IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPLIANCES FOR RAISING LOWERING AND SECURING SHIPS BOATS"
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward James Harland, Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, Walter
Henry Wilson, and William James Pirrie, all of Queens Island County of
Down Ireland Shipbuilders and Engineers for an Invention of " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPLIANCES FOR RAISING LOWERING AND SECURING SHIPS BOATS"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward James Harland,
Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, Walter Henry Wilson and William James Pirrie at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th December 1882.
EDWARD JAMES HARLAND, GUSTAV WILHELM WOLFF, WALTER HENRY WILSON
and WILLIAM JAMES PIRRIE all of Queens Island County of Down Ireland Ship-
builders and Engineers "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLIANCES FOR RAISING LOWERING
AND SECURING SHIPS BOATS
"
This Invention has for its object improvements in appliances for raising lowering
and securing ships boats.
For this purpose we employ apparatus for the purpose of lifting ships boats
(either independently or in conjunction with the davit falls) the short distance
necessary to enable the outer tumbling chock to be struck down the slack of the
falls can then be taken in and secured and the boat swung outboard by few hands
as compared with the large number required to lift the boat clear by the falls alone.
We also construct this apparatus so as to facilitate the steadying of the boats
when being lowered on the chocks and holding or steadying them in place when
stowed.
To effect these objects various arrangements of levers wedges cams and other
mechanical appliances or combinations of them may be adopted but we prefer the
following arrangement:
Below the bottom of the boat when it is resting upon the chocks are two shafts
at a distance apart from one another and at right angles to the keel. The shafts
turn in brackets bolted to the deck. Each axis has standing out from it two short
arms carrying between them a roller which comes just below the boat's keel when
the boat is in its place upon the chocks. The outer end of each axis has a socket
standing out radially from it into which a long bar can be inserted, when the boat

page_text: is resting upon the chocks the short lever arms are horizontal or nearly so. When
the axis is turned by the bar so as to cause the roller at the end of the short lever
arms to lift the boat a little more than a quarter turn is given to the axis whereby
the short lever arms are moved somewhat beyond a vertical position so that the
weight of the boat has then no tendency to turn the levers back again in the
opposite direction. The boat can in this way be lifted at each end say about
six inches thus freeing the outside chock which can then be tumbled the slack of the
falls taken in and secured the levers partially reversed and the boat swung out,
The roller at one end has a flange round its end furthest from the vessel's side.
this enables the boat's keel to be readily placed upon the rollers when they are
raised and when they are lowered jaws on the two arms which carry the roller
come one on either side of the keel. In this way the keel of the boat on being
lowered on the rollers is readily caught held laterally and guided into the fixed
blocks at each end by the jaws and then lowered into its place by the reverse
action of the levers.
To prevent accidents while the weight of the boat is borne by the levers they are
constructed with a stop resting on the deck and the centres arranged in such
manner that when the bars or angles are pulled over to the full extent they cannot
be thrown back by any weight on the rollers.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Edward James Harland, Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, Walter Henry
Wilson and William James Pirrie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th June 1883.
EDWARD JAMES HARLAND, GUSTAV WILHELM WOLFF, WALTER HENRY WILSON
and WILLIAM JAMES PIRRIE all of Queens Island County of Down, Ireland, Ship-
builders and Engineers "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLIANCES FOR RAISING LOWERING
AND SECURING SHIPS' BOATS
"
These improvements consist in the employment of apparatus for the purpose of
lifting ships boats (either independently or in conjunction with the davit falls) the
short distance necessary to enable the outer tumbling chock to be struck down,
after which the slack of the falls can be taken in and secured, and the boats swung
out-board by few hands, as compared with the large number required to lift the
boat clear by the falls alone; also in the construction of such apparatus, so as to
facilitate the steadying of the boats when being lowered on the chocks, and holding
or steadying them in place when stowed. These our improvements may be carried
out by various arrangements of levers, wedges, cams and other mechanical appliances
or combinations of them, but we prefer the following arrangement which is illus-
trated by the drawing annexed, and which we now proceed to describe.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a boat with gear arranged in accordance with our
invention.
Figure 2 is an end elevation and Figure 3 is a plan of the same.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 are drawn to a larger scale of parts which are also seen in the
preceding figures.
Below the bottom of the boat, when it is resting upon the chocks, are two shafts
at a distance apart from one another, and at right angles to the keel. The shafts
turn in brackets bolted to the deck or platform on which the boat is carried. Each
axis has standing out from it two short arms A, carrying between them a roller B
which comes just below the boats keel, when the boat is in its place upon the
chocks. The outer end of each axis has a socket standing out radially from it,
into which a long bar can be inserted. When the boat is resting upon the chocks,
the short lever arms are horizontal or nearly so. When the axis is turned by the
bar, so as to cause the roller at the end of the short lever arms to lift the boat a little
more than a quarter turn is given to the axis, whereby the short lever arms are
moved somewhat beyond a vertical position, as indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 4 so that the weight of the boat has then no tendency to turn the levers
back again in the opposite direction. The boat can in this way be lifted at each
end, say about six inches, thus freeing the outside chock F, which can then be
tumbled over, and the slack of the falls taken in and secured, the levers are then
partially reversed to free the boat's keel, and the boat swung out. The roller at
one end has a flange D round its end furthest from the vessels side: this enables
the boats keel to be readily placed upon the rollers when they are raised and ready
to receive the boat when being swung into place. When the boat is being lowered,
the jaws C on the two arms which carry the roller come one on either side of the
keel. In this way the keel of the boat on being lowered on the rollers is readily
caught, held laterally, and guided into the fixed blocks E E at each end by the
jaws C, and then lowered into its place by the reverse action of the levers, while
the weight of the boat is borne by the rollers-the castings holding the rollers are
constructed with a stop resting on the deck, and the centres arranged in such
manner that when the bars or handles are pulled over to the full extent, they cannot
be thrown back by a weight on the rollers.

page_text: The foregoing describes the method we prefer for carrying our improvements into
practice, but other forms or combinations of levers, wedges, cams, screws and other
mechanical appliances or combinations of them may be adopted and applied and
we do not limit ourselves to the exact details described so long as the substantial
features and principle of our invention are retained but what we do claim is the
application in combination with davits, tackles, or lifting and lowering mechanism
operating above the boat, of lifting mechanism below the boat, the same lifting the
boat off the chooks, so that the outer chock may be struck down, and the boat left
free for swinging out.
:
We also claim the apparatus substantially as described for receiving and steadying
the boats when being lowered on the chocks.
In witness whereof I the said Walter Henry Wilson have hereunto set my
hand and seal this thirtieth day of May in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.