IMPROVEMENTS IN " to be APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING BOATS, CANOES AND THE LIKE
Year: 1884

page_text: I JOHN BRAMALL of 18 Ballantine Street in the county of Surrey, Mechanical
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
" to be
APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING BOATS, CANOES AND THE LIKE
as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in boats, canoes and the like whereby
they can be propelled and steered on land or water.
In carrying out the invention I apply to the sides of the boat, canoe or the like
wheels of such a diameter or so arranged that they will reach below the outside
bottom of the boat or canoe to a distance suitable to the purpose for which they
are required. The periphery of the wheels are also adapted to allow of the boat
being propelled on land. The said wheels are of suitable construction so that
when used for propelling on the water they serve as paddle wheels. For this
purpose the spokes of the wheels may be made sufficiently broad to form floats or
paddles which are placed featherwise; or the floats can be attached to the spokes
of the wheels. For steering the boat I employ a rudder consisting of a solid wheel
in a trailing fork. The paddle wheels are propelled by axles having cranks or
levers for hand or foot, or both cranks and levers may be employed; the axles of
the paddle wheels are fitted to the gunwale of the boat in suitable bearings and a°
bearing is also provided in the middle of the boat, or one part of the axle may be
made hollow to form a sleeve or bearing for the other half or a coupling bearing
may be employed in order to allow of an independent or a coupled action being
given to the paddle wheels; the said coupling consists of a sleeve which receives
the ends of the shafts of the two wheels the said ends being formed with a
circumferential groove or key way in which enter keys passing through the said
coupling; the axle is held in or out of gear by means of a collar on each end taking
into a notch in a feather formed on the axle on which feather the collar runs to
keep the clutch in gear the said collar being turned past the end of the feather to
put the clutch out of gear.
The axle of the paddle wheels may be cranked down into the hollow of the boat
and the paddle wheels work loose on the axle; in this case the part of the axle
going through the wheel is made hollow to receive a spindle; the said spindle is
attached to the outside of the hub of the wheel the other end carrying a crank for

page_text: hand or foot or both, or the spindle or wheels may be driven by suitable gearing
or other means and the outer ends of the axle may also be cranked to allow of the
axle being moved so as to raise or lower the wheels according as to whether the
boat is to be propelled on water or land.
For assisting to operate the paddle wheels in life boats or army or navy boats,
by the side of each pedal on the crank a link or ring can be fitted or a drum or
pulley can be fitted to the above named coupling bearing with ratchet gear the
said pulley or drum having an eye or ring to which I attach two ropes one leading
to the bows and the other to the stern of the boat; the bow rope is passed over
the top of the drum once round and the stern rope underneath the drum round to
the eye or ring the said ropes being provided at proper distances (according to the
distances of the seats in the boat) with cross bars which will allow of some or all
of the occupants of the boat assisting in propelling the boat against a rapid stream,
wind or tide, the said ropes will also be available for assisting in drawing the boat
on a rough beach or road by being attached to rings or eyes in the side of the
boat,
It will be readily understood that a boat or the like provided with the herein-
before described improvements can be propelled and steered as well on land as on
water.
G. F. REDFERN,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I JOHN BRAMALL, of 18, Ballantine Street, in the county of Surrey, Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING BOATS, CANOES AND THE LIKE
"
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention relates to improvements in boats, canoes and the like whereby.
they can be propelled and steered on land or water.
In carrying out the invention I apply to the sides of the boat, canoe or the
like, wheels of such a diameter or so arranged that they will reach below the
outside bottom of the boat or canoe to a distance suitable to the purpose for which
they are required. The peripheries of the wheels are also adapted to allow of the
boat being propelled on land. The said wheels are of suitable construction so that;
when used for propelling on the water, they serve as paddle wheels. For this

page_text: c
purpose the spokes or some of the spokes of the wheels may be made sufficiently
broad to form floats or paddles which are placed featherwise, or the floats can be
attached to the spokes of the wheels. For steering the boat I employ a rudder
consisting of a solid or plain wheel in a trailing fork. The paddle wheels are pro-
pelled by axles having cranks or levers for hand or foot, or both cranks and levers
may be employed; the axles of the paddle wheels are fitted to the gunwale of the
boat in suitable bearings, and a bearing is also provided in the middle of the boat,
or one or more parts of the axle may be made hollow to form a sleeve or bearing
for the other half or parts, or a coupling bearing may be employed in order to
allow of an independent or a coupled action being given to the paddle wheels; the
said coupling consists of a sleeve which receives the ends of the shafts of the two
wheels, the said ends being formed with a circumferential groove or keyway in
which enter keys passing through the said coupling; the axle is held in or out of
gear by means of a collar on each end taking into a notch in a feather formed on
the axle, on which feather the collar runs to keep the clutch in gear, the said collar
being turned past the end of the feather to put the clutch out of gear.
The axle of the paddle wheels may be cranked down into the hollow of the boat,
and the paddle wheels work loose on the axle; in this case the part of the axle
going through the wheel is made hollow to receive a spindle; the said spindle is
attached to the outside of the hub of the wheel, the other end carrying a crank for
hand or foot, or both; or the spindle or wheels may be driven by suitable gearing
or other means, and the outer ends of the driving axle may also be provided with
cranks to allow of the axles of the wheels being moved, so as to raise or lower the
wheels according as to whether the boat is to be propelled on water or land.
For assisting to operate the paddle wheels in life boats or army or navy boats,
by the side of each pedal on the crank a link or ring can be fitted, or a drum or
pulley can be fitted to the above named coupling bearing with ratchet gear, the
said pulley or drum having an eye or ring to which I attach a rope or ropes one
leading to the bows and the other to the stern of the boat; the bow rope is passed
over the top of the drum once round; and the stern rope underneath the drum
round to the eye or ring, the said ropes being provided at proper distances
(according to the distances of the seats in the boats) with cross bars, which will
allow of some or all of the occupants of the boat assisting in propelling the boat
against a rapid stream, wind or tide; the said ropes will also be available for
assisting in drawing the boat on a rough beach or road by being attached to rings
or eyes in the side of the boat.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will proceed to
describe the same by reference to the accompanying drawing in which figure 1, is
a transverse section of the after part of a boat with my improved apparatus for
propelling and steering the same on land or water applied thereto, the floats of the
paddle wheels, (the height of which is fixed), serving as spokes, and the apparatus
being arranged to be worked by operating a pair of cranks direct by hand or foot;
figure 2, is a front elevation, and figure 3, a transverse section of a paddle wheel
in which the floats are attached to the spokes; figure 4 is a detached view of the
stern of the boat shewing the arrangement for steering the boat; figure 5 is a view
illustrating the manner in which the wheels can be operated by levers and cranks
worked by hand and foot; figure 6, is a detached sectional view of the coupling
bearing when applied to the centre of the driving axle; figure 7 is a transverse
section of part of a boat shewing the axle of the paddle wheels cranked down into
the hollow of the boat; figure 8, is a side elevation of part of a boat having paddle
wheels, the height of which can be adjusted; figure 9 is a transverse section of
figure 8; figure 10, is a front view of a crank provided with a link for enabling
persons to assist in propelling the boat; figure 11 is a detached view of the link;
figure 12 is a section of a drum and ratchet gear to be used for B similar purpose
to the link shewn in figures 10 and 11; figure 13 is a detached view of a modified
form of ratchet wheel and pawl and figure 14 is a detached view of the pawl;
figure 15 is a cross section of a hub which I prefer to use when employing wooden

page_text: spokes and floats; figures 16 and 17 are sections of nipples which I sometimes
employ for fastening the floats and spokes to the rim of the wheel; figures 1, 14
15, 16 and 17 are drawn to a scale of about two inches to a foot, and figures 2
to 13, and figure 18 about one inch to a foot. Similar letters in all the figures
represent similar or corresponding parts.
Referring to figure 1, a, a, represent the sides of the boat; b, b, are the floats of
the paddle wheels which are of such a diameter that they reach below the outside
bottom of the boat as shewn; c, c are the hubs of the wheels, to which hubs the
floats are attached by means of set screws d, d, passing through flanges thereon;
e, e, are the peripheries or rims of the wheels constructed as shewn so as to allow of
the boat travelling on land; the said rim is attached to the floats by means of
screws ff; or the paddle wheels when required for use for small or toy boats can
be cut or pressed from a sheet of steel.or other suitable material, so that the
paddles and rim of the wheel shall be all in one piece; the floats are placed
featherwise, and are curved on their edges in opposite directions, so as to better
adapt them for propelling the boat on water; or the paddle wheels can be formed
with spokes x, x, (as shewn in figures 2 and 3) to which the floats b, b, are attached
by means of clips y, y; the rudder (shewn also in figure 4) consists of a solid or
plain wheel g, turning in a trailing fork h, provided with a tiller i, (or a yoke
or wheel); jj, are the cranks formed on the axle k, which cranks are provided
with treadles or handles according as the apparatus is to be worked by foot or
band; 1, 1, are the bearings in the gunwale of the boat, in which the axle k of the
paddle wheels is fitted; m, is the middle bearing on a standard n, in the middle of
the boat; o, o, are the hollow portions of the axle forming sleeves or bearings to
receive the ends o¹, o', of the other part of the axle ; pp are the circumferential
grooves or keyways and q, q, are the keys passing through the same and through
the hollow parts o, o, of the axle; r, r, are the collars for locking the two parts.8,
and t, of the clutches together; u, u, are the feathers formed on the parts o, of the
axle, on which feathers slide the parts 8, of the clutches; the parts t of the clutches
are fixed on the parts o¹, of the axle; the collars r, r, are provided with key-
ways, as shewn in figure 18 to enable them to slide upon the feathers u, u;
v, v, are the notches in the feathers u, u, to allow of the collars r, r, being
rotated so as to lock the two parts 8, and t, of the clutches together; this arrange-
ment of coupling allows of either or both of the wheels being connected with the
driving mechanism, so as to assist in steering the boat when on the water, and to
allow of turning corners when on land; when the parts 8, 8, of the clutches and
the collars r, r, have been slid back to unlock the parts of the axle, the collars are
rotated, so that their keyways shall not coincide with the feathers u, u, and the
parts of the axle will be then prevented from becoming re-engaged; the wheels
will then be independent of the driving mechanism; w, w, are small bolts passing
through slots in the collars r, and through holes in the parts 8 of the clutches for
the purpose of clamping the collars in position. In some cases, when it is required
that the wheels shall revolve independently of each other, I can employ only one
of the said couplings which would be placed in the centre of the axle. I prefer
however in such cases to employ the coupling bearing shewn in figure 6, which is
similar in construction to the couplings shewn in figure 1, except that the sleeve o,
which receives the ends of the two parts of the axle k, forms one part of the clutch
and revolves in the bearing m; figure 18 is an elevation of one of the collars n
shewing the keyway z.
Or the clutch arrangement shewn in figure 1, can be placed between the hub c,
and the bearing 7, in which case the hub itself could form one part of the clutch
and would receive the other part for holding the wheel in or out of gear.
The paddle wheels work in suitable paddle boxes (not shown in the drawing).
Instead of operating the cranks j, by hand or foot as herein before described when
referring to figure 1, I can work them both by hand and foot and, for this purpose,
the lever a, and connecting rod b¹, shewn in figure 5, will be found suitable; the
lever is pivotted at c¹, to any suitable fulcrum in the boat, and the leverage can be

page_text: varied by altering the position of the connecting rod 6', rélatively to the lever a¹;
by means of the slot d¹, in which the pivot el, of the connecting rod 61, is suitably
fixed; the rod b', is attached to the crank at j, the lever is provided with a
handle f¹, and a treadle g¹.
In figure 7, k, is the axle, which is here shewn cranked down into the hollow of
the boat; the paddle wheels, as shown, work loose on the ends of the axle, which
ends are made hollow; h¹, is one of the spindles which pass through the said hollow
ends and are attached at, to the hubs c, of the wheels; j, are the cranks on the
other ends of the spindles h¹; (or other suitable means such as gearing may be
employed for driving the spindles).
In figures 8 and 9 (which shew the wheels adapted to be raised or lowered
according as the boat is to travel on water or land) the bearings l, only one of which
is shewn in the said figures, are provided with lever handles, fixed thereon at the
inner ends and the outer ends have cranks k¹ fixed thereto which carry the axles or
spindles h¹ of the paddle wheels; bolts n', on the lever handles j, work in guides or
quadrants, on the gunwale of the boat, and similar bolts p¹, on the cranks k¹;
work in guides or quadrants m¹; in a similar manner and serve to fix the wheels
in any position into which they may be moved by the lever handles j¹; motion is
communicated to the paddle wheels from the driving axle k, by means of chain
wheels q¹, and chains 1, passing over the same and over similar wheels 8, on the
hubs c, of the paddle wheels.
In figures 10 and 11 t, represents one of the links which I sometimes employ
to assist in operating the paddle wheels; the said links are placed at the sides of
the pedals on the cranks ;; u¹, u¹; are ropes attached to the links t', and running
fore and aft, and which can be hauled on by persons at each end of the boat, for
which purpose the cross bars v³, (or other means) are provided.
Figure 12 shews the drum or pulley and ratchet arrangement serving for a
similar purpose to that described when referring to figures 10 and 11; wis the
drum or pulley which can be fitted to the herein before described coupling bearing
illustrated in figure 6, to the axle k, in figure 1 or to the spindle h¹, in figure 7 and
revolves freely thereon; a¹, is the ratchet wheel which is fixed on the said axle,
or on the bearing or spindle; yl, is a pawl pivotted to the drum or pulley w³, and
kept in engagement with the ratchet wheel a', by means of the spring z¹; a³, is
the eye or ring to which the ropes u¹, are attached, the bow rope being passed over
the top of the drum once round, and the stern rope underneath the drum round to
the eye or ring a²; 6³, is a spring attached to the pulley or drum w³, and to any
suitable part of the boat. When the ropes u', are hauled the drum w³, carrying
the pawl y will rotate and will carry with it the ratchet wheel x¹, and axle k;
the ropes are then released and the drum will be moved back by the spring b³, to
its normal position, the pawl riding over the teeth of the ratchet wheel ¹; the
ropes are then again pulled and so on.
The pawl and ratchet wheel shewn in figures 13, and 14, allow of the axle k,
being driven in either direction, and for this purpose the teeth of the ratchet
wheel x¹, are formed rectangular or nearly so as shewn; the pawl y¹, is circular in
cross section, is bevelled at the lower end and is provided with a short arın c³, for
rotating the same in brackets d', on the drum; the top bracket is provided with
shoulders for keeping the pawl in position in either direction and with a notch on
the top in which the arm c², is placed when raised out of engagement with the
ratchet; represents the spring for operating the pawl y¹.
In figure 15, e, e³, are the grooves in which the wooden spokes are fixed; in.
figure 16 f, represents the hole through which the fastening f, for the floats passes,
and g² g, are the holes into which the ends of the spokes a, are screwed; the nipple
is provided with a screw thread h³, to allow it to be screwed into the rim e, of the
wheel; figure 17 shews the nipple I employ for fixing the spokes which are
situated between the floats, when the spokes are arranged in pairs.
Instead of placing the steering wheel so that it projects from the extreme stern
end of the boat as shewn in figure 4 of the drawing, it can be placed underneath

page_text: the boat and work in bearings in a tube passing through to the upper part of
the boat.
It will be readily understood that a boat or the like provided with the
herein before described improvements can be propelled and steered as well on land
as on water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed. I declare that what
I claim is
t
•
1. The combination with a boat, canoe, or the like, of wheels of such a diameter
or so arranged as to reach below the outside bottom of the boat or canoe as and for
the purpose described.
2. The propelling and steering wheels for propelling and steering boats, canoes
and the like on land and water, constructed, arranged, and operating substantially
as herein before described and représented in figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 of the
accompanying drawing.
3. The construction and employment of a cranked axle having hollow ends
adapted to receive the spindles of the paddle wheels, substantially as and for the
purposes hereinbefore described and represented in figure 7 of the accompanying
drawing.
4. The improved couplings or coupling bearings, constructed and operating
substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described and represented in
figures 1, 6, and 18, of the accompanying drawing.
5. The herein described arrangements of ratchet mechanism, in combination
with a drum or pulley adapted to be operated by a rope or ropes, substantially as
and for the purposes herein before described and represented in figures 12, 13
and 14, of the accompanying drawing.
6. The combination of parts forming the improved apparatus for propelling and
steering boats, canoes and the like, as hereinbefore described and represented in
the various figures of the accompanying drawing.