AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR HOLDING ROPES OR LINES USED IN THE NAVIGATION OF SMALL SAILING BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS AND FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Athol Edward Maudslay of Littlebourne in the County
of Southampton, Gentleman for an Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR HOLDING ROPES OR LINES USED IN THE NAVIGATION OF SMALL SAILING
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Athol Edward Maudslay
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th February 1883.
ATHOL EDWARD MAUDSLAY of Littlebourne in the County of Southampton,
Gentleman "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR HOLDING ROPES OR LINES USED IN THE
NAVIGATION OF SMALL SAILING BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS AND
FOR SIMILAR
PURPOSES
"
My invention relates to a simple, convenient, and efficient apparatus which is
designed to be used in place of the ordinary cleats for belaying ropes to, or for
leading ropes through, and is advantageously applicable in all cases where it is
necessary or desirable to hold a rope or line tightly and securely till it is to be
released and then let it go freely. It will therefore be obvious that the said
invention will enable me to provide small pleasure boats and other light sailing'
craft with means for holding the sails or sheets thereof without the danger of
accidents such as frequently arise from changes in the force or direction of the
wind when the ropes are belayed or made fast by the ordinary cleats
My improved apparatus is constructed as follows, that is to say. It has a
tubular standard cylinder or socket which has one end fitted into a bearing in a
flange or plate which is designed to be secured by screws or otherwise to the
gunwale or other portion of the boat. The said socket is so fitted as to be
capable of turning freely in the said bearings but is rivetted or turned over on the
under or inner side thereof, or otherwise arranged to prevent its removal or
displacement end wise. Within the said tubular standard or socket 1 fit a sliding
bolt or plunger, which, by an arrangement of longitudinal ribs and grooves, is
allowed to move up and down but cannot turn in the said cylinder or socket. A

page_text: .
strong spiral spring placed at the bottom of the socket tends always to force or
keep this plunger outward or upward. The outer end of the said plunger is
provided with a head upon which pressure is exerted to force the plunger inward
or downward for a purpose hereinafter explained. The peculiar novel feature of
my invention is the manner in which I form these two parts;-viz the socket and
bolt, to enable them to hold the rope so that it cannot possibly be accidentally
disengaged therefrom but can be instantaneously released when desired. For this
purpose I form in the said standard or socket a slot or gap extending through and
partly around the same. The said slot is preferably curved or inclined; that is,
instead of being cut vertical to the axis of the socket it is formed obliquely thereto,
its ends extending toward the outer or upper end of the socket. And I form on
the upper side of the said slot an externally projecting lip or flange to serve as a
guide for the rope when putting the same in the slot. I also form in the bolt or
plunger a similar slot or gap, and when these two slots are made to coincide in
position by pressing down the bolt, the rope or line can be easily inserted in, or
drawn through, the same but when the said bolt is forced up by the spring the
rope will be gripped and securely held by, and between, the surfaces of the slots in
the bolt and socket. When it is required to let go the rope it can be immediately
released by striking the top or head of the plunger, and being unrestrained by
any coils or turns, will run freely out.
In order that the rope or line while being so held that it cannot be drawn out of
the said apparatus may be pulled inward through the slots in the socket and bolt,
I provide the latter with an arm or rod extending from the top of the bolt outside
of the said socket. This rod has a slot or recess in its lower end for the reception
of the rope. The said slot is arranged in such a position that by pulling the rope
Iying therein the said rod or arm is caused to depress, or force inward, the bolt
thus relaxing the hold or grip on the rope and allowing it to be pulled through
the slots,
-
In some instances I provide the said apparatus with a screw or a pin secured by
a chain, or other means, for holding the plunger down in the socket if necessary.
My improved apparatus may be very advantageously used in combination with
boat lowering gear as a disengaging device; for this purpose it may be secured in
any convenient position in or near the bow and stern of the boat. The parts of
the said apparatus, when employed for this purpose, must be so arranged that the
disengagement of both ends of the boat can be effected simultaneously and
automatically so that the ropes will be released by the boat when it touches the
water, or the said apparatus may be operated to release the ropes, by the men
in the boat, or by means of ropes or cords extending to the ship's deck or other
place from which the boat has been lowered
The said apparatus may also be used on quays or piers for holding boats or
vessels and for the connection of the tow lines of barges or other vessels, and in all
cases where ropes or lines are used for similar purposes.
In such cases I prefer to provide it with a screw to operate the bolt or plunger
and dispense with the spring.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Athol Edward Maudslay in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th August 1883.
ATHOL EDWARD MAUDSLAY, of Littlebourne, in the County of Southampton,
Gentleman, " AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR HOLDING ROPES OR LINES USED IN THE
NAVIGATION OF SMALL SAILING BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR SIMILAR
PURPOSES."
My invention relates to a simple, convenient, and officient apparatus for holding
ropes or lines, which apparatus, although chiefly designed to be used in place of
the ordinary cleats for belaying ropes, is also advantageously applicable in all cases
where it is necessary or desirable to hold a rope or line tightly and securely until it
is to be released, and then to release it instautaneously. It will therefore be
obvious that the said invention enables me to provide small pleasure boats and
other light sailing craft with means for holding the sails or sheets thereof without
the danger of accidents such as frequently arise from changes in the force or
direction of the wind, when the ropes are belayed or made fast by means of the
ordinary cleats.
My improved apparatus or cleat consists essentially of a tubular standard or
cylinder having fitted therein a sliding bolt or plunger, which, by an arrangement
of ribs and grooves or other suitable devices, is allowed to move longitudinally, but
is prevented from turning, in the said standard or cylinder; and the peculiar novel
feature of my said invention is the manner in which I form and combine these two
parts to enable them to hold the rope so that it cannot be accidentally disengaged
therefrom but can be instantaneously released when desired. For this purpose I
form in the said standard or cylinder a transverse slot or gap which is preferably
curved or inclined as hereinafter described; and I usually form above the said slot
an externally projecting lip or flange to serve as a guide for the rope when putting
the same in the said slot. I also form in the said bolt or plunger a similar alot or
gap. When these two slots are made to coincide in position by moving the bolt in
one direction, the rope or line can be easily inserted in, or drawn through, the said
slots, but, when the said bolt is moved in the other direction by a spring or other,
suitable means, the rope will be gripped and securely held by and between the
surfaces of the slots in the bolt and cylinder.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown various forms or modifications of
my improved cleat
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of one form or modification thereof wherein the
bolt is acted upon by a spiral spring.
Figure 2 is a section of the same on the line a, a, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of another form or modification of my improved
cleat, showing the rope held by and between the surfaces of the slots, and
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of a further modification thereof wherein the
bolt is arranged to be operated by means of a screw and a weighted lever.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.
a indicates the tubular standard or cylinder, and b the bolt or plunger, which is
free to slide therein but is prevented from rotating by the ribs con the said bolt
fitting into the grooves d in the said cylinder. The cylinder a is formed with a
transverse slot a³ extending in an oblique direction from the circumference to about
the centre of the said cylinder. Above this slot the cylinder a has a projecting
lip or flange at which is intended to assist in conducting the cord or rope into the
slot as

page_text: The bolt is formed with a slot b¹ extending from the circumference of the
said bolt to about its centre and similar to the oblique transverse slot in the
cylinder.
In the modification shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cylinder a is made with an
extension a¹ which can be inserted in either of the holes ordinarily provided in
the gunwale of a boat for the reception of the rowing crutches or thole-pins, and
can be secured therein by screwing the thumb-nut e tightly against the shoulder a².
By these means the said cylinder is rendered capable of being turned on its axis.
In the lower part of the cylinder a is placed a spiral spring upon which rests the
bolt b. The said bolt is prevented from being thrown out of the cylinder by the 1
force of the spring f by means of a lid or cover g through which passes the upper
part of the bolt 6. The top of the bolt is screw-threaded to receive the knob or
cap h, which is rounded so as to present a smooth surface to the hand when
pressing it down; this knob or cap can be unscrewed to permit access to the hole i
which is formed in the bolt-from top to bottom for the passage of oil for lubricating
the spiral spring ƒ and bolt b, and thus facilitating their action-and-protecting them
from rust.
The apparatus shown in Figure 3 is somewhat similar to that shown in Figures 1
and 2, but the cylinder a is secured to, and free to rotate in, the base-plate k. The
rope-or-line is shown gripped by the bolt and cylinder..
When the bolt b is forced down by hand-or-otherwise, it compresses the springf
and the above mentioned transverse slots in the bolt and cylinder are brought
opposite, or made to coincide with, each other so that a rope or line can be
introduced, and when the hand is removed the said bolt is forced upward by the
action of the spiral spring and the rope or line is made fast, as shown in Figure 3. 2
The said rope can be immediately released, if desired, by-pressing the bolt b
downward and thus bringing the slots opposite each other again.
The cleat shown in Figures 1 and 2, when used in boats for holding the main
sheet or halyards, may be substituted for a rowing crutch or thole-pin, when it is
desired to cease rowing the boat and to commence sailing, and the said cleat can 3
be fixed in the boat's gunwale either forward, aft, or amidships. It may, if
des'red be constructed in a different manner so that it can be fitted at the foot of
the mast. The said cleat may be made of iron, gun-metal, brass, phosphor-bronze
or other suitable material, and can be fastened to the gunwale either by a thumb-
nut screwed to its lower portion as above described or by a chain and S-hook, or 3
by a pin or other suitable means; or I may make the end with a bayonet-joint in
a similar manner to a rowing crutch.
In Figure 4 I have shown a large cleat for holding ships' cables and large
hawsers. In this case I dispense with the spiral spring and employ, for operating
the sliding bolt, a lever or bar m having a heavy weight n at each end. From 4
the centre of this bar, and at right angles thereto, extends a screw o which passes
through the lid or cover g of the cylinder a and is attached to the bolt 6 in such a
manner that, although the screw rotates when moving up and down, the bolt to
which it is attached does not turn round but is only raised and lowered. In some
cases only one weight n may be employed and the bar m may be pivotted to the 4
upper end of the screw o. When the slots aª and b' are made to coincide with
each other, as shown, the rope is introduced in a similar manner to that above
described with reference to the small boat's cleat. Very little power is sufficient
to give the weighted lever or bar sufficient centrifugal force to move the bolt up
or down and thus secure or release the rope. p is a handle for turning the 5
cylinder a if necessary. This cleat is made on the principle of a fly-press or
copying-press, in both these presses great force can be exerted with very small
initial power; the same holds good of this cleat; a very small power is necessary
to make fast a large cable or bawser.
The improved cleat is not designed only for purposes of navigation, and
it is obvious that it may, if desired, be placed horizontally or in any other

page_text: suitable position, and that its form and the mode of securing it may be varied
without departing from the nature of the said invention,
In order that the rope or line, while being so held that it cannot be drawn out
of the said apparatus, may be pulled inward through the slots in the socket and
bolt, I sometimes provide the latter with an arm or rod extending from the top
of the bolt outside of the said socket. This rod has a slot or recess in its lower end
for the reception of the rope. The slot is arranged in such a position that by
pulling the rope lying therein, the said rod or arm is caused to depress or force
inward the bolt, thus relaxing the hold or grip on the rope and allowing it to be
pulled through the slots.
My improved apparatus may be very advantageously used in combination with
boat-lowering gear as a disengaging device; for this purpose it may be secured in
any convenient position in or near the bow and stern of the boat. The parts of
the said apparatus when employed for this purpose may be so arranged that the
disengagement of both ends of the boat can be effected simultaneously and
automatically or so that the ropes will be released by the boat when it touches the
water; or the said apparatus may be operated to release the ropes by a man in the
boat or by means of ropes or cords extending to the ship's deck or other place
from which the boat has been lowered.
The said apparatus may also be used on quays or piers for holding boats or
vessels and for the connection of the towing lines of barges or other vessels and
in all cases where ropes or lines are used for similar purposes. In such cases I
prefer to provide it with a screw to operate the bolt or plunger and to dispense
with the spring
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing
the same I wish it understood that I claim -
The improved apparatus for holding ropes or lines, consisting of the parts
constructed and combined substantially as described and operating as specified.
In Witness whereof I the said Athol Edward Maudslay have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Sixteenth day of August in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty three.
TOT
DWDD ITIDSTAV
PHOL
EDWAD STAV
EDWAR
MAUD
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