IMPROVEMENTS IN OR CONNECTED WITH SHIPS OR VESSELS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Simons, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Shipbuilder, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS
IN OR CONNECTED WITH SHIPS OR VESSELS."
"
Sealed the 10th September 1858, and dated the 9th July 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Simons at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th July 1858.
I, WILLIAM SIMONS, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Shipbuilder, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN OR CONNECTED WITH SHIPS OR VESSELS," to be as
follows, that is to say:-
My said Invention comprehends various improvements in and con-
nected with ships or vessels, namely, in their construction, in the
arrangement or construction of their masts, and of parts connected
therewith, in the mode of mooring or anchoring them, and in the con-
struction of boat and anchor davits.
According to the first portion of my Invention I arrange iron beams
diagonally or obliquely in forming the decks of ships, disposing the
beams of one deck range in a direction opposite to that of the beams
in the deck range immediately above or below it. On the top of each
range of beams I fasten fore and aft, or longitudinally on each side of
the hatchways, two strong thick and broad iron plate stringers, by

page_text: preference, in long lengths and double rivetted throughout. These
diagonal deck beams may be variously arranged and with various
obliquities.
According to the second portion of my Invention I plate iron ships
without the ordinary short internal butt straps, but instead thereof I
bend round the outside of every alternate frame a long plate or con-
tinuous butt strap of flat iron of the same thickness as the outside plates,
and of sufficient breadth for a butt strap. Each frame plate is double-
punched throughout, but is attached to the frame with only a few rivets.
The broad outside plates are arranged to butt only on these frame
plates, some of the butt rivets being made to go through the angle-iron
frame on the inside. I do not restrict myself to apply the plates or
continuous butt straps to the alternate frames only, as every frame
receiving the plate butts may have a plate applied to it; and this plan
of covering the plate butts may be used with the common system of
plating, or with my improved system herein-after described. Instead
of building the butt frames in the manner described, they may be formed
of iron rolled to this section of form
The continuous butt
straps may also be used apart from the frames.
According to the third portion of my Invention I plate iron ships
without any fillings between the frames and outside plates. I first plate
the vessel with the inside strakes, leaving their fore and aft or longi-
tudinal seams a comparatively narrow space apart or open, and this
narrow space I fill up and cover with ribbed seam plates; these seam
plates being long narrow iron plates rolled with a rib on their inner
sides, which rib fits into the space between the lines of broad plates,
and receives one or two rivets directly into each frame. These ribbed
seam plates may be rolled in lengths of from twelve to forty feet, and
will overlie several plate butts, whilst as they are of a double thickness
in the middle, and form ranges of external clamps or fenders butting
directly on the frames, their use very greatly increases the strength of
the vessel. They may be made from nine to fifteen inches broad, and
the overlapping edges on each side of the rib may be either double
rivetted or single rivetted. In place of a keel of the ordinary con-
struction one of these ribbed seam plates of extra thickness may be
substituted. A modification of this external seam plate may be used,
being rolled without the rib and being more or less rounded externally,
but in using this modification the fore-and-aft edges of the plates
beneath must be brought close together. The ribbed seam plates may
also be more or less rounded externally. Either the whole or a portion
only of the fore-and-aft seams of a vessel's plating may have the external
seam plates applied to them in the ways described, and the same system

page_text: of plating may also be applied with advantage in the construction of
water-tight bulkheads.
According to the fourth portion of my Invention I form projections
or knees on the upper edge of iron beams, whether common or diagonal,
used in the construction of ships for the twofold purpose of obtaining
increased strength and of forming my iron "waterway;" these pro-
jections or knees may be either square, angular, or of other suitable
form. Round the projections I fasten angle iron, to which I rivet on
the top and front my "waterway," formed of iron plates of very long
lengths. The upper deck waterway is also secured with angle iron to
the gunwale or sheer strake, and the frames being cut off below the
gunwale or sheer strake is brought above the iron waterway a sufficient
distance for the bulwark stanchions to be fastened to it. The usual
iron stringer and wooden waterway are thus superseded, or if desired
the iron stringer may be rivetted in front of the iron waterway. under
the deck, and on top of the beams projections or knees similar to those
already described and similarly plated may also be formed on the under
sides of iron deck beams, and the present knees may or may not be
retained. The iron waterway may also be fastened to the beam pro-
jections in other ways besides those described. The gunwale stringer
is not weakened by the scupper holes when arranged as described with
my iron waterway.
According to the fifth portion of my Invention I make the hold and
'tween deck stanchions diagonal or inclined fore or aft, in place of
being square from the keel. These stanchions may be in single lengths
from the upper deck beams to the keelson, or in two lengths and in one
range fore and aft, or in two ranges intersecting each other, each range
being inclined in a contrary direction. These vertical diagonal
stanchions may also be in two double or single ranges on each side of
the keelson and at the hatchways to facilitate shipment of large boxes;
they may be secured with screw bolts to admit of their easy removal.
Where the fore and aft diagonal or inclined stanchions cross the line
of hold beams I rivet along the upper side of these beams, and to sides
of the stanchions a double clamp of angle or plate iron, or both, and a
similar clamp may be fastened along their top at their junction with
the upper deck beams, the hatch and mast spaces being excluded.
These diagonal stanchions may be applied to every deck beam, or to
every second, third, or fourth beam, and they may be of any section
of iron, solid. angle, or tubular, and may be used in a spar deck, and
when completed they form a vertical range of diagonal or inclined
beams. I also arrange athwart ship, in diagonal or inclined directions,
iron hold or 'tween deck stanchions, either single or double, with or

page_text: without bulkheads attached, and each in one length or in two lengths.
This arrangement is of special advantage in steamers, preventing
vibration, and in screw steamers clearing the screw shaft.
. According to the sixth portion of my Invention I form keelsons of
sufficient strength to fasten the lower extremities of the diagonal hold
stanchions, and to make the bottom of the vessel stronger I leave as
many of the floorings as may be desired to project up in one or more
places and in any convenient form, such as a square. These projections
may be rivetted or welded to the floor, or they may be of angle iron.
Round these projections I fix angle iron, to which is rivetted my plate
keelson in plates of long lengths both on the top and sides, or on either.
To the keelson so formed the lower extremities of the diagonal hold
'stanchions may be rivetted. This portion of my Invention is applicable
to all keelsons, whether main, bilge, or sister keelsons, and also to
engine and boiler seats, and the mode of fastening the plate keelsons
to the flooring projections may be varied.
According to the seventh portion of my Invention I make the housing
of topmasts in the interior of the iron lower masts in place of outside.
The topmast is struck by being lowered inside the lower mast, and when
getting up a new topmast I place the lower yard in a vertical position,
and apply a tackle to the upper yard arm, which being fastened to the
new topmast the latter is thereby hoisted up into its place. No cap nor
truss bow is required, and the fid is placed through a square hole in the
lower mast head, and into a square notch in the top mast heel, which
is thus prevented from turning. 1 reverse the futtock shrouds,
fastening them up to the top of the lower mast, and I am consequently
enabled to place the lower yard much higher up the mast than usual.
According to the eighth portion of my Invention I form winch ends,
geared winches, or other purchases in iron masts, having their spindles
through one or both sides of the iron mast, I also place double or single
wheel gearing inside iron masts; I also place a vessel's pumps inside an
iron mast or the tank pump, or I make the mast itself the pump, or
form the mast into a passage down to the hold, screw shaft, chain
locker, or 'tween decks, by placing a manhole door in it at an accessible
part of the mast above deck. I place inside a large iron mast a steam
boiler, communicating with a small engine either outside or inside, for
warping, hauling, lifting, or other purposes. I also make the interior
of an iron mast to answer as a trunk, through which to lead a telegraphic
wire communicating with the sea, and for the purpose of laying down
submarine telegraphs; for this purpose a hole is left in the vessel's
bottom, to which the lower end of the iron mast is secured water-tight.
I also make an iron mast, fixed as last described, to act as a passage,

page_text: through which to admit sea water into the vessel either for ballast, for
the extinction of fire, or for any other purpose. I also make such an
iron mast to receive any or all a steam vessel's engine or boiler pipes
requiring communication with the sea, in which case the sides and
bottom of the steam vessel will not require to be perforated and
weakened in various places as at present. I also make such an iron
mast to receive any discharge pipes, refuse pipes, water-closet pipes,
head and stern pump pipes, bath pipes, wash deck pipes, and pumps,
tank pipes, scuppers, or any other pipes or apparatus requiring com-
munication with the sea water. I also make the interior of my iron
mast a trunk, through which to lead standing or running wire or hemp
rigging; also a hatch trunk to communicate with the lower hold, which
by this means can be discharged or loaded without opening any of the
hatches, and for this purpose I step it on the lower deck, which may be
made water-tight throughout.
According to the ninth portion of my Invention I fasten the wood
ceilings of iron ships without requiring reverse angle iron on the frames,.
screw bolts, or nuts, in the following way-I bolt the ceiling to the
inside edge of the angle iron frames with clip bolts, or clasp bolts,
which grip both sides of the flange of the angle iron frame with sufficient
hold to keep the ceiling plank in contact; the clip bolt may be of
various forms, and to make a better hold for the clip bolt the frame
angle iron may be rolled to a section, having the greatest thickness at
the inside edge, thus forming a dovetail, and affording a better hold
for the bolt. This new form compensates in strength for the want of
the interior reverse angle iron. By this mode of fastening the ceiling
it can be more easily removed and replaced when required for coating,
and it has other important advantages, such as facility in rivetting
without the obstruction of the reverse angle iron.
According to the tenth portion of my Invention I make the boat and
anchor davits, and any other davits, in my vessel of T iron in place
of the form of iron hitherto adopted. This T iron is rolled with round
edges, and may be of this section T.
According to the eleventh portion of my Invention I employ wire ropes
or cables in place of chain cables, or in conjunction therewith for
mooring ships or vessels with or as a reserve cable for storms. These
wire cables may be made of iron, steel, or other metal wire, and they
may be galvanised or otherwise coated. In form they may be like
ordinary wire rope, or they may be flat, or otherwise suitably formed.
The hawse pipes for such wire cables may be fitted with antifriction
rollers, or they may be made of a metal occasioning less friction than
iron. The windlass, winch, or capstan may be fitted with a brake to

page_text: regulate the veering out of the wire cable, and when the wire cable is
on board it can be wound upon a drum placed on or under the deck.
According to the twelfth portion of my Invention I introduce the
engines and boilers into a steam ship or vessel through a gap left in the
side of the vessel for that purpose, greased ways, wheels, or rollers being
employed in getting in the engines & boilers whilst lifting cranes are
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Simons in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 25th September 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS
SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SIMONS, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Ship-
builder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Simons, Her special licence, that I,
the said William Simons, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Simons, my executors, admini-
strators, 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 OR CONNECTED
WITH SHIPS OR VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Simons, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Simons, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:
My said Invention comprehends various improvements in and con-
nected with ships or vessels, namely, in their construction, in the
arrangement or construction of their masts, and of parts connected

page_text: therewith, in the mode of mooring or anchoring them, and in the
construction of boat, anchor, and other davits. And in order that my
said Invention may be properly understood and carried into effect, I
have hereunto appended two Sheets of explanatory Diagrams, to which
I shall refer as 1 proceed with the particular description of my Invention
as follows:-
According to the first portion of my Invention I arrange iron beams
diagonally or obliquely in the construction of ships, disposing the beams
of one range in a direction opposite to that of the beams in the range
immediately above or below it, as shown in Figure 1 of the Diagrams
hereunto appended, in which some of the upper deck beams are marked
A, B, whilst some beams of the second range below are marked C, D.
On the top of each range of beams I fasten fore and aft or longitudinally
on each side of the hatchways, two strong thick and broad iron plate
stringers E, F, by preference, in long lengths, and double rivetted
throughout. These diagonal deck beams may be variously arranged,
and with various degrees of obliquity, from 50° upwards (as measured
from the fore-and-aft centre line), the angle of 80° being preferred;
and the lower deck beams need not in all cases be as close together as
the upper deck beams, or as shown in Figure 1. The hatchways and
deck openings are framed in the usual manner; and for the facility of
loading and discharging, especially in coasting traders, the hatchways
may be placed close to the gunwale deck stringer, on either of the plans
shown in Figures 2 and 3; and to obviate the possibility of damage from
sea water when the vessel is heeled to one side, the cooming may be
kept higher than usual, even to the rail. A strong box stringer or angle-
iron 'tween deck clamp of sufficient length may be secured to the vessel's
sides at each hatchway to give increased strength.
According to the second portion of my Invention I plate iron ships
without the ordinary short internal butt straps, but instead thereof I
bend round the outside of every alternate frame A, Figure 4, a long
plate or continuous butt strap B of flat iron of the same thickness as
the outside plates C, and of sufficient breadth for a butt strap. Each
frame plate B is double-punched throughout, but is attached to the
frame A with only a few rivets. The broad outside plates C are
arranged to butt only on these frame plates B, some of the butt rivets
being made to go through the angle-iron frame A on the inside. I do
not restrict myself to apply the plates or continuous butt straps B to
the alternate frames only, as every frame receiving the plate butts may
have a plate B applied to it; and this plan of covering the plate butts
may be used with the common system of plating, or with my improved
system hereinafter described. Instead of building the butt frames A, B,

page_text: in the manner described, they may be formed of iron rolled to the
section or form shown in Figure 5. The continuous butt straps B may
also be used apart from or between the frames A.
According to the third portion of my Invention I plate iron ships
without any fillings between the frames A and outside plates C, Figures
4 and 6. 1 first plate the vessel with the inside strakes, leaving their
fore and aft or longitudinal seams a comparatively narrow space apart
or open, and this narrow space I fill up and cover with ribbed seam
plates D; these seam plates being long narrow iron plates rolled with
a rib on their inner sides, which rib fits into the space between the lines
of broad plates C, and receives one or two rivets directly into each
frame A. These ribbed seam plates may be rolled in lengths of from
twelve to forty feet, and will overlie several plate butts, whilst as they
are of a double thickness in the middle, and form ranges of external
clams or fenders butting directly on the frames, their use very greatly
increases the strength of the vessel. They may be made from about
nine to fifteen inches broad, and the overlapping edges on each side of
the rib may be either double rivetted or single rivetted. In place of
a keel of the ordinary construction, one of these ribbed seam plates of
extra thickness may be substituted. A modification of this external
seam plate may be used, being rolled without the rib and being more
or less rounded externally, but in using this modification the fore-and-
aft edges of the plates beneath must be brought close together. Either
the whole or a portion only of the fore-and-aft seams of a vessel's plating
may have the external seam plates applied to them in the ways
described.
According to the fourth portion of my Invention I form projections
or knees on the upper edge of iron beams, whether common or diagonal,
used in the construction of ships, for the twofold purpose of obtaining
increased strength and of forming my iron "waterway." These pro-
jections or knees are shown at E on the beams F in Figure 6, and may
be either square, angular, or of other suitable form. Round the pro-
jections E I fasten angle iron, to which I rivet on the top and front
my "waterway," formed of iron plates G of very long lengths. The
upper deck waterway is also secured with angle iron to the gunwale
or sheer strake H, the frames A being cut off below, and the gunwale
or sheer strake H is brought above the iron waterway G a sufficient
distance for the bulwark stanchions to be fastened to it. The usual iron
stringer and wooden waterway are thus superseded, or if desired, the
iron stringer may be rivetted in front of the iron waterway, under the
deck, and on top of the beams. Projections or knees similar to those
just described, and marked E (Figure 6), and similarly plated, may

page_text: also be formed on the under sides of iron deck or hold beams, and
knees made as at present may or may not be retained. The iron water-
way may also be fastened to the beam projections in other ways besides
those described. The gunwale stringer is not weakened by the scupper
holes when arranged as described with my iron waterway.
According to the fifth portion of my Invention, I make the hold or
'tween-deck stanchions I, Figure 7, diagonal or inclined fore and aft
in place of being square from the keel. These stanchions may be in
single lengths from the upper-deck beams to the keelson, or in two or
more lengths, and in one range fore and aft, or in two ranges, the
stanchions of one range intersecting or crossing those of the other.
These vertical diagonal stanchions may also be in two double or single
ranges, one on each side of the midship keelson, and at the hatchways
they may be secured with screw bolts, to admit of their easy removal
to facilitate the shipment or discharge of large packages. Where the
fore-and-aft diagonal or inclined stanchions I cross the line of hold
beams J I rivet along the upper side of these beams J, and to both
sides of the stanchions I, a double clamp K of angle or plate iron; or
both, and a similar clamp L may be fastened along their tops at their
junction with the upper deck beams, leaving spaces however for the
masts and hatches. These diagonal stanchions I may be applied to
every deck beam, or to every second, third, or fourth beam, and they
may be of any suitable section of iron, solid, angle, or tubular, and
when completed they form a vertical range or ranges of diagonal or
inclined beams; they may also be used in a spar deck. I also arrange
athwart ship or transversely, in diagonal or inclined directions, iron
hold or 'tween-deck stanchions M, Figure 8, either single or double,
with or without bulkheads attached, and each in one or more lengths.
This arrangement is of special advantage in steamers, preventing
vibration, and in screw steamers, clearing the screw shaft, as shown in
Figure 8.
According to the sixth portion of my Invention I form keelsons of
sufficient strength to fasten the lower extremities of the diagonal hold
stanchions, and to make the bottom of the ship stronger than usual,
in the following manner:-I make as many as may be desired of the
floorings N, Figure 6, to project up in one or more places, and in any
convenient form, such as square, as shown at O and P (Figure 6). These
projections O, P, may be rivetted or welded to the floorings N, or they
may be of angle iron. Round the edges of the projection O. I fix
angle iron, to which is rivetted a plate keelson, consisting of plates Q,
of long lengths, on both top and sides, or on either. To the keelson
so formed the lower extremities of the diagonal hold stanchions (I,

page_text: Figure 7,) may be rivetted. This portion of my Invention is applicable
to all keelsons, whether main, bilge, (R, Figure 6,) or sister keelsons,
and also to engine and boiler seats. It will be obvious that the mode.
of fastening the keelson plates Q, 1, (Figure 6,) to the flooring pro-
jections P, O, may be varied.
According to the seventh portion of my Invention a topmast S
(Figure 9) is housed in the interior of the iron lower mast T. The top-
mast S is struck by being lowered inside the lower mast T; and when
a new topmast is to be got up, the lower yard U is turned into a
vertical position, and a tackle is fastened to its upper arm, by which the
topmast, is hoisted into its place. No cap nor truss bow is required, and
the fid V is passed through a square hole in the lower mast T, and into a
square notch in the heel of the topmast S, which is thereby prevented
from turning. In combination with this arrangement I invert the
futtock shrouds W, fastening them to the top of the lower mast T, and
constructing them to resist a compressing instead of a tensional strain.
I am by these means enabled to place the lower yard much higher on
the mast than usual. In some cases, when the topmast is housed as
described, the futtock shrouds W, and the top X, may be dispensed
with, the topmast shrouds being continued down to the deck. On the
same principle topmasts may be fixed to the funnels of steamers.
According to the eighth portion of my Invention I take advantage
of the sides and interiors of ships' iron masts for various useful purposes.
Thus I adapt winch ends, geared winches, or other purchases to iron
masts in a variety of ways, three modifications of which are shown in
Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. Figure 10 is a horizontal section of an
iron mast fitted with a number of plain winch ends; Figure 11 is a
side elevation, and Figure 12 a horizontal section, showing a mode of
arranging a simple geared winch, with its spindles passing through
opposite sides of the mast; and Figure 13 is a side elevation, and Figure
14 is a horizontal section, showing a mode of arranging geared winches,
with the gearing inside the mast. I also place the ship's pumps or the
tank pump inside the iron mast, or I make the mast itself to act as
the pump barrel. Or, again, I arrange the inside of the mast to act
as a passage down to the hold, screw shaft, chain locker, or 'tween
decks, placing a manhole door in its side at an accessible part above
the deck. Or, again, when an iron is sufficiently large, I place inside
it a steam boiler communicating with a small engine, fitted either inside
or outside of the mast, and used for warping, hauling, lifting, or other
purposes. Or, again, I make the interior of an iron mast to answer
as a trunk through which to lead a telegraph wire or cable to the sea.
in laying submarine telegraphs. For this and similar purposes a hole.

page_text: is left in the ship's bottom, to which the lower end of the iron mast
is secured water-tight. I also make an iron mast fixed in this way to
act as a passage through which to admit water into the ship, either
for ballast, for the extinction of fire, or for any other purpose. I also
make such an iron mast receive any or all of a steam ship's boiler or
engine pipes requiring communication with the external water, in which
case the sides and bottom of the steam ship will not require to be
perforated and weakened in various places as at present. I also pass
through such an iron mast any discharge pipes, refuse pipes, water-
closet pipes, head and stern pump pipes, bath pipes, wash-deck pipes
and pumps, tank pipes, scuppers, or any other pipes or apparatus
requiring communication with the external water. I also make the
interior of an iron mast act as a trunk through which to lead standing
or running wire or hemp rigging. Or the iron mast may be made to
act as a hatch trunk communicating with the lower hold, which may
thereby be loaded or discharged without opening any of the hatches;
and for this purpose I step the mast on the lower deck, which may be
made water-tight throughout.
According to the ninth portion of my Invention I fasten the wood
ceiling of iron ships, without requiring either reverse single iron on
the frames, screw bolts, or nuts, in the following way-I bolt the
ceiling Y, Figure 15, to the inside edge of the angle iron frames-Z with
clip or clasp bolts u, which gripe both sides of tlie flange of the angle
iron frame Z, with sufficient hold to keep the ceiling plank Y in its
place. The clip bolt may be of various forms, and to make a better
hold for the clip bolt the frame angle iron may be rolled of the section
shown at b, Figure 15, having the greatest thickness at the inside edge,⚫
and thus forming a dovetail, and affording a better hold for the bolt.
This new form of angle iron will compensate in strength for the want
of the usual interior reverse angle iron. A ceiling fastened in this way
can be removed and replaced more easily than when fastened in the
common way, and this plan is accompanied by other important advan-
tages, such as facility for rivetting, owing to the absence of the reverse
angle iron.
According to the tenth portion of my Invention I make boat, anchor,
and other davits of T iron instead of the form of iron hitherto adopted.
This T iron is rolled with round edges, and may be of the section shown
in Figure 16:
According to the eleventh portion of my Invention I employ wire
ropes or cables in place of chain cables or in conjunction therewith for
mooring ships or vessels, or as reserve cables for storms. These wire
cables may be made of iron, steel, or other metal wire, and they may

page_text: be galvanised or otherwise coated. In form they may be like ordinary
wire rope, or they may be flat or otherwise suitably formed. The hawsc
pipes for such wire cables may be fitted with antifriction rollers, or
they may be made of a metal occasioning less friction than iron. The
windlass, winch, or capstan may be fitted with a brake to regulate the
veering out of the wire cable, and when the wire cable is on board it can
wound upon a drum placed on or under the deck.
According to the twelfth portion of my Invention I introduce the
engines and boilers into a steam ship or vessel through a gap left in the
side of the vessel for that purpose, as shown in Figure 17, and completed
afterwards. Greased ways, wheels, or rollers are employed in getting
in the engines and boilers, whilst lifting cranes are dispensed with.
Having now particularly described my said Invention and the manner
in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I must observe
that, in practising my several improvements, I do not restrict myself to
the precise details herein described or delineated, nor do I I claim to
have invented every separate detail herein described or delineated; but
what I believe to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the
Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent, is,
First, the system or mode of arranging the iron beams of ships or
vessels; and the combination of the longitudinal plate stringers (E, F,
Figure 1,) with the diagonal deck beams, herein-before described as
forming the first portion of this Invention.
Second, the application or use, in the construction of iron ships or
vessels, of continuous butt straps crossing three or more fore-and-aft or
longitudinal lines of plates, and of compound plate butt frames made
of iron rolled of the section shown in Figure 5, as herein-before
described, as forming the second portion of this Invention.
Third, the application or use in the construction of iron ships or
vessels of ribbed seam plates and of unribbed seam plates rounded
externally, as herein-before described, as forming the third portion of
this Invention.
Fourth, the systems or modes of constructing the "waterways" and
parts connected therewith of iron ships or vessels, herein-before described
as forming the fourth portion of this Invention.
Fifth, the system or mode of arranging fore-and-aft and athwart ship,
'tween deck, and hold stanchions diagonally or obliquely, herein-before
described as forming the fifth portion of this Invention.
Sixth, the system or mode of constructing main, bilge, or sister
keelsons, and engine and boiler seats, herein-before described as form-
ing the sixth portion of this Invention.

page_text: Seventh, the system or mode of housing topmasts in the interior of
iron lower masts or funnels combined with the inverted disposition of
the futtock shrouds, and the consequent higher position of the lower
yard; also the dispensing with the "top" and futtock shrouds, and the
continuing of the topmast shrouds down to the deck when the topmast
is housed in the interior of the lower mast, herein-before described as
forming the seventh portion of this Invention.
Eighth, the application and appropriation of the sides and interiors
of ships' iron masts to the various useful purposes herein-before
indicated, also the system or mode of arranging iron masts so that com-
munication with the sea or external water may be had through them
for the various purposes herein-before indicated under the eighth head
of this Invention..
Ninth, the system or mode of fastening the wood ceiling of iron ships,
and the improved form of angle iron for the frames of iron ships, herein-
before described as forming the ninth portion of this Invention.
Tenth, the application and use of T iron of the section shown in
Figure 16 in the construction of boat, anchor, and other davits, herein-
before described as forming the tenth portion of this Invention.
Eleventh, the application and use of wire cables for mooring or anchor-
ing ships or vessels, herein-before described as forming the eleventh
portion of this Invention.
Twelfth, the system or mode of introducing engines and boilers into
steam ships or vessels through gaps in the sides thereof, herein-before
described as forming the twelfth portion of this Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Simons, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT, Patent Agent,
28, St. Enoch Square, Glasgow.
W SIMONS. (L.S.)