US1339755A - Ship's-hull construction - Google Patents

Description

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SHIPS HULL CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED OCT. I6. I915 RENEWED SEPT 22,1917.

1,339,755, Patented May 11,1920;

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A; jjjj::.2;; m 26 I 1 L A llomeys "UNITED STATES PATENT FREDERICK W. GORE, OF HUNTINGTON, NEVT YORK.

SHIPS-HULL GONSTRUGTION.

Application filed October 16, 1915, Serial No. 56,303.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK WV. GORE, a citizen of the i United States, residing at Huntington, county of Suffolk, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Ships Hull Construction, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a marine craft embodying several distinct features of novelty with a view to obtaining high speed combined with stability in a sea way.

The principle of the invention is to limit the submersion of the crafts hull in the water when said craftis traveling at such speed as to establish wind or air pressure against certain surfaces or planes which are provided as elements of the hull construction, whereby a certain part of the hull is adapted to be raised out of the water by the pressure of the air developed by a relatively high speed of the craft, to the end that the hull is adapted to be supported partly upon the water but mainly by the air pressure against the .under surface of the plane, as a result of which it is possible to obtain a 4 greater speed development of the craft.

Combined with the hull and the air pres sure surface or plane referred to, is a keel extending approximately the full length of the craft, the depth of said keel exceeding the depth of the hull and the depth of the air pressure surface or plane, whereby the keel is adapted to remain submerged for approximately its length so as to aili'ord means for attaining stability of the craft in a sea Way and of being maneuvered in rough waters.

While my invention may be embodied in many kinds of marine craft, it is intended, more particularly, for use in the construetion of such craft as are to be driven at high speed, including motor driven racing craft, naval vessels of the type designed for torpedo service, torpedo destroyers and submarine destroyers, although the factor of safety secured by the deep longitudinal keel and by a special form of the air pressure plane renders the invention of particular value in the construction of life boats for the reason that the invention renders it feasible to produce a marine craft which. is, for all practical purposes, both non-capsizable and non-sinkable under the usual conditions of service.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

Renewed September 22, 1917. Serial No. 192,825.

A special feature of the design, viewed from the standpoint of marine architecture, is the air pressure shell or plane constituting an integral part of the hull and eX-.

tending in the general direction of the length thereof, said plane or shell exceeding the length of the hull proper and being equal, approximately, to the length of the deep longitudinal keel, the latter extending both forwardly beyond the bow of the hull and rearwardly beyond the stern of said hull. At its forward part or toward the bow end, the shell or plane is pointed and in cross section said forward part of the shell is approximately semi-circular, but it is preferred to reduce the cross sectional curvature of said shell or plane toward the rear or stern end of the craft so that at the rear the shell is a segment of a circle whose radius is greater than the radius at the fore part of said shell. The longitudinal relation of the shell or plane to the hull is not on a line parallel to the longitudinal axis, horizontally considered, of the craft, but, contrawise, the shell is positioned at an angle to said longitudinal axis, the angle of incidence of the shell or plane relatively to the crafts hull being such as to elevate the forward part of the shell in order that, when driven at speed, the air flows freely beneath the shell and is capable of exerting such pressure upon the under surface of the shell and in an upward direction to result in the exertion thereon of a sub stantial lifting power or force which will obtain the result sought, 2'. 6., to substantially lift the hull by overcoming the weight thereof and of the load, to the end that the craft will be lifted part way out of the water, the extreme lower part of the hull and the keel remaining submerged, and under high speed conditions the keel only being submerged at the fore and rear parts and amidship of the craft, whereby the development of extremely high speed is rendered possible, and the craft may be said to ride or to be sustained mainly upon the air, with reliance placed upon the submersion of the keel to obtain stability and the necessary maneuvering qualities.

The width of the cross sectionally curved shell or plane exceeds the width of the hull, the plane or shell depending from the sides of the hall to the end that the longitudinal side ec ge portions of the shell. or plane will, on the normal displacement of the craft, be submerged in the water. This obtains a result which may be likened to the water acting as a seal to the air chambers which are produced between the sides of the hull and the respective side portions of the shell,

, whereby the air flowing through the charmhers due to the motion of the craft is confined, as it were, by the contour of the plane and by the liquid seal afforded by the submersion of the side portions of the shell in the water, thus precluding the escape of the air from the chambers laterally or at the sides thereof, whereas the decreased curve of the shell toward the rear facilitates the flow and escape of the air from the charm bers rearwardly of the craft.

' The relative arrangement of the shell to the hull whereby the side portions of said shell are immersed and the air chambers are produced at the respective sides of the craft is a feature of some considerable importance in a marine craft of my invention, for the reason that the air chambers afford a factor of safety in rough waters, it being apparent that a side roll of the craft in one direction or the other will result in an increased dip of the plane at that side into the water and consequently the air within the chamber will be compressed more on one side of the craft than in the chamber on the other Side of the craft, whiehincreased air pressure will tend to cause the craft to right itself, more or less.

The cross sectionally curved shell or plane is substantially flush with the deck of the craft, and somewhat below the coaming and upper structure thereof, particularly along the sides of the cockpit. Although I have described that the shell or plane is curved in cross section, it is apparent that useful results are obtainable with other forms of shells or planes, but the curved form is preferred for the reason that it affords the greatest area of surface in proportion to its dimensions an d the lines of thrust or force of the air are best calculated, as I now view the matter, to obtain the results sought to be secured.

In addition to the primary function of affording a surface to utilize the pressure of the wind in limiting displacement of the hull, or in other words. of lifting the hull partly out of the water when in motion, the shell or plane serves other purposes desirable in marine craft, for the reason tha said shell or plane in the specified relation to the hull, propellers, bow and stern acts also as a means to eliminate the spray which usually flies over a craft traveling at high speed and it eliminates to a substantial extent the drag on the craft.

' Other features and advantages ofthe invention will appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a marine craft embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken approximately centrally through the hull.

Fig. 4: is a view in front elevation looking toward the bow and showing the craft on a scale enlarged as compared with Figs. 1, 2 and 3, said figure illustrating more particularly the under surface of the air pressure shell or plane, and the relation of the respective side portions of said plane or shell to the hull and the keel.

Fig. is an elevation. looking toward the stern of the craft.

Fig. 6 is a plan view illustrating diagrammatically another form of the shell or plane adapted to form part of the hull structure.

The hull 10 is of suitable construction known to those skilled in the art, but in a craft designed to develop high speed the lines of the hull should be so finely developed as to offer minimum resistance to the passage of the craft through the water and theair when the craft is lifted to a substantial extent out of the water by the pressure of wind or air against the under surface of the cross sectionally curved shell or plane 11 when the craft is traveling at relatively high speed.

A salient feature of the invention is a keel 12, the forward part of which extends an appreciable distance beyond the bow of the hull and the rear part of which extends likewise for an appreciable distance beyond the stern of the hull, said keel being of such depth as to depend for a substantial distance below the bottom surface of the hull at the lowest point thereof. The keel. is relatively thin, presenting comparatively broad surfaces at the sides of the craft, whereby the keel offers a minimum resistance to the movement of the craft in the direction of its length and at the same time affords the surfaces necessary to secure stability of the craft in a sea way and to enable the craft to be maneuvered in rough waters. The forward portion of the relatively thin keel is constructed to produce a stem post 13, whereas the rearward portion of the keel extending beyond the stern of the hull is adapted, as by the provision of the stern post (not shown) to support a rudder Ll, the same being operated in any suitable way, as for example by cables 15 extending through the rear part of the hull so as to be within convenient reach of. the steersman occupyin the seat 16 positioned within the cockpit l'r of the craft. The rear part of the longitudinal keel 12 terminates an appropriate distance in front of the overhang formed by the rear extremity of the cross sectionally curved shell or plane 11, so that the rudder is below the overhang, as usual, the lower part of said rudder being supported partially by the rudder foot 18. The craft is designed to be'propelled by a suitable number of screws, two of which are indicated at 19 and located on the respective sides of the keel. The propeller shafts 20 are supported where exposed by hangers 21, said propeller shafts extending through appropriate stufiing boxes 22 provided in the hull, so that the forward portions of the propeller shafts will be driven by the motor adapted to be located as at 23 within the cockpit.

As is usual in the art, the cockpit 17 is defined by the coaming 24 which extends for an appreciable distance above the upper works of the craft. The air pressure shell or plane 11 constitutes an important feature of this invention, the same extending the full length of the craft or approximately so. This plane or shell 11 may be of any desired shape in cross section, but it is preferred that the forward part of the plane,

or that part in rear of the bow and stem post, be semi-circular in cross section, as shown in Fig. 4, whereas the rear part of the plane or shell is a segment of a circle, as shown in Fig. 5, the radius of the rear part of the plane or shell being greater than the radius of the semi-circular forward part thereof. The cross sectionally curved plane or shell extending the full length of the craft is not parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hull, horizontally considered, but, on the contrary, the axial longitudinal line of the shell or plane 11, is at an angle to the horizontal axial line of the hull, the angle of incidence of the plane or shell with respect to the hull tending to raise or elevate the forward part of said shell so that at the bow of the craft the plane or shell is higher than at the stern of said craft. To minimize resistance the forward part of the cross sectionally curved plane or shell is cut away, as at 26, so that the forward part of the shell, viewed in plan, tapers, but the Width of the shell exceeds the width of the hull, and the depth of the shell is equal substantially to the depth of the hull, as shown in Figs. f and 5, whereby the longitudinal side edges of the cross sectionally curved shell or plane are in the plane of the bottom of the hull, or they may extend below the bottom surface of the hull, as a result of which the respective side portions of the plane are adapted to be submerged in the water when the craft is afloat. As will be noted by reference to Figs. l and 5, the side portions of the plane or shell are in such relation to the respective sides of the hull as to result in the formation of air chambers A, the forward and rearward portions of which chambers are open for the entrance of air and provides for the and the egress of air respectively. WVhen the craft is propelled at a certain speed, the air is free to flow beneath the cross sectionally curved plane or shell 11, the entrance of air to the chambers A being facilitated by the formation of the forward part 26 of the shell, whereas the egress of air at the rear of the craft is facilitated by the broad and relatively flat formation of the shell at the rearward part thereof. With the craft traveling at high speed thewind or air flowing through and beneath the shell exerts pressure upon the under surfaces of the shell, such pressure being in an upward direction, as a result of which the air or wind pressure lifts the hull more or less out of the water dependent upon the speed of the craft, thus overcoming the weight of the hull and the load and limiting the displacement of the craft to such an extent that the development of higher speed is possible by reason of the fact that frictional resistance of the water to the movement of the craft is minimized, but at the same time the depending keel 12 remaining in the water insures the necessary stability in a sea way proper maneuvering of the craft.

In the embodiment of the invention as heretofore described, the shell or plane 11 is uniform in width rearwardly from the forward tapered end, the side edges being parallel as shown in Fig. 2, and the rear transversely curved part of the shell being somewhat flatter or in a curve of greater radius than the forward semi-circular part of said shell. \Vhile the described form of shell is well adapted for certain types of speed craft, particularly as provision is made for the relatively free escape of air rearwardly from beneath the shell, it is possible to modify the shell structure substantially as shown in Fig. 6 with a view to compressing the air as it flows beneath the shell and thereby increase the lifting effort applied by the air against the under surface of the shell. To this end, the width of the shell rearwardly from the forward raised front part thereof is gradually decreased as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6, the longitudinal side edges of the shell being slightly inclined toward each other beginning at a point in rear of the pointed forward part of said shell whereby the shell when viewed in plan tapers or decreases in width toward the rear part thereof. As hereinbefore described the shell is positioned at an angle longitudinally considered with respect to the hull, but with a rearwardly tapering shell I do not find it necessary to decrease the transverse curvature of the rear part thereof as heretofore described, so that the radius of the shell at the rear may be, and preferably is, the same as at the forward part thereof. When the shell is constructed with the rearwardly tapering portion, the flow of air beneath the shell and within chambers such as A is more or less retarded by the configuration of the shell, hence the air is compressed to a certain extent and it exerts an increased lifting effort in an upward direction against the under surface of the shell.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a marine craft, a hull, and an airpressure shell unitary with said hull and extendingin the direction of the length thereof, said air-pressure shell being so related to the hull that the respective side portions of the shell are adapted to be sealed by the medium in which said hull floats, whereby the hull is lifted partially out of the water when the craft is in motion.

2. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a shell or plane extending lengthwise of said hull, said hull or plane being curved in transverse cross section, the lower margins of said shell being so related to the water line of the hull as to result in the submergence of said margins in the water.

8. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a shell or plane extending lengthwise of said hull and curved in transverse cross section, the curvature of the forward part of the plane or shell being of a radius less than that of the rearward part of the plane.

4;. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a cross sectionally curved air plane unitary with the hull and the respective side portions of which plane are adapted to be immersed in and sealed by the water, for precluding the lateral outflow of the air adapted to exert pressure upwardly upon the under surface of the plane or shell.

5. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of an air pressure shell or plane unitary with said hull and extending for substantially the length thereof, and a keel depending below the hull and the shell or plane.

6. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a keel depending for a substantial distance below the hull, said keel being extended beyond the outline of the hull at the extreme end portions of the latter, and an air pressure plane or shell unitary with the hull and extending lengthwise of said hull and the keel.

7. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a longitudinal keel the forward part of which is extended beyond the corresponding part of the hull, and an air pressure plane unitary with the hull and extending for substantially the length of said keel and the hull.

8. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a longitudinal keel the rearward part of which is extended beyond the corresponding part of the hull, and an air pressure shell or plane in operative relation to the hull and inoVerhanging relation to the extended part of the keel. I

9. In a marine craft, the combination with a 111111,.015 a longitudinal keel the forward and rearward parts of which are extended for appreciable distances beyond the corresponding parts of the hull, and an air pressure shell or plane in operative relation to the hull and the keel so as'to produce air chambers at the respective sides of said hull. 10. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a keel, the depth and length of which exceeds the corresponding dimensions of the hull, and a shell or plane the width of which exceeds the width of the hull, the respective side portions of said shell or plane being adapted to be sealed by the medium in which the hull floats.

11. In a marine craft, ,the combination with a hull, of keel, the depth and length of which exceeds the corresponding dimensions of the hull, a cross sectionally curved plane in operative relation to the hull and the keel, the forward part of said shell or plane being approximately semi-circular.

12. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a keel, the depth and length of which exceeds the corresponding dimensions of the hull, a plane extending lengthwise of the keel and the hull, said plane being curved in cross section with the curvature at the rear at a greater radius than the curvature at the forward part thereof.

13. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a keel extending forwardly and rearwardly beyond the hull, and a cross sectionally curved plane positioned longitudinally of the hull and inclined longitudinally with respect thereto, the side portions of said plane being positioned to be sealed by the water and cooperating with the hull to produce air chambers at the respective sides thereof.

14. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a cross sectionally curved shell extending lengthwise of the hull and positioned for the side edges of said shell to dip into the water, said shell decreasing in width toward the rear thereof.

15. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of an air pressure shell extending lengthwise of the hull, said shell being positioned at an angle to the longitudinal axial line of said hull and said shell decreasing in width toward the rear thereof.

16. In a marine craft, a hull, a keel extending forwardly and rearwardly with respect to the hull, and an air pressure shell unitary-with the hull and positioned relatively to said hull for the respective side portions of said shell to be sealed by the medium in which the hull is adapted to float.

17. In a marine craft, a hull, a keel extending forwardly and rearwardly with respect to the hull, and an air pressure shell unitary with the hull and positioned relatively to said hull for the respective side portions of said shell to be sealed by the medium in which the hull is adapted to float, the cross sectional form of said shell being such as to produce intermediate the shell and the hull certain air chambers the cross sectional area of which decreases rearwardly of the bow of the hull, whereby the shell tends in a measure to compress the air flowing within said chambers.

18. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a shell extending lengthwise of the hull, the longitudinal axial line of said shell being inclined to the corresponding axial line of the hull and the respective side portions of said shell being spaced relatively to the respective side portions of the hull so as to produce therebetween intermediate air chambers, the lower margins of said shell being so related to the water line of the hull as to result in the submergence of said margins in the water.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERICK W. GORE.

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