An Improved Fender for Ships' Bows.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Feb., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 13th July, 1892-Accepted, 27th Aug., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Fender for Ships' Bows.
GEORGE SAXBY PENFOLD of The Hollies, Kew Gardens Surrey do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention, which is an improvement on that for which Patent 6159 A.D. 1889
was granted, has for its object the instantaneous & automatic placing, so as to fit
tightly, over a portion of the cutwater & bows of a vessel selected as the most
suitable position for it to deaden impact & prevent cutting another vessel, of a
massive fender with either a plain & smooth face as shewn in the drawing S, or
provided with rollers to enable the attacking ship to slide the more easily &
harmlessly along the side of the vessel it strikes, if it does so obliquely, as shewn
on the drawing marked D.
In order to ensure the fender acting as described I have fixed to a vessel already
built just behind the stem head or at any other place thereabouts necessitated by
the shape of the bows, necessity to keep the fender away from the water, or other
considerations an iron forging with a deep groove slightly inclining inwards the
ends of which groove have locking straps which screw on the frame or bolts or a
bolt to increase the rigidity with which the frame is held by the said groove, as
shewn in the drawing A, in the case of fitting a vessel which is being built the
above mentioned forging would not contain a groove.
Lower down the cutwater at the point selected as being the most suitable place
for the fender when dropped I have fitted when the frame is used a small stop of
iron preferably with a groove as shown in the drawing B at the point a.
The above mentioned iron forging straps or bolts or bolt and the stop support
and fix a frame when it is necessary to have one of sufficient strength to hold
steady the fender when held at the stem head or deck line as shewn in the
drawing B at the mark band to guide it into position when liberated as shown at
the mark in the said drawing B.
r
When it is not necessary to have the groove and frame in the place of the forging
containing the groove I have fitted a plain forging with a screw eye hole or socket
on either side and lower down the vessel at the place selected for the fender in a
collision a semi-circular band of iron is fixed on both sides of the bow in which a
smaller screw eye hole or socket is made on each side to receive the ends of the
guiding rods which take the place of the guiding rods in the aforesaid frame as
shewn in the drawings P and Q.
The frame, which it is expected will be most frequently used on ships already
built to avoid the trouble and difficulty of rivetting on or fixing the above
described band, is oblong in shape and as shown in the drawings C and G some-
thing like a tuning fork, the cross portion of it is flat and has two thicknesses the
inside portion of it which fits in the groove being smaller than the outside thereby
giving a grip on the plate but the inventor does not confine himself to any particular
shape of frame guides or groove in the iron forging.
The guides of the frame, are preferably round, and the bottom portion is a band
fastened to the guides by screw nuts and fitting tightly to the shape of the bows
immediately over and resting on the stop as shewn in the drawing E.
At the junction of the bottom band and the guides leather or other washers are
placed to deaden the fall of the fender and at each end of the bottom band is an
eye hole for ropes as marked in the drawing B at the point d.
The fender as shown in the drawing D of escutcheon or oval shape for choice is
made of steel wrought iron or other tenacious metal or material with a plain
and slightly convexed face or having three vertical rollers let in or slightly

page_text: protruding from its face, which will revolve and assist the sliding off of the vessels,
and is so shaped that the central portion of its back fits into the point of a
V shaped frame, which can be padded to save the bows of the vessel, on which
it works as shown in the drawing F at the point, a, so as to form a hinge and
compel it when down to face the vessel struck and to interpose itself between
the vessels colliding no matter at what angle they strike.
The said V shaped frame can either be made solid as shown in the drawing B
or in two pieces as shown in the drawing X.
The base of each of the sides of the V shaped frame is hollowed out and the
ends have eye holes through which the guides slip or collars to bolt round the
guides while the point or points of each piece fits to the back of the fender and
when pinned together form the hinge as shewn in the drawing R at the point a.
When it is considered necessary to put the fender in position for use, (when it
is worked on the frame with the fender frame) fender frame and fender altogether
are lifted on to the forging at the stem head which can be raised to any height
required to keep the fender above water, the frame then pushed forward into the
groove the locking straps screwed down or the frame bolted as shewn in the
drawings A and H. and the band of the frame will rest on the stop on the cutwater
as shown in the drawing G at the point, a.
Increased rigidity can be given to the bottom of the frame by ropes attached
to the eye holes before mentioned and made fast to cleats in the ordinary way as
shown in the drawing B at the point d.
When the fender is worked on detached guides & it is necessary to place it in
position the pieces of the fender frame as shewn in the drawing and fender are
bolted together and hoisted over the stem head so that the eye holes at the sides
of the frame are in a line with the holes in the stem head forging and the sockets
in the band, the guides are then slipped through the stem head forging, eye holes
in the frame and sockets in the band below and are screwed up and locked as
shown in the drawing R. Then the fender is made ready for use the temporary
lashings which held it to the frame when the frame is used or were used when the
frame is not used are cast off and a sufficiently strong rope is made fast to an eye
hole in the top of the fender as shown in the drawing R at the point, b, or when
the frame is used, passed through the handle of the frame over a sheave as shown
in the drawing B at the point, e, the rope is then carried over a pad of wood and
made fast so that it can be instantly detached either by a blow from an axe on the
pad or undoing in the ordinary way or slip tackle might be used or a small
movable horizontal capstan just behind the stem head which by a lever could
instantly be thrown out of gear and the fender by its own weight will instantly
fall into its proper place as shown in the drawing D.
When fixed and the frame is used the handle of the frame rests slightly behind
the stem head the bottom of the guides snfficiently behind the stop to give the
guides a slight angle as shown in the drawing B at the point f
When the frame is not used the fender and guides appear as in the drawing R.
Made fast to the head of the fender and to a suitable place on the stem head is
a stout chain the exact length of the proper drop of the fender as shown in the
drawing marked D.
If preferred the fender can be attached to a frame bolted to the end of
balance guides which on being released shall swing it instantly and exactly into
position to ensure which I have fitted slightly behind the stem head of the
vessel at the point a in the drawing T let into both bulwarks a solid bearing
provided with detachable locking straps as shown in the drawing U fitting into
that is a frame the shoulders of which are round so as to swing in, the said
bearings while held tightly in position by the locking straps-the guides and
handle to the frame are slightly curved as shown in the drawing T at the
points ...the frame on which the fender works is fixed or bulted to the
ends of the guides as shown in the drawing T at the point c. The top of
the frame is held to the deck by a bolt as shown in the drawing V at the point u.

page_text: The lookout whose position in foggy or snowy weather is at the stem head can
directly he sees a collision to be unavoidable, sever the rope, throw the capstan
out of gear or release the fender in the manner arranged on board that particular
ship and it will by its own weight instantly descend and fit itself tightly over the
portion of the cutwater selected as its station in a collision as shown in the
drawings D and S and I and W and on the impact of the ramming vessel the fender
will undoubtedly vastly decrease the severity of the blow even if delivered at
right angles and certainly prevent the cutting down which is so fatal and destructive
while should the blow be given obliquely the striking vessel instead of cutting
through the other will scrape along her side.
1
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Fender for Ships' Bows.
I, GEORGE SAXBY PENFOLD of the "Hollies," Kew, in the County of Surrey,
Hop Merchant 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 for an improved fender for ship's bows is an improvement on that
for which Patent No. 6159 of 1889 was granted to me, and has for its object the
instantaneous and automatic placing over a portion of the cutwater & bows of a
vessel of a massive fender with, either a plain and smooth face, or with rollers, to
enable the impinging ship when striking obliquely to slide easily and harmlessly
along the side of the vessel it strikes, or when striking athwartship, to prevent it
from penetrating the stricken vessel.
In the accompanying three sheets of illustrative drawings:
Figs. 1 and 2 are side & front elevations respectively of one form of fender.
Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are plan and horizontal sections of the stem and bows of a
vessel showing the means for securing the fender, and
Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are front and side elevations of brackets and guide rods for
guiding the fender into and out of position for use.
Figs. 9 and 10 are side and front elevations of a modified form of fender in which
the carrying frame is constructed in two parts;
Fig. 11 shews in elevation the two parts of fender carrying frame;
Figs. 12, 13, 14 are plan and horizontal sections of the stem and bows of a vessel
showing the means for securing the fender and guides, and
Figs. 15 and 16 are front elevations of guides and fixing brackets for guiding the
fender into and out of position.
Figs. 17 and 18 show side and front elevations and Fig. 19 a plan of another
modified form of fender in which the fender is caused to rotate into and out of
position for use, and
Fig. 20 is a side elevation of hinged bearing for carrying the same.
In a ships' fender constructed according to the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 8
inclusive, a fixing or bracket a is firmly secured to the ships' stem head or there-
abouts by a sliding bolt (or otherwise) and to this bracket are attached guide
rods c passing through a frame d carrying a fender e having rollers fon its face to
enable it to slide freely along the side of any vessel against which it impinges.
The fender e slides freely in a vertical direction on the guides c and is lowered or
raised into the required position by means of a rope or chain 9 working over a
pulley, the other ends of the guides being secured to a strap i fitting the cutwater
and held in position by chains secured to cleats. A stop m is also provided on
which the strap i rests for resisting the force of impact of the falling fender and for
securing the strap i in position by means of the lip . The fender plate e is hinged
to the sliding frame d so as to permit of its ready and automatic adjustment to the
g

page_text: surface of the vessel stricken by it. In using this fender the whole of the apparatus
comprising the top bracket a, guides c, strap i, fender plate e and sliding frame d
are placed over the stem and secured in position by the bolt b, stop m and chains l.
The fender may be quickly lowered into position for action by releasing or cutting
the rope g, when it falls into place by its own weight, a chain to secured to it and
the stem limiting its descent.
C
In the modified arrangement of fender shown in Figs. 9 to 16 inclusive, the
sliding fender frame is formed in two parts o, o sliding on guides c secured to top
and bottom brackets a, i attached to the stem and bows, the two said parts o, 0
being secured together and hinged to the fender plate e by the pin p all as clearly
shown. In placing this form of fender in position for use, the fender plate and
frame are hoisted over the stem head, the guide rods c being then passed through
the bracket a and frame o, and secured to the bracket i.
In the modification shown in Figs. 17 to 20 inclusive, the fender plate e is
mounted on one end of a lever a turning about the axis r in the hinged bearings s
secured by a set screw t and mounted on the stem head. When not in use the
lever is secured in its inoperative position (shown in dotted lines) by the pin vas
clearly shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A fender for ships' bows comprising a frame hinged to a fender plate and
sliding in guides attached to the stem of a vessel substantially as described.
2. The combination of a fender plate with rollers to facilitate the sliding of the
plate along the surface of a stricken vessel substantially as described.
3. The arrangement and construction of a fender for ships' bows substantially as
described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8 of the drawings inclusive.
4. The arrangement and construction of a fender for ships' bows with divided
carrying frame substantially as described with reference to Figs. 9 to 16 of the
drawings inclusive.
5. A fender for ships' bows comprising a fender plate secured to a lever mounted in
bearings secured to the stem head of the vessel, the whole arranged, constructed
and operating substantially as described with reference to Figs. 17 to 20 inclusive
of the drawings.
Dated this 12th day of July 1892.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, W.C., Agents.