IMPROVEMENTS TO MY NEW INSTRUMENT OR LOG FOR ASCERTAINING A SHIP'S DISTANCE AT SEA
Year: 1800

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHESTER
GOULD, late of Rome, in the County of Oneida, in the State of New York, but
now of Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by
His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Seventeenth day of December, in the forty-first year
of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said Chester Gould, my executors,
adininistrators, and assigns, His especial licence that I, the said Chester Gould;
my executors, administrators, and assigns, during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS TO MY NEW INSTRUMENT OR LOG FOR ASCERTAINING A SHIP'S
DISTANCE AT SEA," for which I obtained His said Majesty's Royal Letters
Patent in May then last; in which said Letters Patent, bearing date the said
Seventeenth day of December, in the said forty-first year of His said Majesty's
reign, there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Chester Gould, to
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and iu
what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under
iny hand and scal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next after the date
of the said recited Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I,the said
Chester Gould, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention of im

page_text: provements, and in what manner the same are to be performed are as follows,
that is to say:-
My Invention of improvements to my new instrument or log for ascertaining
a ship's distance at sea, consists of a rotator or revolving apparatus, which I
call an adjustable fly, and a line or chain to connect the fly with a register
which may be kept on board the vessel, as hereafter mentioned. The fly, which
contains almost the whole substance of my improvements, is composed of two
or more vanes or wings, but one of four vanes or wings I conceive to be most
proper these vanes or wings are placed both angularly and conically, so as to
produce a rotary motion round its vertical axis or centre piece, which rotary
motion may be increased or diminished at pleasure by a regulator or adjust-
ment, hereafter to be described. This fly, on which accuracy of measurement
by the log wholly depends, is composed of regular figures, such as planes and
squares, which admit of the greatest uniformity of workmanship, and its
essential parts, together with the angular position of the vanes, admit of strict
examination by the application of instruments in common use, such as the
square, the compasses, and parallel rules, by which very trifling errors may
be easily discovered without the trouble of experience by water. The general
form of this fly being conical, it is not liable to obstructions at sea, from
sea weeds, or other floating substances. It is also detached from the register
for purposes hereafter mentioned. By the conical position of the vanes, I
mean that position which is caused by moving their broadest ends from the
centre in a direction with their planes, while their narrow ends remain fixed;
and by the angular position, I mean that position which is caused by separating
the broad ends of the vanes from the centre (and consequently from each
other) in a direction at right angles with the former position, while the narrow
ends remain fixed, as in Figure IX. in the Drawing hereto annexed; or, in
other words, the conical position of the vanes determines the distance between
a and b, in the same Figure, and their angular position determines the distance
between c and d in the same Figure. The conical position of the vanes being
varied, increases or diminishes the rotary power or strength of action of the fly,
and their angular position being varied, increases or diminishes the number of
its revolutions made in any given distance. The fly is constructed in manner
following, that is to say:-
Figure I. in the Drawing hereto annexed represents the centre piece or
virtual axis, having at its head end an eye hole, or other convenience for
fastning the line to it, and the other end terminating in a screw of sufficient
length to vary the adjustment of the fly, so as to answer such purposes as it
is intended for.

page_text: Figure II. in the aforesaid Drawing represents the piece or collar, having
a smooth hole through its centre sufficient to receive the axis, Figure I., upon
which it should turn freely, and to which it is secured by a collet and pin, as in
Figure IV. in the same Drawing. This. collar must have the same number
of flats or sides as the number of vanes intended for it, and it must terminate
conically towards its head, as in Figure II. in the same Drawing.
Figure III. in the aforesaid Drawing represents the regulator; this should.
have the same number of sides with the former, and should also terminate
conically from its base, answering to the conical form of the fly. It has a tapped
hole through its centre to fit the screw on the end of the axis, Figure I., on
which it should move uniformly the whole length of the screw, as in Figure IV.
Figures V., VI., VII, VIII., in the aforesaid Drawing represent the
vanes which are to be attached by their narrow ends to the sides or flats
of, the collar by screws or otherwise, having in each of them a slit or opening
to admit the screws which bind them to the regulator, as in Figure IX. in the
Drawing, as appears on vane Figure V. I make a scale which I graduate into
sundry parts answering to the turns of the axis through the regulator, and
when the fly is put together as in Figure IX., the scale rests upon the regula
tor, and shews how far the regulator is moved either way in adjusting the fly.
After having, by the assistance of the regulator, found the true position of the
vanes which would give the true distance sailed, I have sometines made the
fly a fixture throughout, but I prefer the adjustable fly. The register I use is
constructed in manner following, that is to say:-
Figure X. in the aforesaid Drawing represents the register in one of its
forms. It may be carried either in the vessel's cabin, or be suspended over the
stern by the cars a and b, in the same Figure X, so as to turn, freely towards
the fly at all times.
Figure XI. in the same Drawing represents the inside movement or train of
wheels with its dial, this is fixed within the cylinder Figure X., and turns the.
index on its dial. The pinion d, in the same Figure XI., has upon its inner end
eight leaves, which moves the first or contrate wheel b, which has forty eight
teeth, and by its pinion of six leaves, it moves the second wheel c, which has
sixty teeth; this wheel c, by its pinion of six leaves, moves the third wheel d, of
sixty teeth; this wheel d, by its pinion of six leaves, moves the fourth wheel e,
of sixty teeth; and the wheel e, by its pinion of six leaves, moves the fifth
wheel f, of sixty teeth, which carries the index y on the end of its pinion. Its
dial is graduated into one hundred divisions, each of which answers to one
mile, and is numbered 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, and by the addition
of more wheels, in like manner, the register will be capable of shewing any

page_text: necessary distance whatever; an endless screw would produce the same effect
in giving motion to the register as the pinion d, but I give the preference to
the pinion.
Figure XII. in the said Drawing represents the register in another
form. It has a similar train of wheels as the former, with the addition of one
more wheel of sixty teeth, which extends the calculation of the distance
the vessel sails to a thousand miles; the form of this register, by a circular
disposition of the wheels, is round, and is inclosed in a round case, which is
graduated, for the purpose of shewing the ship's lee-way, as will be shewn
hereafter. This register has three dials on its face, one of which is graduated
into ten parts, answering to tenths of miles, and is numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10. The index on this dial moves round once every mile the vessel sails,
each division counting one-tenth of a mile. The large dial is similar to the
dial on Figure XI. described above. The other of the last-mentioned three
dials is also divided into ten parts, and is numbered 100, 200, 300, 400, 500,
600, 700, 800, 900, 1000; the index on this dial moves round it once every
one thousand miles, each division answering to one hundred miles. This
register has an arm or cramp a, fixed at one of its ends to the bottom
of the box by a screw or otherwise, so as to admit of the register's turning
freely upon it, and by the other end of this arm or cramp the register is
secured to some convenient part of the vessel. On one-half of the outside
circumference of the box is graduated thirty-two equal divisions, corresponding
with the divisions of the compass, and an index, which is joined at one of its
ends to the cramp, is brought to the edge of the box, and turned up, so as to
answer the purpose of an index. When the vessel makes lee-way, the fly
commonly falls to windward nearly in proportion to that lee-way, and by the
fly being to windward, the pinion of the register is turned the same way, and
brings a corresponding figure or point which is marked on the box to the before-
mentioned index, and this denotes the number of points the vessel makes to
leeward. The form and proportions of the register may be so varied as to
express in other denominations of sea measure the distance sailed, if found to
be more convenient than the above; and the form, size, and proportions of
the fly may be also varied, so as to accommodate it to a register of any calcula-
tion; so also may the shape of the vanes be varied, if their true position is strictly
attended to, for they are all capable of variation from any given dimensions, and
the essential principles are still retained. The pinions of the register I generally
make of bell metal, and the other parts of the machine of brass. These materials
I give the preference to, yet other materials will answer, provided they
are of such kind as will endure the effects of friction and of salt water.

page_text: For the better illustration and description of the fly which I use, and which I
prefer, I have in the annexed Drawing described one of four vanes and its
corresponding parts, shewing the proportions they bear to each other.
Figure 1. in the said Drawing represents the centre piece or virtual axis;
this is six inches and a half long, and about one-fifth of an inch in diameter;
on one end is a screw about two inches long, and at the other is an eye hole
to fasten the line to, as in Figure 1X.; and at the distance of about one inch
and an half from the eye hole is a collet and pin, which secures the collar piece
Figure II. to its place.
Figure II. represents the collar piece; it is about three-fourths of an
inch long and half an inch thick at the largest end, having its side at right
angles with each other, and terminating conically at its head end. It has a
hole through its centre large enough to receive the centre piece or axis, to which
it is secured by the collet and pin, so that it may turn freely on the axis, see
Figure IV.
.
Figure III. represents the regulator or adjustment; this piece is about
one-fourth of an inch thick, its largest surface is an inch and an eighth
of an inch over, and being a little tapering, its smallest surface is left an.inch
over; it has a tapped hole through its center, fitted to the screw on the end of
the axis, where it belongs, as in Figure IV.
Figures V., VI., VII., and VIII., represent the four vanes; these arc
all of equal strength, and about a sixteenth part of an inch thick; they
resemble in form a right-angled triangle, whose base is eight inches, and
whose perpendicular is three inches. A piece is cut off from the acute angle,
which leaves the end about half an inch wide; a piece must also be cut out
from the right angle, running nearly parallel with the base, sufficient to
prevent the vanes crossing the centre, and thereby counteracting each other.
The piece cut from the fly I am describing is about one inch and three-
fourths of an inch long, and half an inch wide, and must be varied according
to the proportions of the fly; the vanes must be perfectly flat and uniformly
alike. I make a scale, which is before described on Figure V., on which
scale are the Figures 2, 4, 6, under which Figures are twenty divisions,
answering each to one turn of the axis through the regulator or adjustment;
and when the outer edge of the regulator or adjustment stands at the division
against Figure 4 in the aforesaid scale, the fly is supposed to be rightly.
regulated or adjusted; but if on trial it is found otherwise, then by turning the
axis, the regulator or adjustment is moved and the motion of the fly altered at
pleasure, moving the regulator or adjustment towards Figure 6 in the scale,.
increases the motion of the fly, and moving the regulator or adjustment towards

page_text: Figure 2 in the scale diminishes the motion. Every turn of the axis either
way alters the motion of the fly about three miles in an hundred. The opening
in the.vanes should be of sufficient length to give freedom to the screws, which
bind the vanes to the regulator or adjustment when it is moved.
Figure IV. represents the three first-mentioned parts, that is to say, Figures
I., II., and III. put together, and the vanes being attached to the four flats or
sides of the collar piece complete the fly, as described in Figure IX. The fly
being thus completed the vanes stand. both in a conical and angular position
with regard to their center or axis, and incline the fly to turn but one way, and
as their angular position is increased or diminished, so will be the number of
revolutions of the fly in sailing any given distance. For particular purposes,
the motion of the fly may be increased, two, three, and even four times faster
than is usual; this may be done either by enlarging the regulator or adjust-
ment, or moving it further towards the collar piece, so as to extend the broad
ends of the vanes further from the axis or centre, that is, further asunder, in
which case the same register will still answer, if read accordingly. If the fly is
constructed agreeably to the size and proportions here given, and is accurately
regulated or adjusted so as to give the true distance sailed, the broad ends of
the opposite vanes will be an inch and three-eighths of an inch asunder; and in
case of any accident that the fly may meet with at sea or otherwise, the above
distance being examined by pair of compasses will be a direction to the
mariner how to restore the fly to its former accuracy of measurement, thic
narrow ends of the vancs that are attached to the collar piece remaining fixed.
The line which I prefer to a chain should be made of good materials, bc. well
twisted, and about the size of a common log line; the line connects the fly and
register together; its length should be in proportion to the size of the vessel,
that the fly may be so far distant from the stern of the vessel as not to be
affected by the eddy of the vessel's wake, which is often found to extend from
fifteen to twenty-five fathoms astern; one end of the line is fastened to the
pinion of the register, which in Figures X. and XII. is marked d, and the
other end is fastued to the head. end of the fly, see Figure IX. The fly is
towed perpetually after the vessel at sea, and its revolutions are communicated
to the register by the line, and these in exact proportion to the velocity of the
vessel through the water. There should be no impediment or obstruction about.
the line to prevent its turning freely, or about, the register to prevent it from
turning the pinion to which the line is fastned in a direction with the fly,
especially when the vessel's lee-way is necessary to be known. The log, as now
improved and used, has the properties and advantages over my former
log herein-after mentioned, that is to say:-The fly of the improved log has an

page_text: easy and efficacious mode or principle of regulation, by which its motion
may be altered at pleasure, and with great uniformity and precision, but
my former log did not possess these advantages in so perfect a degree. The
fly of the improved log, on which all accuracy of measurement depends, is;
as before mentioned, composed of regular figures, such as planes and squares,
which admit of the greatest uniformity and exactness in the workmanship of it,
and its essential parts, and their true positions admit of strict examination by
the application of instruments in common use, such as the square, compasses,
and parallel rule; and by the help of these, trifling errors may be discovered
and corrected without the trouble of experiments by water; these conveniences
my former log was entirely destitute of. The improved log has a fly particularly
adapted to very slow motion of the vessel, when she sails less than two miles an
hour, which is also to be used when the vessel is lying to the wind in bad
weather and drifting, to give the distance she drifts an hour, as is above
described, and the same register answers for this fly also; but my former log
being heavier, was inclined to sink in slow motion, and was also deficient in its
power of action in slow sailing, which could not be remedied without enlarging
the machine too much for common use, or without increasing the friction to a
degree that would wear out the machine in a short time. The improved log
may have two or more flies with one register, the fly being an inconsiderable
part of the expense of the whole machine, in-which case, if one fly is lost it
may be easily replaced; but if an accident of this kind happened to my former
log, the injury could not easily be repaired. This circumstance renders the
improved log much more convenient in practice, and its most expensive part,
namely, the register, less liable to be lost, and less liable to accidents. It is
also more durable, as the train of wheels or register is kept clean and dry; it
is also more certain in its performance, not being so liable as my former log to
obstructions at sea by sea weeds or other floating substances. The improved
log is more portable and convenient for conveyance, its construction is less
expensive, and it is more casily understood and repaired by common mechanics.
When there is no obstruction between the fly and the box, it shews on the box
of the register the number of points lee-way the vessel makes; but this valuable
acquisition could not be derived from my former log. The register of the
improved log is kept on board the vessel, in which the distance sailed can at all
times be seen; whereas the whole of my former log went in the water, and the
register of it could not be seen without taking it into the vessel.
In witness whereof, J, the said Chester Gould, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and one.
CHESTER GOULD. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Sixteenth day of June,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Chester Gould came before our
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And also
the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
in that case made. and provided..