IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SMALL BOATS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SMALL BOATS."-A com-
munication.
Sealed the 20th August 1858, and dated the 16th June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th June 1858.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SMALL BOATS," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is to cheapen the construction of small boats
by reducing the time now required for building them, and at the same time
employing labor of a less expensive character; and the nature of the Inven-
tion consists of a certain apparatus for sustaining and confining the parts that
make up the frame of a small boat in the same relative position that they
occupy in the finished boat, and in certain useful accessories to such an
apparatus.
In the Sheets of Drawings accompanying and making part of this Specifi:

page_text: cation, Figure First is a side elevation of one half of the apparatus; Figure
Second is a bird's-eye view of the same; Figure Third is a vertical cross section
through the apparatus and through a finished boat partially removed therefrom;
Figure Fourth is a front elevation of the apparatus; Figure Fifth is a cross
section through the apparatus, and a partly finished boat; Figure Sixth is a
cross section through the same in a different position; Figure Seventh is a
perspective view of a partly finished boat upon the apparatus; and Figure
Eighth is an elevation of a thumbscrew and washer.. The same letters refer
to the same-parts in all the Figures.
The ordinary plan known to me for constructing small boats is to set up a
keel with stem and stern posts attached upon the floor of the shop, then to get
out by eye or according to drawings one. or more sets of ribs or timbers,
setting them up in place and attaching them to the keel, then to tack on
ribbons, bending and shaping them into place and proper curve, and holding
them by struts from the floor, and then to get out other timbers conforming
to the ribbons, shaping them properly by measurement and trial. The various
timbers are secured to the keel, and a gunwale or gumvale ribbon is fastened
to them, and the frame is ready for planking up. This method of building
requires skill, experience, and judgment, but by my method and the employ-
ment of my apparatus any person tolerably well skilled in working in wood
can construct a strong well shaped boat, it being understood that my apparatus
is of use only when several boats of the same model or pattern, or nearly so,
are to be constructed. In order to construct my apparatus, the model and
dimensions of the boats to be built are first to be determined upon, as also the
number of ribs and their location in the boat. I then procure a piece of
metal of the length and curve of the desired keel and stem and stern pieces,
having in it a groove or cavity of the same cross section or nearly so as those
pieces, such piece of metal being shewn at a, a, a, in the Drawings, and being
provided with holes or slots in the bottom of the groove; such as are repre
sented at b, b, b, and to this piece I attach other pieces such as c, c, c, having
an L-shaped groove therein, the two sides of the L corresponding in curvature
with the top and inner sides of the gunwale of the boat to be built; I then
unite these gunwale supporters c, c, c, with the keel supporter a, a, by means of
rib supporters d, d, d, each of which has in a groove corresponding in cross
section with the.ribs of the boat to be built. These grooves are of the same
curvature as the ribs, and occupy relatively to each other the same position
that the ribs of the finished boat are to hold. The sides of the grooves in the
keel piece are cut away where these rib supporters adjoin on to it, and slots
are to be cut in the bottom of the grooves of these rib supporters, as plainly

page_text: shewn in the Drawings. The frame or apparatus as a whole is to be substan-
tially such as is shewn in the Drawings, for the purpose required or the office
it is to perform, and may be made of wood or of pieces of wrought iron properly
secured together, or of pieces of cast iron or all cast in one piece. I prefer to
make it of cast iron in sections, united by proper bolts and flanges. The
edges of the grooves in the rib supporters as at x, x, should be so shaped and
bevelled as to fit the inner side of the planking of the finished boat, except
where they adjoin the gunwale supporters, where they are gradually to taper
off till they die away into the bottom of the groove. The office of this frame
is to support and sustain in proper relative positions the various parts that
make up the frame of a small boat, and its construction may be modified so
long as it will still serve this purpose, when aided by screws or clamps to
confine the various parts in place, and upon such a frame boats may be built
in various ways; the plan I prefer is as follows:-I get out pieces of proper
length and cross section for all parts of the frame, including a sort of inner
gunwale such as m, and bring them to the proper curvature or nearly so,
steaming and bending them in the ordinary way, known to mechanics being
the preferable plan. The gunwale pieces are then to be laid in the groove of
the gunwale supporters, and secured in place by screws, such as shewn in
Figure Eight, passed through slots or holes provided for the purpose, or by
clamping to the supporter by ordinary screw clamps, the wood being bent during
the operation if necessary. The ribs are then to be taken in succession and
secured in their proper grooves, bent if necessary during the operation, and
held by screws passed through the slots into the wood, and having their heads
or washers resting against the inside of their supporting pieces, or clamps may
be used for the purpose. The keel pieces are then to be laid slightly bent, if
necessary, and secured in their sustaining groove in a similar manner, and the
same operation is to be performed on the stem and stern posts. All parts of
the frame may now be fastened to each other wherever required by bolts,
spikes or rivetting, the various holes and slots through the frame affording
facilities for the purpose.
When the frame is in place, the ribs may if necessary be bevelled off, using
the sides of the groove in which they are confined as guides for that purpose.
And when all parts are properly confined in the relative position they are to
occupy in the finished boat, the frame may be planked up in any ordinary
manner, the grooves. and slots as before permitting of the passage of the spikes
or rivets, and also admitting of the clinching of fastenings upon the frame on
the inside of the ribs, gunwale, or keel. When the boat is planked it may be
caulked while still on the frame, and is then to be removed and fitted with

page_text: thwarts, knees, mast steps, and all or any of the usual accessories of small
boats. In order to facilitate all these operations, I have mounted or supported
the apparatus in a peculiar manner, so that it may with ease be turned and
held in various positions, and have also provided the means for starting the
boats off the frame after the clamps or screws are removed.
To support the apparatus, I attach to it a strong cross of wood or metal,
such as shewn at p, p, p. This cross is to be entered between two posts or a
.slotted post such as q, firmly fastened to the floor of the shop, and a bolt or
pin such as r is to be inserted passing through the post and the cross in such
a way that the whole apparatus may turn on the bolts as on a hinge. Two or
more such crosses and bolts must be applied, and care must be taken to locate
the bolts in a horizontal line, passing through the centre of gravity of the
apparatus as a whole or nearly so, thus permitting the apparatus to be turned
by the application of a small force. An arc of wood or metal, such as
shewn at s in the Drawings, and entering the slot in the post, may also be
. fastened to the cross, and when provided with a proper pinching screw, such
as is shewn in the Drawings, it will serve to steady the apparatus, and aid in
confining it in any required position. Proper benches or supports, such as t, t,
are also to be provided for supporting the edges of the frame at any desired
height.
In order to start the boat, when finished, off of the frame, I use screws such
as v, v, entering through the gunwale supporter, and with their ends resting
upon the gunwale of the boat itself; by turning such screws the boat may be
lifted free of the frame. Boats of different lengths may be made without
incurring the whole expense of a complete frame by separating a frame or
apparatus in the middle, and introducing pieces of various lengths made up of
portions of keel and gunwale supporters, and a greater or less number of rib
supporters, and then attaching the whole together so as to make up an
.apparatus of greater size than the original one, and the grooves in the various
supporters may be of different sections than those described, so long as they
will perform, in conjunction with the screws or clamps or their equivalents, the
office of confining the various parts that make up the frame of a boat, each
on its own supporter. The Invention claimed by me is an apparatus substan-
tially such as is herein described for supporting and confining in proper relative
position the various parts that make up the frame of a small boat; and also
the supporting of such a frame in the manner specified, and the means as
specified in combination with such a frame for starting off the boat when
finished.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special licence that I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
SMALL BOATS," (a communication,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, 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 this Invention is to cheapen the construction of small boats
by reducing the time now required for building them, and at the same time
employing labor of a less expensive character; and the nature of the Invention
consists of a certain apparatus for sustaining and confining the parts that:
make up the frame of a small boat in the same relative position that they
occupy in the finished boat, and in certain useful accessories to such an
apparatus.
In the Sheets of Drawings accompanying and making part of this Speci-
fication, Figure 1, Sheet. I., is a side elevation of one half of the apparatus ;

page_text: Figure 2 is a bird's-eye view of the same; Figure 3 is a vertical cross section
through the apparatus and through a finished boat partially removed there-
from; Figure 4 is a front elevation of the apparatus; Figure 5 is a cross
section through the apparatus and a partly finished boat; Figure 6 is a cross.
section through the same in a different position; Figure 7 is a perspective
view of a partly finished boat upon the apparatus; and Figure 8 is an
elevation of a thumbscrew and washer. The same letters refer to the same.
parts in all the Figures.
The ordinary plan known to.me for constructing small boats is to set up a
keel with stem and stern posts attached upon the floor of the shop, then to
get out by eye, or according to drawings, one or more sets of ribs or timbers,
setting them up in place and attaching them to the keel, then to tack on
ribbons, bending and shaping them into place and proper curve, and holding
them by struts from the floor, and then to get out other timbers conforming to
the ribbons, shaping them properly by measurement and trial; the various
timbers are secured to the keel, and a gunwale or gunwale ribbon is fastened
to them, and the frame is ready for planking up. This method of building
requires skill, experience, and judgment, but by this present method and the
employment of the apparatus any person tolerably well skilled in working in
wood can construct a strong well shaped beat, it being understood that the
apparatus is of use only when several boats of the same model or pattern, or
nearly so, are to be constructed. In order to construct the apparatus, the
model and dimensions of the boats to be built are first to be determined upon,
as also the number of ribs and their location in the boat.
I then procure a
piece of metal of the length and curve of the desired keel and stem and stern
pieces, having in it a groove or cavity of the same cross section or nearly so
as those pieces, such piece of metal being shewn at a, a, a, in the Drawings,
and being provided with holes or slots in the bottom of the groove, such as are
represented at b, b, b; and to this piece I attach other pieces such as c, c, c,
having an L-shaped groove therein, the two sides of the L corresponding in
curvature with the top and inner sides of the gunwale of the boat to be built.
I then unite these gunwale supporters c, c, c, with the keel supporter a, a, by
means of rib supporters d, d, d, each of which has in it a groove corresponding
in cross section with the ribs of the boat to be built. These grooves are of the
same curvature as the ribs, and occupy relatively to each other the. same
position that the ribs of the finished boat are to hold. The sides of the grooves
in the keel piece are cut away where these rib supporters adjoin on to it, and
slots are to be cut in the bottom of the grooves of these rib supporters, as
plainly shewn in the Drawings. The frame or apparatus as a whole is to be

page_text: substantially such as is shewn in the Drawings for the purpose required or the
office it is to perform, and may be made of wood or of pieces of wrought iron
properly secured together, or of pieces of cast iron, or all cast in one piece.
I prefer to make it of cast iron, in sections united by proper bolts and flanges.
The edges of the grooves in the rib supporters, as at x, x, should be so shaped
and bevilled as to fit the inner side of the planking of the finished boat, except
where they adjoin the gunwale supporters, where they are gradually to taper
off till they die away into the bottom of the groove. The office of this frame.
is to support and sustain in proper relative positions the various parts that
make up the frame of a small boat, and its construction may be modified so
long as it will still serve this purpose when aided by screws or clamps to
confine the various parts in place; and upon such a frame boats may be built
in various ways; the plan I prefer is as follows:-I get out pieces of proper
length and cross section for all parts of the frame, including a sort of inner
gunwale, such as m, and bring them to the proper curvature, or nearly so,
steaming and bending them in the ordinary way known to mechanics being
the preferable plan. The gunwale pieces are then to be laid in the groove of
the gunwale supporters, and secured in place by screws, such as shown in,
Figure 8, passed through slots or holes provided for the purpose, or by
clamping to the supporter by ordinary screw clamps, the wood being bent
during the operation if necessary. The ribs are then to be taken in succession
and secured in their proper grooves, bent if necessary during the operation,
and held by screws passed through the slots into the wood, and having their
heads or washers resting against the inside of their, supporting pieces, or
clamps may be used for the purpose. The keel pieces are then to be laid
slightly bent if necessary, and secured in their sustaining groove, in a similar
manner, and the same operation is to be performed on the stem and stern
posts.
All parts of the frame may now be fastened to each other wherever
required by bolts, spikes, or rivetting, the various holes and slots through the
frame affording facilities for the purpose. When the frame is in place, the
ribs may, if necessary, be bevilled off, using the sides of the groove in which
they are confined as guides for that purpose; and when all parts are properly
confined in the relative position they are to occupy in the finished boat, the
frame may be planked up in any ordinary manner, the grooves and slots, as
before, permitting of the passage of the spikes or rivets, and also admitting of
the clinching of fastenings upon the frame on the inside of the ribs, gunwale,-
or keel. When the boat is planked, it may be caulked while still on the
frame, and is then to be removed and fitted with thwarts, knees, mast, steps,
and all or any of the usual accessories of small boats. In order to facilitate:

page_text: all these operations, I have mounted or supported the apparatus in a peculiar
manner, so that it may with ease be turned and held in various positions, and
have also provided the means for starting the boats off the frame after the
clamps or screws are removed. To support the apparatus, I attach to it a
strong cross of wood or metal, such as shewn at p, p, p; this cross is to be
entered between two posts or a slotted post such as q, firmly fastened to the
floor of the shop, and a bolt or pin such as r is to be inserted, passing through
the post and the cross in such a way that the whole apparatus may turn on
the bolts as on a binge. Two or more such crosses and bolts must be applied,
and care must be taken to locate the bolts in a horizontal line, passing through
the centre of gravity of the apparatus as a whole, or nearly so, thus per-
mitting the apparatus to be turned by the application of a small force. An
are of wood or metal, such as shown at s in the Drawings, and entering the
slot in the post, may also be fastened to the cross, and when provided with a
proper pinching screw, such as is shewn in the Drawings, it will serve to
steady the apparatus, and aid in confining it in any required position. Proper
benches or supports, such as t, t, are also to be provided for supporting the
edges to the frame at any desired height.
In order to start the boat, when finished, off the frame, I use screws such
as v, v, entering through the gunwale supporter, and with their ends resting
upon the gunwale of the boat itself, by turning such screws the boat may be
lifted free of the frame. Boats of different lengths may be made without
incurring the whole expense of a complete frame, by separating a frame or
apparatus in the middle, and introducing pieces of various lengths made up of
portions of keel and gunwale supporters, and a greater or less number of rib
supporters, and then attaching the whole together, so as to make up an
apparatus of greater size than the original one; and I have found by
practice that boats varying six feet in length may thus be built on the same
frame.
Sheet II. of the Drawings shows several views of an apparatus constructed
according to the Invention, but slightly modified from that before described.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of one half of the apparatus; Figure 2 is a plan
of the same; Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section of the apparatus, and
a boat partially removed from the same; Figure 4 is a front elevation of the
apparatus; Figure 5 is also a transverse section through the apparatus, with
a partially finished boat upon it; Figure 6 is a transverse section through the
same in a different position; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a partially
finished boat upon the apparatus; and Figure 8, an elevation of a broad
headed screw.

page_text: In order to proceed upon this plan, the size and shape or model of the
intended boat are, as before, first to be determined, as also the number of ribs
and their location in the boat. A number of pieces of wood or metal L shaped
in their section are then to be got out in such shape that each one of them
shall fit that part of a rib which is most remote from the planking, and also
one of the sides of the same rib, such pieces being shown at a, a, a, in the
Drawings; and I usually use two such pieces for each rib, as shewn at
ribs 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, the bottoms of the L's, if they may be so termed, being
separated, so that the two pieces may enclose on three sides the rib of a boat,
except on a narrow strip along the centre of the surface which is most remote
from the planking. These pieces are then to be firmly attached to two stout
pieces of wood or metal, such as b, b, the outer sides of which are to be flush
with the bottoms of the L's, and their general shape and curvature is to
conform to the inner side of the gunwale of the finished boat. These pieces
are to be fastened together at each end of the boat if she be sharp sterned, and
so shaped as to make a notch, as at c, to receive and hold in position the stem
and stern posts; if the boat is to have a square stern, these pieces are to
project slightly behind the last or sternmost pair of rib supporters, and may,
if desired, be united by another piece leading from the end of one to that of
the other. One of the sides of the rib supporters is to be continued down over
the gunwale pieces of the frame, as shown at d, d, d; and I at times, along the
middle of the boat, carry up one or the other of the sides above the height
necessary, to afford sufficient depth for the reception of the rib, such projection
being shewn at e, e, e, but when the frame is finished one or both of the outer
surfaces of the rib pieces corresponds with the inner surfaces of the planking
of the finished boat in the vicinity of that rib, both in vertical and horizontal
curvature. In the immediate vicinity of each rib piece or supporter I
usually cut a slot through the gunwale pieces, as shown at f, f, f. 9, 9, are
crosses of wood or metal, used to support the frame in the manner already
described.
In constructing a boat, I first get out by proper machinery pieces of proper
Jength and cross section for all the ribs, both the midship timbers and the
cants or cant timbers near the bow and stern; one end of each of these pieces
is then to be secured to the bottom of its appropriate rib supporter, and near
the gunwale of the boat, by driving a wedge or wedges into the slots f, f, so as
to clasp the timber between the wedges and the sides d, d, d. The timber
which has been sufficiently steamed, in a way well known to boat builders, is
then to be bent down into the trough formed by the two L's being secured at
proper intervals, either by clamps or broad-headed screws passed through the

page_text: slits or openings between the two L's from the inside of the frame, and secured
into the timbers. If the timber be a midship one, this bending is to be
continued till the timber reaches the opposite gunwale, where it may be
secured by a wedge as the other end was secured. The bending may be
aided, and the wood prevented from breaking, by using a flat linked chain,
. or a thin plate of metal kept in close contact with the convex side of the rib.
The cant ribs or timbers are to be treated in the same way, but are to be
bent in two pieces from each gunwale towards the keel, and to be secured on
each side thereof. When all the ribs are secured, their outer or convex
· surfaces may, if necessary, be bevilled, using the convex surfaces of the L's as
a guide, they, as before stated, being shaped to conform to the inner contour
of the planking; and all the ribs in a boat may be in more pieces than one,
like the cant ribs, or all of them may extend from gunwale to gunwale,
provided the boat be properly modelled, or provided chock pieces of proper
shape, now to be described, as sometimes used with a part of the timbers, are
used with all of them. These chock pieces are shewn at m, m; they are to
fit on top of the ribs (the boat being upside down), and their upper surfaces
are to conform to the upper surfaces of the projecting portions e, e, of the rib
supporters. The chocks have between them a space sufficient to receive the
keel of the boat, and are used in order to save bending the ribs to difficult
These chock pieces are to be secured in place by tacking them to
the ribs, or by clamps. By examination of the Drawings at the points 0, 0, 0,
it will be perceived that the rib supporters or one side of them are notched
down all along the centre of the bottom of the boat, these notches being so
deep that the keel shall lie on top of those ribs which extend from gunwale to
gunwale, and shall pass down between the cant ribs. These notches, with
those at c, c, form the supports for the keel, stern, and stern pieces, and into
them one or more pieces of wood, properly bent or worked into shape and
secured together, are now to be dropped, and, if the boat has a square stern,
it is to be bolted on to the stern piece; the keel will then rest in proper
place on top of the continuous ribs, and between the chocks and between the
ends of the cant ribs. All the ribs are now bolted to the keel by bolts passing
through the continuous slots between the L's, or at the heels of the cants, by
bolts passing through both heels and the keel. The frame is now ready for
planking; and this planking I usually shape according to patterns by proper
wood cutting machinery, giving it the proper curves, winds, and bevels; but
it may be got out by band. The planking is to be held in place in the usual
way at one end, by spiking or rivetting to the stem or stern, and as it is bent
to place is to be secured to each rib by bolts, spikes, nails, or rivets, the slots
⚫ curves.

page_text: in the L's affording facility for driving, clinching, or rivetting, as may be
required. Where the garboard streak crosses the chocks, long bolts or spikes
should be driven through that streak as well as through the chocks and
timbers. When the boat is planked up as high as the gunwale streak, the
wedges in the slots f, f, may be knocked out, and the ribs, keel, planking, &c.,
in fact the whole shell of the boat lifted off the frame. This shell is then to
be. fitted in the usual way, with gunwales and gunwale streaks, thwarts, knees,
breast hooks, and all that may be necessary to complete it into a boat. As
all the boats built on one frame will be of necessity exactly alike, these fittings
may be got out by machinery to previously prepared patterns. Other modes
of securing the ends of the ribs may be employed in place of the wedges,
and the rib supporters may be varied in cross section, so long as they will
serve the desired purpose, viz., as moulds for the ribs, or as supporters in
proper relative position of the ribs and keel, and are also so formed that
planking may be fastened securely to the ribs while the latter are in place in
their supporters. By using the chocks a very deep keel may be employed,
without increasing the draft of water of the boat, as part thereof will be
inside of the boat, and serve, in fact, as a keelson, thus giving great strength
to the whole fabric.
The Invention claimed by me is an apparatus substantially such as is herein
described, for supporting and confining in proper relative position the various
parts that make up the frame of a small boat, and also the supporting of
such a frame in the manner specified, and the means, as shown at Sheet I.
of the Drawings, in combination with such a frame for starting off the boat
when finished.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight
Witness,
GEO. PITT.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.S.)