Improvements in Sectional Folding Boats, partly applicable to Folding Boats generally.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 8th June, 1898
Complete Specification Left, 8th Mar., 1899-Accepted, 22nd Apr., 1899
PHUVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sectional Folding Boats, partly applicable to
Folding Boats generally.
I, ERNEST CUTHBERT FECTOR JAMES, of Hyde Park Court, Albert Gate, in the
County of London, late of 87th Fusiliers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows. -
According to my invention I construct quadripartite or other sectional folding
boats, that is to say folding boats that are divided into two or more separate
sections for convenience of transport, as follows. —
In the case of a quadri-partite boat, the boat is composed of two middle sections
and two end or bow sections, which, when expanded, are secured together in any
suitable manner, such as by pins and pintles, metal cleats, and lashings.
The middle parts are constructed with bent wood gunwales and ribs which are
bent into rectangular form with rounded bends; these are pivotted at the ends
to plates on the stems; which are formed by bending up the keel ends at right
angles. Metal plates are fixed to each upper end of the stems both on the inner
and the outer side thereof which plates project laterally some distance beyond the
stem en each side and into the space between such projecting parts of the plates
are inserted the ends of the gunwales and of the ribs, these being pivotted to
the plates by bolts passing through them In the middle of the tops of the
plates are formed semicucular or other shaped notches, and the ends of the gun-
wales project beyond their pivot bolt and into the semicircular notch the end
surface being cut to a curve cories onding to the curved section of a longitudinal
saddle beam, which fits into the space formed between the curved ends of the
gunwales and the upper end surfaces of the stem
This saddle beam extends right along the tops of the four sections to near the
bows, and serves to receive the planking when the boats are placed parallel at
suitable distances apart for forming a boat bridge The two end sections have thei
one end formed flat and rectangular to meet the rectangular ends of the middle
sections, the gunwales and ribs being consequently bent at right angles at that end
and pivotted between plates fixed to the bent up end of the keel as described with
reference to the middle sections At the other end the gunwales and ribs are bent
with a curvature corresponding to the curved shape required for the bows.
These ends of the gunwales and ribs are firstly strengthened by an iron shoe-
piece of trough section into which they fit and which are secured thereto by bolts
and screws The exposed face of the gunwale or rib is grooved, and into the
groove is fitted a steel strap, the end of which projects at an angle from the ends
of the gunwales and ribs, and is formed with an eye by which it is pivotted to
strong shaped plates fixed to a shaped wood block that is fixed to the beat or
built up keel forming the stem of the bows. Covering the said strap and gunwale
1s a metal plate, and this, the strap, the gunwale, and the shoe, are all secured
together by screw bolta.
The struts for securing the gunwale and ribs in the opened out position are
constructed as follows:-

page_text: A metal (preferably steel) bar having an eye at each end is pivotted by the
one eye to a loop on a plate fixed to the bottom rib of the boat while the other eye
18 pivotted to the middle of a second bar which is of a trough section, of some
depth at the middle where the eye of the first bar is situated within the trough,
the section being gradually diminished towards each end.
At the one end this second bar is formed with an eye by which it is connected
to a loop on a plate fixed to the gunwale, while the other end has fixed to it a
cranked plate of trangular shape projecting laterally therefrom, to which is fixed
one end of a wooden bar that extends to the corresponding plate of the next strut,
of precisely the same construction, so that the upper parts of the two stiuts are
connected together by the said wooden bar On the said upper bar is placed a
loose ring which, when the two bars of the strut are turned on their pivot so as to
be in line with each other, slides down past the pivot point of the two bars, and, in
embracing both bais below such pivot, effectually locks them in the said extended
position in which the strut consequently holds the gunwale and ribs of the boat
in the expanded position
When in this position the before mentioned wooden bar that connects the two
stauts will be horizontally close against the canvas covering of the boat and will
thus serve as an additional rib supporting the canvas against the pressure of the
water.
This bar also serves to receive the end of a transverse board serving as a seat
and also a transverse stay securing the struts in the expanded position
When the boat section is to be folded this seat, which is connected at its centre
to the floor boards by a rope, is lifted by either end, it then acts a lever and raises
the floor boards which raise the end seats that are hinged to the ribs; the before
mentioned rings are slid up the strut past the pivot joint of the two bars and on
to the upper end of the upper bar so that the bars can then be folded together on
their pivot so as to collapse the boat These 1ngs, being attached by a lanyard,
prevent the canvas from being cut when the boat is folded
It will be evident that the above described construction of the ends of the
gunwales and ribs that are pivoted to the stem piece of the bows, as also the con-
struction of the folding struts and locking ring are equally applicable to folding
boats generally.
Dated this 8th day of June 1908
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Sectional Folding Boats, partly applicable to
Folding Boats generally.
I, ERNEST CUTIIBERT FECTOR JAMES, of Hyde Park Court, Albert Gate, in the
County of London, late of 87th Fusiliers, 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
-
My improvements relate mainly to sectional folding boats, that is to say, folding
boats that are divided into two, three or four complete separate parts for con-
venience of transport. I will describe the improvements with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which the boat is assumed to consist of four separate
sections or quadripartite, as indicated in the diagram plan at Fig. 1, where II are
two square ended middle sections and II II are the two end sections; it will be
evident however that the boat might also consist either of only one middle section I

page_text: and two end sections II or of one section I and one section II, or of two sec-
tions II only, or even one section II alone may be used
The several sections of the boat are secured together by any suitable known
means such as by pins and pintles, by metal cleats or hooks or pins and lashings,
as indicated at ein Fig 2 which shows a plan of a middle section, Fig 3 a plan of
an end or bows sections, Fig 4 a cross section of the middle part, Figs 5 and 6
shew respectively an enlarged front view and sertion of the arrangement for
securing the gunwales and ribs to the bows of the boat; Fig 7 shews a long-
tudinal section of a middle part of the boat, Fig 8 a section at A B Fig 7,
Figs 9 and 10 shew the strut in the extended and partly folded positions, Fig 11
shews a modified form of the plate d For the middle parts of the boat the gun-
wales and ribs b are made of the rectangular bent or built shape shewn at Fig 2,
in order to form the flat square ends of the part, and in like manner the keel c
18 bent or built up square at the ends to form the stems c c. To the upper ends
of the latter are firmly rivetted two metal plates d d, at a distance apart corie-
sponding to the thickness of the gunwales and 11bs so that the ends of these fit
between the plates and are pivotted thereto by iveted copper pins e on which the
gunwales and ribs consequently turn for assuming either the expanded or the
folded position.
The plates d dare formed with upward projections for the reception between
them of a saddle beam ƒ as shewn in dotted lines at Fig 2 when the boat is to be
used for a beat budge For small sized boats the plates may be formed as shewn
at Fig 11, with a semicirculai notch for the reception of the sadd'e beam, or for
a sculling oar, when the boat is used with a square stein
For the end parts II, the gunwales and ribs are bent on built square at the one
end which is made flat to meet the end of the middle part and they are pivotted
between plates d in the same manner as above described At the other end the
gunwales and ribs are bent to form the bows and their ends are fitted into and
secured by bolts in metal shoes 7 the ends of which are pivotted by bolts h to
the plate fixed on a wood block carried by the stem or stein posts It will
be seen that the gunwales and ribs are thus afforded a very strong connection to
the pivots on which they turn in being brought from the expanded into the folded
position
For securing the gunwales and 11bs in the expanded position I employ folding
struts constructed as shewn at Figs 7, 9 and 10 These stuts consist fistly of a
bar which may either be of metal as shewn or of wood strengthened with metal,
and which has an eye formed at each end The lower eve is pivotally secured by
a bolt to an eve or loop on a plate fixed to the b b of the boat while the upper eye 18
pivotted to near the middle of a second bar which is of a trough shaped section
as shown beng tapered off from the middle towards each end The upper end 19
formed with an eve by which it is pivotted to a loop or eye on a plate fixed to the
gunwale, while the other end has fixed to it a cranked plate m projecting laterally
therefiom, to which 18 fixed the one end of a wooden bar n that extends to the
Corresponding plate m of the bar 7 of the next strut, so that the two struts are thus
firmly connected together On the bar is placed a loose ung o, which, when
the strut is in the extended position shewn at Figs 4, 7 and 9 slides down past the
pivot joint of the two bars and, in embracing both bars below such pivot, effectually
locks them in the extended position, and thus secules the boat in the expanded
position
When the struts are in this position the wooden bar n will lie close against the
flexible covering p of the boat, as shewn at Fig 9 and will thus seive as an
additional rib for supporting the covering against the pressure of the water.
To the lower part of struts another bar z is fixed to which is hinged one end
of a transverse board g serving as a seat and also as a stay for still farther
securing the boat in the expanded position
This seat is formed with a hinge-joint at its middle. folding upwards, and to
the hinge joint is attached a strut the lower end of which is pivoted to a hinge

page_text: The
joint at the middle of the floor boards the ends of which are attached by hinge
joints to the same eyes on the ribs b to which the bars of the struts are pivoted.
Thus when the boat is in the expanded position shewn at Figs. 4, 7 and 9, and
it is desired to fold the boat, then after first sliding up the locking rings o and
securing them by a lanyard or otherwise, an upward pull is exerted by a rope t
upon the middle hinged part of the seat g, whereby this will be raised up and
will consequently also pull up the floor boards by means of the strut r.
seat in folding will also draw inwards the bars z connected to the lower baisk
of the struts. At the same time the bais n are raised by hand, thereby raising
the lower ends of the bars 1, and thus lowering the upper ends thereof, and con-
sequently also the gunwales a to which they are attached; the ribs bare at the
same time drawn inwards and downwards by the folding floor. Fig 10 shews
the several parts in the partially folded position
Although I have shewn only one seat q attached to the connecting bara z of
the struts it will be evident that two or more may be provided, and also, that
instead of attaching the rope t to the seat it may be attached to the floor boards.
It will be evident that some of the above described improvements, namely the
construction of the folding struts kl, with shiding ing o and plute n, as also the
shoes g for securing the gunwales and bs to the stem of the boat, are applicable
not only to sectional folding boats, but also to folding boats generally I am
aware that it has already been proposed to construct sectional folding boats,
this arrangement being described in the Provisional Specification of N. R. Roskell
No. 1344 of 1877 and I therefore make no general claim to folding boats con-
structed in separate sections, each complete in itself
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
elaim is:-
1. In folding bouts of the kind herein referred to, constructing the square ends
with two metal plates or cheeks fixed to the stem or stein post, which plates
receive between them the ends of the gunwales and ribs that are pivoted thereto
substantially as described
2 In folding boats, providing the ends of the curved gunwales and ribs that are
pivoted to the bows of the boat with metal shoes g in which they are secured by
balts, and the ends of which are pivoted to a plate i fixed to the stem, substantially
as descubed
3 In folding boats, constructing the folding stiuts with a pivoted upper part 1
of trough shaped section which is locked in the extended position by a sliding
ring, and which is connected by a cranked plate m to a bar n connecting the two
struts substantially as described
Thatod 01.
1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant