IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND INCREASING THE BUOYANCY OF FLOATING VESSELS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS
AND INCREASING THE BUOYANCY OF FLOATING VESSELS."-A communication
from Thomas Bell, of New York City.
Sealed the 14th October 1856, and dated the 16th April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th April 1856.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention, for IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS
AND INCREASING THE BUOYANCY OF FLOATING VESSELS, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in an apparatus composed of two water-tight hollow
floats or tanks, each being complete in itself, or constructed in two or more
sections, one being adapted to fit to the bow, and the other to the stern of
a vessel; the said floats or tanks being provided with suitable tackle to connect
them together and confine them to the vessel, and also with suitable adjustable
chocks, for the purpose of supporting the vessel by iron plates or wooden blocks

page_text: bolted to its sides to rest on the said chocks. The floats or tanks are to
be floated near to the vessel, and then sunk or partially sunk by filling them
wholly or partly with water, after which they are drawn close up in contact
with the bow and stern, and secured together and to the vessel, and their
chocks are brought into action. The water is afterwards pumped or forced out
of them, which causes them to float or rise and raise the vessel, and enables it
to be taken into port.
These tanks in their horizontal section present a V form, which enables them
to fit respectively against the bow and stern of the vessel to be raised, and to
lay some distance along the sides thereof. When floating the ship away, the
foremost float will move through the water with comparatively little resistance,
as it resembles to a certain extent the bow of a ship, and will divide the water
like a wedge. The top and bottom of the floats are flat, and the inner faces
which come next the vessel should be made of such curved form as may be
considered most suitable, so as to approximate nearly to the form of the vessels
for which they are intended, or for which they are likely to be used.
The floats are furnished at bottom with spring valves, and at top with
nozzles to attach flexible pipes leading to pumps or forcing apparatus on board
of an adjacent vessel; or the pumps or forcing apparatus may be carried by
the floats themselves.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might makė,
use, exercise, and vend,, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

page_text: Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND INCREASING THE BUOYANCY OF:
FLOATING VESSELS," being a communication from Thomas Bell, of New York City,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the samo
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 Edward Newton 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
consists in an apparatus composed of two water-tight hollow floats or tanks,
each being complete in itself, or constructed in two or more sections, one being
adapted to fit to the bow and the other to the stern of a vessel; the said floats
or tanks being provided with suitable tackle, herein-after described, to connect.
them together and confine them to the vessel, and also with suitable adjustable.
chocks for the purpose of receiving the downward pressure of the vessel,
through iron plates or wooden blocks bolted to its sides. The floats or tanks.
are to be floated near to the vessel, and then sunk or partially sunk by filling
them wholly or partly with water, after which they are drawn into close contact
with the bow and stern, and secured together and to the vessel, and their
chocks are brought into action. The water is afterwards pumped or forced
out of them, which causes them to float or rise and buoy up the vessel, and
thus enable it to be taken into port.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1.
is a side view of a ship, with the floats or tanks and means of attaching them
applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Figure 3 is a transverse
section in the line x, x, of Figs. 1 and 2. Similar letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in the several Figures.
A represents a ship required to be raised; and B, B', the water-tight floats
or tanks, which may be made of wood or iron. The general form of both
these tanks in their horizontal section resembles the letter V, which enables
them to fit respectively against the bow and steru of the. vessel, and to lay
some distance along the sides thereof. When floating the ship away, the float
which is at the bow, or in advance, will move through the water with com

page_text: paratively little resistance, as it resembles to a certain extent the bow of a
ship, and will divide the water like a wedge. The top and bottom of the
floats are flat, and the inner faces which come next the vessel should be
made of such curved form as may be considered most suitable, so as to ap-
proximate nearly to the form of the vessels for which they are intended or
for which they are likely to be used. The floats are to be built and stayed
internally in such manner as is generally practised in the construction of
water-tight floats or buoys. The floats B, B', are furnished at bottom
with flap valves a, a, which are closed by springs b, b, the said valves opening
outward; and they are furnished at the top with suitable nozzles c, c, to
attach flexible pipes, which lead to pumps or forcing apparatus on board of
a vessel or vessels employed for the purpose of carrying such apparatus; or the
If the
pumps or forcing apparatus may be carried by the floats themselves.
floats B, B', are made with water-tight compartments, which should generally
be the case, a valve a and a nozzle c, or its equivalent, will be necessary in
every compartment.
In Fig. 2 there are three pipe connections c, c, c, shown on each tauk, as
it is supposed that the floats are made each with three compartiments. The
arrangement of valves shewn is for the purpose of forcing out the water from
the tanks through the valves a, a, by means of air-forcing pumps, that being
supposed to be the most effectual mode of operation; but instead of that mode
of operation the water may be pumped out; in either case the same arrange-
ment of valves a, a, may be used for the admission of water to fill the tanks
for the purpose of sinking them, provided that some suitable means be
employed of opening the said valves from above. d, d, are the adjustable
chocks which support the ship A upon the floats B, B'. The chocks d, d,
may be made of heavy square straight timbers, shod with iron shoes e, e, to
pass under the lower edge of the cast-iron plates or wooden blocks p, p, which
are bolted at suitable intervals apart to the sides of the ship for the purpose
of supporting it on the chocks; or the chocks may be all of iron. The chocks
lie horizontally on the floats, and are fitted to slide in guides g, g. Each
chock carries a pawle h, which engages with the ratchet teeth of a stationary
rack i on the top of the float, to prevent its moving away from the sides of the
ship, and they are severally furnished with tackle j, running round a pulley k
attached to the float, for the purpose of drawing the chocks towards the ship,
and with other tackle running round a pulley m, for the purpose of. drawing
back the chocks, the said latter tackle being connected with the pawl h, so
that it lifts the pawl out of the ratchet before drawing back the chock. fis
another adjustable chock, which is stronger than any of the others, and is

page_text: arranged in line with the centre of that float, which is to be placed at the bow
of the ship. This chock is for the purpose of receiving upon it a very strong
cast-iron shoe n, (Fig. 1,) which is bolted to the stern of the vessel; the
adjustable chock f is like d, d, except that it has a broad T-shaped head, as
shewn in the plan view, Fig. 2, to make a broad bearing for the shoe n. This
chock is fitted to slide in guides g, g, and furnished with tackle pawls, &c.,
like the chocks d, d. D, D, are chains, attaching the two floats B, B', together
at their midship ends, and preventing their working apart; E, E, E, are other
chains, attached by one end respectively to the floats B, B, and at the other
end to the stumps of the masts F, F, F. These latter ends may be connected
to any suitable studs or posts on the deck of the ship, for the purpose of
holding the floats snugly up to the vessel.
Fig. 4 is a plan view of a float or tank made in two parts or separate
sections H, H, connected or attached together by a very strng hinge joint at r.
By constructing them in this way, they may in some cases be more conveniently
applied to the ship, and may be made to fit more snugly to the sides of the
ship. The application of the Invention to the raising of a sunken vessel and its
operation are as follows:-When a vessel is to be raised, the first thing to be
done is to ascertain at low water the places on the sides of the vessel where
to attach the plates or blocks p, p, and then bolt them on; when this is done
the shoe n may be applied to the stern; the tanks are then brought to suitable
positions near the bow and stern of the vessel, and after being connected by
the chains D, D, are sunk, by opening the valves a, a, or other valves or gates
provided for filling them. After they are sunk, the chains D, D, are hauled
taut to bring the tanks close up to the bow and stern, and the chocks d, d,
and fare drawn up close to the sides of the vessel to catch under the plates
or blocks p, p, and shoe n; the chains. E, E, E, are then applied, and drawn
taut to confine the floats securely against the sides of the vessel; the water is
then pumped or forced out of the floats, which if properly proportioned to the
capacity of the vessel, as they are emptied float up the vessel, and enable it to
be towed into port.
To carry a vessel over a shoal the application of the Invention is sub-
stantially like that of raising and floating away a sunken vessel, but it will
only in most cases be necessary to partly sink the floats or tanks.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of the Invention of
Improved Apparatus for Raising Sunken Vessels and Increasing the Buoy-
ancy of Floating Vessels," as communicated to nie from abroad, I desire it to
be distinctly understood that I do not confine myself strictly to all the details

page_text: herein described, as such may be modified without departing from the principle
of the Invention; but what I claim as new is,-
First, the employment of two floats or tanks, each made either complete in
itself, or in two or more sections attached together, and of such form as to fit
one to the bow and the other to the stern of the vessel, so that when connected
and confined by suitable chains, they will by their operation, as herein-before
described, raise and float the vessel.
Second, the sliding chocks d, d, and f, and their appendages, applied to
the floats or tanks substantially, as described, to act in combination with
plates or blocks p, and a shoe n, bolted to the vessel, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)