IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DIS- ENGAGING SHIPS' BOATS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Thorne, of Southsea, in the County of
Hants, Carpenter, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DIS-
ENGAGING SHIPS' BOATS."
Sealed the 19th January 1864, and dated the 27th July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Thorne at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th July
1863.
I, THOMAS THORNE, of Southsea, in the County of Hants, Carpenter, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR DISENGAGING SHIPS' BOATS," to be as follows:-
This Invention is intended to facilitate the instant disengaging of a ship's
boat from the davit-tackle-falls (when lowered into the water) in such a manner
that both ends of the boat are disengaged simultaneously by the single action
of one lever. To the keel of the boat two sockets are firmly bolted, and into
these sockets are passed the lower ends of two suspending rods, the ends being
formed with long slots, and the sockets provided with bolts passing through
the slots in such a manner as to allow of the suspending rods having a certain
amount of vertical motion in the sockets, but not of their being withdrawn
entirely. At the upper end of each suspending rod is a slip, bolt, or pin,
secured by a lever clamp, which is kept closed by a guard link attached by a

page_text: rod to the socket, and sliding on the suspending rod, or passing through a slot
in the thwart. The boat is supported by passing two hooks attached to two
blocks (running in the bight of the davit tackle-falls) under the slip, bolts, or
pins, at the upper ends of the two suspending rods. The stem and stern of
the boat are supported by means of links or rods connecting them respectively
to the suspending rods. When the boat is banging at the davits the suspending
rods are held fast in the sockets by means of two locking bolts, both connected
to one rod, the end of which is attached to a lever in the stern or other
convenient part of the boat when the boat is lowered into the water. Upon
pulling this lever both bolts are simultaneously withdrawn, when the sus-
pending rods slide in the sockets just sufficient to draw the guard links over
the projecting ends of the lever clamps, thus releasing the slip bolts or pins,
and instantaneously disengaging the boat from the falls at both ends.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Thorne in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th
January 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
THORNE, of Southsea, in the County of Hants, Carpenter, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Thorne, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Thorne, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Thorne, 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 "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR DISENGAGING SHIPS' BOATS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Thomas Thorne, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Thorne, 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 in writing, and on reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
that is to say:-
This Invention is intended to facilitate the instant disengaging of a ship's
boat from the "davit-tackle-falls" (when lowered into the water) in such a
manner that both ends of the boat are disengaged simultaneously by the single
action of one lever. To the keel of the boat two sockets are firmly bolted,
and into these sockets are passed the lower ends of two suspending rods, the
ends being formed with long slots, and the sockets provided with bolts passing
through the slots in such a manner as to allow of the suspending rods having
a certain amount of vertical motion in the sockets, but not of their being
withdrawn entirely. At the upper end of each suspending rod is a slip bolt or
pin, secured by a lever clamp, which is kept closed by passing through a slot
in the thwart, or by a guard link attached by a rod to the socket, and sliding
on the suspending rod. The boat is supported by passing two hooks attached
to two blocks (runuing in the bight of the "davit-tackle-falls") under the
slip bolts or pins at the upper ends of the two suspending rods. The stem
and stern of the boat may be further supported by means of links or rods
connecting them respectively to the suspending rods. When the boat is
hanging at tho davits the suspending rods are held fast in the sockets by means
of two locking bolts, both connected to one rod, the end of which is attached
to a lever in the stern or other convenient part of the boat. When the boat
is lowered into the water, upon pulling this lever both bolts are simultaneously
withdrawn, when the suspending rods slide in the sockets just sufficiently to
draw the projecting ends of the lever clamps through the slots or the guard
links, thus releasing the slip bolts or pins and instantaneously disengaging the
boat from the falls at both ends.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improved
Apparatus for Disengaging Ships' Boats," I will now proceed to describe more
in detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or
carried into practical effect, and in order that the same may be distinctly
understood, I have annexed hereto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof,
and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding
with those in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In the annexed Drawing Figure 1 represents a section of a ship's boat
Suspended to the "davit-tackle-falls" by my improvod apparatus; and
Figure 2 shows the boat just disengaged from the same.
a, a', are two

page_text: sockets, firmly bolted to the keel of the boat, and b, b', are the two suspending
rods, the lower ends of which are formed with long slots (as seen in the
detached front view) and slide in the sockets a, a'. The sockets are provided
with bolts c, c', which pass through them and through the slots in the lower ends
of the suspending rods b, b', in such a manner that the latter can move in a
vertical direction the length of the slots (as shewn in Figure 2), but cannot
be wholly withdrawn from the sockets a, a'. At the upper end of each
suspending rod is hinged a slip bolt or pin d, d', which is secured by passing
its end through the eye of a lever clamp e, c', (see also detached front view).
This clamp is kept closed whilst the boat is suspended by passing through a
slot in the thwart, which just fits round it, and prevents it from opening. The
boat is supported by passing two hooks attached to the blocks f.f, (running
in the bight of the "davit-tackle-falls") under the slip bolts or pins d, d', at
the upper ends of the two suspending rods. When the boat is hanging at the
davits these suspending rods are held fast in the sockets a, a', by means of two
locking bolts *, *, passing through holes in the sockets, and through the
lower ends of the slots in the suspending rods. These bolts form part of a
disengaging roll 9, 9, running along the keel of the boat, and connected at one
end to a lever h, h, that part of the disengaging rod nearest to the lever being
formed as shewn in the detached plan view for the purpose of passing round
the socket a', When the boat is lowered into the water, the lever h, h, is to
be pulled into the position shown in Figure 2, which will have the effect of
withdrawing both of the bolts *, *, simultaneously, when the suspending rods
will slide in the sockets to the length of the slots in the former, as shewn in
Figure 2. As the suspending rods also slide through the slots in the thwarts,
the latter acting on the tail ends of the lever clamps c, c', will release the
'slip pins d, d, and disengage the boat entirely from the blocks, and this
disengagement must necessarily take place simultaneously at both ends of
the boat. In cases where it is thought desirable not to pass the suspending
rods through the thwarts, but to hang the boat from points further from the
stem and stern, all the alteration necessary will be to have two guard links of
the same form as the slots in the thwarts, and to fix the same on rods
connected to the sockets a, a', and in such cases the stem and stern of the
boat may be further supported by diagonal links or rods connected to them
and to the suspending rods respectively.
66
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
Improved Apparatus for Disengaging Ships' Boats," together with the
manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention

page_text: the improved disengaging apparatus shown in the Drawings, and above
described, or any mere modification thereof, operating substantially in the
same or a similar manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Thorne, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
THOMAS THORNE. (L.S.)