IMPROVEMENTS· IN- CONSTRUCTING HARBOURS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Barnabas Daft, of Cleves Lodge, Church
Street, Chelsea,.Civil Engineer, for the Invention of." IMPROVEMENTS· IN-
CONSTRUCTING HARBOURS."
Sealed the 7th May 1867, and dated the 15th November 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Barnabas. Daft
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th November 1866.
I, THOMAS BARNABAS DAFT, of Cleves Lodge, Church Street, Chelesa, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS, IN. CONSTRUCTING HARBOURS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the construction of harbours of iron or
steel plates and frames in such a manner as that they can be built ashore and
then launched, and be:moored by cables coming ashore and over capstans, and
by swivel bridges, together with other moring tackle. These harbours are for
the most part intended to float and to rise and fall with the tide in order that
they may suit vessels as hereafter mentioned: These harbours' are to be con-
structed with hollow walls, and without any bottom 'or floor in the open or
water space where the vessels-are received. The hollow walls are to be made

page_text: compartmental, and capable of receiving water or other ballast. On the front
or entrance end the hollow walls incline outward from each other so as to
present a large mouth or entrance as compared with the dimensions of the
inner harbour or water space. These harbours are to be provided with
machinery, which together with the means of mooring will be suitable for
changing the position of the harbour to insure the mouth or entrance being in
the most favorable position according to the direction of the wind or sea.
These harbours in most cases are intended to be constructed of such dimensions
as to suit the size of vessels they are to receive; the vessels are intended to fit
and fill them with only sufficient clearance between the sides of the vessels
and the interiors of the harbours as will admit of the vessels entering and
clearing out without jamming. It is intended that the vessels shall have self-
acting mooring apparatus, by which they may be fastened to the harbours so
soon as the ends or bows of the vessels touch the inner ends of the harbour.
These harbours will be suitable for most descriptions of sea shores, and for
rough open rocky coasts where fixed stationary and under water work would
be very costly and most difficult to construct.
A novel and useful effect of these floating harbours is that of avoiding the
tendency of silting up or of accumulating obstructions 'at their mouths, which
is the result of harbours constructed upon foundations extending to and rising
from the bottom of the sea. On the other hand, if it be desirable to fix
harbours after constructing them ashore and launching them, provision may
be made for sinking and filling the hollow walls with suitably strong materials,
and by such means to construct a fixed and permanent structure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
. by the said Thomas Barnabas Daft in the Great Seal. Patent Office
on the 15th May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM-THESE. PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BARNABAS DAFT, of Cleves Lodge, Church Street, Chelsea, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Barnabas Daft, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Barnabas Daft, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others

page_text: as I, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, my 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, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING HARBOURS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in. writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 I, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, 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 :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in constructing harbours of
iron or steel plates and frames in such a manner as that they can be built
ashore and then launched and be moored by cables coming ashore and over
capstans, and be further connected with the shore by swivel bridges. These
harbours are for the most part intended to float and to rise and fall with the
tide; they are to be constructed with hollow walls and without any bottom or
floor in the open or water space where the vessels are received. The hollow
walls are to be made compartmental, and capable of receiving water or other
ballast. On the front or entrance end the hollow walls incline outward
from each other, so as to present a large mouth or entrance as compared with
the dimensions of the inner harbour or water space. These harbours are to be
provided with machinery, which together with the means of mooring will le
suitable for changing the position of the harbour to insure the mouth or
entrance being in the most favorable position according to the direction of the
wind or sea.
These harbours in most cases are intended to be constructed
of such dimensions as to suit the size of vessels they are to receive, the
vessels being intended to fit and fill them with only a sufficient clearance
space between the sides of the vessels and the interiors of the harbours to
admit of the vessels entering and clearing out without jamming. It is
intended that, the vessels shall have self-acting mooring apparatus, by which
they may be. fastened to the harbours so soon as the ends or bows of the
vessels touch the inner ends of the harbours. These harbours will be suitable
for most. descriptions. of sea shores, and for rough open rocky coasts where

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan of a harbour constructed according to my Invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, and Figure 3 is a transverse section
taken at the line 1, 1, Figures 1 and 2.
a, a, is the harbour, built of iron or steel plates and framing after the fashion
of a tubular bridge or large box girder; it is enclosed on all sides, and is
divided into numerous compartments, to which water can be admitted and
expelled by pumps from time to time to regulate the draft of the harbour.
The harbour is built on a'launching way, or launching ways are fitted under
it; when it has 'been built it is launched in the usual way and towed to
the place where it is required for use; 6 is a bridge of cellular construction
jointed to the end of the harbour, it is of such a length as to extend to
the shore when the harbour is moored well out of the surf at its shore end;
the bridge is pivotted to a land. structure herein-after described:-The two
arms or limbs of the harbours are connected together so as to stay them
the one from the other by an arched bridge a¹ rising sufficiently high
to let the vessel enter freely under it. To the two harbour heads are
connected the ends of a very powerful chain which passes over guide
pulleys c, c, on the land to a capstan d of proportionate size turned
in any convenient manner, but most advantageously by an hydraulic
engine (supplied from an elevated reservoir). By this tackle the harbour
may be set according to the run of the sea in the position most favorable
for the vessel to enter and leave it or to lie quietly when moored ;
e, e, is the vessel, it is made double to above the water line, and the propelling
wheels are between the two bodies which support an oblong deck, as is shown.
The vessel as represented fits the harbour with only a few inches clearance on

page_text: each side, and it has a rubbing, streak of pine on each side to protect the
skin of the vessel from injury. The nose of the vessel at the inner end of the
harbour comes against a fender, and, as is shown at Figure 4, latches carried
by the harbour catch into openings on the deck of the vessel. The pivot
which connects the bridge with the shore is shown on a larger scale: "f, f, is a
mass of brickwork or masonry in which is set the hydraulic cylinder g; h is a
ram fitting truly in this cylinder, and packed with a cup leather, as is usual
with bydraulic rams; to the top of this ram there is bolted the strong beam i, i;
which also rests upon the ring guide k, k, built into the brickwork or masonry;
at the two outer ends or horns of the beam two cylindrical pins are fixed, and
strong clips on the under side of the bridge embrace these pins, and thus
freedom is given to the harbour to rise and fall with the tide. When it is
desired to alter the position of the harbour the pressure is taken off the guide
ring k, k, by forcing water into the cylinder 9. Railways are laid upon the
Tessel to enable it to carry railway trains, these run off on to lines on the
bridge 6 and over the central pivot on to the carriage l, and thence on to one
or other of a series of lines of rails on the shore. The carriage is mounted
on wheels or rollers, and can travel on rails laid concentric with the pivot h, so
that by means of this carriage the trains may be placed on either of the lines
of rails on which they may be required; m is a tube fixed on the top of the
ram h, it passes up through the bridge b, and may also be jointed to it if
desired..
When from time to time it is necessary to clean the bottom of the vessel
this harbour offers great facilities for doing so; the harbour would then be
brought down low in the water by admitting the sea to a number of its com-
partments, and then a set of bolts provided for the purpose on the harbour
would be shot forward into corresponding bolt holes in the side of the vessel,
then the compartments would be again pumped out and the harbour in rising
will take the vessel with it out of the water a sufficient height to enable a raft
or boat to enter underneath the bottom.
Harbours constructed in this way are not only useful for vessels constructed
to suit them they may also be used for the protection of small craft, and in
this case it will often be convenient to have the mouth at the side. Figure 5
is a plan of such a harbour; I usually prefer that these harbours should be
kept floating, in some cases, however, it may be desirable that they should
rest on the bottom, they may then be partially filled with rubble and towed at
high water to the place where it is required, and there allowed to take the
ground, its trim being such as to cause it to do so simultaneously or nearly so
from end to end, afterwards the iron casing is further filled in with rubble,

page_text: and if great solidity is desired the rubble may be thoroughly grouted in with
Portland cement.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.