Leonard Bester Streamlined Naval Design (1 results)

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. Leonard R. Bester, 8 naval engineering blueprints, 1935. Various sizes, 10"x11" to 18"x11". Blueprint. Each sheet folded. Each sheet with a three-hole punch for a binder (not present). VG condition. Images include: (1) Auxiliary and Patrol Boat, Sub-chaser and Patrol Boat, Sub-bombing boat. 30 January 1935. 15"x16". (2) Tubular Steel 65' to 80'. Streamline diesel Community Yacht, Twin Screw, 20 July 1931, 18"x11". (3) General Layout of Tubular Type Hull Structure, 3 April 1935, 31"x19". (4) Tubular Steel Streamline Diesel Cruiser, 15"x9.5", 1931. (5) Tubular Steel, 40-50', Streamline Diesel Cruiser, 1931. 15"x9". (6) Tubular Steel 45', Streamline Diesel Cruiser, 1932, 15x11". (7) Tubular Steel, Streamline Diesel Single Screw, 1932, 10x11". (8) Tubular Steel, 32' Streamline Diesel Cruiser, Single Screw, 1932, 10x11". [++] Leonard R. Bester was a marine architect and naval engineer who presented interesting ideas on his highly-stylized concepts for boat/ship design. The vessels are all  certainly streamlined, and are long and narrow, and share the same "tubular" hull construction. Nothing published by Bester is listed in any contributing library worldwide (WorldCat).   [++] Bester patented an approach to "tubular" hull construction ("Ship hull design", filed in 1936 and patented in 1939, US2158214A), which seems reasonable to me (as a non-engineer). He describes it so:  "It has been the practice in the making of steel vessels such as are commonly used, to provide framework consisting essentially of transverse web frames coupled with longitudinal members, whereby to give form and rigidity to the vessel. Even where the vessels were oval or cylindrical in general cross-section, the framing invariably embodied straight pieces. This type of construction had the considerable disadvantage that it was quite heavy and it was not possible to attain any great amount of saving in weight by variations in the arrangement and size of the several frame members. It was also impossible in such construction to reduce the labor cost in the building there of and also to reduce the cost of propulsion or materially increase the speed of the vessel without overstraining the hull structure."   Source:  Google Patents [++] Bester was definitely a working naval architect who possessed at least several patents1 who worked for the Todd Shipping Company (NYC) and who was listed by 1919 as a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (see Proceedings of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, volume 25, 1918, listing of the Society's leadership and membership ). The work looked interesting and intriguing to me, but is also in a field that I know basically nothing about, so I thought that given the possible interest in it to designers and engineers that I would at least enter the information about the work here in internettubewebland where it might be findable to someone interested in this sort of creative thinking.