tube by the screw bolts o, o. It is proposed that
these propellers be fitted with the wrought-iron fins described in the third

page_text: part of this Invention for the purpose of removal from the central propeller
case when not in use.
On Sheet 2, Fig. 1 is the side elevation of the stern of a ship, shewing the
mode of applying the propeller and frame as an auxiliary screw; Fig. 2 is an
end view of the stern of a vessel, showing two auxiliary screws and frames;
such a vessel may be fitted with either one or two of such auxiliaries. Fig. 3
is a section of a propeller and frame, shewing the mode of attaching it to the
shaft tube, and the way in which the propeller fits on to the propeller shaft ;
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the frame and screw; Fig. 5 is an end view of
the frame and screw; and Fig. 6 is a front view of the propeller frame.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the mode of applying
it to the several purposes for which it is designed, I wish it to be understood
that I do not claim as my Invention any of the well-known parts, excepting
as combined for the purposes of this Invention. What I now claim as my
Invention is the application and use of the several arrangements, combinations,
modes, and details to and for the purposes herein set forth, and described in
the first, second, third, and fourth parts of this Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Burch, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of November, One, thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.
JOSEPH BURCH. (L.S.)