AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF WATER TANK FOR SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND MODE OF APPLYING THE SAME ON BOARD A VESSEL WHEREBY IT IS CAPABLE OF CONVERSION INTO A FLOAT FOR SAVING LIFE AND PROPERTY IN CASE OF THE FOUNDERING OF THE VESSEL
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
ту
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF WATER TANK FOR SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND
MODE OF APPLYING THE SAME ON BOARD A VESSEL WHEREBY IT IS CAPABLE OF
CONVERSION INTO A FLOAT FOR SAVING LIFE AND PROPERTY IN CASE OF THE
FOUNDERING OF THE VESSEL."-A communication.
Sealed the 10th September 1858, and dated the 5th April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th April 1858.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF WATER TANK FOR SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS,
AND MODE OF APPLYING THE SAME ON BOARD A VESSEL, WHEREBY IT IS CAPABLE OF
CONVERSION INTO A FLOAT FOR SAVING LIFE AND PROPERTY IN CASE OF THE
FOUNDERING OF THE VESSEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the construction and use of a water tank for
carrying fresh water on board a ship or other vessel, with a treasure chest in
or attached to its bottom, and with a valve or valves for letting out the whole
or a great portion of its water, and admitting air, and proper mechanism for
operating the said valve or valves, and with a gallery surrounding it to carry
passengers, whereby, when it is set free from the vessel in or upon which it is

page_text: carried, it is made to serve as a float to carry crew, passengers, treasure, and
other valuable property. It also consists in a certain mode of applying the
same on board of a vessel, whereby during the safety of the vessel it is kept
in its place on board, but on the foundering of the vessel is caused to detach
itself therefrom. With this object in view I prefer to make the total height
of the tank or float such that the bottom of the chest may rest upon the lower
deck, while the upper part of the tank may stand above the upper deck, that
part which reaches from the upper to the lower deck being of a taper formr,
while the principal capacity which remains above the upper deck is of a
rectangular form, having suitable flanges or parts of support resting thereon,
which together with the lower part are stepped or recessed into the decks to
secure the tanks in position. There is, besides the gallery for persons standing,
suitable rods and ropes for holding, or for securing persons or articles to the
tank. A pump is also affixed to the tank, whereby the fresh water allowed
to remain in the tank when the ship founders can be pumped up for the use
of the survivors remaining on the tank afloat; or it may be used on board
ship. It further consists in a certain mode of applying to such a tank or
float an attached buoy, which, in case of the said tank or float striking on a
rock, or being otherwise damaged sufficiently to cause it to sink, will be
liberated by the sinking of the tank or float, and caused to remain at the
surface of the water, and hence be made to indicate nearly the position of-the
said float or buoy at the bottom, for the purpose of enabling the treasure or
other property in the safe to be recovered.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25
4th October 1858.
TO ALL TO: WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 58, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
J
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 30
Patent bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One.
>thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said,
William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my,
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William, 35
Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter, during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED CON-
STRUCTION OF WATER. TANK FOR SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND MODE OF APPLYING.
THE SAME ON BOARD A VESSEL WHEREBY IT IS CAPABLE OF CONVERSION INTO A
FLOAT FOR SAVING LIFE AND PROPERTY IN CASE OF THE FOUNDERING OF THE
VESSEL," (a communication), upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Clark, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in.
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be.
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within.six calendar months next and.
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Clark, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained ins and. by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention consists in the construction and use of a tank for carrying
fresh water on board a ship or other vessel, with a treasure chest in or
attached to its bottom, and with a valve or valves for letting out the whole
or a great portion of its water and admitting air, and proper mechanism for
operating the said valve or valves, & with a gallery surrounding it to carry
passengers, whereby, when it is set free from the vessel in or upon which it is
carried it is made to serve as a float to carry crew, passengers, treasure, and
other valuable property.
It also consists in a certain mode of applying the same on board of a vessel,
whereby during the safety of the vessel it is kept in its place on board,
but on the foundering of the vessel is caused to detach itself therefrom.
It further consists in a certain mode of applying to such a tank or float an
attached buoy, which, in case of the said tank or float striking on a rock, or
being otherwise damaged sufficiently to cause it to sink, will be liberated by
the sinking of the tank or float and caused to remain at the surface of the
water, and hence be made to indicate nearly the position of said float or buoy
at the bottom for the purpose of enabling the treasure or other property in the
safe to be recovered.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1

page_text: exbibits a transverse vertical section of the upper portion of a vessel, and of
the tank or, float in its place on board; Fig. 2 is a side view of the tank or
float exhibiting it in the water detached from the vessel. Similar letters of
reference indicate corresponding parts in both Figs.
A is the upper deck of the vessel, and B the middle or lower deck; C is
the body of the tank, made of strong sheet iron or other metal perfectly water-
tight in all parts; D is the treasure chest, of similar material, arranged within
or permanently attached to the bottom of said tank and having a door V in
one side.
The total height of the tank or float is such that the bottom of the chest
imay rest upon the lower deck B and the top of the tank may stand above the
upper deck A. I prefer to make the tank of square form in its horizontal
section, and to make the part above the upper deck with upright sides and the
part below tapering smaller towards the bottom, as shown in the Drawing, the
taper form of the lower part having the effect of keeping it upright when afloat,
which effect is assisted by the weight of the chest D.
The sides of the tank may be either double or single. This tank is fitted
to an opening provided in the upper deck A to receive it, and the chest is fitted
into guides a, a, secured to the lower deck B. A gallery b, b, of iron covered
with planking is constructed round the tank to rest upon the upper deck, and
arms c, c, are attached to the sides of the tanks at the top to carry ropes d, d,
which are rove through eyes at the end of said arms for persons standing on
the said gallery to lay hold of for the purpose of enabling them to maintain
their positions on the gallery. There are also rods 4, 4, attaclied to the top of
the tank by eye bolts 5, 5, to which to lash persons or to enable them to hold
on to the tank.
In the lower part of the tank are valves f, f, opening outwards for the pur-
pose of letting out the water from the interior. These valves are closed by con-
necting rods g, g, connecting them with a chain h which winds round a barrel i
on a horizontal shaft; which works in suitable bearings within and near the top
of the tank, and through one side of the tank, the said shaft being provided
outside of the tank with a hand wheel 7 by which to turn it to wind the
chain on or unwind it from the barrel i to close or permit the opening of
the valves f, f, and said shaft being further provided with a ratchet wheel m
to receive a pawl for the purpose of securing the shaft when the valves f,f;
are closed and thus holding the valves closed against the pressure of the water
within the tank. The said shaft has also attached at its inner extremity a
valve w which when the valves f, f, are closed, closes an aperture in the side

page_text: of the tank, but which as the shaft is turned to uwind the chain h opens the
said aperture to admit air to the said tank by means of a screw thread k on
the shaft working in a nut where the shaft passes through the tank.
The tank is fitted with partitions Z, Z, dividing it into compartments to
prevent the ill effects of the shifting of a large body water within the tank
by the rolling of the vessel; the said partitions being some or all of them
fitted with valves 3, 3, which are opened and closed by the motion of the
water produced by the rolling of the vessel, but all of the partitions having
openings for the compartments to communicate with each other. On the top
of the tank A there is secured a box E, having a cover n, which is capable of
being easily lifted off the said box serving to contain a buoy F, made of sheet
metal hollow, or of wood or cork, or of any of the above materials combined
to make it buoyant, and said buoy being attached to the tank by a long rope
P, which is kept coiled up within the said box, while the tank is on board the
vessel. The said box has a hole q near its bottom, the purpose of which will
be herein-after explained; it as also attached a number of arms r, r, at whose
ends are eyes, through which are rove ropes t, t, for persons on the top of the
tank to hold, to enable them to maintain their position. P is a hand pump
secured to the gallery b, b, for the purpose of drawing the fresh water from
the tank, either while the tank is on board the vessel, or floating after detached
from the vessel. u, u, are lashings attached to the tank above the gallery, for
the purpose of making fast to the tank boats or other articles, or for securing
persons on the tank when it is afloat, or for aiding persons in the water to
reach the tank when it is afloat. One, two, or even more of these tanks may
be applied on board a vessel in the manner above described. While the
vessel is in safety, or in no immediate danger of foundering, they constitute
simply reservoirs of fresh water for the vessel's use; but when it is ascertained
that the vessel is in a sinking condition, the crew and passengers, or a part of
them, arrange themselves upon the top of and upon the gallery b, surrounding
the tank, or each, or either of said tanks when more than one are on board; and
the captain or other officer or other person appointed, stationed near the wheel
1, releases the ratchet wheel m from its pawl, and turns the wheel in a
direction to unwind the chain h from the barrel i, thus opening the valve w to
admit air into the tank to bring the water within into equilibrium, and
permitting the valves f, f, to open by their own weight, aided by the pressure
of the water upon them, and thus allowing the escape of the water or the
greater portion of it from the tank, after which the shaft is turned back again
to wind up the chain h, and close the valves f, f, & u, to make the tank water-
tight. The vessel sinking in the water then leaves the tauk floating in an

page_text: upright position, with the crew, passengers, and treasure or other valuable
property on board. By arranging the valves f, f, at a distance from the
bottom of the tank, a quantity of fresh water is caused to be retained therein,
for the use of the persons upon it, who can pump it up by the pump P as fast
as required for use.
In case of the tank striking a rock, or from other cause being so much
damaged as to admit water and cause it to sink, the water as the tank sinks
enters the box E, through the opening q, and lifts off the cover n thereof,
thus liberating the buoy F, which remains on the surface of the water, if the
line p be long enough, and it thus indicates nearly the position of the tank, for
the purpose (if not in too deep water) of enabling it to be reached by divers,
or otherwise to recover the treasure from the chest D.
Having described the nature of the Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st, the construction of a water tank for carrying fresh water on board
a ship or other vessel, with a treasure chest D in or attached to its bottom, with
valves'f, f, and suitable machinery for operating them, and with a gallery 6 or
its equivalent; the whole being combined with and applied to it substantially
as herein described.
2ndly, the fitting of such a tank to and between the upper and middle or
lower decks of a ship or other vessel, substantially as described, that it may be
retained in place while the vessel floats, but detach itself when the vessel
sinks.
3rdly, the application to such a tank of a box E, containing an attached
buoy F, and provided with a hole q, and a detachable cover n, capable of
operating as and for the purposes-herein specified.
In witness whereof,. I, the said William Clark have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
W. G. E. SWINNOCK.
W. CLARK., (LS.)