AN IMPROVED APPA-- RATUS FOR REEFING AND FURLING THE SAILS OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Scott Collins, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, of the Firm of Coubrough, Boyd, and Company, Ship
Chandlers and Sail Makers, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPA-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Scott Collins at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th
October 1861.
I, JOHN SCOTT COLLINS, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, of the
Firm of Coubrough, Boyd, and Company, Ship Chandlers and Sail Makers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPA-
RATUS FOR REEFING AND FURLING THE SAILS OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS," to be
as follows:-
My Invention relates to the reefing, furling, unreefing, and unfurling of all
sails, square or fore and aft, but especially to top sails wherever yards, bcoms,
spars, or such like mechanical contrivances are placed at or near the top and
bottom of and connected to the sails, and consists in placing on or near the
ends of the lower yard, boom, spar, or other apparatus framing to carry chain
wheels moveable on an axis; attached to and stretched between the said wheels,
I have a chain, parcelled with coir or other fibre to give it stiffness, a spar,

page_text: rope, or any other article to which the foot of the sail can be laced or other-
wise fastened, the other parts of the sail being left as at present. Over the
chain wheels above referred to, as placed on the ends of the lower yards,
chains are passed and carried or continued thence round or over cheek
sheaves, blocks, or other guiding arrangements near the chain wheels, and also
about the middle of the yard near the mast down to the deck, where the
balyard is operated at the same time as the top halyard, thus causing the
chain wheels to revolve and wind on the parallel chain or other parallel rod or
rope as much of the sail as may be desired; keeping the whole taught and
secure from the wind, and enabling the operation of taking in one or more
reefs, furling, and unfurling, to be performed from the deck, and obviating the
necessity of sending men aloft.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Scott Collins in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
SCOTT COLLINS, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, of the Firm of
Coubrough, Boyd, and Company, Ship Chandlers and Sail Makers, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Scott Collins, Her special licence that I, the said John Scott Collins,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Scott Collins, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR REEFING AND FURLING THE SAILS OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Scott Collins,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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

page_text: said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Scott Collins, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described. and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement (that is to say):
:―
My Invention relates to the reefing, furling, unreefing, and unfurling of all
sails, square or fore and aft, but especially to top sails wherever yards, booms,
spars, or such like mechanical contrivances are placed at or near the top and
bottom of and connected to the sails, and consists in placing on or near the
ends of the lower yard, boom, spar, or other apparatus framing to carry
chain
wheels moveable on an axis; attached to and stretched between the said
wheels I have a chain, parcelled with coir or other fibre to give it stiffness, a
spar, rope, or any other article to which the foot of the sail can be lashed.
or otherwise fastened, the other parts of the sail being left as at present. Over
the chain wheels above referred to as placed on the ends of the lower yards,
chains are passed and carried or continued thence round or over cheek sheaves,
blocks, or other guiding arrangements near the chain wheels, and also about
the middle of the yard near the mast down to the deck, where the "halyards"
are operated upon at the same time as the top halyards, thus causing the
chain wheels to revolve and wind on the parcelled chain or other parallel rod
or rope, or unwind from the same, as much of the sail as may be desired;
keeping the whole taught and secure from the wind, and enabling the opera-
tion of taking in one or more reefs, furling and unfurling, to be performed
from the deck, and obviating the necessity of sending men aloft.
The leading feature of my said improved apparatus is entirely different from
all other revolving systems of reefing, furling, unreefing, and unfurling the
sails of ships and other vessels; in the apparatuses at present in use the
principal revolving parts are placed near to the upper yard, boom, or spar,
form part of the same, or are attached about the middle of the sail itself, and
communicate by ropes or otherwise with the said upper yard, boom, or spar;
but in my system each sail is wound on or from its own "foot," the details of
which are herein-after set forth, and none of the new parts employed are
directly connected to or work immediately with the said upper yard, boom,.
or spar.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I have
hereunto appended a Sheet of explanatory Drawings, to which I shall refer
by letters, all of which denote the same or equivalent parts in all the
views..

page_text: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of so much of the masts, yards, and rigging of a
ship as is necessary to illustrate my new arrangements; the chain wheels
which communicate the rotary motion to the foot of the sail being at right
angles to and on the top or above the yard, and the sail close reefed; Fig. 2,
a back view of the same; Fig. 3, a front view similar to Fig. 1, with the sail
furled; Fig. 4, a side elevation of part of a sloop, shewing the same arrange-
ments applied to fore and aft sails; Fig. 5 is a front elevation, the same as
Fig. 1, with the exception of the chain wheels and their framing, which are
here placed on the side of and nearly horizontal with the yard; Fig. 6, a back
view of Fig. 5; Fig. 7, a side elevation of the chain wheels, cheek sheaves,
and framing of the same as placed on the yards and boom of Figs. 1, 2, 3,
and 4; Fig. 8, a vertical section of Fig. 7, at A, B; Fig. 9, a side elevation
of the apparatus for communicating the rotary motion to the foot of the sail,
and shewing the position in which the check sheaves should be placed when
the said apparatus is placed, as shewn in Figs. 5 and 6; Fig. 10, a side view
in section and elevation of the parrall apparatus for keeping the yard close up
to the mast; and Fig. 11, a plan view in section and outline of the same
parrall arrangements. Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are drawn on a larger scale
than the other views.
As my Invention is especially applicable to single top sail yards, and would
in many cases dispense with double top sail yards, I have shewn on the
Drawings all the arrangements of square rigged vessels in connection with
such single-top sail yards; in some very large ships, however, where double
top sail yards would be almost indispensable, my improvements would be
equally suitable for the upper top sail yard and the lower top sail, and its
yard could be so modified, if desired, as to make it suitable for similar
apparatus.
.
a represents the lower mast; b, the top mast; c, the lower yard; d, the top
or top sail yard; e, the jack stay; f, the top sail; g, the top sail halyards
passing through the mast in the usual manner; h, a chain parcelled with coir
or other fibre to give it moderate stiffness, a rope, spar, or other suitable appa-
ratus, the ends of which are made fast to the eyelets i, of the centre shaft j,
of the chain wheels k, which work in the framing 1 fastened on and to the
yard c. Instead of attaching the "foot" of the sail f to such apparatus h, the
"foot" made, say, of chain parcelled with coir fibre as above, may be stretched
between the eyelets i and fastened to the same, and this I prefer. m, friction
balls running in corresponding grooves in the framings and chain wheels k, to
allow the latter to rotate freely when the chains n are drawn either way.
These chains (or ropes might be used with suitably formed wheels) are passed

page_text: over the chain wheels and cheek sheaves o, inside the framing.p, of the
cheek sheaves, thence through the blocks q down to or near to the deck,
where they can be attached to the ordinary winch, or otherwise fastened and
worked as found most convenient; a moderate tension is desirable, so that the
said chain may not slip over the notches r of the chain wheels k, and this is
best attained by having for each wheel an endless chain with just sufficient
slack for convenient working. When the top sail yard is hoisted or raised
above the cap of the lower mast in vessels with large sails, it will be necessary
to have some means, other than, or as an assistance to, the halyards g and
lifts s, of keeping the said yard close up to the mast and strengthening my
arrangement. For this purpose I have designed a parrall, shewn more par-
ticularly in Figs. 10 and 11. t is the part which slides on the mast, and is
made of wood secured by a jointed iron band, on the top side of which latter
is forged or fitted a flange z, with a strong pin v and two apertures w, through
which pass two vertical stationary guide ropes x, the ends of which may be
conveniently fastened to the respective crosstrees of the lower and top masts;
y is a flange which is fastened by bolts or otherwise to the sling band of the
yard d; in this flange there are two apertures corresponding to those marked w
for the same ropes a, and an aperture for the pin v, so that when the parts
fitted on the yard are raised up to the cap of the lower mast to the sliding
part, the guide ropes x will cause the pin to pass through the said aperture,
and a strong junction will be formed.
The following description of the manner in which I take in another reef of
the close-reefed top sail, shewn by Fig. 1 in the Drawings, is applicable to all
other square sails, and will sufficiently explain the mode of operation when
the Invention is applied to fore and aft sails. The halyards g and chains n
being unfastened, power is exerted on the parts of the chains n, scen in the
Drawings, to draw them towards the deck or downwards, whilst the halyards g,
and the part of the chain n on the other side of the yard and unseen, are
slackened or payed out as required; thus the chains in passing over the wheels
cause them to rotate and wind on the sail on its own "foot" or other appa-
ratus, as herein-before described.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, and
means whereby the same may be put into practical use in different modes of
rigging, I would have it understood that I do not confine or restrict myself
to the details laid down; but what I consider to be novel and original
and claim as secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,
Reefing, furling, unreefing, and unfurling the sails of ships and other

page_text: vessels by rotary motion applied to the "foot" of the said sails, or to an
apparatus to which the "foot" is secured, the arrangement shewn on the
accompanying Drawings and herein described being convenient means of
carrying the same into effect.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Scott Collins, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
In the presence of
JOHN THOMSON KING,
Patent Agent,
4, Clayton Square,
Liverpool.
JOHN SCOTT COLLINS. (L.S.)