Object Details
- patentee
- Sterling, Alpheus G.
- Sterling, Abram T.
- inventor
- Sterling, Alpheus G.
- Sterling, Abram T.
- Description
- Although Joseph Francis is the best-known inventor of lifesaving boats in the 19th century, other people from diverse walks of life developed their own ideas for improving safety at sea. Among these were two fishermen from Peaks Island near Portland, Maine, Alpheus G. and Abram T. Sterling, who patented their design for lifeboat improvements in 1874.
- In the Sterlings’ design, the hold below the boat’s watertight deck was fitted with a rubber “air reservoir,” which conformed to the shape of the boat. A series of “apertures,” or openings, in the hull allowed water into the space around the air-filled chamber. This water-ballast helped the boat resist capsizing while air sealed inside rubber fenders and in a second interior chamber preserved the vessel’s buoyancy. The rubber air-filled reservoir was also meant to prevent the boat’s sinking if it hit an obstruction.
- 1874
- patent date
- 1874-12-12
- 1874-04-21
- ID Number
- TR.325947
- accession number
- 249602
- catalog number
- 325947
- patent number
- 149,891
- Object Name
- lifeboat, model
- patent model, lifeboat
- Object Type
- Patent Model
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- rubber (fitting material)
- copper alloy (fitting material)
- Measurements
- overall: 4 in x 20 in x 7 in; 10.16 cm x 50.8 cm x 17.78 cm
- home of patentees
- United States: Maine, Portland
- Related Publication
- On the Water online exhibition
- Related Web Publication
- http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Maritime
- Transportation
- On the Water exhibit
- Exhibition
- On the Water
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- related event
- The Development of the Industrial United States
- Record ID
- nmah_1316596
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-0b4f-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
