United States Patent [19] [11] 3,822,661

Simpson [45] July 9, 1974

[54] SHIPS HULL

[76] inventor: Robert Simpson, PO. Box 159, [561 References CM
Lantzville, British Columbia, UNITED STATES PATENTS
Canada 3,133,130 6/1964 Morgan ............................... .1 115/39
[22] Filed: Oct. 4, 1972
_ Primary Examiner-George E. A. Halvosa
[21] Appl NO" 294884 Assistant Examiner-Sherman D. Basinger
Attorney, Agent, or Firmf-Fetherstonhaugh & C0.
[30] Foreign Application Priority Data
0C1. 2, 1972 Canada .............................. .. 152973 [57] ABSTRACT
'A ships hull having a ?at plate mounted above a keel
[52] US. Cl ...................... .. 114/56, 1 14/56, 11114406613, kc portion formed of a rounded bow Section, a cylim
drical main section, and a conical stern section, The
[51] lnt.Cl .......................... .. B6311 1/04 B63b l/l2 th d ff b- t- d bl- th h IL
[58] Field 61 Search ....... .. 114/56, 61, 6,3, 65 R, 40, me o a "ca mg 8 assem mg 6 u
114/42; 9/6; 115/11, 34R 4 (Ilaims, 9 Drawing Figures
Pmmmm 919" ' 3.822.661
SHEH 2 (IF 2
 3,822,661
1 2
SHIPS HULL
My invention relates to an improved hull design and
particularly to an inexpensive and effective method of
constructing same.
A vessel used for towing normally is provided with a
hull of fairly conventional design which often lacks
some of the characteristics needed in a boat intended
for pulling heavy loads, usually at relatively low speeds,
and frequently in rough or at least choppy water. Such
vessels are costly to build and operate and should be
provided with above average stability since there is al
ways the danger that they might be capsized by their
tows.
My hull design allows the engine and other weighty
components of the vessel to be mounted so as to ensure
a very low center of gravity which provides maximum
stability. The hull has a keel portion constructed to re
duce friction and provide a maximum ?ow of water
over and around the propeller which decreases propel
ler slip and results in greater manoeuvrability. The de
sign lends itself to manufacture by a simple cutting and
welding process which elminates the need for costly
lofting, cutting and assembling as in conventional con
struction methods.
In drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment
of the invention, -
FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a vessel provided with av
hull in accordance with the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the vessel,
FIG. 3 is a plan taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 4-4
of FIG. 3,
FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are vertical sections taken respec
35 and the rear end of this strip, plus the bottom plate 14,
tively on the lines 5-5, 66 and 77 of FIG. 4,
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the
assembly of parts of the hull, and
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a modified form of the
hull.
The numeral 10 indicates generally a small tug pro
vided with a hull 12 which forms the basis of the pres
ent invention; the hull comprising two major parts, a
bottom plate 14 and a keel portion 16.
Plate 14 is formed of metal, preferably steel, which
may be one and one quarter inches or more in thick
ness and this ?at plate is cut or shaped so as to have ap
proximately the same outline when viewed in plan as
the deck of thetug 10. Suitably secured to circumfer
ential edge 18 of the plate 14, is an upstanding ?ange
19 which encloses the underside of the deck structure
and which connects with the bulwarks of the vessel.
The bottom plate 14 is provided with an elongated
opening 20, see particularly FIG. 3, which opening is
formed in the center of the metal plate to extend rear
wardly from a point close to bow end 21 of the plate to
a point spaced a suitable distance from stem end 22 of
said plate.
The hollow keel portion 16 comprises a bow section
30, a main section 31, and a stern section 32. As shown
in FIGS. 4 and 5, the metal bow section 30 is substan
tially triagnular when viewed from the side and is trans
versely curved in cross-section. Thus, section 30 has an
upper edge 34 and a rear edge 35, the latter edge being
disposed at right angles to longitudinal axis 36 of said
section. , A
Main section 31 is a metal cylinder, see particularly
FIGS. 4 and 6, with a portion cutaway to provide the
sides of the section with upper edges 38 both which are
disposed at the same acute angle to longitudinal axis 39
of the section. Front edge 40 of section 31 slopes rear
wardly at an oblique angle to axis 39 while rear edge 41
of said section is perpendicular thereto. It should be
noted that bow section 30 and main section 31 have
substantially the same radius of curvature.
The tubular metal cone used to form the stern section
32 has an upper portion cut away to provide a curved
upper edge 45 which is parallel to longitudinal axis 46
of said section. Front edge 47 of the section 32 is nor
mal to axis 46 and so is rear edge 48 which de?nes the
small, open end of the conical section 32.
The edges 35 and 40 are welded together to form a
strong, watertight seal therebetween. Similarly the
edges 41 and 47 are joined together. The upper edges
34, 38 and 45 of the three sections making up the keel
portion 16 de?ne an opening 50 (FIG. 8) having a mar
ginal edge 51 which conforms in shape to marginal
20 edge 52 of the opening 20, and these two marginal
edges are securely welded together again to form a
strong, watertight seal. The axis 36 of the bow section
is disposed at an obtuse angle to the axis 39 of the main
section. Preferably, axis 39 is disposed at an acute
25 angle to the plate 14 so as to extend downwardly and
rearwardly therefrom. .
The hull 12 contains the engine 60 for the tug 10, the
engine being shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1 enclosed
by and suitably mounted in the main section 31. Pro
30 peller shaft 61 of the engine 60 extends rearwardly
through the stern section 32 and is properly sealed and
journalled therein, this shaft being fitted with the usual
propeller 62. A keel strip 64 is secured to the underside
of the main section 31 to extend rearwardly therefrom '
rotatably supports a rudder v65.
As the tug 10 is driven forward through the water by
the propeller 62, the rounded and enlarged bow section
30 breaks through the water and causes it to flow
40 around the cylindrical main section 31 as well as over
and around the conical stern section 32 whereby near
maximum driving ef?ciency is achieved by the deeply
immersed propeller. There is relatively little interrup
tion in water flow beneath the plate 14 and longitudi
45 nally of the keel portion 16 and this reduces friction to
a minimum. The water ?ow is such that the rudder 65
is extremely effective and therefore the vessel is partic
ularly easy to maneuver with the water flowing across
and over the conical stem section 32 to ensure a very
short turning radius. Since the tug 10 has a low center
of gravity due to the engine 60 being mounted in the
main section 31, the vessel is exceptionally stable and
cannot readily be capsized.
A ships hull of the above described design is excep
tionally easy to construct by a process which will now
be described. Referring to FIG. 8,. a length of cylindri
cal tube 70 is used to form the sections 30 and 31. An
oblique cut is made across the tube 70 at an angle of
approximately 70 to the longitudinal axis of said tube,
and this provides a short length 71 and a long length 72
of tubing. The short length 71 is rotated 180 about its
longitudinal axis and the two out edges (35 and 40) are
then welded together. The rear edge 41 of the main
section and the front edge 47 of the stern section are
65
also welded together and this completes the construc
tion of the hull portion except'for the provision of the
top opening 50 which subsequently is formed by cut
 3,822,661
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ting away the surplus metal from the three sections.
The keel section 16 is then joined to the bottom plate
14 and the marginal edges of the two openings 20 and
50 are welded together to provide the above described
hull.
Referring to FIG. 9, the numeral 80 indicates gener
ally another vessel having a hull 82 comprising a bot
tom plate 83 and two transversely spaced keel portions
84. The portions 84 are constructed in the above de
scribed manner to provide a hull having twin keels as
is desirable in some types of vessels.
From the foregoing, it will be apparent I have pro
vided a hull design which has the stability, water flow,
and other characteristics which are desirable particu
larly in a vessel using for purposes of towing such as is
shown in FIG. 1, or for a ferry such as is shown in FIG.
9. Construction costs are considerably reduced over
those of conventional tug and ferry building methods
due to the unique method of assembling the present
hull.
I claim:
1. A tug boat having a rounded, blunt, bow and in
cluding a hull comprising:
a ?at bottom member extending across the full width
of the boat from one side to the other; 25 the marginal edge of said ?at bottom member, said
a keel portion depending from said flat bottom mem
ber extending longitudinally of the boat and com
prising a plurality of edge welded tubular sections
each of which extends longitudinally of the boat in
cluding: a substantially cylindrical tubular bow sec
tion having a longitudinal axis sloping downwardly
rearwardly from said bow and secured to said bot
tom member in a manner presenting a blunt
rounded bow; a substantially cylindrical main sec
4
tion secured to said ?at bottom member rearwardly
of said bow section having substantially the same
radius of curvature as said bow section, having a
front end secured to the rear end of said bow sec
tion, and having its longitudinal axis disposed at an
obtuse angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of
said bow section and downwardly rearwardly at an
acute angle with respect to said ?at bottom mem
ber; and a conical stem section secured to said ?at
bottom member rearwardly of said main section.
the forward end of said conical stern member hav
ing substantially the same radius of curvature as the
rear end of said main section and being secured
thereto; said keel portion forming with said ?at
bottom member a marginal edge, the marginal
edge of said bow section of said keel portion having
a portion having a transverse dimension greater
than that of the remainder of said marginal edge.
20 2. A boat according to claim 1 wherein said flat bot
tom member has a longitudinally extending elongated
opening formed therein and having a marginal edge
and wherein said keel portion has a longitudinal open
ing having a marginal edge substantially conforming to
edges being in register.
3. A ships hull as claimed in claim 2, in which said
marginal edges of the elongated opening and the longi
tudinal opening are welded together.
4. A ships hull as claimed in claim 1, in which said
?at bottom plate has a circumferential edge fitted with
an upstanding ?ange enclosing part of the deck struc
ture of the vessel.
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