IMPROVEMENTS in Gaffs for Sea-GOING AND OTHER SHIPS AND VESSELS."
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Frederick Muntz, of Umberslade Hall,
in the County of Warwick, Gentleman, for the Invention of
“IMPROVEMENTS in Gaffs for Sea-GOING AND OTHER SHIPS AND VESSELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Frederick Muntz
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 26th August 1871.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK MUNTZ, of Umberslade Hall, in the County of
Warwick, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAFFS FOR SEA-GOING AND OTHER SHIPS AND VESSELS," to
be as follows:-
.
The motion of the gaffs of sea-going and other ships and vessels upon
the masts of the said ships and vessels occasions a chafing or wearing
away of the mast at that part on which the gaff bears, and also produces
a disagreeable noise.
The object of my Invention is to prevent or diminish injury to the
mast by the motion thereon of the gaff, and also to prevent the dis-
agreeable noise caused by the said motion.
•

page_text: My said Invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts
of the said gaffs in the following manner :-I make the jaws or semi-
circular bearing of the gaff by preference of iron, but do not limit
myself to any particular material. On the inner face of the said jaws
of the gaff I place a lining piece, the said lining piece consisting of a
semicircular strap or plate of brass, or other suitable metal or alloy
fitting close upon the inner or concave face of the said jaws, the said
lining piece constituting a thin metallic layer situated between the jaws
of the gaff and the surface of the mast. The said lining piece is not
fixed to the jaws of the gaff, but is capable of a sliding motion thereon
within a small angle. It is connected to the jaws in the following
manner :-The edges of the said lining piece are turned over the curved
edge of the jaws, and two snugs or stops on the convex side of the said
lining piece pass respectively through two slots in the jaws of the gaff
pins in the said snugs crossing the convex side of the jaws. By this
method of attachment the lining piece is capable of sliding on the jaws
within a range nearly equal to the length of the slots described.
While having this power of sliding, the lining piece cannot separate
itself from the jaws. The concave face of the metallic lining piece which
bears against the mast is covered with leather or other soft and durable
material. The convex side of the lining piece which bears against the
jaws of the gaff is made smooth, and is provided with a lubricator, for
the purpose of keeping the said convex surface of the lining piece and
the concave surface of the jaws of the gaff well lubricated, so that they
may move freely upon one another. Should the gaff move round the
mast through a greater angle than that of the slots in the jaws, then the
ends of the said slots coming against the snugs or stops of the lining piece
the said lining piece is moved on the mast, taking up a new position,
which new position it retains until by the motion of the gaff in one or
other direction beyond the range which the slots permit occasions it to
take another position. The friction between the jaws of the gaff and
the lining piece being much less than that between the lining piece and
the mast, the said lining piece has no motion upon the mast, excepting
under the circumstances described. The gaff is so constructed that its
jaws are situated and work in a plane at right angles to the axis of the
mast when the sail is set.
:

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Frederick Muntz in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
FREDERICK MUNTZ, of Umberslade Hall, in the County of Warwick,
Gentleman, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Frederick Muntz, Her special
licence that I, the said George Frederick Muntz, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Frederick Muntz
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
“IMPROVEMENTS IN GAFFS FOR SEA-GOING AND OTHER SHIPS AND VESSELS,” upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Frederick Muntz,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Frederick Muntz, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The motion of the gaffs of sea-going and other ships and vessels upon
the masts of the said ships and vessels occasions a chafing or wearing
away of the mast at that part on which the gaff bears, and also produces
a disagreeable noise,

page_text: The object of my Invention is to prevent or diminish injury to the
mast by the motion thercon of the gaff, and also to prevent the dis-
agreeable noise caused by the said motion.
My said Invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts of.
the said gaffs in the following manner :-I make the jaws or semi-
circular bearing of the gaff by preference of iron, but do not limit
myself to any particular material. On the inner face of the said jaws
of the gaff I place a lining piece, the said lining piece consisting of a
semicircular strap or plate of brass or other suitable metal or alloy fitting
close upon the inner or concave face of the said jaws, the said lining piece
_constituting a thin metallic layer, situated between the jaws of the gaff
and the surface of the mast. The said lining piece is not fixed to the jaws
of the gaff but is capable of a sliding motion thereon within a small angle.
It is connected to the jaws in the following manner : The edges of the
said lining piece are turned over the curved edge of the jaws, and two
'snugs or stops on the convex side of the said lining piece pass respectively
through two slots in the jaws of the gaff, pins in the said snugs crossing
the convex side of the jaws. By this method of attachment the lining
piece is capable of sliding on the jaws within a range nearly equal to the
length of the slots described. While having this power of sliding the
lining piece cannot separate itself from the jaws. The concave face of
the metallic lining piece which bears against the mast is covered with
leather or other soft and durable material. The convex side of the
lining piece which bears against the jaws of the gaff is made smooth, and
is provided with a lubricator for the purpose of keeping the said convex :
surface of the lining piece and the concave surface of the jaws of the gaff
well lubricated, so that they may move freely upon one another. Should
the gaff move round the mast through a greater angle than that of the
slots in the jaws then the ends of the said slots coming against the snugs
or stops of the lining piece the said lining piece is moved on the mast,
taking up a new position, which new position it retains until by the
motion of the gaff in one or other direction beyond the range which
the slots permit occasions it to take another position. The friction
between the jaws of the gaff, and the lining piece being much less than
that between the lining piece and the mast the said lining piece has no a
motion upon the mast excepting under the circumstances described.
The gaff is so constructed that its jaws are situated and work in a plane
at right angles to the axis of the mast when the sail is set.

page_text: Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents partly in horizontal section and partly in plan the
jaws of a gaff and parts connected therewith constructed and arranged
according to my Invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same;
Figures 3, 4, and 5 are cross sections of the same taken respectively
through the lines a, b, and c of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a plan, Figure 7
an elevation of the concave or inner side, and Figure 8 an elevation of
the convex or outer side of the lining piece of the gaff detached. The
same letters of reference indicate the same parts in each of the Figures
of the Drawings.
d, d, are the jaws or semicircular bearing of the gaff, the said jaws
being situated upon the mast, and working in a plane at right angles to
the axis of the mast. Between the parallel arms d³, d, of the jaws d, d,
the wooden spar of the gaff is bolted, as is well understood. e is the
semicircular metallic lining piece (shown separately in Figures 6, 7 and
8) fitting close upon the inner or concave face of the jaws d, d, and
capable of sliding thereon within a small angle. The edges of the lining
piece e are turned over the curved edges of the jaws d, d, in the manner
best seen in the cross sections, Figures 3, 4, and 5. The outer or convex
side of the lining piece e is provided with two snugs or stops f. f, and
in the jaws d, d, two slots g, g, are made, through which slots the snugs
or stops pass and in which they work. The said snugs or stops f, ƒ, fit
closely in the slots g, g, as best seen in Figure 4. In addition to the
slots g, g, in the jaws d, d, a depression or channel is made, in which
depression or channel h a stud or projection i on the convex face of the
lining piece e works, the said stud and depression assisting in guiding and
steadying the motion of the parts upon one another. The lining piece e
is connected to the jaws d, d, by the cross pins k, k, passed through the
ends of the snugs or stops f,f, and crossing the convex side of the jaws
(see Figures 2 and 4). By an examination of the Drawing it will be
seen that the lining pieco e and jaws d, d, are capable of sliding upon
one another within a range nearly equal to the length of the slots
9, 9, but the lining piece e is incapable of separating itself from the
said jaws d, d. The convex side of the lining piece e is made smooth, as
well as the concave side of the jaws d, d, against which it bears. By

page_text: means of a lubricating material supplied by the lubricator the bearing
or rubbing surfaces of the jaws and lining piece are kept well lubricated,
so that they may move freely upon one another. The lubricating
material is conveyed by the horizontal channel P, and inclined channels
in the jaws d, d, to the concave face of the said jaws; the lubricating
material is thereby distributed over the whole of the surface of the
rubbing or bearing parts. The concave face of the metallic lining
piece e which bears against the mast is covered with leather or other
soft and durable material n. This leather or non-metallic covering n
is connected to the upper and lower horizontal edges of the lining piece :
e by lacing it thereto by means of laces or pieces of leather passed
through the holes at e³ (see Figures 2 and 5), and the said covering n is
connected to the vertical edges of the lining piece e by screws passed
through the said covering, and made to take into plugged holes in the
said vertical edges, as seen at e³, Figure 7.
Tho action of the parts is as follows:-On the swinging of the gaff
the jaws d, d, move round upon the mast. Should the said jaws d, d,
of the gaff move round the mast through a greater angle than that of
the slots g, g, in the said jaws, then the ends of the said slots coming
against the snugs or stops of the lining piece, the said lining piece is :
moved on the mast, taking up a new position, which new position it
retains until by the motion of the gaff in one or other direction beyond
. the range which the slots 9, 9, permit occasions it to take a new position.
As the friction between the jaws d, d, of the gaff and the lining piece e
is much less than that between the lining piece e and the mast, the
said lining piece has no motion upon the mast, excepting under the
circumstances described. The chafing or wearing away of the mast at
the part on which the gaff bears is thereby reduced to a minimum and
no noise is produced on the motion of the gaff.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention; but I claim as my Invention, the improvements in gaffs for
sea-going and other ships and vessels herein-before described and illus-
trated in theaccompanying Drawings, that is to say, the combination
with the jaws or semicircular bearing of the gaff of a close fitting

page_text: metallic lining piece made to bear upon the mast, the said lining piece
being capable of a limited sliding motion between the said jaws and the
mast, the said jaws and lining piece being constructed and connected
together in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described
and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Frederick Muntz, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
έννο
LO
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
GEORGE FREDERICK MUNTZ. (L.S.)