IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE DEPOSITS FROM THE BOTTOMS OF VESSELS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Birse Park, of Fraserburgh, in the County
of Aberdeen, and of 52, Gracechurch Street, in the City of London,
Shipowner, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS
FOR REMOVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE DEPOSITS FROM THE BOTTOMS OF
VESSELS."
Scaled the 10th August 1869, and dated the 23rd June 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Birse Park at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd June 1869.
I, DAVID BIRSE PARK, of Fraserburgh, in the County of Aberdeen,
and of 52, Gracechurch Strect, in the City of London, Shipowner, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS AND
APPARATUS FOR REMOVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE DEPOSITS FROM THE BOTTOMS
OF VESSELS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to remove animal and vegetable deposits,
from the bottoms of vessels by means of a rolling body passed over them
to crush them, to stop their growth, destroy their life, and to cause them

page_text: to fall therefrom without injuring the paint or other protective com-
position upon the vessel.
The apparatus employed are preferably a series of rollers of wood or
other material which has great buoyant power. The rollers are strung
freely upon a rope and conform themselves to the varying forms of the
vessel by the buoyancy of the material, the whole apparatus being drawn
from stem to stern of the vessel by means of guys, and guided along the
side thereof by a flanged roller riding upon the keel. The flanged roller
is likewise strung upon the rope and is free to turn thereon. Thero is a
swivel joint at the upper end of the rope to prevent the rope kinking, and
to facilitate the free action of the apparatus I place washers between
the rollers, especially at the part which rolls along the bilge, in order
that they shall conform to the shape thereof. I prefer to place a short
length of metal tube between the flanged roller, and the lowest of the
series of rollers to act as a guide to the apparatus at its lower part by
which it is drawn by means of guys.
In some cases the series of rollers may be composed of metal and
made hollow, or the wooden rollers may be faced with metal. I do not
confine myself to the employment of a rope for the rollers to work upon,
as the rollers may be connected by swivel joints to one another. These
rollers may be drawn from the gunwale to the keel of the vessel in
successive portions.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said David Birse Park in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
BIRSE PARK, of Fraserburgh, in the County of Aberdeen, and of 52,
Gracechurch Street, in the City of London, Shipowner, send grooting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of Junc, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said David Birse Park, Her special licence,
that I, the said David Birso Park, my exccutors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said David Birse Park, my executors,

page_text: 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, usc, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS
AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE DEPOSITS FROM THE
BOTTOMS OF VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said David Birse Park, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said David Birse Park, 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 thereof, referenco being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
The object of my Invention is to remove animal and vegetable deposits
from the bottoms of vessels by means of a rolling body passed over them
to crush them, to stop their growth, destroy their life, and to cause them
to fall therefrom without injuring the paint or other protective com-
position upon the vessel.
The apparatus employed are preferably a series of rollers of wood or
other material which has great buoyant power. The rollers are strung
freely upon a rope, and conform themselves to the varying forms of the
vessel by the buoyancy of the material. The whole apparatus is drawn
from stem to stern of the vessel by means of guys and guided along the
side thereof by a flanged roller riding upon the keel. The flanged roller
is likewise strung upon the rope and is free to turn thereon. There is a
swivel joint at each upper end of the rope to prevent the rope kinking,
and to facilitate the free revolving action of the apparatus I place washers
between the rollers, especially at the part which rolls along the bilge, in
order that they shall conform to the shape thereof and give each roller
5 room to play freely. I prefer to place a short length of metal tube
between the flanged roller and the lowest of the series of rollers, to act
as a guide to the apparatus at its lower part by means of guys attached
to them

page_text: In some cases the series of rollers may be composed of metal and
made hollow, or the wooden rollers may be faced with metal. I do not
confine myself to the employment of a rope for the rollers to work upon,
as the rollers may be connected by swivel joints to one another. These
rollers may be drawn from the gunwale to the keel of the vessel in
successive portions.
The manner in which I propose to carry my Invention into effect is
represented in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings.
Figure 1 is a midship section of a vessel with my improved apparatus
applied thereto, and Figure 2 a face or bow end view of the same, to
show that the apparatus can take the form or contour of any part of the
vessel over which it may be drawn. a, a, are a number of rollers strung
upon a rope band kept at a sufficient distance apart by washers or
intervening pieces c, c, so that as the rollers are rolling over a projection
or an increased sized part of the vessel they are able to do so without
grating one against another. The rollers are made of any dimensions
and can be hollow or solid; if made hollow I prefer to make them of
very
thin sheet steel, so that they shall be as light as possible, and as
they are cylindrical in shape great strength is obtained. I close the
ends of the cylinders up by discs of thin steel or other metal which arc
connected internally by means of a tube so that each cylinder or roller is
made as buoyant as possible. These are as before stated strung upon a
rope and lowered over the ship's bows or stern, as the case may be, by
means of guys, and guided under the water line by bent rods A, so that
the central roller d which is flanged can be placed upon the keel to
enable the apparatus to be drawn to and fro in a straight line, which can
be done by means of other guys attached to the eyes e, e, fitted near the
keel roller d. Weights may be attached to sink the apparatus to the
required depth in such a way that the purpose being attained they may
again be easily disengaged. The ends of the rope b upon which the
rollers are strung are provided with swivel rings or sockets f, f, for cords
or ropes g, g, to be fastened to. These ropes 9, 9, pass up to the gunwale
and are held inboard by the men who move to and fro within the
distance of the space or surface under operation to keep the rope b and
the rollers a in a vertical position. Their movement being governed by
the amount of longitudinal pull which is put upon them by the mon
working the guys attached to the keel eyes e, e. The rollers can be
made of any thickness and of any diameter. I prefer to make them of

page_text: various thicknesses and to place the largest of the sizes upon the rope, so
that they roll upon the flat or slightly rounded portions of the ship, and
the less thick ones upon that portion of the rope which is to be drawn
over the sharper bend or rounded portions, by this means the faces of
the rollers may come in close contact with the vessel's bilge without
leaving patclics of shells, etc. upon it. I attach the eyes e, e, to short
metal tubes h, h, Figure 1, which are curved so that the rope which
passes through them is brought up to the first rollers a, a, and led to
their centres to prevent unnecessary friction. In some cases these short
tubes h, h, are dispensed with, and I place comparatively thin round
slicaves i, i, upon the rope and attach the fore-and-aft guys to cords
stropped upon the sheaves.
Figure 3 shows the keel roller in section. This roller is recessed
at its sides so that the washers, collars, or intervening picces c, c, find
a lodgment therein, and allow the rope to bend rather suddenly at
that part so that the lower roller of the series can be brought into action
close to the keel. The upper circular groove being to receive the points
of the bent rods A which might be used to guide the keel roller to
its place on the keel. The other rollers may be recessed at their sides, if
found advisable, so that their washers are partly enclosed in a similar
manner, and they may also be bevilled at the sides so that the point of
friction may be reduced to the lowest possible extent.
Figure 4 represents two rollers a, a, which are free to turn upon
pins j, j, attached by swivel links h, k, to distancing links 1, 1, in such
a manner that should any kink occur the swivel would turn and frec
itself, and the roller from any obstruction, and thus be brought into
working order without interfering with the cleaning process.
As before explained I do not limit myself to employing rollers made
of wood or of metal or of a combination of them for the purposes of
removing animal and vegetable deposits from the bottoms of vessels,
as the rollers may be made of any material of a buoyant nature or which
can be made buoyant.
It will be observed on the Drawings that the rope b extends from
the water line on one side of the vessel, down under the bottom and
up to the water line on the other side, so that the whole of the bottom
can be operated upon by my apparatus.
I prefer that the operations shall be carried on in calm weather at
sea or in port shortly after arrival or shortly before departure, and that

page_text: the apparatus should be employed especially at such times when shells
are small and deposits recent, such as is very frequently the case with
a vessel in the calms in tropical latitudes about a month after leaving
either an English or an Indian port, then it is along with opportunities
in port that the apparatus could be used with facility and the growth
of deposits prevented. If the apparatus is employed often it will
effectually prevent the bottom of the vessel becoming foul to any degree
as by its action it smashes up the young shells or barnacles before their
shells have become hard or set, and destroys their life, thereby causing
them to loose their hold on the bottom of the ship, as it is well known
that the power of adhesion is put forth only during life. All this will
be done without causing injury to the outer coating of paint or com-
position with which the bottom may be covered, as little or no friction is
produced by the rollers.
In the Specification I have referred to a rope for the rollers to be
strung upon. I do not wish to confine myself to a hempen rope, as it
may be composed of any material or combination of materials, and
what I have found to be best suited for the purpose is one formed of
twisted hemp covered with vulcanized rubber, so as to give a round
smooth surface on which the rollers may run freely.
I insert the following directions for using the apparatus. It consists
of parts of six different characters:―
First. Rope made of hemp covered round and smooth by india-rubber
preparations.
Second. Keel roller of wood for the centre of the rope.
Third. Two or four (as required) wooden sheaves strung freely on the
rope as convenient, and themselves stropped with rope, the strops
having cyes to which are made fast the rope guys for moving appa-
ratus.
Fourth. A series of wooden rollers of different lengths to be strung
on the rope from the keel roller to the ends of the rope.
Fifth. Washers of clastic india-rubber to be placed on the rope to
confine the keel roller, the stropped sheaves, and the rollers in their
places, and to prevent friction between them.
Sixth. A swivel eye of brass or other metal attached to oach end of
the rope by pins and lashings for the purpose of connecting the apparatus

page_text: with guide ropes, which shall still not prevent the free revolving motion
of either rope or rollers.
Accompanying the parts forming the apparatus should be two long
poles or shafts, each about 25 feet long, and each terminating in a
curved iron rod projecting about 3 feet from the line of the pole, the rod
being hollow at one end to receive the shaft, and tapering to half an inch
of solid thickness at the other end, the very point of the rod being
turned at right angles to itself for the length of about an inch, the
one on one polo to the right hand and the other on the other pole
to the left hand. These guide rods as they may be called are for guiding
the keel roller down the stem on to the keel of the ship, the points being
inserted in the grooves on the sides of the keel roller. The only other
real necessaries for working the apparatus are sufficient rope for guys
to move it in operation and two deep sea leads to be so attached to
the stropped shcaves on each side of the keel roller that when the
leads have served the purpose of sinking the apparatus to the required
depth they may be easily disengaged. The rope should be rubbed over
with a very thin coat of grease. The inner surfaces or the ends and
parts of keel roller sheaves and rollers which do not come in contact
with the ship should be painted with thin white lead and oil, and the
outside surfaces or parts which do come in contact with the ship should be
rubbed with sufficient linseed oil to secure a smooth, hard, seasoned face.
Having placed the apparatus together as in the diagram and an
opportunity having presented itself, either at sea or in port, for making
use of it, I proceed as follows:-I lower a boat and put three men
into it along with the guide rods and the deep sea leads, each of the
latter being made fast to the middle of a line of about ten fathoms
long and with a few fathoms of spun yarn and a piece of wood 8
inches long, 2 inches broad, and inch thick; bring the boat to the
bows of the ship and make it fast close to the stem of the ship. Bring
the apparatus to the bow of the ship, attach the rope guys to cach
swivel end and to each bight on the stropped sheaves, all of the length
required for guiding and moving the apparatus from stem to stern;
lower the apparatus over the bows till the keel roller is on the stem near
the surface of the water and each swivel end is suspended a few feet
below each cathead; bring the after guys or pulling ropes underneath
the vessel and over the stern, haul them taut, and let those in the boat
feel that they are so.

page_text: The port and starboard swivel guide ropes and fore and after guys
being held firmly let those in the boat now complete the operations
necessary to sink the apparatus:-
First. By looping the lines attached to the deep sea leads round the
apparatus at cach side of the keel roller in such a way that when both
ends of the line are held in hand on board the deep sea lead will
continue attached to the apparatus, but that when one end only is
held the deep sea lead and line can be pulled free of the apparatus.
When secured let the ends of the lines be passed on board ship.
Second. By placing the points of the guide rods into the grooves on
each side of the keel roller, with a man to cach rod.
Third. For the purpose of keeping the rods in their places and at a
certain distance from each other by the third man in the boat tying the
two rods together a few feet above the curves, this being done by
placing the piece of wood 8 inches long between the poles firmly and
looping the bight of the few fathoms of spun yarn round all and tied
in such a way that holding the two ends in hand and pulling upon
one the rods may be again separated and the points easily dislodged
from the keel roller. The apparatus being now held by swivel end
ropes, by fore and after guys, by lines attached to the leads, by guide
rods and by loop yarn securing the rods together, the signal should
be given for all these except the swivel end ropes to be drawn or lowered
steadily at the same speed, and when the men in the boat have ascer-
tained by the guide rods or otherwise that the apparatus has passed
over the stem on to the keel the swivel end ropes should be pulled
taut and the after guys held firm. This done the loop yarn should be
pulled and guide rods set free and sent on board ship, and the deep sca
leads disengaged by letting go from on board one special end of each
line attached to them and pulling on the other. The apparatus is now
retained by its own buoyancy and by the swivel end ropes and fore and
after guys alone, and should be moved backwards and forwards over
successive portions of the vessel's bottom as often as in the judgement
of the commander may be deemed necessary to accomplish the desired
end of removing animal and vegetable deposits. It would be well
to have a rope breast high extending taut from after shroud of the
forc rigging to the fore shroud of the main rigging, and from the
after shroud of the main rigging to the fore shroud of the mizen rigging
for the men bearing the swivel cnd ropes to hold on to. One side

page_text: of the apparatus may have its rollers arranged differently from the
other, so that on reversing the apparatus and repeating the operation
every possible part of the ship's bottom will be submitted to the cleaning
process. It is important that the apparatus should be kept free from
exposure to the weather when not in use.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as
my Invention,—
Firstly. The means as herein-before described for removing animal
and vegetable deposits from the bottoms of vessels.
Secondly. The employment of rollers arranged and acting in the
manner herein-before described.
Thirdly. The apparatus as above described which is caused to pass
to and fro over a ship's bottom for destroying animal and vegetable
life.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Birse Park, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-
ninc.
20
Witness,
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street,
London.
(L.S.) DAVID B. PARK.