US9574A

US9574A - Improved arrangement of center-board and rudder for shoal-water vessels

Info

Publication number: US9574A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1853-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 1870-02-08

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

`GEORGE CHASE, OF PBUDENCE ISLAND, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVED ARRANGEMENI 0F CENTER-BOARD AND RUDDER FOR SHOAL-WATER VESSELS.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 9,574, dated February 8, i853.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, GEORGE CHASE, of Prudence Island, in the county ot' Newport and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Method of I-Iangingthe Sliding Keels or Center-Boards and Rudders of Vessels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, making a part thereof, and which represents a side view ot' the hull of a vessel with the center-board and rudder attached.

The nature of my invention consists in providing a vessel with a stern-post which may slide up and down in guides or ways and in attaching thereto the rudder, as also the rear end of the center-board, (the front end being hinged by .a pin or otherwise near the bow,) so that when the center-board strikes in shalA low water7 or when Ait is raised or lowered for any purpose whatever, the rudder shall also rise or fall with it, thus always maintaining the same relative positions with regard to each other, and by which means the rudder may extend down as low as the bottom of the center-board, yet be entirely free from being broken or unshipped when running in shallow water, and at all times indicate the position of the center-board and rudder.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same, with reference to the drawing, in which- A represents the hull of a vessel, and B the center-board or sliding keel, which is hinged by a pin a near the bow and rises and falls in a groove inthe bottom ot the vessel. A stern-post C is attached to the vessel by guides i) b, through which it may rise and fall, and the rear end of the center-board is also attached to this stern-post C, so that one shall always move with the other and still maintain the same relative positions with regard to each other. The rudder D is hung to the stern-post C by any of the common and wellknown means, and the helm E may pass through a slot in said stern-post or straddle it, so that the rudder may be freely worked without cramping the helm in the stern-post.

The black lines represent the position of the rudder and center-board when down, and the red lines the same when raised up, the principal object being to make the centerboard, when striking in shallow water or at other times, raise up the rudder with it, so that neither shall be broken or unshipped, while the rudder may at all times extend down as far as the bottom line of the sliding center-board or keel. In larger vessels it may be found necessary to rig the stern-post by rack and pinion, block and tackle, or to the vessels windlass for the purpose of raising up the said parts, and a catch for holding; but when approaching shallow water all such connections should be let go, so as to allow the center-board to rise the moment she strikes. It will, however, be found more essential and applicable to small coasting-vessels or sail-boats navigating small inlets, rivers, tbc. The hanging of the rudder and center-board to the` sliding-stern-post also serves the purpose of indicating by the 'position of said stern-post the position of the rudder and center-board, whether up or down, and to what extent.

I am aware that one rudder made to slide within the other and attached to a centerboard has been used so that one shall rise with the other; but in this case there is no indication by which it can be known when the sliding rudder is up or down, and when used thus I lay no claim to them; but

Vhat I do claim herein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Attaching the rear end ot' the movable cenf ter-board and the rudder to the sliding sternpost, so that the said center-board, stern-post, and rudder may be raised or lowered together, substantially as described, and by which means I only use a single rudder, whose position can always be known by the height of the stern-post, to which it is hung, as also that of the center-board, the sliding stern-post Serving as an indicator to the positions of both.

GEORGE CHASE. Witnesses:

T. C. DONN, A. B. STOUGHTON.