Improvements in and relating to Life-boats and Portable Boats, applicable also to other Boats where Lightness, Buoyancy, and Strength are required.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Nov., 1892-Accepted, 31st Dec., 1892
Improvements in and relating to Life-boats and Portable Boats,
applicable also to other Boats where Lightness, Buoyancy, and
Strength are required.
I CARL BASWITZ of O. Holzmarktstrasse 4, Berlin, in the Empire of Germany,
Manufacturer, 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 relates to life-boats, portable boats, boats for floating bridges, and
other boats requiring buoyancy and lightness, and capacity to resist heavy shocks
without breaking or injury.
In order to ensure lightness and buoyancy boats of the class above referred to
are at present often constructed with canvass sides stretched over and supported by
a framework of wood, metal, or other rigid or breakable material, and their
buoyancy is frequently increased by the employment of air containing tubes, or
cushions. The rigid or breakable framework of such boats is however apt to break
or become injured under the heavy shocks to which they are liable to be frequently
subjected, and the canvass sides are easily torn, the same shocks also are liable to
cause the bursting or fracture of the air containing tubes, or cushions (when such
are employed) into which the water consequently penetrates, when they of course
not only lose all their buoyant properties, but have rather the effect of ballast on
the boat.
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Now the object of the present invention is to dispense entirely with wood, metal,
or other rigid or breakable frame-work of any kind (such as keel, stem and stern
posts, ribs, and the like) in boats of the class referred to, and to produce a light,
strong, and extremely buoyant boat, composed entirely of elastic or yielding and
buoyant material, which from its elastic or yielding properties will remain uninjured
by the heaviest shocks and will be practically almost indestructible. According to
my invention, I construct each side of my improved boats of what I term a
bolster," consisting of a cover or container of some closely woven watertight
fabric, such as canvass or cotton, tightly stuffed with some suitable material of
small specific gravity, preferably reindeer hair. The said bolsters are so disposed
and shaped as to produce the desired form of the sides of the boat, and at the stem
and stern they meet in a point and their junctions are stitched together and pre-
ferably protected by strong overlapping bindings which may be of leather. The
tightly stuffed bolsters whilst elastic and yielding possess in themselves sufficient
stiffness to render the employment of a supporting framework of any sort unnecessary.
In practise I prefer to divide the cover of each bolster into several longitudinal
watertight compartments, by means of longitudinal seams, the said compartments,
when filled with the reindeer hair or other material employed, forming superposed
stuffed tubes. By dividing each longitudinal compartment by transverse seams,
the number of watertight compartments in the bolster may be further increased.
Or each bolster may consist of separate superposed stuffed tubes suitably stitched
together. I prefer to employ reindeer hair as a stuffing for the bolsters, as it
possesses the least specific gravity of any known hair (save camel hair, which
would be too expensive) and is by reason of the fineness of its capillary tubes
extremely difficult to wet, consequently should the water penetrate into the bolsters,
by any rent or orifice, the closely packed reindeer hair will soon arrest its progress
and air will still be maintained in the inner parts of the injured bolster which will
consequently retain its buoyancy. If desired however other hair, cork, cork-coal,
or other material of small specific gravity might be employed in lieu of
reindeer hair.
I prefer to construct the bottoms of my improved boats of several thicknesses or

page_text: layers of closely woven watertight fabric, such as canvass or cotton, connected by
stitching with the bolsters forming the sides, but if desired the bottom as well as
the sides might be stuffed with reindeer hair or other suitable material of small
specific gravity, and in the case of boats intended to be employed as supports for
floating bridges, where extra buoyancy is required, it is better to stuff the bottoms
also. prefer in constructing my improved boats to insert the reindeer hair, or
other stuffing employed, after all the parts composing the boat have been sewn
together.
I will now proceed to describe my invention more particularly, having reference
to the accompanying drawings in which similar letters refer to corresponding parts
in all the figures.
Fig. is a side elevation of a life-boat constructed according to my invention.
Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 1-2 Fig. 2.
a is the bottom of the boat here shewn as composed of several layers of water-
tight fabric. bare the bolsters forming the sides of the boat here represented as
composed each of two superposed stuffed tubes eel, produced by the longitudinal
seams c joining the opposite sides of the covers of the bolsters bb. The bottom a
is connected by stitched seams a' with the covers of the lowermost bolsters c'. As
will be seen on referring to Fig. 2, the superposed stuffed tubes c c¹, forming the
bolsters b, meet in a point at the stem and stern and are there joined together by
stitching, and protected by strong overlapping bindings d d, which may be of
leather. Light boards or stretchers e, extending transversely across the boat, may
be forced between the bolsters c c', as shewn in Figs. 2 and 3, to serve as seats or
footboards. They would preferably be padded with cushions e' of reindeer hair
or other suitable material of small specific gravityf is a stretcher, preferably
jointed in the middle of its length, which extends from stem to stern, and may be
employed with advantage to prevent sagging of the bottom when the boat is
loaded. The seat boards and longitudinal stretcher are preferably constructed of
poplar wood, as being light and not easily broken.
In lieu of metal rollocks, I prefer to employ straps provided with a buckle for
encircling the oars, as shewn at g g, Figs. 1 and 2, these straps are secured to
broad leather straps which pass around the uppermost bolsters c c.
ii are metal thimbles encircled by ropes kk, which pass through the bolsters e c
fore and aft, through which thimbles the fastening ropes or life ropes of the boat
are intended to be drawn. Although in the drawings I have represented each
bolster as composed of two superposed stuffed tubes c c', three or more superposed
stuffed tubes might be employed if desired, also the bolsters might be strengthened
by other bolsters or stuffed tubes, secured side by side with them, the number of
bolsters or stuffed tubes superposed or placed side by side will of course depend
to some extent upon the desired buoyancy, depth, and strength, required in
the boat.
From the fore-going description it will be seen that with the exception of the
seat boards and longitudinal stretcher, which are all removeable and unimportant
parts of the boat, the entire boat is composed of yielding or elastic and buoyant
material, which cannot possibly be fractured or injured by heavy shocks, the boat
is consequently extremely light and practically indestructible, and is therefore
preeminently fitted for use as a lifeboat, and as a portable boat for military,
explorative, and other purposes; also, by reason of its small draught, it may be
used on shallow coasts where there is often considerable surf, and where a landing
by means of wooden boats would be impracticable; in tropical countries too, where
the difference of temperature between the day and night is so great, the elasticity
of the entire boat will be found to be a great advantage as it will compensate for
the differences in temperature. Boats constructed according to my invention are
also by reason of their buoyancy and strength peculiarly adapted to serve as
supports for floating bridges, especially when their bottoms are also stuffed, or
formed of a bolster.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would observe in conclusion
that I do not confine or limit myself to the precise shape and arrangement of the
boat, nor of the bolsters, tubes, or bags composing the same, herein before described
and illustrated, as the same might obviously be varied in form and detail without
in any way departing from the spirit of my invention, but I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A boat wherein all rigid or breakable supporting framework is dispensed
with, and which is composed entirely of elastic or yielding buoyant material sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described.
2. A boat wherein the sides are composed of bolsters, stuffed with reindeer hair
or other suitable material of small specific gravity, and are unsupported by any
rigid or breakable framework, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. A boat wherein the sides are composed of bolsters, formed of tubes, or bags,
stuffed with reindeer hair or other suitable material of small specific gravity,
superposed, or placed side by side, or both, and unsupported by any rigid or
breakable framework substantially as described.
4. The general construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, constituting
an improved boat, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this 24th dow of Nanamba 1000
E. P. ALEXANDER & SON, Fels. Chartd. Inst. P.A.,
19, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.