Improved Means of Imparting Buoyancy to Life Boats and other Floating Structures.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Feb., 1887.
Complete Left, 13th Apr., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 13th May, 1887.
Improved Means of Imparting Buoyancy to Life Boats and other
Floating Structures.
I, FRANCIS WENTWORTH BREWSTER, of Regent Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Manufacturer of Life saving appliances, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention to be as follows
This Invention relates to improved means of imparting buoyancy to lifeboats, rafts,
launches, pontoons, torpedo boats, and other analogous floating structures.
This object has hitherto been most generally attained by constructing such boats or
floating structures with watertight compartments, the buoyant quality then being
imparted by and dependent upon the air contained within such compartment, and
continuing operative only so long as there is no puncture in or fracture of the con-
taining compartment, which in such event immediately becomes useless as there is
then nothing to prevent the contained air from being displaced by the entering
water.
It has been attempted to avoid such defect by fitting such compartments with
certain varieties of buoyant material by placing the same thereinto in the bulk, but
when thus applied it is impossible to compress the material to the extent requisite to
properly resist the influx of the water should the compartment be fractured or stove
in, and there is consequently the dis-advantageous liability of the contained buoyant
material floating out or being washed out of the compartment by the inrush of water
thereinto at the very time that its buoyant or floating qualities are required to be
effective.
The present Invention consists essentially in the application of roasted cork,
granulated or broken cork, the hair, wool, down and feathers obtained from the skin,
integuments or external membranous envelopes of vertebrate animals, or other suitable
buoyant material, separately or in any combination, to the purpose of the Invention,
in the following improved manner; namely: by enclosing the same in shaped bags
or analogous receptacles made of fabric or analogous material of an open meshed or

page_text: if required of a waterproof nature, and by compressing the material into such bags
or receptacles, which are shaped or formed in such a manner as to be adapted for
ready application to the compartment to be filled therewith in such a manner as that
they may be stowed away, or as it were built thereinto so as to fill the same.
The effect of such improved arrangement of the buoyant material, should the skin
of the containing compartment be fractured or broken through, will be to prevent the
sudden inrush of water, and to cause the buoyant material to remain in position,
imparting the desired buoyant qualities to the damaged craft, without being so liable
to be washed out of the compartment.
The toil.
1005
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means of Imparting Buoyancy to Life Boats and other
Floating Structures.
I, FRANCIS WENTWORTH BREWSTER, of Regent Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Manufacturer of life saving appliances, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to improved means of imparting buoyancy to lifeboats, rafts,
launches, pontoons, torpedo boats, and other analogous floating structures.
This object has hitherto been most generally attained by constructing such boats or
floating structures with watertight compartments, the buoyant quality then being
imparted by and dependent upon the air contained within such compartment, and
continuing operative only so long as there is no puncture in or fracture of the
containing compartment, which in such latter event immediately becomes useless as
there is then nothing to prevent the contained air from being displaced by the entering
water.
:
It has been attempted to avoid such defect by filling such compartments with
certain varieties of buoyant material by placing the same thereinto in the bulk, but
when thus applied it is impossible to compress the inmaterial to the extent requisite to
properly resist the influx of the water should the compartment be fractured or stove
in, and there is consequently the dis-advantageous liability of the contained buoyant
material floating or being washed out of the compartment by the inrush of water
thereinto at the very time that its buoyant or floating qualities are required to be
effective.
The present Invention consists, essentially, in the application of roasted cork,
granulated or broken cork, reindeer hair, the hair, wool, down and feathers obtained
from the skin, integuments or external membranous envelopes of vertebrate animals
generally, or other suitable buoyant material such as what is known as elastic cotton
or elastic felt, separately or in any desired combination, to the purpose of the
Invention, in the following improved manner; namely; by enclosing the same in
bags or analogous receptacles made of fabric or analogous material, and of any
required shapes and dimensions, and by compressing the material into such bags or
receptacles, which are preferably shaped or formed in such a manner as to be adapted
for ready application to the compartment or space to be filled therewith in such a
manner as that they may be stowed away, or as it were built thereinto so as to fill the
same.
Or the bags containing such buoyant material need not be specially shaped as
aforesaid, but at the time of being placed into position may be compressed thereinto
so as to effect the said object.
The enclosing fabric or analogous material may or may not be of waterproof
nature, according to the nature of the buoyant material it encloses. It would not

page_text: require to be of a waterproof nature if enclosing reindeer hair, roasted or granulated
or broken cork, or elastic cotton or felt, or any practically non-absorbing buoyant
material, but if enclosing any other of such materials it should preferably be of a
waterproof nature unless such enclosed buoyant materials should be in any suitable
way specially treated to render them non-absorbent of water.
The said enclosing bags of any of the materials mentioned and of any desired
dimensions can be placed and secured in various parts of boats or other floating
structures which are not fitted with any special compartments, and by such means any
open boat can at any time be quickly converted into a life-boat.
The effect of such improved arrangement of the buoyant material, should the
outside of the boat or vessel or the containing compartment receive a sudden blow or
be fractured, is that the bags containing the buoyant material (other than those in the
immediate vicinity of the blow or fracture) will not be likely to be injuriously
affected, and the contained buoyant material will remain in position and will not be
so liable to be washed out, and will thus prevent the sudden inrush of the water, and
will impart the desired buoyant qualities to the damaged craft, and the buoyancy will
thus be rendered practically indestructible in all cases in which the boat or vessel is
not too severely injured.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :—
The application to the purpose of the Invention of the buoyant materials
hereinbefore referred to in the improved manner herein before described, in which
such materials are compressed or used in a compressed condition.
Dated this 7th day of April 1887
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.