IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF BALLASTING SHIPS OR VESSELS, AND IN RENDERING THEM BUOYANT UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Pugh, of Whitstable, in the County of
Kent, Draper, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS
OF BALLASTING SHIPS OR VESSELS, AND IN RENDERING THEM BUOYANT
UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES."
Sealed the 24th June 1853, and dated the 31st January 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Pugh at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 31st January 1853.
I, EDWIN PUGH, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF BALLASTING SHIPS OR
VESSELS, AND IN RENDERING THEM BUOYANT UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES,'
to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to diminish the labor of charging
ships with ballast, and discharging the ballast when required. In
order to carry out this object I propose to divide the hold of the
ship into several compartments of moderate dimensions, in each of

page_text: which is to be placed a water-tight vessel, which may be supplied
with water when the ship requires ballast. Each of these water
vessels is to be furnished with a cock for letting out air from the
vessels, and an opening for admitting the water. When it is
required to discharge the ballast the water is to be pumped out of
the vessels, and air allowed to supply its place. This will increase
the buoyancy of the ship, and may therefore be found exceedingly
convenient under certain circumstances. The object of placing the
water vessels in compartments is to prevent them from being
shifted by the motion of the ship.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said. Edwin Pugh in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 30th July 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
EDWIN PUGH, of Whitstable, in the County of Kent, Draper, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in
*the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edwin Pugh, Her
special licence that I, the said Edwin Pugh, my executors, adminis-
.trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin Pugh, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
avith, 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.In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF BALLASTING SHIPS OR VES-
SELS, AND IN RENDERING THEM BUOYANT UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin Pugh,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-

page_text: ticularly 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 Edwin Pugh, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
saine 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): >
•
The object of this Invention is to diminish the labor of charging
ships with ballast, and discharging the ballast when required. In
order to carry out this object I propose to divide the hold of the
ship into several compartments of moderate dimensions, in each of
which is to be placed a water-tight vessel, which may be supplied
with water when the ship requires ballast. Each of these vessels is
to be furnished with a cock for letting out air from the vessels, and
an opening for admitting the water. When it is required to dis-
charge the ballast the water is to be let out of the vessels and
pumped out of the ship, and, if required for buoyancy purposes, air
is allowed to supply. its place. This will increase the buoyancy of,
the ship, and may therefore be found extremely convenient under.
certain circumstances. The object of placing the water vessels in:
compartments is to prevent. them from being shifted by the motion.
of the ship.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn several views of the
most convenient method that I have yet discovered for carrying my
improvements into effect. Fig. 1, is a plan or sectional view of.
part of a vessel fitted with my improved water ballast, the section.
being taken in the line A... B of Fig. 2, which is a transverse vertical
section taken in the line C... D of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is a longitudinal
vertical section taken in the line E... F of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, is a trans-
verse vertical section of the ship taken in the line G... H of Fig. 1,

page_text: and shewing the method of securing the bulk-head, whereby the
ends of the water vessels are held in their place. The water vessels
a, a, a, a, may be of any convenient number. In the Drawings four
are represented, two of which are placed on each side of the keelson.
They are represented as being of considerable length, but these long
vessels may be divided into two or more, if preferred. They are
made of canvas or cloth, and coated or covered inside and
out with gutta percha, caoutchouc, or other suitable waterproof
material. They are made in the form suitable to fit the shape
of the ship as shewn best in the sectional view Fig. 2, and the
enlarged detached view Fig. 7, and are secured from shifting
laterally by the longitudinal partitions b, b, b, b, which are sup-
ported in a vertical position, and kept in their places by the
vertical grooved bars c, c, c, one of which is shewn detached at
Figs. 5, and 6. These vertical bars are firmly fixed to the timbers
of the ship by screwing into a socket (Fig. 6*) made or placed
therein, as shewn at c, Fig. 3. At their upper end pins c* are
screwed in, and over these pins passes an eyelet hole a* attached
to a band which passes around the water vessels a, a, as shewn in
the enlarged detached view Fig. 7. Each of the water vessels is
provided with a man-hole d for the purpose of obtaining access to
the interior when required. These man-holes are secured in any
convenient manner, and are closed by plates, into which are screwed
short pipes e, furnished with taps or cocks for admitting air when
required. Water is admitted to the vessels a, a, through pipes
ffff, communicating with a main supply pipe g, and provided
with suitable stop-cocks for cutting off the communication when
required. The main pipe g communicates with a pump or valve
apparatus for admitting the water. This apparatus is shewn de-
tached, and drawn to an enlarged scale, at Figs. 8, 9, and 10. It
consists of a barrel h, with the upper end of which the pipe g is
connected. The lower end of this barrel passes through the bottom
of the vessel, and is closed by a plate or valve i, at the lower end of
the screw shaft j, the upper end of which passes through a screw
box k, and is provided with a winch or handle whereby it may be

page_text: turned. It will now be seen that on turning the handle of the
screw shaft the plate or valve i will be lowered from its seat, and
the external water will rise in the barrel h, and pass from thence
along the pipes g, and f, into the water vessels a, until it fills the
same, care being taken to open the air pipes e of the man-holes d
to allow the air contained in the vessels to escape. In order to
prevent the water vessels from rising in their compartments they
are held down by transverse battens I, I, I, I, and longitudinal battens
1*, *, *, *, through the ends and other parts of which pass the
pins c of the grooved bars c, and are held down in their places by
keys, or the screw stanchions m, m, one of which is shewn detached.
in elevation and upon an enlarged scale at Figs. 11, and 12. These
screw stanchions extend from the under side of the deck beams to
the pins c*, their lower ends being made hollow to receive the pins
c. When brought down over these pins they may be screwed
down by means of a wrench or lever, and thereby made to hold
down the battens 1, and l*, and thus prevent the water vessels from
shifting and moving about in their compartments. It will now be
seen that by merely opening the valve of the barrel h, together
with the cocks on the pipes f, f, communicating with the water
vessels a, a, water will flow from outside the ship into the vessels,
care being taken to open the air pipes e of the man-holes. When
the vessels are full the valve of the barrel / must be again
securely closed.
When it is required to lighten the ship a cock on a pipe connected
with the water vessels must be opened, and the water allowed to
flow into the well of the ship, from which it; must be pumped by
the ordinary ship's pumps, or any other suitable pump. Air may
at the same time be forced into the vessels a, a, by a suitable force
pump, by which means the water will be more readily expelled there-
from, and the vessels will become inflated with air, and the ship
be thereby rendered more buoyant; or when the water ballast is
pumped out, the flexible vessels a, a, may be removed, if preferred,
and cargo stowed in their place. The water vessels, when inflated
with air, may be removed from the lower part of the ship, and

page_text: secured to any other part, in order to assist in floating the vessel..
The bulk-heads which enclose the ends of the water, vessels are
supported by iron stanchions or diagonal bracings n, n, which are
secured to the flooring at one end, and to the bulk-head at the
other end.
:
It will, of course, be understood that, if required, the battens may
be covered over with a moveable flooring, so that cargo may be
stowed away thereon, which may be easily done without incon--
venience, or interfering with the improved water ballast; it being
only necessary to provide easy access to the pipes or cocks, whereby
water or air is admitted or expelled from the vessels a, a. .
:
I would here remark that in the accompanying Drawings, and in
the foregoing description, I have principally.had in view to explain
the nature and object of the improvements, and the principle upon
which they are based, so that any intelligent person may adapt the
plan to any particular circumstances, which will sometiines, no
doubt, render it necessary to modify and alter the arrangement
herein shewn and described. I do not, therefore, intend to confine
inyself rigidly to the precise arrangement of parts shewn and de-
scribed, as they may perhaps be varied. without departing from the
nature and object of my improvements. And I would further
observe, in conclusion, that I am aware that water has heretofore
been used for ballasting ships, and that such water has been enclosed-
in water-tight flexible vessels, furnished with pipes provided with-
cocks or taps for the admission and emission of water and-air. I
do not, therefore, mean or intend to claim the exclusive right to
employ as ballast water enclosed in flexible water-tight vessels; but-
that which I consider to be new, and therefore wish to claim as the
Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, is, the em-
ployment of water-tight vessels made to fit the internal form of the
ship, and placed in compartments, and secured by battens or other
similar contrivances for the purpose of preventing such water-tight
vessels from moving or shifting. I also claim the method shewn,
or any mere modification thereof, for securing the said vessels in

page_text: their compartments, and also the construction of the apparatus for
filling the said vessels with water.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Pugh, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three.
EDWIN PUGH. (L.S.)