CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION OR FORMATION OF BUOYS OR OTHER WATERMARKS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WAKEFIELD
PIM, of the Borough of Kingston-upon-Hull, in the County of York, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eighteenth day of March, in the sixth year of Her reign, and
in the year of our Lord One.thousand eight hundred and forty-three, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said Wakefield
Pim, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Wakefield Pim, my executors, administrators," or assigns," and "such
others as I, the said Wakefield Pim, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OR FORMATION OF BUOYS OR OTHER WATERMARKS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Wakefield Pim, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear..

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Wakefield Pim, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say:―
My improvements in the construction or formation of buoys or other water-
marks consist in so making or constructing them that they may be rendered
more efficient in service in consequence of greatly increasing the lightness or
buoyancy, and also reducing the amount of ballast with which they are usually
charged to enable them to preserve their erect position in the water. Buoys
made in the ordinary manner (when of considerable size) with closed ends top
and bottom, require several hundreds weight of ballast to bring them "over
.end," or cause them to float in an erect position (or nearly so) in the water;
which ballast or weighting compels the buoy to be immersed fully one half
in the water. One of the most important objects of a buoy is, that it may be
seen as far off as possible, and consequently, the less it is hidden by immersion,
of the greater service it becomes; and another great feature in its construction
is lightness, as by weight the difficulties of mooring and unmooring the buoy
is much increased. In order to effect these important objects, I construct or
form the buoy in the peculiar manner exhibited in the Drawing attached to
these Presents, in which Fig. 1 is an external elevation of a buoy or water-
mark, and Fig. 2 a section taken vertically through the middle of the same.
It will be seen that my Invention consists in forming the buoy with its lower
end a, a, open for a certain space, so that it may be admitted into the water
with little or no resistance, and introducing the bottom or closing plate b, b, at
nearly one-third of the length of the buoy upwards, so as to close the chamber
or space c, and support the necessary ballast. There are openings or aper-
tures d, d, made just below the bottom plate b, for the purpose of allowing the
air to escape thereout and entirely fill the lower compartment or space e with
water; thus the ordinary ballast or weighting may be reduced to about one-
third that usually employed, as the water itself will sufficiently steady the buoy
and retain it in the desired position. It will be evident that buoys so con-
structed will float much higher out of the water, owing to their increased
buoyancy, and, consequently, be seen by an observer at a much greater
distance than those in ordinary use, and also be kept much steadier, par-
ticularly in a rough sea or tideway.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that I claim
as my Invention the construction or formation of buoys or watermarks having

page_text: the lower end open for the admission of water for a certain space, and aper-
tures at the upper part of the open compartment to allow the air to escape, as
herein particularly set forth and described, and also shewn in the Drawing
attached, whether such buoys or watermarks be made of iron, wood, or other
materials.
In witness whereof, I, the said Wakefield Pim, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.