Year: 1888

page_text: 1, LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH of No. 3 Tokenhouse Buildings, in the City of London,
Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to various improvements in ships with the object of enabling
them to carry securely cheaply & without trans shipment merchandise from any point
in the ocean along rivers. For this purpose I construct the vessel with a flat
bottomed hull of elegant shape designed to obtain a speed of 10 to 13 knots.
Forward & aft of the ship I arrange a water tight compartment by means of a
partition across the hull. In these compartments. I. place in the forward one, decks
and chambers for stowing the chains and in the after compartment the room for the
motive machines & the coal bunkers. Between these transverse bulk heads I arrange
throughout the ships & above a small water ballast tank carried throughout the whole
length at the bottom of the hull, two or more longitudinal watertight partitions
arranged parallel & symmetrically with regard to the axis of the vessel & projecting
slightly above the principal deck so that being connected together they form a sort of
slightly projecting roof above the deck. These watertight partitions are solidly fixed
on the waterballast tank below & are firmly fastened together at their upper parts. I
arrange from place to place on this upper part openings serving as loading hatches.
The longitudinal partitions are besides stayed to the sides of the hull by lower decks
resting on the vertical sides of these partitions. Finally from distance to distance
throughout the length are arranged transverse watertight partitions from one side to
the other. The space comprised in the centre of the vessel between these watertight
longitudinal partitions is destined for the ships cargo so as to concentrate it as much
as possible to raise sufficiently the centre of gravity of the ship so that it may be above
the float line when in the open sea. The watertight compartments placed at the sides

page_text: of this cargo hold & between the longitudinal partitions & the bull sérve some for
supplementary water ballast others for sailors' quarters & cabins for passengers or for
stowing light goods. These supplementary lateral water ballasts are connected with a
double action pump for filling or emptying them of water to submerge the vessel more
or less during river navigation. To be enabled to navigate rivers even of the
shallowest depth & to pass under bridges at high water I am obliged to construct a
movable bridge for the ships, for this purpose I construct this bridge in two parts one
central part placed immediately above the cargo hold & forming the roof of the
officers quarters which part can be lowered into the cargo hold by a hydraulic
arrangement & a side part forming a wing on each side of the central part these wings
pivot on the sides of the officers' roof & can be laid upon it or laterally so as to make
no projection on the sides of the principal bridge. To make the loading & unloading
of my flat bottomed ship cheaper & to give it more security at sea I apply the
motive power not consumed during the working of the machines to compress air in
manner and for purpose as described in my special patents, applied therefore this day.
The present invention consisting in the construction of a vessel of large tonnage
suitable for the marine & river navigation in which I utilize but a portion of the
capacity of the hull of the vessel so as to concentrate the cargo it carries with the
object of raising the centre of gravity of the cargo. I reserve the use of one or several
central & longitudinal holds or to place the cargo along the sides of the ship in which
case I should place the supplementary water ballast in the middle of the ship. I
likewise reserve the placing of the one or several cargo holds at a certain distance from
the bottom of the hull to further raise the centre of gravity of the cargo & to allow
besides the discharge of these holds from the lower part by means of bucket chains or
trolleys.
1000

page_text: Improvements in
I LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH of No. 3 Tokenhouse Buildings in the City of London,
Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
The present invention relates to vessels of large tonnage which draw but little water
(for instance 1000 ton drawing but 24 meter of water) and can therefore navigate.
comparatively shallow rivers, possessing at the same time all qualities of a sea going
vessel.
The centre of gravity being necessarily very low in ordinary vessels of large tonnage
and great widths (resulting from the fact that they draw but little water) tliese vessels
are not well adapted for marine navigation because of their excessive stability.
For the purpose of avoiding this excessive stability which is a feature of this kind
of vessel, I construct it with watertight partitions joined together in such a manner as
to form permanent water tight compartments serving to raise the contre of gravity of
the cargo which is judiciously distributed in all or part of these compartments. A
certain number of the higher or lower compartments may serve as spaces for water
ballast for the purpose of varying and adjusting the longitudinal and transverse
stability of the vessel by simply filling the said compartments with water or
discharging the same, and to give the vessel in case of bad weather in the open sea a
more satisfactory stability and greater security. One or more of the water tight cargo
holds are also adapted to be used as supplementary water ballast spaces to sink the
vessel lower in the water if the vessel is insufficiently loaded or to enable it to pass the
bridges during river navigation at high water.
The construction, the form, the stability and the navigableness of this kind of vessel
have been calculated with a view to protect it strongly against the danger of the high
sea and to give it a speed equal to the ordinary cargo boats.
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 represents a sectional elevation of the vessel showing the interior construction
and arrangement of the whole.
Fig. 2. represents a plan of the upper deck.
Fig. 3. represents a horizontal section of the hull.
Fig. 4. represents a transverse section amidships showing the inner construction of
the hull for the stowing of the cargo in case this consists of heavy homogeneous goods
or of heterogeneous goods of great density.
Fig. 5. 6 & 7 are similar sections showing other arrangements under similar
circumstances.
Fig. 8. represents a similar section showing the arrangement for the stowing of
heterogeneous goods of little density.
The form of the hull represented in the accompanying drawings is in accordance
with the rules of the "Veritas" and Lloyds and therefore promise great
seaworthiness.
22

page_text: In a vessel constructed as represented the cargo is stowed in A and A' so that the
centre of gravity is as near as possible in the water-line during marine navigation thus
giving the vessel a good stability and insuring a satisfactory navigableness.
This system of ship serving for marine and river navigation without transshipping
the cargo consists of constructing the hull with a flat bottom and to which are fixed
two false keels at a certain distance from the longitudinal axis of the vessel. On the
inner bottom of the hull between the floor timbers and the carlings an ordinary water
ballast E is arranged.
The interior of the vessel is as usual divided by means of water tight transverse
partitions D, e, f reaching from one side of the vessel to the other. The water tight
compartment c in the aft part of the ship serves as engine room and the water
tight compartment d in the fore part serves as storage room for chains ropes, and the
like.
Between the water tight partitions ef are placed longitudinal partitions h. k. parallel
with the longitudinal axis of the vessel. These partitions are joined, the space
between them being closed in at top and bottom and are fixed rigidly to the transverse
partitions D, e, thus forming a series of holds. The centre partitions hk project
somewhat above the principal deck G their top forming a kind of roof or cover to the
holds.
Hatches B are arranged in the top of this roof and in the deck G by means of
which the longitudinal holds A A¹ can be loaded or discharged.
The cargo according to the nature and density ibereof can be stowed either in the
central hold
A to raise the centre of gravity, or in the side holds A¹ or in the centre
hold A and the side holds 1. 2. 3. 4. in such a manner that the centre of gravity of
the vessel is near the water line for marine navigation.
The water tight compartments which-are-not-utilised-for the-stowing-of-cargo may.
be filled with water or remain empty according to requirements during river
navigation so as to submerge the vessel more or less to pass underneath the bridges,
according to the level of the water even at the highest tides. For this purpose the
water tight compartments are connected with one or more pumps placed in the
machine-room-by-a special system of pipes-;-and by these means these compartments
are charged with water or discharged.
The longitudinal partitions h. k. rigidly fixed to the transverse partitions D. e. f
give the vessel such solidity that it can resist all efforts of the waves to stave it in.
On the principal deck is a bridge consisting of three parts, a solid middle part P
and two wings p. which extend to the right and left and form thus a bridge across the
whole width of the vessel. During river navigation the wings p may be removed or
let down against the sides of the middle part P so as not to obstruct the passage of the
vessel under the bridges.
At the foot of the middle part P of the said bridge is another bridge on which is
the steering wheel and the compass so that the steersman or the pilot should be
sheltered in bad weather at sea and during the passage under the bridges during
river navigation.
In the arrangement represented in Fig. 4 the heaviest goods are stowed in the
central hold A while the lighter goods are distributed in the lateral side
compartments A¹ 1. 2. 3. 4 which may be provided with horizontal partitions g.
When the centre of gravity is to be lowered during river navigation one or more of
the side compartments 1. 2. 3. 4 are charged with water and this charge must be
uniformly distributed with regard to the axis of the vessel.
In case of heavy goods, such as coals, minerals, sand and the like, the goods can be
stowed in the hold A (figure 5.) the bottom of which is somewhat above the
water-ballast spaces E to permit of unloading these goods by the means of trucks or
trolleys which are placed underneath the hold.
In the arrangement represented in figure 6 & 7 the heavy goods are loaded in the
lateral side compartments A' and can be discharged either by means of bucket chains
filling from the trough w or by means of trucks or trolleys which are hoisted on deck
through shaft q.

page_text: To increase the safety of the vessel and to decrease the risks attending collisions and
running aground the longitudinal side partitions figure 8 are placed close to the
side of the hull, thus forming permanent water ballast spaces n.
These vertical
water ballasts present the great advantage of raising the centre of gravity and
distributing the water serving as ballast in a volume of small thickness only.
This water being thus enclosed in a space of comparatively small width cannot be.
displaced much under the influence of the rolling of the vessel and does therefore not
alter the transverse stability of the vessel unfavorably, and as the water cannot be
displaced violently it cannot attain sufficient force to damage the sides of the hull.
The lower ordinary water ballast spaces E are generally only charged with water
during river navigation to obtain a greater immersion of the vessel in case of high
water.
The construction represented in figure 8 which is used preferably for heterogeneous
goods of small density, comprises a central hold A in which are stowed the heavy
goods, the heaviest being placed in the upper part which projects above the principal
deck, while the light or bulky goods are stowed in the lateral holds A¹. Some of
these lateral holds may be reserved for supplementary water ballast spaces in case of
need.
The above described construction of the hull comprising a series of water-tight
compartments parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vessel present the advantage of
greatly increasing the floating properties of the vessel and to give it greater safety for
marine navigation by decreasing the frequent risks of collision or running aground.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, 1 declare that what I claim is :-
1st. A sailing vessel or steam-ship constructed with water-tight partitions joined
together in such a manner as to form permanent watertight compartments serving to
raise the centre of gravity of the cargo which is judiciously distributed in all or part
of these compartments: a certain number of the higher or lower compartments
serving as spaces for water ballast for the purpose of varying and adjusting the
longitudinal and transverse stability of the vessel by simply filling the said
compartments with water or discharging the same and to give the vessel in case of bad
weather in the opon sea better stability and consequently greater security: one or
more of the water-tight cargo holds also being adapted to serve as supplementary
water ballast spaces to sink the vessel lower in the water when required substantially
as described and represented in the accompanying drawings.
2nd. In a vessel the hull of which is divided in its central part into lon itadinal
watertight compartments parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vessel the
utilization of compartments such as n fig. 8 which run along the walls of the hull
as spaces for water ballast so as to distribute the water serving as ballast on a
comparatively small breadth and to raise the centre of gravity of the vessel by the
vertical disposition of the water ballast; substantially and for the purpose specified and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3rd. A vessel for marine and river navigation having the central part of the hull
divided into a series of watertight compartments parallel to the longitudinal axis of
the vessel and formed by watertight partitions which may or may not project above
the principal deck. These partitions being firmly attached to transverse partitions
reaching from one side of the hull to the other; the longitudinal water-tight
compartments serving as holds for the cargo and some of them adapted to serve as
spaces for water ballast so that the vessel may navigate rivers and pass underneath
bridges substantially as described and represented in the accompanying drawings.
4th. In a vessel destined for marine and river navigation the hull of which is
divided in its central part into longitudinal water-tight compartments by means of the
partitions and parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vessel the stowing of
the cargo in the central compartiments A or lateral compartments A' so as to maintain
the centre of gravity of the vessel sufficiently raised; the heavier goods being stowed

page_text: in the central compartments A and the lighter goods in the lateral compartments A¹
substantially as described and illustrated in figure 4. 5. & 8 of the accompanying
drawings.
5th. In a vessel destined for marine and river navigation the central part of the
hull of which is divided into a series of longitudinal parallel compartments by means
of water-tight partitions parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vessel the discharging
of the goods placed in the central or lateral compartments A A¹ the bottoms of which
are more or less elevated from the bottom or lower part by means of bucket chains or
trucks substantially as described and represented in figs. 5. 6 & 7 of the accompanying
- drawings.