“This Invention is not to be considered as an imitation of the well-known manœuvre of towing one vessel in the wake of another: for the resistance of the vessels thus towed, remains nearly, though not quite the same as if drawn along separately. But here, by the adaptation of the prow of one Boat to the poop of another, the first alone suffers resistance from the water—which, although it enters between the joints, strikes only the first—and from this it follows, that the resistance of these vessels, in passing from one place to another, bears no necessary proportion to the weight they carry.”
“Thus then, I obviate the necessity of having broad vessels to carry the heaviest burdens; for I disseminate the load over an indefinite length: by which method also, my vessel rides in shallower water, and depends less for its passage, on the state of the rivers or the seasons. Besides, they require a much less number of horses, or exertion of power, to transport a given quantity of goods; admitting at the same time, a greater swiftness of motion. And finally, if these vessels travel through different towns on the same voyage, the goods of each town may be lodged in the same part, and merely detached in passing, so as to lose no time in unloading them.”
“[Fig. 1] of [Plate 18], shews the plan of several forms which I give to the articulations or separate parts of these vessels: so as to connect them strongly, yet leave them, as a whole, in some degree flexible. The form A B, is, for the first boat, a straight line across to form the stern, and for the second an obtuse angle terminated by a semi-sphere or vertical semi-cylinder, which enters a hollow and similar figure in the first Boat—which latter, in this case, forms the Head of the whole Serpentine Vessel.”
“These two parts or joints, of which we have been speaking, are held together by a rope c d e f, which, fastened to the second part at c, passes over two pulleys e d, in the head, to the small capstan f, by which, both parts are bound together as tightly as may be judged proper. If it were thought necessary, the spaces A B might be underlined with a piece of leather or metal, not to prevent the water from entering between the Boats, but to prevent its striking those which follow the others through the water—a precaution less urgent in the other kind of joint we are about to describe.”
“C D, in this same figure, presents another form of the head and stern of two contiguous Boats or parts; (which, to save room, are both supposed to be broken off at some point between their ends:) where as in the former case, the Boats are connected so as to remain horizontally flexible. These forms are semi-cylindrical, the stern concave, and the head convex, to the same radius; and the motion takes place around a bolt and pulley p, reeved with a rope coming from one side of the first Boat near C and led again to a small windlass or capstan placed on the other side near D. E F, is another modification of the same kind of joint: the centre of which is a bolt or stud q, (better seen at q in the [2d. figure]) over which a triangular frame falls from the preceding Boat, and thus connects them instantaneously; leaving a certain flexibility in the horizontal direction.”
“Finally, G H shews a simple mean of connecting these Boats, on the supposition that both ends of each are formed alike to an obtuse angle in the middle of their breadth. It is a kind of hook r s, mounted in a frame turning on centres in the preceding Boat, and reaching over into the succeeding one; where it finds a hollow step of metal which receives and fits it, so as to hold these neighbouring Boats with sufficient tightness, but still with a certain degree of flexibility. Many other methods might be suggested, by which to form these joints; and almost any might be made to answer the purpose. I shall therefore leave this branch of the subject, observing only, that the [second figure] of [Plate 18], is an elevation of the same things: which, generally, are marked with the same letters as far as they are visible.”