US1232155A - Ship's boat or the like. - Google Patents

Description

Patented Jul 3, 1917.

i th H I I -JJU A. H. T. WOODS.

SHIPS BOAT OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION men AUG-29, 1913.

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SHIPS BOAT OR THE LIKE.

Specification 'of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, l9ll'7.

Application med August 29, 1913. Serial no. 787,337.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ARTHUR BoBERT THOMAS Woons, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and residing in Harrow, near London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Ships Boats or the like, of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention has reference to ships boats or the like and relates more particularly to the arrangement of'the water-tight buoyancy chambers or tanks with which such boats are generally fitted, and to bulkheads arranged in the boat in conjunction with the buoyancy tanks.

According to the ordinary construction, the buoyancy tanks, which are water-tight and intended to insure buoyancy even if the boat be filled with water, are located along each side of the boat. In this position they are very much exposed to risk of being damaged by impact of the boat against the ships side while being launched, or by collision when afloat, or even by being struck by a heavy sea; such damage would generally destroy the water-tightness and buoyancy of the tank, and not only render it useless for the purpose intended, but would make it a positive source of danger by loadingthe boat on one side and so endangerlng its stability.

According to my invention, instead of loeating the buoyancy tanks in the usual way along the sides of the boat, I locate them along the center line thereof where they are in the position best shielded from the risks mentioned.

In the case of a; boat with a steel shell, I preferably make the tanks integral with the boat, in the form of an inverted U trough with its lower edges flanged outwardly and riveted to the bottom of the boat'she'll on I each side of the center line, and I find it advisable to fit an independent water tight bottom to the tank a little above thebottom of the boat.

The tank is thus made double-bottomed and the risk of its being pierced by impact of'the bottom of the boat against a rock or submerged wreckage is minimized.

The space inclosed as described is divided water-tightly by transverse plates so as to form a number of independent compartments or buoyancy tanks. The tank is pref erably ca'rriedashigh as thethwarts will permit, or in some cases even higher, and

each compartment is provided with a manhole with a lid adapted to be jointed watertightly and giving access for cleaning, paintmg, or repair.

The tanks preferably stop off short ofeach end of the boat and should have suflicient buoyancy to keep the boat afloat when fully loaded althoughfilled with water.

As an additional safeguard against the destruction of the boats buoyancy by collisionor other accidents, I prefer to fit a number of water-tight partitions or bulkheads extending from the central buoyancy tank to the shell of the boat and carried as high as practicable, so as to subdivide the boat into a number of compartments, and I specially arrange these bulkheads as hereinafter described, so as to minimize risk of injury to the buoyancy tanks by thrust conveyed through thebulkheads resulting from collision or other accidents.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to a seamless steel life boat in the accompanying drawings, in which Figurel is a plan, the lower half being in section on the line A, A, of Fig. 3, and Fig. 2 is an elevation ins'ection on the line B. B. of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line C. G. of Fig. 1.

1 is the shell of the boat and 2 are seats forming a partial deck carried onbrackets 3 arranged around the gunwale, and extended at 2 so as to deck in the ends of the boat;

4 are the usual thwarts which are fixed across the boat to the seat or deck 2.

5 is the buoyancy tank, extending symmetrically along the center line of the boat for the greater part of the length thereof. It is of inverted U form, closed at the ends by the end plates 5 and closed at the bot tom by the bottom plate 5 all riveted water-tightly together. The sides and the end plates 5 are carried down to the bottom of the boat where they are flanged outwardly and riveted water-tightly to the boat shell, thus making the tank double-b0ttomed as already described.

The tank is stiffened by gusset plates 6 and is divided by the transverse water-tight division plates 7so as to form a number of independent water-tight compartments or buoyancy tanks. The various compartments are provided with manholes and lids 8 adapted to be jointed water-tightly in any of the well known ways.

9 are the water-tight partitions or bulkheads, previously referred to, extending from the buoyancy tanks to the shell of the boat, to both of which they are riveted, and carried as high as practicable so as to divide the boat into a number-of compartments.

Two of these bulkheads extend along the center line from the ends of the buoyancy tank to the bow and stern respectively, so as to divide the boat into two compartments longitudinally. Another pair extend transversely about amid-ships from the buoyancy tank to the shell of the boat, thus dividing it into four compartments, any one of which might become water-logged without impairing the buoyancy of the others.

It will be understood that the buoyancy of the central tank should be preserved at all costs, as this buoyancy is ultimately relied upon to keep the boat from foundering. Hence the buoyancy tank is located centrally and stops off at some distance short of the ends of the boat, so that if the main structureof the boat should be staved in or otherwise damaged, the tank would remain unimpaired.

As the connection of the central tank to the ends and sides of the boat might render the tank liable to injury by thrust conveyed through the bulkheads, I specially arrange the latter so as to avoid this danger. I accordingly make them of a ductile material, as thin as their purposes will permit, and

' preferably curve or corrugate them and arrange them obliquely to the tank, with easy bends at their ends, as shown in the case of the transverse bulkheads in Fig. 1. S0 arranged, the bulkheads will bend or buckle or crumple under thrust without injuring the tank.

Four bulkheads are shown in the drawings, which are usually'sufiicient for a boat of moderate size, but of. course the number may be increased or diminished to suit circumstances.

The top edges of the bulkheads are preferably rounded over after the manner shown in the-case of the gunwale plate 10 in Fig. 3.

11 is a step for the mast, riveted to the top of the buoyancy tank, and 12 are cleats for foot rest bars. 1 p

The central buoyancy tank, being in the form of a deep continuous boX girder with its sides well braced together, is very strong to resist bending stress, especially in the vertical direction, and as it is effectually secured all along to the boat, it adds very materially to the strength thereof.

I accordingly make use of this girder to sling the boat from the davits, the ordinary slinging tackle being attached to the hooks 13 secured to the tank at its ends where it is further strengthened by the gussets 6 and j the central bulkheads 9.

in the case of a wooden boat, it is securely bolted, strapped, cleated or otherwise fasten-ed at frequent intervals to the frames of the boat so as to distribute the lifting stress throughout the structure. The additional strength thus aflorded, renders it safe to fully load the boat while still slung in the davits,.which might be dangerous, and in some cases impracticable, in the case of a fully loaded boat of the ordinary kind slung in the ordinary way.

The tank 5 might extend the Whole length of the boat, or the spaces between the ends ofthe tank and the ends of the boat might be bulkheaded off and closed with a Watertight deck so as to form end buoyancy compreferable, as it is safer and there is no difli-' culty in providing the required buoyancy with the tank considerably shorter than the boat. 1 I

The tank 5 is not necessarily made integral with the boat as shown in the drawings; in the case of a wooden boat or where the integral formation is otherwise unsuitable or undesirable, the tanks which are then self-contained may be secured in any congenient manner along the center line of the oat.

The buoyancy tanks and the bulkheads are shown as high as the thwarts will permit, as any greater. height would cause some inconvenience, but they might obviously be carried higher if thought desirable.

The tanks are preferably galvanized all over, which not only protects them from corrosion, but improves their staunchness.

The invention is specially applicable to boats of the semi-collapsible type. Such boats must of necessity be fitted with buoyancy tanks, and from their structure, their buoyancy tanks as usually arranged, are specially exposed to risk.

Boats constructed with buoyancy tanks and bulkheads as described are not only materially strengthened by the girder-like formation of the tank, which is preferably incorporated with the boat, but the risk of foundering is materially reduced, as the tanks are not likely tobe damaged by a collision or blow unless the boat as a whole is destroyed, and if any of the individual tanks should become damaged and flooded, the boat will not be so loaded as to affect its lateral stability. I

Having now fully described my invention, I declare that what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a'ships boat, in combination with a central longitudinal buoyancy chamber, a series of bulkheads extending from the ends and sides of the chamber to the shell of the boat, substantially as described.

. 2. Ina ships boat, in combination with a central longitudinal buoyancy chamber, a series of longitudinally yielding bulk-heads extending from the ends and sides of the chamber to the shell of the boat, substantially as described.

3. In a ships boat, in combination, a Water-tight buoyancy chamber of deep rectangular cross-section, extending longitudinally Within the boat With its center line coincident with that of the boat, the sides of the chamber being flanged outwardly beloW and riveted along the bottom of the boat so as to be incorporated With the structure thereof, and a pair of hooks, fixed one at each end of the said buoyancy chamber, for 1 slinging the boat, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

ARTHUR ROBERT THOMAS WOODS- WVitnesses:

JOHN I. J oHNsToN, WVILLIAM GEO. PETHERAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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