IMPROVEMENTS IN PADDLE PROPELLERS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Jones Aston, of 13, Pembroke Gardens,
Kensington, in the County of Middlesex, and of the Middle Temple,
Barrister-at-Law, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PADDLE
PROPELLERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Jones Aston
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th April 1875.
I, JAMES JONES ASTON, of 13, Pembroke Gardens, Kensington, in the
County of Middlesex, and of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PADDLE PROPELLERS," to be as follows:-
My said Invention relates to propelling ships, boats, and other vessels
on the water by improved combinations of paddle propellers or paddle
wheels. They are improvements upon my improved paddle wheels

page_text: described in my Specification filed in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th day of August, A.D. 1873, pursuant to Her Majesty's Letters
Patent granted to me and dated the 18th day of February, A.D. 1873,
No. 598, for certain other "Improvements in Paddle Propellers." I now
use very much narrower and more numerous blades or paddles than
those described in my said Specification.
As an experiment I recently altered a steamboat of the following
dimensions, 120 feet in length, 17 feet beam, & draught of water 4 feet,
to the following combination of my improved blades or paddles in each
of her two wheels, viz., 24 metal paddles or blades, each paddle only 7
inches wide but 3 feet deep, instead of 24 common wooden floats 4 feet
6 inches wide and one foot deep.
My improved combination gave an increased speed of 10 miles an
hour as against her old speed of 73 miles an hour out of about the same
number of revolutions. A very great reduction may now be made in
the width of her paddle boxes, and this alone would constituto a very
great improvement.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Jones Aston in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
JONES ASTON, of 13, Pembroke Gardens, Kensington, in the County of
Middlesex, and of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said James Jones Aston, Her
special licence that I, the said James Jones Aston, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Jones
Aston, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time.
agrec with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter

page_text: 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 PADDLE PROPELLERS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Jones Aston, my exccutors or admini-
strators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 James Jones Aston, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters, words, and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :--
The nature of my said Invention relates to propelling ships, boats,
and other vessels on or through the water by improved combinations of
paddle propellers or paddle wheels.
My said Invention consists of improvements upon my improved paddle
wheels described in my Specification filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th day of August, A.D. 1873, pursuant to Her Majesty's
Letters Patent granted to me and dated the 18th day of February, A.D.
1873, No. 598, for certain other improvements in paddle propellers.
I now combine or use in my improved paddle wheels very much
narrower and more numerous blades or paddles than those described in
my said Specification.
I made the following combination of paddles into each paddle wheel
for a vessel of 17 feet beam and 120 feet in length, with a draught of
4 feet, viz., I put into each wheel 24 metal blades or paddles, each blade
or paddle only 7 inches wide but 3 feet in depth, and made out of flat
metal one quarter of an inch in thickness, and supported or strengthened
at their backs by angle iron; the diameter of each of my improved
paddle wheels was 15 feet, and they were immersed 3 feet, and I placed
them about 4 feet from her sides, and they were a great improvement

page_text: upon the old common paddle wheels formerly in use upon this vessel,
and enabled her to develope with about the same revolutions of her
engines a speed of about 10 miles an hour through the water, her old
speed with her old paddle wheels was about 7%, miles an hour. The old
paddle wheels on this vessel were 24 common wooden floats in eacli
wheel, each float 4 feet 6 inches in width or length and 1 foot broad
or deep, and the outside diameter of the wheels was 13 fect, every other
float being reefed about nine inches up to an inner ring, and the wheels
being immersed 2 feet.
Fig. 1 in the said Sheet of Drawings shows the immersed midship
section of a vessel 16 feet beam, and also shows 4 of my improved
paddles; Fig. 2 sliews a side elevation of my improved combination of
paddles, viz., 24, for this vessel combined into one paddle wheel 14 feet
in diameter; a similar wheel is to be placed on each side of the vessel.
It will be observed from Figure 1. that the form of my blades is narrow
and deep, they are as deep as the immersion of the wheel. I do not
claim the mere form of them as novel, though I do claim that relatively
to the width of the beam of each vessel paddles so narrow as I now use
them were never used in a combination as paddle wheels and placed as
I placed them before. I found out that they were as effectual as they
are for the propulsion of vessels when properly placed.
My improved paddle wheels are applicable to vessels of all sizes, and
my blades or paddles are relatively to the width of the beam of cach
vessel to which they are applied always very narrow, especially when
immersed to the depth of the immersion of the vessel like the said Fig. 1. 1
In Fig. 1 the width is 8 inches, and other vessels when fitted with my
improved blades may have their width regulated with reference to the
said Fig. 1, and have the width of their blades increased or diminished,
having regard to the said Fig. 1 and the width of their respective
beams.
The number and the width of my blades may vary, but I prefer that
the blades should always be kept very narrow, and that they should
always be very numerous.
To illustrate the importance of keeping the blades narrow and
numerous I may mention that I tried in the first above mentioned boat
the following combination of iron paddle blades :-I put cight blades into

page_text: cach of her two wheels, each blade representing as nearly as was practicable
the area of 3 of the blades first above described, and the result was to
reduce the speed of this vessel from about 10 miles an hour to about
8 miles an hour.
I prefer to immerse my improved paddle wheels as nearly as is
practicable to the depth of the immersion of the vessel when not
so immersed, the width of my paddles in my improved paddle wheels
should be increased in width sufficiently to get a resistance to each blade
as it revolves equal to what a blade would meet with if immersed to the
depth of the vessel like the said Fig. 1.
* I combine and place my improved paddle wheels with regard to the
vessel so that they shall work at a considerable distance from the sides
of the vessel, this distance should be sufficient to make any disturbance,
motion, or run of the water caused by the revolving paddle wheels as
far as is reasonably practicable run clear of the sides of the vessel.
The distance between the vessel and the inner sides of my improved
paddle wheels will be a much greater distance than the distance between
vessels and the inner sides of old paddle wheels. In a vessel fitted like
the said Figs. 1 and 2 I prefer that this distance should be at least as
great as the immersion of the wheels, and this distance should, where
practicable, be still more considerable when the wheels are not immersed
to the depth of the immersion of the vessel.
I fitted a yacht 182 feet in length by 20 fect in beam, draught 6 feet,
diameter of wheels 17 feet, and immersion of wheels about 3 feet, with
my improved paddle wheels, and I placed them upon the outermost
rings of her old paddle wheels, and the inner sides of my improved
paddle wheels were placed about 7 feet from the sides of the yacht.
I claim the combination of my improved paddle wheels with vessels,
with such great distance between the sides of vessels and the inner sides
of my improved paddle wheels as a great improvement and novel; and
to illustrate its importance I may mention that I gained about a mile
an hour in speed on the first above mentioned boat by placing my
improved paddle wheels at the distance above mentioned from the said
boat, instead of at a distance from the said boat of about 14 inches, the
distance at which I first tried them; but even at this distance they were
a great improvement upon her old paddle wheels.

page_text: For twin ships with paddle wheels between them my improved wheels
should be kept as far as is reasonably practicable from the inner sides of
cach vessel.
When the paddle shaft is placed so near to the stern of the vessel that
the disturbance caused by the revolving wheels runs clear of the vessel
my improved paddle wheels may be brought quite near to the sides of
the vessel, and this will I believe be a combination useful for seagoing
vessels and for vessels for canals. I claim this combination as novel,
and expect that when thus placed they will ultimately supersede the
screw. In a launch, with my improved paddle wheels thus placed, I 1
have got good results. She is 33 feet in length and her beam about 5
feet 3 inches, and her inproved paddle wheels had in each wheel 16
blades, each blade being 2 inches in width.
My improved paddle should be always made of iron or steel, or other
suitable metal, and should never be made of wood, though I do not 1
claim the making of paddles of metal as being in itself novel.
My improved paddle wheels should be applied or fitted to a paddle
shaft, and I prefer to so apply or fit them without putting any rings
round their outer ends, see the said Fig. 2, though I do not claim the
disuse of such rings as being in itself novel, and where it is necessary 2
or desirable for strength I use such outer rings.
My improved paddle wheels should be made of sufficient strength,
and should be strongly mounted and secured upon the paddle shaft, and
should be caused to revolve by suitable power to propel vessels.
My improved paddle propellers or paddle wheels will give better 2
results than hitherto, and will disturb and lift much less water than
paddle wheels hitherto used; they will also require paddle boxes of much
less width.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I 3
state that I claim as novel the propulsion of ships, boats, and other
vessels, on or through the water by means of my improved narrow
blades or paddles combined into paddle propellers or paddle wheels, and
combined with or placed upon vessels, as herein-before described; and
I declare that the Invention I desire to have secured to me consists of 3

page_text: the manufacture and use of the same for propelling ships, boats, and
other vessels on or through the water, substantially as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Jones Aston, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-first day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five.
Witness,
0
T. MORGAN,
Secretary,
JAMES JONES ASTON. (L.S.)
Inventor's Patent Right Association, Limited,
21, Cockspur Street,
S. W.