IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS OR VESSELS AND OTHER SUBMERGED PROPERTY, AND OF RENDERING SHIPS OR VESSELS BUOYANT, AND ALSO IN PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Constantine Vafea and Tharypos Vafea, of No. 3,
India Buildings, Water Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lan-
caster, Merchants, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
METHOD OF RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS OR VESSELS AND OTHER SUBMERGED
PROPERTY, AND OF RENDERING SHIPS OR VESSELS BUOYANT, AND ALSO IN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Constantine Vafea and
Tharypos Vafea at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 21st October 1873.
We, CONSTANTINE VAFEA and THARYPOS VAFEA, of No. 3, India
Buildings, Water Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Merchants, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS OR VESSELS AND
OTHER SUBMERGED PROPERTY, AND OF RENDERING SHIPS OR VESSELS BUOYANT,
AND ALSO IN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR THE ABOVE PURPOSES," to be as
follows: :-

page_text: We close hermetically the hatches, the deck lights, port holes, and all
the windows or openings in the deck or upper part or sides of the ship,
and after having so hermetically closed the said openings in the ship
we pump down or otherwise introduce air or steam into the ship through
a tube, which we insert in any convenient position through the ship's
hull or deck. The air or steam so pumped down or introduced rises
towards the under side of the deck, and not being able to escape presses
the water contained in the ship down and out of the ship through the
hole made by accident, or through holes which are to be made in the
ship's bottom to allow of the escape of the said water.
The apparatus which we use for the hermetically closing of the
hatches and other openings in the ship consists of a plate or plates of
india-rubber or other soft packing substance, and a plate or plates of
iron or other suitable material, which plates are held down and fastened
to the hatches or other openings by suitable screw bolts.
This apparatus may also be used for keeping buoyant ships or vessels.
which may have met with accidents to their bottoms.
For raising sunken ships and vessels, which have been so broken as
not to admit of being closed sufficiently tightly for the inscrtion of the
air or steam in the manner we have above described, and also for raising 2
other submerged property, we use pontoons or ships which are to be
sunk and attached to the broken ship or other submerged property, and
which pontoons or ships are then to be raised in the same manner and
according to the same principle as we have described in respect to the
sunken ship, bringing with them to the surface the broken ship or other 2
submerged property.
1
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Constantine Vafea and Tharypos Vafea in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th February 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CON-
STANTINE VAFEA and THARYPOS VAFEA, of No. 3, India Buildings,
Water Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Merchants, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Constantine Vafea and Tharypos
Vafea, Her special license that we, the said Constantine Vafea and
Tharypos Vafea, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or, such
others as we, the said Constantine Vafea and Tharypos Vafea,
our 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,
usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS OR VESSELS AND
OTHER SUBMERGED. PROPERTY, AND OF RENDERING SHIPS OR VESSELS BUOYANT, AND
ALSO IN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR THE ABOVE PURPOSES," upon the condition.
(amongst others) that we, the said Constantine Vafea and Tharypos
Vafea, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one
of us or them, 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 we, the said Constantine Vafea and Tharypos
Vafea, 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 thereof,
that is to say:-
We close hermetically the hatches, the deck lights, port holes, and all
the windows or openings in the deck or upper or side parts of the ship,
and after having so hermetically closed the said openings in the ship
we pump down air to the bottom of the ship through a tube or tubes,
which we insert cither through the bottom of the ship's hull or through
the ship's deck, and which tubes we pass down close to the bottom of
the ship. The air so being introduced into the bottom of the ship rises
by itself inside of the ship towards the under side of the deck, and not
being able to escape presses the water contained in the ship down and

page_text: out of the ship through the hole made by accident, or through holes
which are to be made in the ship's bottom to allow of the escape of the
said water.
The apparatus which we use for the hermetically closing of the
hatches or other openings in the ship consists of a sheet or sheets of
india-rubber or other soft packing substance, and a plate or plates of
iron or other suitable material, which plates are held down and fastened
to the hatches or other openings by suitable screw bolts.
This apparatus may also be used for keeping buoyant ships or vessels
which may have met with accidents to their bottoms.
For raising sunken ships, steamers, or vessels, which have been so
broken as not to admit of being closed sufficiently tightly for the
insertion of the air in the manner we have above described, and also for
raising other submerged property, we use pontoons or other ships or
vessels which are to be sunk, and attached to the broken ships or other
submerged property, which pontoons or ships are then to be raised in
the same manner and according to the same principle as we have
described in respect to the sunken ships, bringing with them to the
surface the broken ships or other submerged property.

page_text: they extend upwards through the india-rubber sheet and through the
plate a, and they receive nuts on the upper side of this plate, which
when screwed down compress the india-rubber sheet or elastic packing
material and make an air-tight joint against the top of the hatchway
combing.
If the hatchway be wide the plate is further secured, by apparatus
(see Figures 2, 3, and 5,) consisting of two dogs e, e, which are able to
slide upon a barf to adjust them to the width of the hatch; one of them
rests against the key f¹ and the other abuts against the screw f', which
works through the end of the barf where the bar is turned up to receive
it. By means of the screw the ends of the dogs, which are provided
with suitable teeth, are made to clip the hatchway combing tightly
between them, and the teeth penetrate it on either side. The bar f being
thus fixed over the plate a the screws f³, which also work in holes in
the bar f, are screwed down, and they aid in pressing the plate home so
as to ensure an air-tight joint. These bars f,f, and screws and parts
connected with them may be applied either longitudinally or transversely
of the hatchway, and the screws f³ which they carry may be increased
or diminished in number. The plates a are provided with stop cocks a¹,
by means of which the air may be controlled, allowing the air to escape
whenever we wish to lower one end of the ship which may be rising
before the other.
°
For closing the ports and other apertures in the ship or vessel similar
means are employed, as is indicated by the Figures 6 and 7.
9, 9, 9, 9, Figures 1 and 3, are tubes of any suitable material (one or
more as may be required); they are attached and inserted through the
bottom of the ship's hull, and their mouths enter holes formed to
receive them. Through these tubes the air is pumped down to the
bottom of the ship, and is caused to enter the ship close to the bottom.
The air being so introduced is left there, at the bottom of the ship, to
rise by itself inside of the ship towards the under side of the deck, and
not being able to escape it presses down the water and expels it through
the holes made in the bottom.
", ", Figure 1, marks the points at which the tubes are attached to
the ship's bottom; and s, s, Figures 1 and 3, are the upper ends of the
tubes where they are connected with air pumps or other air forcing
apparatus on board the ship or ships from which the operations are

page_text: conducted. At their upper ends the tubes g, g, are provided with stop
cocks, which are closed when pumping ceases, and thus the air is
confined, and the tube is kept free from water to facilitate the work
when pumping recommences. The tubes have also valves at their lower
ends which close against the water, and so also prevent its entrance into
the tubes.
The above tubes are fixed either through the deck and extend down
towards the bottom, and close to the bottom of the ship, or passed out-
side of the ship's hull to the bottom of the ship.
In the Figure 1 the tubes g, 9, 9, 9, are shewn attached to the ship's
bottom from the outside part of the ship; and in the Figure 3 the corre-
sponding tubes 9, 9, 9, 9, are shewn fixed through the deck down into
the bottom of the ship, and the rising air is shewn, being introduced
into the ship through them, as indicated by the letter A; p, p, p, p,
in the Figure 3, shews the ship or ships from which the operations are
directed.
Where the sunken ship or vessel is so damaged that the apertures in
her cannot be closed in the manner above described, we employ pon-
toons or other ships, or any other vessel, which, after sinking, we firmly
attach to the sunken ship or vessel in the manner shown in the
Figure 8.
o
Figures 9 and 10 shew one of these pontoons in different views; the
pontoons are constructed of iron, and we prefer them of the form repre-
sented in the Figures 9, 10, and 11; or in some cases we make them
with pointed ends, and provide them with steam power and stearing
gear to facilitate the conveyance of the pontoons to the places where
they may be required for use, and they are made in air-tight compart-
ments, as shewn in their longitudinal section, Figure 10. They have
openings made quite close to their bottom, by one or more of which
openings the air is to be introduced in the manner already above
described in respect to a ship, of which the upper works are capable of
being closed air-tight. The said pontoons are provided with stop-
cocks a¹, by means of which the air inside the pontoon may be controlled.
We allow the air to escape whenever we wish to sink the pontoon, or we
close the stop-cocks to control the descent of the pontoons, in order to
bring them to the position required. The said pontoons arc sunk along-
side of the ship, or steamer, or vessel, or other weight to be raised; and

page_text: having been secured to it we make them to float by pumping down
air to their bottoms through tubes such as those used for the ships, as
described and shewn by 9, 9, 9, 9, in the Figures 1 and 3, such tubes
being attached and inserted to the bottom of the pontoons from the
outside part of their body, as shewn in the Figure 11, marked 9, I, I, or
from the inside part of their body, as shewn in the longitudinal
section of the pontoon, Figure 10, by the letters g, g, g. Thus the air
being caused to enter into the body of the pontoons, and being left there
at the bottom of the pontoon, rises by itself inside towards the upper
part of the pontoon, and not being able to escape it presses the water con-
tained in the pontoon down, and expels it out of the pontoon through
openings marked j.
.
We use such pontoons sometimes as auxiliaries in the raising of ship
or vessels, of which the upper works are capable of being closed air-
tight. The pontoons when filled with air rise, as is the case with a
sunken vessel similarly treated, and in rising they drag to the surface.
the ship or other weight to which they are attached. The number
and size of the pontoons required will depend on the weight which is to
be raised.
This our principle of introducing the air from below, and allowing it
to rise by itself, we apply it to any other kind of vessels which we
might send down and attach to the sunken ships or other submerged
property for the purpose of raising it.
By our Invention of hermetically closing the hatches and other
openings of ships with air-tight covers the risk of foundering may be
greatly reduced, as when the ships are provided on their voyage with the
apparatus described, namely the air-tight covers, the air necessary to
flotation is confined within the ship, and will keep the ship always
buoyant, and will not allow the entrance of any water in case the ship
might meet with accident to its bottom. One or more of the tubes as
thus marked g in the Figures 1 and 3 may also be provided fixed either
through the deck, and extended down close to the bottom of the ship, or
passed outside of the ship's hull at the bottom of the ship, through
which tubes the air may be sent down and introduced to its bottom, and
which air rising into the ship takes the place of any water which might
have penetrated into the ship and expels it, so getting rid of any leakage
which might occur.

page_text: The ship may also be provided with stop-cocks upon the deck, which
stop-cocks may be employed on the voyage for ventilation of the cargo,
the air in the ship being so renewed by opening the air-cocks during the
day, and closing them at night for safety.
When building new ships or when refitting ships we make the hatches
of circular form, in order to facilitate air-tight closing, and we provide a
'metal combing with a screw thread upon it. This combing receives a
screw cap or cover, as is shown by the Figures 12 and 13, and a packing
ring of vulcanised india-rubber or other suitable packing material is
fitted within the cap, so that when the cap is screwed into its place it
closes the hatch air-tight.
In Figure 12 k, k, shows a vertical section of the metal combing
with screw thread upon it; and Figure 13, a plan view of the same;
1, 7, shews the screw cover; m, m, shews the india-rubber packing fitted
within the cover; n shews the stop-cock, and c is a portion of the deck.
Thus by either of the ways herein described, or by other suitable ways
of carrying out our principle of hermetically closing the hatches and
other openings of the ships we keep the ships buoyant, and thus
preserve them from foundering in case they might meet with accident to
their bottom.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, we would have it understood that what
we claim is, our improved method of raising sunken ships or vessels,
and other submerged property, and of rendering ships or vessels buoyant,
and the apparatus to be used for the above purposes, all substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Constantine Vafea and Tharypos
Vafea, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fourth day
of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred