IMPROVEMENTS IN VESSELS, AND IN PROPELLING THE SAME.' IN VESSELS, AND IN PROPELLING THE SAME.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Alfred Novello, of No. 1, Berners Street,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN VESSELS, AND IN PROPELLING THE SAME.'
IN
VESSELS, AND IN PROPELLING THE SAME.
"
Sealed the 21st September 1875, and dated the 23rd July 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Alfred
Novello at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 23rd July 1875.
I, JOSEPH ALFRED NOVELLO, of No. 1, Berners Street, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN VESSELS, AND IN PROPELLING THE SAME," to be as
follows:
-
This Invention has for its object improvements in vessels, and in
propelling the same.
The improvement chiefly arrived at in this Invention is to construct
a vessel capable of being driven at a very high speed, but I claim for
the skimmer," as I designate vessels constructed according to my
Invention, many superior qualities over existing passage boats, viz.,

page_text: 1, that they are more speedy; 2, more safe; 3, steadier, 4, shallower,
and so better adapted for existing harbours, 5, more saving; that 15,
less costly in working.
Heretofore ships have for the most part been formed wedge shape at
the bow, with the sides tapering from the midship section to a vertical
linc at the bow, by which the water in front of a ship is pushed aside to
the right and left, the wedge being made widest about amidship and
then tapering off to the stern, so allowing the water to close in again
behind the vessel and fill up the vacuum as the ship passes on.
According to my Invention I form a vessel with a flat floor or bottom,
and with the sides parallel, or nearly so, from-stern to stern. The floor
at the bow and stern is made to slope upwards at a slight angle from
the level of the floor at the midship section to above the water line at
the bow and stern, so that the vessel may if desired be propelled in
either direction, and so that the vessel in place of forcing the water
aside shall skim over its surface. By-thus constructing the vessel it
may be made of any desired width of beam without making the angle of
the wedge more obtuse, and the vessel may be made much wider and
shallower than heretofore without altering the angle of the wedge, so
that the wedge may be kept at an angle much more favorable for
pushing away the water up to the speed at which water will freely
yield and consent to follow and fill up again behind the vessel.
The horizontal wedge form given to the vessel at the bow and stern is
not only much more favorable for the small resistance it presents at a
moderate speed but at greater velocity; this shape has a tendency to
slide over rather than push the front water on one side, thus rising and
finding less and less obstruction as it gains speed; this very small angle
is driven faster and faster against the front water, it finds at last a hill of
clastic solid on which the skimmer will ride higher and higher out of
water. Less of the water has to be removed in front, and the vacuum
behind becomes smaller and smaller and more driving power is spent. in
increasing the momentum in the ship; thus the accumulating impetus
will carry the skimmer over the impediment before the inert water has
time to yield to the passing weight.
In order also to facilitate the vessel skimming over the surface of the
water I make it as light as possible, and with this object I form it with
a longitudinal vertical lattice or other girder passing along its centre.

page_text: and by this girder I carry the engines employed for propelling the
vessel so that the outer skin of the vessel may be as light as possible,
and by this means and by driving the vessel over the water, as above
described, there will be removed the chief obstacle to attaining high
specd The sides of the vessel are also connected to the central longi-
tudinal girder at intervals by transverse girders. The longitudinal
girder above mentioned may project below the inclines at the bow and
stern and form a kccl, and its ends form stern posts to carry rudders,
one at each end of the vessel.
The advantages of the horizontal wedge form cannot be fully attained
either with the old paddle wheels outside the vessel or with screws to
propel the vessel; I therefore employ both at the bow and stern two
broad drums with radial blades somewhat similar to paddle wheels.
The drums are placed one on either side of the central lattice girder, and
the paddles or blades extend below the bottom of the vessel and act
upon the solid water beneath it. The diums are cach enclosed in a
casing or well within the vessel itself, and under each well is an opening
in the bottom of the vessel for the lower part of the drum to pass
through The radial blades fixed upon the surface of the drums I
prefer to be somewhat inclined to the shafts upon which the drums are
mounted, in place of being parallel therewith as for the most part
usual The spaccs between the blades or some of them may be partially
filled in with numerous small indents. The deep blades will be most
efficient when working slowly for stopping or starting, and the smaller
indents when working at high speeds By thus placing the propelling
wheels in wells within the vessel itself the pressure of water upon the
drums will be at all times comparatively uniform, and the drums will
also be preserved from injury in a rough sca, the only exposed portion
of the drums or wheels being those which project through the' bottom
of the vessel and act upon the water. The remainder being safely
protected within the wells the quick revolution of the propelling drums
will cause them to take up a quantity of water into the wells and propel
it against the casing To utilize the water so carried up I place fixed
boards within the casing inclining downwards away from the drum. The
3 water thrown off from the drum flows back away from the drum down
these inclined boards, and may either be led aft to aid in propelling the
vessel, or may be utilized for the circulating water for cooling the
condensers.

page_text: ORIC DOLUCES FRUCHTO
filed by the said Joseph Alfred Novello in the Great Soal Patent
Office on the 22nd January 1876
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
ALFRED NOVELLO, of No 1, Berners Street, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Alfred Novello, Her special
license, that I, the said Joseph Alfred Novello, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as T, the said Joseph Alfred Novello,
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 vond, within the United Kingdom of Great Britai
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN VESSELS, AND IN PROPELLING THE SAME," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Alfred Novello, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 Scal Patent Office withım sıx calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Alfred Novello, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to
say :—
This Invention has for its object improvements in vessels, and in
propelling the same.
The improvement chiefly arrived at in this Invention is to construct
a vessel capable of being driven at a very high speed, but I claim for å

page_text: the "skimmer," as I designate vessels constructed according to my
Invention, many superior qualities over existing passage boats, vız,
1, that they are more speedy, 2, more safe, 3, steadier; 4, shallower,
and so better adapted for exhisting harbours, 5, more saving, that is,
less costly in working.
Heretofore ships have for the most part been formed wedge shape at
the bow with the sides tapering from the midships section to a vertical
line at the bow, by which the water in front of a slup is pushed aside to
the right and left, the wedge being made widest about amidship, and then
tapering off to the stern, so allowing the water to close in behind
the vessel and fill up the vacuum as the ship passes on.
again
According to my Invention I form a vessel with a flat floor or bottom
and with the sides perpendicular, or nearly so, from stem to stern The
floor or bottom from bow to stern is made to slope downwards for the
whole length of vessel, commencing at the entry end on the load line level,
and making (with the load line level) an angle increasing more or less
from bow to stern. The shape of the entry end of the vessel will thus
be a horizontal wedge with the least depth at the how, and the greatest
depth at or near the stern. For the exit end a wedge of equally advan-
tageous angles may be made by keeping the perpendicular sides widest
apart at or near the entry end or bows, and letting them approach and
finally meet at the exit end or stern within the thickness of the rudder;
and so the vessel in place of forcing the water aside shall skim over its
surface. The shape of displacement will thus be a spherical tetrahedron
clongated. By thus constructing the vessel it may be made of any
desired width of beam without making the angle of the wedge more
obtuse, and the vessel may be made much wider and shallower than
heretofore without altering the angle of the wedge, so that the wedge
may be kept at an angle much more favorable for pushing away the
water up to the speed at which water will freely yield and consent to
follow and fill up again behind the vessel.
The horizontal wedge form given to the vessel at the bow is not only
much more favorable for the small resistance it presents at a moderato
speed, but at greater velocity, this shape has a tendency to slide over
rather than push the front water on one side, thus raising and finding
less and less obstruction as it gains speed; this very small angle is driven
faster and faster against the front water, it finds at last a hill of elastic

page_text: .
solid on which the skimmer will ride higher and higher out of water.
Less of the water has to be removed in front, and the vacuum behind
becomes smaller and smaller, and more driving power is spent in
increasing the momentum in the ship; thus the accumulating impetus
will carry the skimmer over the impediment before the inert water has
time to yield to the passing weight
In order also to facilitate the vessel skimming over the surface of the
water I make it as light as possible, and with this object I form it with
a longitudinal vertical lattice or other girder passing along its centre,
and by this girder I carry the engines employed for propelling the vessel
so that the outer skin of the vessel may be as light as possible, and by this
means and by driving the vessel over the water, as above described,
there will be removed the chief obstacle to attaining high speed. The
sides of the vessel are also connected to the central longitudinal girder
at intervals by traverse girders.
The advantages of the horizontal wedge form cannot be fully attained
either with the old paddle wheels outside the vessel or with screws to
propel the vessel, I therefore employ both at the bow and stern two
broad drums with radial blades somewhat similar to paddle wheels.
The drums are placed one on either side of the central lattice girder, and
the paddles or blades extend below the bottom of the vessel and act
upon the solid water beneath it. The drums are each enclosed in a
casing or well within the vessel itself, and under each well is an opening
in the bottom of the vessel for the lower part of the drum to pass
through. The radial blades fixed upon the surface of drums I prefer to
be somewhat inclined to the shafts upon which the drums are mounted
in place of being parallel therewith as for the most part usual. By thus
placing the propelling wheels in wells within the vessel itself the pressuro
of water upon the drums will be at all times comparatively uniform,
and the drums will also be preserved from injury in a rough sea, the
only exposed portion of the drums or wheels being those which project
through the bottom of the vessel and act upon the water; the remainder
being safely protected within the wells. The quick revolution of the
propelling drums will cause them to take up a quantity of water into
the wells and propel it against the casing. To utilize the water so
carried up I place fixed boards within the casing, inclined downwards
away from the drum. The water thrown off from the drum flows back
away from the drum down these inclined boards, and may either be led

page_text: aft to aid in propelling the vessel, or may be utilized for the circulating
water for cooling the condensers.
A preferable way of disposing of the water carried up into the wells is
accomplished by making the sides of the wells enclose the drums in
every part of their circumference except the opening in the bottom,
through which the water will be driven out if air be admitted near the
centre of the drum to replace the water thus driven out.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that I
claim, the improvements in vessels, and in propelling the same, sub-
stantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Alfred Novello, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Nineteenth day of January, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
81x.