IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING THE SCREW PROPELLERS AND RUDDERS OF CANAL BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, Doctor of Laws, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING THE SCREW
PROPELLERS AND RUDDERS OF CANAL BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS."-A com-
munication from abroad by James Mapes Dodge, of Newark, New
Jersey United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Haseltine at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 12th February 1873.
I, GEORGE HASELTINE, of the " International Patent Office,"
Southampton Buildings, London, Doctor of Laws, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
ADJUSTING THE SCREW PROPELLERS AND RUDDERS OF CANAL BOATS AND OTHER
VESSELS," a communication, to be as follows :-
:-
The said improvements relate to the propulsion of boats in canals or
other shoal water navigation, and they have for their object the

page_text: increased immersion of the propelling screw and the rudder when per-
mitted by the increased depth of the water, or when required by the
light draught of an empty boat.
To accomplish this object the said Invention consists in suspending
the screw shaft in a tube or trunk opening to the stern of the vessel in
an inclined position, and in hanging the outer end of the shaft and the
rudder in a vibrating frame which may be raised by appropriate gearing
and will be similarly raised by contact with the bottom. When
required by shallow water in passing through locks or over shoals, the
screw shaft will be worked with the propeller and the rudder near or at
the surface of the water, and in deeper water the outer end of the
shaft may be lowered so that the rotation of the screw and the directing
movement of the rudder may be rendered more effective by the greater
pressure due to the increased depth. The inclined position of the shaft
directs the current of water from the propeller downward, instead of
permitting its force to be expended towards the surface in the direction
of least resistance to the detriment of the borders of the canal, by
which the wash may be received.
The frame supporting the screw and rudder should be hung in such a
way that it will easily rise on striking the bottom, and the trunk or tube
need only be large enough to permit the vibrations of the shaft, and
should be high enough at the inner end to rise above the load
water line of the vessel, that there may be no necessity for furnishing
stuffing boxes or other means for preventing the admission of the
water.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Haseltine in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 11th August 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton Build- 3
ings, London, Doctor of Laws, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-

page_text: sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said George Haseltine, Her special licence that
I, the said George Haseltine, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said George Haseltine, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 APPARATUS
FOR ADJUSTING THE SCREW PROPELLERS AND RUDDERS OF CANAL BOATS AND
OTHER VESSELS," a communication to me from abroad by James Mapes
Dodge, of Newark, New Jersey, United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Haseltine, my exe-
cutors 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 George Haseltine, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing
forming a part of this Specification :-
The said improvements relate to the propulsion of boats in canals or
other shoal water navigation, and they have for their object the
increased immersion of the propelling screw and the rudder wheṇ
permitted by the increased depth of the water, or when required by the
light draught of an empty boat.
To accomplish this object the said Invention consists in suspending
the screw shaft in a tube or trunk opening to the stern of the vessel in
an inclined position, and in hanging the outer end of the shaft and the
rudder in a vibrating frame which may be raised by appropriate gearing
and will be similarly raised by contact with the bottom. When
required by shallow water in passing through locks or over shoals, the
screw shaft will be worked with the propeller and the rudder near or at
the surface of the water, and in deeper water the outer end of the shaft
may be lowered so that the rotation of the screw and the directing

page_text: movement of the rudder may be rendered more effective by the greater
pressure due to the increased depth. The inclined position of the shaft
directs the current of water from the propeller downward instead of
permitting its force to be expended towards the surface in the direction
of least resistance to the detriment of the borders of the canal by
which the wash may be received.
The frame supporting the screw and rudder should be hung in
such a way that it will easily rise on striking the bottom, and the
trunk or tube need only be large enough to permit the vibrations of
the shaft, and should be high enough at the inner end to rise above the
load water line of the vessel that there may be no necessity for
furnishing stuffing boxes or other means for preventing the admission
of the water.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the stern of a flat bottom canal boat
with the screw and rudder at their greatest immersion; Figure 2 is a
cross section of the same on the line x, x.
The Drawing represents the position of the propeller a, shaft b, and
the rudder c, when the frame is at its lowest point. The shaft bis
supported at its inner end by the bearing d, which may be hung on
journals, or provided with other means for accommodating itself to the
varied regularity of the shaft. When the centre of vibration of the
shaft lies in the centre line of the bevel gearing, as, shown in the
Drawing, the angle of the shaft will have no influence upon the manner
in which it is driven. The frame e which supports the outer end of the
propeller shaft is hinged to the boat at f and passes up through the
stern, where it is furnished with a rack that gears into a pinion g by
which it may be raised. The pawl retains it at any desired point.
The guard m extends forward on the bottom so that the frame will be
easily forced up when the boat strikes the bottom, the forward end
being jointed to the boat and the after end sliding within the frame.
The vertical and horizontal portions of the frame may be hinged to work
together after the manner of a parallel motion when raised or lowered.
The trunk or tube for the shaft occupies but little more of the width
of the vessel than the diameter of the shaft, and the opening need not
weaken the vessel by passing through the bottom. The rudder c is
carried by the outer stern post i which forms a portion of the vibrating

page_text: frame e, and therefore accompanies the vertical movement of the
frame and screw. It is operated by the tiller k and the rudder-
head I, which is fitted to the rudder by means of a slot or rings, or in
any other manner that will permit the rudder blade to slide within or
over the head and at the same time receive the necessary rotary motion
from the tiller.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. The vibrating frame jointed to the vessel and supporting the
outer end of the screw propeller shaft, substantially as described.
Second. The combination of the sliding rudder and rudder head,
carried by a vibrating frame, in the manner described.
Third. The construction of a vessel for screw propulsion with an
inclined shaft enclosed in a trunk or tube opening into the vessel above
the water line.