IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO FLOATING AND OTHER Docks
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Elder, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS RELATING
TO FLOATING AND OTHER Docks."
Sealed the 10th May 1864, and dated the 18th November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Elder at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
November 1863.
I, JOHN ELDER, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS RELATING TO FLOATING AND OTHER DOCKS," to be as follows, that is to
say:
This Invention comprises various improvements relating to floating docks,
and has reference, amongst other things, to the convenient conveyance thereof
from the place of construction to a distant station. Some of the improvements
are also applicable to other docks.
In one modification, embodying some of the improvements, the floating
dock is made with the usual flat bottom and vertical sides, but, by preference,
with a more or less rounded bilge, whilst the inner shell consists of a flat floor
with the lower portions of the sides inclined, and the upper vertical. The
space between the shells is divided by longitudinal and transverse water-tight
bulkheads, whilst the whole is strengthened by diagonal bracing, and the
bottom by transverse angle iron girders. Horizontal water-tight partitions are
introduced along the sides, so that the upper parts of the sides may be used

page_text: as permanent air spaces. The machinery for pumping the water out of the
compartments when raising the dock may be arranged in the usual way, or
instead of placing the engines and boilers at the tops of the sides they may be
placed lower down, but being, in that case, so walled in that the only access
to them will be from the top to avoid any risk of water entering them. In
order to transport the dock to a distant station in a comparatively completed
state, it is constructed and arranged so that it can be propelled as a ship by
the wind or by steam power. With this view the ends are shaped with pro-
jecting centres gradually rounded into the sides, and more particularly into
the bottom, so that the entire bottom becomes like that of a long flat parallel-
sided boat; and the bottom is furnished with one or more keels and with a
rudder or rudders applied to the keel or keels or to the dock bottom. Where
there are two keels these may be conveniently placed beneath the main longi-
tudinal bulkheads situated on opposite sides of the centre line. The keel or
keels may be of flanged plates or in a box form, and in the latter case may be
availed of for draining the compartments by carrying the pump suction pipes
down into them. It is intended that the dock shall sail with its inside floor a
few feet above the outside water level, or, in other words, so that it shall be
light in order to require comparatively little propelling power, but it can be
immersed to a greater depth if preferred. The sides may be of uniform height
from end to end, or about a third part may be made to slant down towards
either end, and a wall made of a single thickness, or as a hollow casing, may
be formed across at each end, of about the height of the reduced ends. When
the dock comes to be used, one at least of these transverse ends is removed,
and the sides may then be made of the full height all their length if not pre-
viously completed, casings being provided and carried out by the dock for that
purpose, and being arranged to be easily attached. The internal space of the
dock may be decked over, if wished, at the level of the ends, or at a higher or
lower level, and for the entire length or only for a part or parts thereof.
Various arrangements may be made for propelling the dock. It may be fitted
with masts, spars, and canvas, more or less like an ordinary ship. The
pumping machinery may be arranged for driving screws, paddles, or other
propellers for, steering or propelling, or separate engines may be fitted for that
purpose. The pumps may be used for steering or propelling by a jet action.
The vertical sides of the dock may be made to act to a greater or less extent
as sails, either alone or in concert with ordinary sails, when the wind is oblique
to the course, by arranging the keel in one or more pieces, so that it can be
inclined to the sides. The movable keel or keels may be made to, turn on
vertical axes or keel plates, or lee boards may be hinged to the bottom, or be

page_text: otherwise mounted on horizontal axes in different oblique positions, but so as
to be inactive when horizontal. It is proposed, in some cases, to fit the
floating dock with sufficient propelling power to enable it to accompany war
ships so as to be at hand in case of damage to such ships when in action. It
is also proposed, in some cases, to employ the floating dock for raising wrecks
and for getting them away from a dangerous shore, and with this view the
dock will be furnished with steam windlasses, capstans, or other powerful
hauling apparatus, to use in concert with or separately from the buoyant power
the dock is capable of exerting by means of the pumps. It may, in some
cases, be desirable to retain permanently the arrangements for transporting
the dock from place to place, in which cases the keel may be arranged to be
easily detached and resumed to permit of the dock being sunk in a shallow
locality. When the dock is designed for use in situations liable to a rough
sea it is, by preference, constructed with one end enclosed and with dock
gates or caissons fitted to the other end, so that when a ship is received into it
the water may be pumped out of the interior of the dock instead of being
removed from the compartments, and the dock may be kept depressed by
retaining or putting sufficient water in the compartments. A's a given dis-
turbance of the sea must have less effect on the vertical sides than on the
bottom, and as the disturbance decreases with the depth, it follows that when
the dock is depressed as described it will remain steadier than when floating
on the surface, and the steadiness thus obtained may be increased, where the
depth of water at the station permits of it, by extending the vertical sides of
the dock, as far as is conveniently practicable, below what is considered
necessary in ordinary cases. To reduce the risk of injuring a ship whilst
being docked or undocked, breakwaters may be applied to the ends of the
dock, but in such a way as to permit the water to leave or enter the dock
from below and inside of the breakwaters when the dock is being raised or
lowered.
The present Invention further comprises an improved keel block applicable
to floating and other docks, and which consists of a block or stool resting upon
powerful springs, of metal or rubber, protected from the action of the water in
a cylinder or casing. The rise of the block is limited by a flange, and when
the weight or pressure on any block, from being concentrated thereon, exceeds
the force with which it is pressed up against the flange by the springs, the
springs become more compressed and the block sinks so as to allow the ship
to bear more on the adjacent blocks. Similar spring blocks may be provided
for the shores to bear upon, and in the case of floating docks such spring shore
blocks will lessen any concussion arising from the unavoidable elasticity of the

page_text: sides of the dock when the dock rolls or pitches. With a view, also, to
prevent such concussion, a ship in the dock may be secured, entirely or
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Elder in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ELDER, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of. Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Elder, Her special license that I, the said John Elder,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Elder, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
RELATING TO FLOATING AND OTHER Docкs," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Elder, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them,
should particularly 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 John Elder, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention comprises various improvements relating to floating
docks, and has reference, amongst other things, to the convenient conveyance
thereof from the place of construction to a distant station. Some of the
improvements are also applicable to other docks.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended two Sheets of expla-
natory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and representing some of the
modifications of which my improved arrangements are susceptible, the same or
corresponding parts being marked with the same reference numerals in all
the Figures in which they occur.
In floating docks embodying modifications of some of my improvements,
the usual flat or nearly flat bottom, 1, is adopted with vertical or nearly vertical
sides, 2, but with a more or less rounded bilge, 3, as shown in longitudinal
vertical section in Figure 1, Sheet 1, and in transverse vertical section in
Figures 2 and 3, Sheet 1; also in side and end elevation in Figures 8 and 9,
Sheet 2.
The inner shell consists of a flat floor 4, with the lower portions 5 of the
sides inclined and the upper portions 6 vertical. The space between the
shells is divided by longitudinal and transverse water-tight bulkheads, whilst
the whole is strengthened by diagonal bracing and the bottom by transverse
angle iron.
Horizontal water-tight partitions, 7, are introduced along the
sides so that the upper parts of the sides may be used as permanent air spaces.
The machinery for pumping the water out of the compartments when raising
the dock may be arranged in the usual way, or instead of placing the boilers
and engines at the tops of the sides, they may be placed lower down, but being
in that case so walled in that the only access to them will be from the top to
avoid any risk of water entering them. In order to transport the dock to a
distant station in a comparatively completed state, it is constructed and
arranged so that it can be propelled as a ship by the wind or by steam power.
With this view the ends 8, 9, are shaped with projecting centres gradually
rounded into the sides, and more particularly into the bottom, so that the entire
bottom becomes like that of a long, flat, parallel-sided boat, as shown in plan
in Figures 4, 5, Sheet 1, and Figure 13, Sheet 2. In the modification shown
in plan in Figure 10, Sheet 2, whilst the inner shells of the sides are kept
straight the outer shells of the sides are slightly curved to give the dock exter-
nally a better form for moving through the water. The dock bottom may be
furnished with a keel 10 and with a rudder 11, as shown in Figure 8, Sheet 2,
or there may be more than one keel and more than one rudder.
there are two keels these may be conveniently placed beneath the main longi-
tudinal bulkheads situated on opposite sides of the centre line. The keel or
keels may be of flanged plates or in a box form, and the latter case may be
availed of for draining the compartments by carrying the pump suction pipes
down into them. It is intended that the dock shall sail with its inside floor 4,
Where

page_text: a few feet above the outside. water level, or in other words, that is, shall be
light, in order to require comparatively little propelling power, and in some
cases when floated at such light. draught the ends above the floor may be
open, any extra seas that may rise above the floor being thus allowed to wash
through the dock. If preferred, the dock may be immersed to a greater
depth, and the sides may be of uniform height from end to end, or about a
third part may be made to slant down towards either end, as shown in longi-
tudinal vertical section in Figure 11, Sheet 2, and a wall made of a single
shell or as a hollow casing may be formed across at each end of about the
height of the reduced ends. When the dock comes to be used, one at least
of these transverse ends is removed, and the sides may then be made of the
full height all their length, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 11, if
not previously completed, casings being provided and carried out by the
dock for that purpose, and being arranged to be easily attached. The
internal space of the dock may be decked over if wished at the level of the
ends or at a higher or lower level, and for the entire length or only for à
part or parts thereof. Various arrangements may be made for propelling
the dock. It may be fitted with masts, spars, and canvas, more or less like
an ordinary ship, there being a single line of masts along the centre, as shown
in Figures 3, 9, and 12, or two lines of masts, being disposed one against each
inner side shell, as shown in Figure 2. The pumping machinery may be
arranged for driving screws, paddles, or other propellers, for steering or pro-
pelling, or separate engines may be fitted for that purpose. The pumps may
be used for steering or propelling by a jet action. The vertical sides of the
dock may be made to act to a greater or less extent as sails, either alone or
in concert with ordinary sails when the wind is oblique to the course, by
arranging the keel or keels in one or more pieces so that it or they can be
inclined to the sides. Such movable keels 12, Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, may be
made to turn on vertical axes, as shown upon an enlarged scale and in section
in Figure 6, or keel plates or lee boards may be hinged to the bottom, as
indicated in Figure 5, and as shown enlarged and in section in Figure 7, or
they may be otherwise mounted on horizontal axes in different oblique
positions, but so as to be inactive when folded up horizontally. The folding
keel plates can be adjusted by chains passing up through pipes, whilst the
swivelling keels 12 may be adjusted by means of chains applied to their
outer ends, and suitably guided. It is proposed in some cases to fit the
floating dock with sufficient propelling power to enable it to accompany war
ships, so as to be at hand in case of damage to such ships when in action.
It is also proposed in some cases to employ the floating dock for raising

page_text: wrecks, and for getting them away from a dangerous shore, and with this
view the dock will be furnished with steam windlasses, capstans, or other
powerful hauling apparatus to use in concert with or separately from the
buoyant power the dock is capable of exerting by means of the pumps. It
may in some cases be desirable to retain permanently the arrangements for
transporting the dock from place to place; in which cases the keel or keels
may be arranged to be easily detached and resumed to permit of the dock
being sunk in a shallow locality. When the dock is designed for use in
situations liable to a rough sea it is, by preference, constructed with one end
enclosed, and with dock gates or floating caissons fitted to the other end, as
indicated in Figures 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, so that when a ship is received into it the
water may be pumped out of the interior of the dock instead of being
removed from the compartments, and the dock may be kept depressed by
retaining or putting sufficient water in the compartments. As a given dis-
turbance of the sea must have less effect on the vertical sides than on the
bottom, and as the disturbance decreases as the depth increases, it follows,
that when the dock is depressed as described it will remain steadier than when
floating upon the surface. The steadiness thus obtained may be increased,
where the depth of water at the station permits of it, by extending the vertical
sides of the dock as far as is conveniently practicable below what is considered
necessary in ordinary cases. A dock constructed on this system is represented
in transverse and longitudinal vertical sections in Figures 14 and 15,
Sheet 2. The extra space enclosed by the lower parts of the sides and ends
may be more or less open to the sea, the sides being however connected
together and stiffened by suitable rectangular or diagonal bracing or frame-
work.
My present Invention further comprises an improved keel block applicable
to floating and other docks, and of which one modification is shown in vertical
section in Figure 16, Sheet 2. The block or stool 13 rests upon powerful
springs 14, of rubber (or metal), protected by a casing or cylinder 15, from
the action of the water. The rise of the block is limited by a bolt 16, the
springs being compressed so as to bear up against the flange or head of the
bolt with considerable pressure, and when the weight or pressure on any
block of the series exceeds the force with which the block is pressed up
against the bolt head by the springs, the springs become more compressed, and
the block sinks so as to allow the ship to bear more on the adjacent blocks.
Figure 17 is a vertical section of a modification to be used where a floating
dock is constructed with a central longitudinal keelson, girder, or frame 17,
there being two sets of springs 14, one on each side of the keelson, and the

page_text: block or stool 13 being disposed across the keelson so as to bear on both sets
of spring blocks. Similar spring block's may be provided for the shores to
bear upon, and in the case of floating.docks such spring shore blocks will lessen
any concussion arising from the unavoidable elasticity of the sides of the dock
when the dock rolls or pitches. With a view also to prevent or lessen such
concussion' a ship in the floating dock may be secured, entirely or principally,
to one side by a combination of shores and chains.
Having thus particularly.described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, I have to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I
believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,--
1. The constructing or fitting of floating docks, so as to be capable of
navigating by wind or steam power, substantially as herein-before described.
2. The constructing of floating docks so as to be immersed to an extra depth
to secure increased steadiness in an exposed situation, substantially as herein-
before described.
3. The arranging or combining together of the structural and other
details of floating docks, substantially in the improved manner herein-before
described; and,
4. The fitting of floating or other docks with spring keel and spring shore
blocks, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Elder, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
תתמזת Nחמ
JOHN ELDER.
(L.S.)