IMPROVEMENTS IN BUILDING SHIPS, STEAM VESSELS, AND BOATS, AND ALSO IN THE BUILDING OF CANAL AND RIVER BARGES AND LIGHTERS
Year: 1837

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
POAD DRAKE, of Arundel Street, in the Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
Artist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Greal Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Nineteenth day of July, in the first year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Poad Drake, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said John Poad Drake, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Poad Drake, my exors, adñiors, 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, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUILDING SHIPS,
STEAM VESSELS, AND BOATS, AND ALSO IN THE BUILDING OF CANAL AND RIVER
BARGES AND LIGHTERS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
that I, the said John Poad Drake, 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 Her 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 there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Poad Drake, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
Whilst men of scientific attainments in naval architecture have directed
their attention to the improvement of ships of the largest class, one of the
most useful and extensive branches of commercial interest, (vessels navigating
rivers and canals,) seems to have been neglected, and allowed to remain in the
same crude state of construction in which they were first built, without any
change of sufficient importance to insure its general adoption. It is true that
some attempts to improve this important class of vessels have been made by
building them with board, from three to seven or more thicknesses; but
the disadvantages of decay, consequent to material so confined as a great por-
tion of that used in such construction must of necessity be, coupled with the
difficulty of repairing, has prevented the mode (from making that progress it
otherwise might, notwithstanding its elasticity, strength, and lightness have
been generally admitted as superior to the common or ordinary way in which
they are now built.
Had the constractors of the modes alluded to made themselves acquainted
with the principles on which these plans rest they must have seen there was
not the slightest necessity for constructing vessels with more than two thick-
nesses; in fact, it could not have failed to strike them, on further investigation,
that less than two thicknesses would answer every purpose, and the important
advantage of a (free admission of air, so essential to durability, effectually
secured.
Although the double-boarded systems which have already been patented
'possess to a certain extent the advantages of those plans of which I am the
author, such advantages may be considered more as a matter of accident than
'otherwise, as neither of the two individuals (Annesley and Fouche), whose
Patents have expired, seem to have had any other idea than that of super-
'seding thick timber in the construction of those vessels which come within the
reach of their improvements. This I state from a fact of being personally
(acquainted with one of the Patentees while residing in America, and from
holding in my possession an authenticated copy of the manuscript lodged in
the Patent Office in Paris by the other, as well as having read distinctly the
declaration of the former subsequent to my knowing him, and in which

page_text: declaration no allusion whatever is made to the principles on which I base
the merits of those plans, for I claim a right to Patent:
Having departed at any early age from the common mode of building in
which I had been educated as a naval architect, I conceived that instead of
5 quantity and quality, which, as a shipbuilder, I had been taught to depend
p on for strength, a judicious application of material on the principles of the
arch or truss would be more effective; but, like most who have preceded me in
improvements, I confined my studies more particularly to ships of bulk, and it
was not until after I had the mortification of seeing my plans adopted in that
class of ships which first commanded my attention, and that without the power
of redress on my part, not having protected myself by Patent against the
authorities to whose inspection I had been induced in confidence to submit
my improvements, did I think of pursuing the subject, and carrying those
principles into operation in that neglected portion of vessels I now seek to
improve.
To those vessels, such as barges and canal boats, in which the principles of
the pri have not been applied, I claim the right of its application; and in all
others where the principles have been already introduced and the advantages
proved, I hold that I have no further claim than being protected by Patent
for the precise way in which I have applied those principles, as distinct from
that before in practice. To blend economy and simplicity with utility, has
been the object sought, and it will be seen upon examining these Drawings
that barges, vessels, and boats of every description for the navigation of rivers,.
canals, and sea purposes, may be built with less material than now used, and
that these plans combine strength, economy, and lightness to a greater degree
than the ordinary way in which they have yet been constructed; either with
thick timber or with boards, as explained in the former part of this statement;
stronger, because the form will not be so liable, and because the stress is
thrown on to the fibre instead of across the grain of the wood, and all wood
is found to be stronger when acted upon by tension or compression than in a
lateral direction; cheaper, because it will take less and not such expensive
material, at least fifteen per cent. less, than the common mode of building;
lighter, because a less quantity will be required in the new than in the ordinary
way of building.
No. 1, Old Plan.-The object of introducing this plan of the old mode of
building is to explain more fully the nature and advantages of the plans pro-
posed; the material throughout being placed at right angles cannot possibly
possess the advantages which will be found in the various designs that follow,

page_text: nor is there a single instance of the knowledge of the author, where such ad-
vantages as he proposes are to be found in the construction of barges and
canal boats navigating the rivers or canals of Great Britain or any other
country; those slight advantages spoken of in the plans of Annesley and Fouche
having fallen to the ground by the discontinuance of the few boats built on
the Continent on their plans, in consequence of the objections before men-
tioned. A, side over which the plank is placed horizontally; B, half the
breadth of the bottom, planked in the same way as the sides D; section E,
the way in which the side and bottom timbers are secured together.
No. 2, Radiated Plan.-In this plan the inside timbers may be made of
thick or thin material, the same thickness as the outside plank, and brought to
its shape by the same process as is generally used in building; to be radiated
from twenty to seventy-five inclusive degrees, and planked outside in a longi-
tudinal direction, the radia to begin from below or above, as expressed by A
and B; D, the bottom, in which the timbers or cross plank inside are placed
at right angles with the plank on the outside, which plank is to run in a
longitudinal direction; the inside bottom or ceiling to run diagonally, changing
its position each side the outer longitudinal plank; the outside bottom may
be made of two thicknesses, diagonally is preferred; E, section truss, to be
introduced at the partitions to prevent an alteration in form and to protect
the sides from injury to which they are liable in a lateral direction; F, inside
framing of the sides, between which ceiling or inside lining may be intro-
duced, if required. The radiated principle is applicable to every description of
ship, boat, or vessel.
No. 2 The only distinction between this and the other plan, No. 2, is
that the inside material is fixed at the angle of sixty-five degrees, the thickness
to be the same as the other place.
No. 3, Diagonal Plan.-In this plan the bottom and sides are made of
two thicknesses diagonally, as near the angle forty-five degrees as possible
The partitions and deck to be made the same as the bottom and sides. A
section plan; B, sides; D, half the breadth or ground plan, together with the
bottom, &c; E, section without partition; F, section with partition; H, inside
framing of sides.
No. 3*, Open Diagonal.-The distinction between this and the other, marked
3, is that the boards inside are not close, a space of one-third their breadt
allowed between them; the material throughout to be the same as plan No. 2
No. 4, Trussed Plan.-In this plan, instead of timbers at right angles wit
the plank, a truss framing is to be introduced, as expressed in the Drawing

page_text: the same thickness as the plank outside, which is to run in a longitudinal:
direction, or the barge may be built with two thicknesses of half the substance
each longitudinally and perpendicularly. A, section framing, over which the.
partitions may the placed, either perpendicularly or horizontally; B, side;
C, the way in which the outside planking is to be tongued together or rab-
bitted; D, half the breadth of the bottom.
No. 5, Trussed Plan with Iron.-In this plan the timbers are superseded
by an iron truss, to be introduced inside the outside plank, to run both in the
bottom and sides longitudinally. A, section describing the edge of the truss;
B, sketch of part of the side; the bottom to be built the same as the sides.
An iron radiated principle may be introduced instead of wood, and iron. boats
may be built stronger by its use than the way in which they are now built at
right angles; C, iron screw, by which the truss is fastened to the plank; D,
the way in which the plank is to be tongued together; E, a plan for steering
with a sweep instead of a rudder, as now used; F, a plan for trussing the rudder
of river craft, by which the stress on the part will be relieved and its action
made easier. Instead of metal, the fastening generally to be made of wood,
which will be more durable, lighter, and easier to repair than if made of iron,
&c. The objections to fastening wood with metal are perfectly understood by
those who have had much experience in shipbuilding in particular, con-
sequently to them much need not be said on the subject to convince them of
the superiority of the patent plans over the ordinary mode; in fact, the house
carpenter, joiner, millwright, and others in the practice of fastening with metal
will at once see its superiority for most purposes to which it can be applied,
particularly in floors, decks of ships, and vessels, where it will be found no less
serviceable than in those parts expressed by the Drawings. G, sketch of the
edge of two thicknesses, to be secured by a screw entire or in part, as ex-
pressed by the Drawing, or by a dovetailed pin or treenail; H, head of the
in; I, point of the pin, to be split as expressed, and wedged or caulked to
make it the size of the whole; K, dovetailed pin; L, screw pin; M, sketch
of the way in which the board is to be fastened together; N, instrument for
naking the hole for the dovetailed treenail; O, instrument for making the
ole into which the wood screw is to be introduced; P, instrument for turning
he screw into the plank or timber; Q, sketch of a treenail for ships in general,
or fastening the plank to the timber, superior to the parallel treenail now in
se. The dovetailed treenail for fastening thick timber together is to be
nade parallel the whole thickness of the timber in ships, and dovetailed only
or the thickness of the plank. The advantages of this form over that of the
rdinary treenail is sufficiently obvious, inasmuch as a bolt or nail with a head

page_text: and rivet is superior to one without either for holding material together, the
common treenail becoming slack by shrinkage, consequently useless in that.
respect; and it is not an uncommon result for treenails of the ordinary form
to start from their holding, and ships founder in consequence; whereas this will
be found to hold well at all times, its form being quite sufficient to overcome
all such objections; nor are its advantages confined to holding, as its durability
is more certain than the common treenail, the compression which takes place
in driving rendering it more impervious to water, which the shrinkage in the
parallel cylindrical treenail makes it much more liable to than the one above
described.
No. 6, various Designs for the Improvement of River and Canal Boats in
general. A, inside view of the side of a barge built with two thicknesses
diagonally; B, inside view of the bottom, descriptive of two modes of fitting;
C, section; D, the way in which the beams are to be secured to the side; E,
different plans for attaching the sides to the bottom of open and division
barges; F, sketches of the inside framing of the sides and bottom.
No. 7, Plans for Decks of Barges and other Craft and Ships, calculated to
resist lateral Shocks, &c.-A, sketch of the beams and deck framing, over
which the plank is run in a a fore-and-aft direction; B, sketches of parts of
the side beams and desk; A*, plan for making the deck with two thicknesses
diagonally.
No. 8, Plan for Building Boats, Steam Boats, and Vessels of every Descrip-
tion with Keels and Circular Bottoms with Board Plank or thick Timber.-
A, side of a boat on the radiated principle, the outside board to run in a
longitudinal direction; B, sketch of the inside; C, side of a boat, the outside
board to run in a longitudinal or diagonal direction; if the board is placed
lengthways, there will be no necessity for the iron bands; D, inside view of
the bottom; E, outside view of the bottom; F, section; G, sketches of the
keel, dead wood, and part of the sides, &c.
No. 9, Designs for Building Vessels with Board instead of Compass Timber
-A, sketch of the inside, from the deck to the keelson. The outside plank may
be placed longitudinally or diagonally; if in a longitudinal direction, the inside
framing may be trussed, as expressed in black ink*; B, various ways by which
the sides are to be attached to the keel, &c.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Poad Drake, have hereunto sc
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of January, in the year o
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
JOHN POAD (L.S.)
RAKE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of January, in
the
year of our Lord 1838, the aforesaid John Poad Drake came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.