AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF BUOYS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Fearn, of the British Pail Company, of
.
Leeds; in the County of York, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
CONSTRUCTION OF BUOYS."
Sealed the 28th February 1860, and dated the 2nd September 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Fearn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
September 1859.
I, WILLIAM FEARN, of the British Pail Company, of Leeds, in the County
5 of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
CONSTRUCTION OF BUOYS," to be as follows:-
These buoys are intended principally for floating fishermens' nets and for
small anchors, but they may also be used for other analogous purposes; and
the objects of this Invention are to render such buoys lighter, more buoyant,
and stronger than those hitherto in use. It is preferred to make the buoys
in the form of the frustrum of a cone, the smaller end being downwards, but
they may, if preferred, be of any other suitable form. The body of the buoy
is formed of two ends, and a sufficient number of staves made of yellow pine,
for the sake of lightness, and the staves are made water and air tight by
means of tongues and grooves being surrounded and held together by metal
hoops in the usual manner. The ends are connected together in the centre,
and prevented from bulging, either inwards or outwards, by means of a central

page_text: metal stay. To the smaller end or bottom of the buoy the bracket for fastening
the rope is attached ;
is attached; and I prefer to make this of wood, fixed to the end by
screws, and then bound over with iron tire to render it perfectly secure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Fearn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd March 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FEARN, of the British Pail Company, of Leeds, in the County of York, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her beirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Fearn, Her special licence that I, the said William Fearn,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Fearn, my executors, administrators, and 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 "AN IMPROVED CON-
STRUCTION OF BUOYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Fearn, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 William Fearn, 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 follow-
ing statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Drawings,
that is to say:-
The buoys to which the present Invention relates are intended principally
for floating fishermens' nets and for small anchors, but they may also be used
'for other analogous purposes; and the objects of this Invention are to render
such buoys lighter, more buoyant, and stronger than those hitherto in use. It

page_text: is preferred to make the buoys in the form of the frustrum of a cone, the
smaller end being downwards, but they may, if preferred, be of any other
suitable form. The body of the buoy is formed of two ends, which are
tongued and grooved into the staves, and a sufficient number of staves made
of yellow pine, for the sake of lightness, and the staves are made water and
air tight by means of tongues and grooves, being surrounded and held
together by metal hoops in the usual manner.
In addition to the ends being
tongued and grooved into the staves, they are connected together in the centre;
and prevented from bulging either inwards or outwards by means of a central
stay. To the smaller end or bottom of the buoy the bracket for fastening the
rope is attached, and I prefer to make this of wood, fixed to the end by.screws,
and then bound over with iron tire to render it perfectly.secure.
In order further to illustrate the form and construction of my improved
buoys, I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings, representing various
views thereof drawn to a geometrical scale of about one-quarter size, and
have marked thereon figures and letters of reference corresponding with those
in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
Figure 1 in the annexed Drawing is an exterior side elevation of my
improved buoy; and Figure 2 is a sectional view of the same, taken vertically
through about the contre thereof; Figure 3 is a transverse section through
two of the staves, showing the method of connecting the same by means of
tongues and grooves; and Figure 4 is an exterior view of the double form of
the buoy, which may be employed when it is desirable to sustain a greater
weight, and is more conspicuous at a distance.
a, a, are the staves; b, b, the hoops; and c, c, the ends or heads. The
staves a, a, are made (as above named), by preference, of yellow pine, on
account of its superior lightness, and are made water and air tight by means
of tongues and grooves *, *, as shown at Figure 3; d, d, is a stay secured to
each end of the buoy, in order to strengthen the same, and to prevent the ends
or heads c, c, from starting or bulging either inwards or outwards. It is pre-
ferred, for the sake of lightness, to make this stay of wood, but it may be made
of hollow metal, if thought preferable. e, e, is the bracket for attaching the
rope to, which is also made of wood, and secured to the lower end of the buoy
by means of screws, and then bound over with iron tire, as above described, in
order to strengthen the same, and render it perfectly firm and secure. These
buoys are usually made from six inches to thirty inches in height, and of a
diameter proportionate to the scale in the Drawing, the form shown being
preferred, both on account of its greater buoyancy, and also of the facility
with which it can be manufactured; but I would here remark that I do not

page_text: intend to confine myself to these dimensions or proportions, nor yet to the
form shown, as these may be varied without interfering in any way with the
principal features of my Invention.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my
Invention for "An Improved Construction of Buoys," together with the
manner in which the same may be carried into practical effect, I desire it to
be distinctly understood, that I claim as my Invention, the general, novel,
and improved construction of buoys, as above described and shown in the
Drawings, and especially the method of making the same water and air tight
by tongueing and grooving the edges of the staves and the ends of the buoys
together.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Fearn, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.