A NEW OR IMPROVED BATHING PLATFORM FOR USE WITH BOATS AND SIMILAR VESSELS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, JOHN BOVEY of Dartmouth in the County of Devon Smith and Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for A NEW OR IMPROVED BATHING
PLATFORM FOR USE WITH BOATS AND SIMILAR VESSELS, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a new or improved bathing platform which may be
attached to an ordinary boat or other similar vessel and be employed in deep water
or in positions where there is no beach or other convenient and permanent means
of bathing.
These Improvements consist in the construction, arrangement and adaptation of
a jointed or folding and floating or submerged platform surrounded by guard ropes
or rails and netting or other equivalent enclosure to prevent bathers falling or
being washed from the platform, the whole being secured to the stern of the boat
by staples and hooks, by bolts and eyes, by ropes or by other flexible connection
which will permit the ready connection and disconnection of the boat and platform.
The platform is preferably constructed of wood in the form of a grid, the guards of
rope and netting and the guard supports of metal. To secure privacy the platform
is covered by an awning carried by suitable supports. This awning is made also to
extend over a part or the whole of the boat.
The platform may be constructed to fold up and the guards to be removed there;
from or to fold over the platform so that the whole may be packed under the seats
of the boat or elsewhere in a comparatively small compass when not required
for use.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Bathing Platform for Use with Boats and
similar Vessels.
I, JOHN BOVEY of Dartmouth in the County of Devon, Smith and Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of this invention, 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 a new or improved bathing platform which may be
attached to an ordinary boat or other similar vessel and be employed in deep water
or in positions where there is no beach or other convenient and permanent means
of bathing.
And in order that my invention may be more readily understood and carried
into practical effect;. I have hereunto appended a sheet of drawings showing a
perspective view of my improved bathing platform attached to a boat with the
awning hereinafter described removed and have marked the same with letters of
reference.
My improvements consist in the construction arrangement and adaptation of a
jointed or folding and floating or submerged platform surrounded by guard ropes or
rails and netting or other equivalent enclosure to prevent bathers falling or being
washed from the platform, the whole being secured to the stern of the boat by
staples and hooks, by bolts and eyes, by ropes or other flexible connection which
will permit the ready connection and disconnection of the boat and platform. The
platform a is preferably constructed of wood in the form of a grid, and is screened
on the sides by the frames bb filled with lattice work or netting and at the end
by the frame c. The platform a is suspended from the poles & d, which are
preferably made of angle iron as shewn on the drawing but may also be made of
wood, by the suspension rods e e¹ e²es and steadied by the stays ff¹ƒƒ³, which
are fastened to the sides b b and the poles d d by bolts screws or equivalent
means. The suspension rods are made with hooks at the end to hook on the poles
or inay be formed with eyes for the poles to pass through and fixed with pins.
The poles are fixed to the top edges of the boat g or similar vessel by being passed
through staples, or by bolts or screws or by ropes passing through holes in the top
edge of the boat or staples. A ladder h with hooks is hooked on the stern' of the
boat and may be connected to the bottom and sides of the platform or be separate.
The platform is further guarded by the ropes which are fastened to eyes forged
on the supports kk k? and fastened at one end to the hooks at the end of the
poles and at the other end to the seat or bottom of the boat.
To secure privacy the platform is covered by an awning carried by the
supports ¹². This awning is made also to extend over a part or the whole of
boat. The back end of the platform is closed by the frame c which may be hinged
to the bottom a as shewn and raised or lowered by a rope m, so as to open the
platform for the use of swimmers. The frame c may be made in the form of a grid
like the bottom a and lowered so as to form an extension of the bottom, or it may

page_text: be an open grid as shewn and weighted with lead or otherwise at the top, so as to
hang down vertically in the water out of the way, or it may be attached with
hinges to one side or made in two parts hinged each to one side so as to open
like a door.
The platform may be constructed to fold up and the guards to be removed there-
from or to fold over the platform so that the whole may be packed under the seats
of the boat or elsewhere in a comparatively small compass when not required for
use. For instance the sides b and b¹ may be attached to the platform a with hinges
on the inside so as to fold over on the top after the stays ff1f2f3 are unfastened
from the poles d d¹, and the end frame c may be folded back upon the underside of
the platform; the ladder may be separate in this case or hinged to the bottom to
fold over the top and sides or over the underside and back. The suspension
rods e e e e³ may be attached with sockets or clips to the underside of the
platform so that they can be turned down lengthwise of the platforın. The
different hinged parts would be provided in this case with hooks and staples, bolts
and eyes or equivalent fastenings to hold them in position when used for bathing.
Instead of the parts being hinged together, they may be connected with hooks and
staples, bolts and eyes or equivalent means so that they can be completely dis-
connected and stowed away laid together or separately. The supports for the
awning k k k may be forged with bolts at the ends as shewn and laid flat after
the ropes are untied, or they and the poles may be disconnected and the whole
stowed away in the boat under the seats or elsewhere in a comparatively small
compass when not required for use.
my said
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
1 claim is:
(1.) The construction of floating or submerged bathing platforms for use with
boats or similar vessels substantially as herein before described and illustrated
by the drawing.
(2.) The construction of floating or submerged bathing platforms so that the
different parts can be disconnected or folded over one another substantially as and
for the purpose herein before described and set forth.
(3.) The use of submerged or floating bathing platforms as specified under
claims (1) and (2) with boats and similar vessels..
Doted this nineteenth day of March AD 1886.