CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN EXCAVATING AND DREDGING; ALSO IN THE FORMATION OF PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY HARBOURS, CANALS, BRIDGES, DOCKS, AND OTHER SIMILAR WORKS, AND THE APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
KNIGHT, of the Town and County of the Town of Southampton, Wine
Merchant, 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 Fourteenth day of July, in the tenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and giant unto me, the said
George Knight, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said George Knight, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said George Knight, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man,
my Invention of " CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN EXCAVATING AND DREDGING; ALSO
IN THE FORMATION OF PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY HARBOURS, CANALS, BRIDGES,
DOCKS, AND OTHER SIMILAR WORKS, AND THE APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN,"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
George Knight, in an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, parti-
cularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inıolled
in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next

page_text: 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
laige appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
George Knight, 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 following description thereof, reference boing had to
the Diawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say).-
My Invention of Improvements in Excavating and Dredging; also in the
Formation of Permanent and Temporary Harbours, Canals, Bridges, Docks,
and other similar Works, and the Apparatus to be employed therein, relates,-
Fust, to various novel or improved plans of constructing or forming works
of the description above mentioned, whereby such works may be formed or
constructed at less cost and labor, with greater facility, and in less time, than
by the plans or meaus now usually adopted. My Invention consists,
Secondly, in a novel or improved mode of excavating or dredging, and
removing obstructions in harbours, rivers, docks, and other places, and,
Thirdly, in the construction and employment of certain improved apparatus
hereafter described, whereby the operations above mentioned may be greatly
facilitated.
The several Figures in the accompanying Diawing represent various views
of the means and appliances of which I propose to make use for the purpose
of carrying out the vanous objects of my improvements.
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 1cpresent different views of my improved plan of
forming or constructing sea walls, docks, harbours, or whaifs, or foundations
and defences for the same or other purposes, by means of what I call a water
fender, which, with certain other appliances, may also be employed for
excavating or removing banks or bars composed of mud, sand, or other
similar earthy matters, from the mouths or other parts of estuaries, lives,
harbours, and other situations. Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a
portion of a water fender. Figure 2 is a plan view of the same, with what I
call my mud-extracting syphon applied thereto. Figure 3 is a transverse
section, also with the mud-extracting syphon applied in the manner and for
the purposes herein-after moro particularly referred to, and Figure 4 is a
similar view. My improved water fender is constructed of strong convex
wrought or cast-iron plates a, a, a, which are furnished at their edges with
longitudinal dovetailed grooves, into which long wrought-non dovetailed rods
or laths b, b, are slidden, when the edges of two plates are brought into contact

page_text: The detached view Figure 5, shews in section, and upon an enlarged scale, this
mode of connecting the plates together, whereby it will be seen that the plates
a, a, are effectually prevented by the laths b, b, from yielding to any lateral
strain to which they may be subjected. The plates a, a, are further secured in
a vertical or nearly vertical position by means of strong transverse cast-iron
supports c, c, the bases of which, by being extended backwards, as seen in
Figures 3 and 4, will effectually support the fender against the weight of the
external water. As these same Figures above mentioned also represent my
mud or sand-extracting syphon, as applied to the water fender, for the purpose
of carrying out some other of my improvements, these two parts of my
Invention may, to avoid useless repetition, be described in conjunction. My
mud or sand-extracting syphon consists of a number of short pieces of tubing
d, d, d, d, of any suitable and convenient dimensions, jointed or connected
together by flexible Joints e, e, e, e, so as to allow the whole length to be bent
slightly out of a straight line as may be required This flexible pipe is bolted
to a culvert or hole f made in one of the plates a of the water fender, and is
secured in such a manner as will effectually prevent the ingress or egiess of
any water except through the interior of the flexible pipe. The outer end of
this pipe is commenced by a flattene'l mouthpiece 9 with a wide mouth, which
opens downwards, as shewn at g, in Figure 3, and the opposite or inner end of
the flexible pipe is furnished with a face valve h, by opening or closing which
communication between the inner and outer sides of the fender is maintaine.l
o cut off as may be requued. In placing the water fender in the position it
is intended to occupy, great care must be taken that the grooves in the edges
of the plates are brought into coincidence, otherwise it may be difficult, if not
impossible, to drive the wrought-iron dovetailed laths home, and before any-
thing is done it will of course be necessary to examine the nature of the sand
as to solidity, tenacity, and depth, in order that a proper foundation may bo
ealized by the plates a, a, being constructed accordingly. The several parts
of which the fender is composed being properly connected together and secured
against the pressure of the water and other disturbing causes, the flexible
pipe is adapted to the culvert or aperture in the manner shewn in the Figures,
the outer end or mouthpiece 9 being supported by chains or cables i, 2, from
a boat above (as seen in Figure 3); and as these chains or cables 1, i, pass
over windlasses in the boat, the mouthpiece 9 may be raised or lowered at
pleasure When the apparatus is to be employed for excavating, dredging,
or removing mud or sand from the water intended to be deepened to the land
ntended to be realized or raised, as shewn in the Figure, the space behind the
ender being fiee from water, which is prevented by the fender from covering

page_text: that part of the land which is behind, and when the water has risen in front
of the fender to a sufficient height, as seen in Figure 3, the mouthpiece gat
the outer end of the culvert is lowered on to the sand, its wide mouth being
downwards, and the valve h, at the inner and opposite end of the culvert,
is to be opened, and the water from in fiont will immediately rush through the
flexible pipe and culvert and carry with it a considerable portion of sand and
mud, which will be stirred up by the disturbance and agitation of the waters.
The attendants in the boat must be careful that the mouthpiece g is kept suffi-
ciently in contact with the sand to oblige the water in rushing in to carry the
said sand or mud with it; but care must also be taken that the mouthpiece
is not allowed to press too heavily on the sand, otherwise the water will not be
able to get into the flexible pipe. When the space within or behind the fender
is so full of water and mud, or has approached so nearly to the elevation of
the water on the outside that the pressure upon the mouth becomes insufficient
to force up a reasonable portion of earth with the water, the valve is to be
shut down, by which all the work is suspended. The earthy particles then
begin to subside, and the inner end of the flexible pipe should be raised up, to
which must be attached a flat quadrangular mouth, as shewn in Figure 4, as a
draining syphon, and which must be suspended or made to float near the
surface by means of any suitable floating body, such as cork. The wide
mouthpiece 7 at the other end should also be removed, as its form may prevent
the fice egress of the watc When the car thy particles have sufficiently sub-
sidled within or behind the fender, the supernatant or clear water should be
allowed to run off though the culvert, and this rush of water will act as a
Scourer, if scouring be needful m any spot within its reach, or if the car ths
are wanted for backing up or raising retrieved land, the scouring may be much
evailed by keeping the delivery end of the pipe afloat close to the surface of
the watci
In Figures 6, 7, and 8, I have shewn the means, apparatus, and appliances
I employ for loosening, detaching, and removing or cauying away locks and
other hand and solul substances which obsti uct navigation. The means I
adopt for loosening or detaching large fiagments of rock from the main body
consist of any convenient nu'nber of levers or crowbars of suitable length,
according to the circumstances of the case, the lower ends of which are pointed
and then pouts inserted into crevices of fissures in the rock, their upper ends
beng secured by coids, chains, or in any other convenient manner. to a long
honzontal bar attached to a floating vessel above Figure 6 represents an end
view of the apparatus, shewing large fragment of 1ock detached from the
main boly by my improved means, and Figure 7 is a sule elevation of the
a

page_text: ງ
anic This vessel is shewn at A, A, in Figures 6 and 7, and its transverse
ection presents the form of an equilateral triangle. It has a strong iron
keel secured to an oak keelson placed immediately above it, and from this
keelson rise lateral ribs, to which the strong oak planking of the sides an'!
ends is secured. The upper ends of these ribs are secured to longitudinal
sills which run along the top of the sides from end to end, and the planking
of the deck is supported by horizontal transoms extending across the vessel
hom sill to sill; the various parts of the vessel are further secured
and strengthened by cast-iron elbow or knec pieces, and other iron strength-
ening pieces, as will be well understood by any person conversant with
the construction of vessels. A strong wrought-iron bar h, k, running from
end to end of the vessel, a few feet above the deck, is supported at cach
end, and at suitable distances between, by strong iron uprights 1, 1, 1, 1, the
lower ends of which are securely fastened to the keel below. Now, when it
is intended to remove a rock or obstruction, the vessel A is brought to the place
when the tide is just beginning to fall, and a suitable crevice or fissure in the
1ock having been found, by inspecting and examining the rock by the sub-
marine telescope, hereafter described, the pointed ends of the levers m, m, m, m,
are inscitel into the fissure and forced down as far and as tight as possible;
the upper end of these levers are then secured to the horizontal bars h, k, as
already mentioned, and as the water falls by the receding of the tide, the
vessel A will be suspended from the ends of the levers, which will therefore
have to support its whole weight; the consequence will be that the fiagment of
rock or obstruction must, if the levers do not ship from their positions, yield
to the great weight, and will be forced away from its place and be detached
from the main body of the rock; but if it should be found that the rock or
obstruction does not yield, the weight may be still further increased by filling
the vessel with water by means of a syphon, when the rock or obstruction
must, unless under very extraordinary circumstances, yield and be forced out,
and allow the vessel to descend to the water line, as shewn in the Figure.
When the object has been effected, the water must be pumped out of the
vessel A, and then it will be ready to assist in a second operation. The frag-
ment of lock or obstruction having been loosened or detached from the main
body, it only remains to carry it away and deposit it in some suitable
place. This is effected by the aid of tackling in connection with a floating
vessel, as shewn at Figure 8. This vessel B is furnished with a number of
upright cylinders or barrels n, n, n, n, open at both ends, the lower end being
made with a trumpet-shaped mouth, in order to offer as little obstruction as
possible to the passage of the chains or tackling o, o, o, o. Each of these
0 cylinders or bariels is provided with a windlass, which is worked in the ordinary

page_text: manner
The chains are attached at one end to the windlass, and then oppo
site ends pass down the cylinders or barrels n, n, into the water, and are furnishe
with hooks or catches p, p, one of which is seen detached at Figures 9 and 10
The windlass may be furnished with any convenient number of chains, and
these chains are worked by smaller guide chains 2, 9, which are attached to them
the other ends of these guide chains being held and worked by persons in smal
boats at a short distance, as at C, when by manoeuvring the books or catches
at the ends of the chains o, o, by means of the guide chains q, q, the said hooks
are made to catch against and hold some projecting portions of the loosened
rock. The chains o, o, are wound round the windlass, and the fragment of rock
is raised from its place as shewn in the Drawing, and carried away and depo-
sited in any convenient situation
It will readily be conceived, that as some of the above described
operations must be carried on in deep water, that is, in places which
are always covered with water, it will be necessary to provide some means
of examining the state of the bottom, in order to ascertain and decide
upon the means to be adopted under various circumstances, and the
best plan of carrying them out This has usually been done by persons
descending in a diving bell; but I propose to effect this object without the
use of the diving bell, and in fact without descending at all The apparatus
I employ is what I denominate an hydraulic or submarine telescope. It is
shown at Figure 11, and consists of two pipes or tubes, D and E, one for the
transmission of reflected light, so as to illuminate the object below, and the
other is furnished with lenses in the form of a telescope. These two pipes
are formed of a number of lengths of tubing r, r, r, r, made of copper, zinc,
ion, or other suitable material, screwed one into the other, as shewn in the
Drawing, so as to form water-tight joints The lower ends of the two long
pipes D and E, thus formed, are secured by means of flexible Joints s, s, to a
large box or case F, which is open at bottom, but fits against the ground at the
bottom of the water The lower ends of each of the tubes D and E has a
strong convex lens t, for the purpose of preventing the water from lising in
the tube, and the upper end of the tube D has a powerful reflector u, which
reflects the light from the burner v down the said tube into the box or case F
below. The upper end of the other tube E, to which the eye is applied, is
provided with a small hand railing, by which the observer may hold, for the 3
purpose of guarding his eye from blows when he is looking through the teles-
cope. The two pipes D and E of the apparatus are secured to the sides of a
boat in which the observer and his assistants stand, and the whole apparatus
may be moved about by means of convenient tackling in the boat, and secured
y the buoys w, u'.
40

page_text: Having now described my Invention, and the manner of canying the same
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not mean or intend to
confine myself rigidly to the proportions of the various parts or materials of
which the vanous apparatus and appliances above descubed are composed,
no yet to the precise arrangement or construction of the apparatus, as it will
be evident that the principles upon which my improvements are founded will
admit of considerable variety in the means and appliances to be employed
for caying them into effect; but that which I consider to be new, and there-
fore wish to claim as the Invention secured to me under the herein-before in
pait recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the construction or formation and realizing of permanent or tem-
porary walls, whaifs, pieis, and other similar erections, by means of a water
fender, as above explained, aided by the flexible pipe or mud or sand-
extracting syphon and culvert, whereby I am also enabled to reclaim and
realize land from the sea or water, and deepen channels, and remove or
partially remove banks of sand or mud which may form obstructions to
navigation
Second, the means above set forth and described, or any modification thereof,
for loosening or detaching large fiagments of rock or other hard or solid
obstructions, and removing the same away from such places
Third, the means and apparatus above shewn and described, or any modifi-
cation thereof, for examining or inspecting the state of the ground, or any
objects at the bottom of the water.
In witness when cof, I, the said George Knight, have hereunto set my
hand seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Loid
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.