CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING BOATS, SHIFE, OR OTHER FLOATING BODIES
Year: 1835

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BUSK, of Bankside, Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of July, in the sixth year of His reign, did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Busk, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said William Busk, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Busk, my exors, adññiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His
said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING BOATS, SHIFE, OR OTHER FLOATING BODIES;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William Busk,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Busk, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascertained in
and by the following description thereof, reference being had to the Draw-

page_text: ing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon (that is
to say):
:-
It is well known that water contained in a vessel has a tendency to drive
out the sides of or burst such vessel by pressure in every direction in propor-
tion to the perpendicular height at which the water stands, and it is also well
understood that if an opening be made at any portion of the vessel, the pres-
sure on that part will be relieved by the flowing of the water therefrom. At
the same time the pressure in other directions remains the same so long as the
head of the water is maintained at one water line, and it will readily be under-
stood that if the vessel were free to move, and had no opposing force greater
than the unbalanced internal pressure, the pressure on the side of the vessel
opposite to the opening would cause the vessel to move in a direction
opposite to the opening, such action resembling in principle the working of
the hydraulic machine called "Barker's Mill." Now, the object of my Inven-
tion is to apply the principle, subject to a certain law hereafter described with
respect to the altitudes of the head of water, aided by requisite mechanical
means, to the propelling of boats, ships, or other floating bodies.
a
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 a plan, of a boat or vessel having
my Invention applied thereto. Figure 3 is a section of the tank and troughs
separately. In each of these Figures the same letters indicate similar parts,
being a tank or vessel which may be situated in any convenient part of the
boat or vessel or other floating body. This tank is to be kept constantly
supplied with water by a steam engine or by other power on board the boat.
b, b, are two trunks leading from the tank a, and may be said to form part of
such tank. These trunks 6 protrude over the sides of the boat, ship, or other
floating body, as is clearly shown in the Drawing. c, c, and d, d, are sluice
gates or valves capable of being opened or closed, as is clearly shewn in the
Drawing, for the purpose hereafter described, and which are preferred to dis-
charge their water above the water line of floatation. Now, it will be evident
that if the tank a be filled with water to any particular water line, the same
will press against the sluice gates or valves c, c, and d, d, in proportion to the
height of the column of water in the tank; and it follows, that if the head of
water be kept to rather more than one foot, the lower portion of the sluice
gates or valves c, d, will be pressed on with a force of about half a pound to
the square inch; therefore, if the two valves or sluice gates c were to be raised
onc inch, and each sluice gate or valve were twenty-four inches wide, there
would be, by the opening of those two sluice gates, a relieving of the pressure

page_text: of forty-eight square inches, equal to nearly twenty-four pounds (supposing
the same head of water is constantly maintained) in the tank a. By this
means it will readily become evident that the pressure on the sluice gates or
valves & remaining the same, such pressure will exceed by twenty-four pounds
the amount of pressure on the sluice gates or valves c, and the boat or vessel
will be forced forwards by a power equal to twenty-four pounds. If the gates
or valves c be raised two inches, the excess of pressure on the valves d over
that on the valve c would be greatly encreased, but would not be double that
of the first opening unless the head of water were increased. If it be desired
to obtain stern way to the boat, ship, or other vessel to which my Invention
may be applied, the sluice valves or gates c must be closed, and the sluice
valves or gates d are to be opened, whereby the pressure of the water would
be on the sluice valves c, the pressure being relieved at the sluice valves or
gates d, the boat, ship, or other floating body will be propelled sternways, that
is, in an opposite direction to that first described. From the foregoing descrip-
tion it will readily be understood that, by working the sluice gates on either
side of the vessel, so that there is a preponderance of pressure on one side of
the vessel, in the event of the rudder being carried away the vessel may be
steered as well as propelled by the head of water; and it is highly important
to remark that, in order to apply such principle to obtain the most beneficial
effect with a given quantity of power employed on board for raising the water, it is
necessary so to arrange and combine the mechanical apparatus or means in such
manner as to keep down the height of the head of water to the lowest practical
working level. According to the ordinary calculations in use a horse power
is said to be equal to thirty-three thousand pounds raised one foot higher per
minute, which, in water, will be nearly five hundred and fifty cubic feet. Now,
the propelling effect produced to the boat, ship, or other floating body by a
quantity of water equal to each horse power employed for raising the water,
will materially depend on the height at which the constant head is to be kept
in the tank a; for it is well known that any sized opening under the pressure
of one foot head will only produce a flow of water equal to about one half of
what the flow would be at four-fect head, and so on for greater altitudes. If,
therefore, the constant level be kept equal to one foot, then there would be a
constant unbalanced pressure of about half a pound on each square inch of
the dimensions of the openings, and in an opposite direction to such opening.
If, however, the head were kept at a four-feet level, the same-sized opening
would emit about double the quantity of water within a given time at an
unbalanced pressure of two pounds on each square inch of the opening, and in
an opposite direction to the opening; but it will be evident that, notwithstand-

page_text: ing the pressure is increased fourfold by the using the four-feet head in place
of the one-foot head, as above described, there will be the disadvantage that a
given quantity of power employed in raising the water to a four-foot head will
only produce an effective power for propelling the boat of half what it would
be if the water were raised to a one-foot head. This will become more evident
by supposing that a given quantity, say, five hundred and fifty feet of water per
minute would be emitted from the openings at the sluice gates at one-foot head.
This would give a constant pressure of half a pound for each square inch of the
opening, and the quantity of power required would be one-horse power to keep
up the supply. The same opening at a four-feet head would discharge this
quantity of water at each half minute; therefore, in order to maintain the
supply of water to a tank of water with a four-feet head, twice the quantity,
or one thousand one hundred cubic feet of water per minute, would be required
to be supplied, which would be equal to eight horses power when raised four
feet, yet this quantity at this head would only give a constant unbalanced
pressure, as above stated, of two pounds for each square inch in a direction
opposite to the opening; therefore, to sustain the fourfold pressure required,
The
eight times the power is necessary to raise the requisite supply of water.
necessity of keeping down the working head of water, in order to obtain the
fullest effect from the power applied to raise the water, will now be evident;
and I have thought it desirable thus to go at length into this part of the
application of the principal to the purposes of propelling boats, ships, and
other floating bodies, as it is the application by mechanical means or apparatus
of the principle of the pressure of water, subject to this property of regulating
or keeping down the working head of water, which constitutes the main feature
of my Invention.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention I would remark that I
have not thought it necessary to show a steam or other engine in the boat, in
order to avoid complexity; but the same or other requisite means for keeping
up the desired head of water will be readily applied by an engineer; and I
would also remark that I am aware that various descriptions of machinery
have been heretofore tried for forcing water from a ship or vessel in order to
propel the same; but the difference in principle, as well as in action, to that
above described, will readily be evident when it is borne in mind that the
pressure or force used by me in propelling boats, ships, or other floating bodies
is that portion of the pressure of a column of water which is left unbalanced,
and subject to the law of reduced heads or altitudes, as above described, whilst
in those instances above referred to the propelling effort is obtained by forcing
water by pumps, or forcing machinery against water.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my Invention, and having shown a
mechanical arrangement suitable for applying the principle of unbalanced
pressure of a head of water, subject to the law of reduced heads or altitutes,
as above described, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the use of the precise arrangement of mechanical apparatus or instruments
shown and described, as they may in some degree be varied, keeping in mind
the necessity of the capability of changing the direction of the pressure in
order to obtain stem or stern way, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Busk, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.
W (L.B.) BUSK.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of January, in the
year of our Lord 1836, the aforesaid William Busk came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-