IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING THE LOSS OF & FACILITATING THE RECOVERY OF SHIPS' MOORINGS AND SUBMERGED PROPERTY IN GENERAL
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Payn, of Dover, in the County of
Kent, Solicitor, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
PREVENTING THE LOSS OF & FACILITATING THE RECOVERY OF SHIPS' MOORINGS
AND SUBMERGED PROPERTY IN GENERAL."-A communication from abroad by
Elton Templemore, of Madras, India, Civil Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Payn
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st October 1861.
I, WILLIAM HENRY PAYN, of Dover, in the County of Kent, Solicitor, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA-
BATUS FOR PREVENTING THE Loss oF & FACILITATING THE RECOVERY OF SHIPS'
MOORINGS AND SUBMERGED PROPERTY IN GENERAL," to be as follows:-
The apparatus which I employ consists of a sheet metal or other suitable
buoy, which I attach by a short length of chain to a ship's cable by a shackle,.
as will be readily understood.
This buoy is of a size sufficient to raise up about a fathom of the cable,.
which is therefore prevented becoming embedded in the sand. To this
recovery buoy are fixed one, two, three, or more strong hooks at its largest

page_text: diameter, in a position turned downwards, so that by either of which it may
be hooked by a sweeping rope and hauled up.
Instead of affixing the hooks to the buoy itself, they may be fixed to the
chain by which it is connected to the cable, a small inverted grapnel being well
adapted for the purpose.
The ordinary buoy rope & buoy indicating the position of the submerged
buoy & anchor may also be used. When a ship cuts or slips her cable; in most
cases the ordinary buoy rope when left any length of time is either cut through
or so much damaged as to be incapable of lifting the cable if altogether adrift;
great difficulty is often experienced in finding the anchorage and recovering
the tackle, whereas by the addition of the submerged buoy according to this
Invention, it is readily found by sweeping for it, as it rises considerably above
the ground, and also lightens up the cable, which may be grappled, if
necessary.
The sweeping rope readily embraces the buoy and takes hold of its hooks,
or it may be the hooks on its chain, by which it can be readily hauled up.
In cases of property being thrown overboard, its position may be marked and
readily found by the submerged buoy being attached thereto with a greater or
less length of chain, according to the depth of water and the size of the buoy
submerged. Property may also be partially lightened by the submerged buoy,
& so prevented sinking into the sand.
These submerged buoys may be attached to submarine telegraph cables at
intervals with advantage in case they are required to be raised.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Payn in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY PAYN, of Dover, in the County of Kent, Solicitor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Henry Payn, Her special licence that I, the said William Henry
Payn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Henry Payn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should

page_text: 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING THE Loss OP AND FACILITATING THE
RECOVERY OF SHIPS' MOORINGS AND SUBMERGED PROPERTY IN GENERAL," a com. from
abroad by Elton Templemore, of Madras, India, Civil Engineer, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Henry Payn, 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 William Henry Payn, 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 Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The Inventor of the submarine recovery buoy having been much engaged in
the recovery of lost property, consisting principally of anchors and cables, and
being aware of the great expense which is necessarily incurred in all submarine
operations, has conceived a plan by which anchors and cables and all sub-
merged property may be preserved from actual loss, and be recovered at any
time without the aid of divers or any extraneous aid whatever.
The objections to the usual plan as applied to ship's moorings, and which
the Inventor removes, are as follows:-It is at times necessary when a ship or
other floating body is at anchor to cut or slip her moorings, but before the
moorings are let go a rope and surface float is attached to the mooring chain
near the hawser hole of the ship or other floating body; the rope is of sufficient
length to allow the buoy to float on the surface of the water. In this case if
a ship returns soon to her moorings it is well and good, but if a longer time is
allowed to elapse she will find on her return that the buoy has disappeared, and
what is invariably the case, the rope is in such a rotten state as to be completely
useless for the purpose of raising the cable; the result of this is the loss of the
ship's moorings, and the aid of divers becomes necessary to find them, and if it
so happens that the anchorage ground is of a soft yielding sand, the anchor
and cable is irrecoverably lost in consequence of its being buried under the
surface of the ground. The same reasons hold good for jettisoned cargo.

page_text: It may be remarked that according to the plan usually adopted there is just
a probability of their recovery, whereas by the means herein-after described
they may be recovered to a certainty. Practical experience has shown the
uncertainty of the present surface buoy, whether attached to a rope or a chain;
therefore the Inventor has adopted a buoy to float under the surface of the
water which shall be free from all the objections to which the surface buoy is
subject. This buoy, which I denominate a "submarine recovery buoy," is
attached to a short piece of chain, by which it is shackled on to the ship's
cable in the place of the ordinary buoy rope. The buoy has three hooks
(more or less) on its circumference, and being of sufficient buoyancy to float
itself and a portion of the ship's cable, it will consequently remain floating
near the surface of the anchorage ground in a position suitable to be caught by
a sweeping rope when required. For convenience and expedition in finding
the exact spot, I would also attach the ordinary rope and surface buoy as
usual; if this should disappear the cable may still be easily recovered.
I also
apply these buoys to all submerged property; if the articles are comparatively
light they may be recovered by the aid of the buoy fixed to the package itself,
but if heavy, I attach a piece of chain of a length sufficient to reach the
surface of the water, and of sufficient strength to support the weight of the
package. To the end of this chain the buoy may be placed and let go, when
it will remain in the position indicated in the Drawings.
The size of the "submarine recovery buoy" will vary with the size of the
ship's cable. For instance, a cable of two and a quarter inches in diameter,
say, with a fifty cwt. anchor attached, will require a buoy of about two feet
diameter and three feet six inches long, the weight of which will be about
150 pounds, including a sufficient length of five-eighths inch chain, with
a shackle to slip over the ship's cable. Each ship should have one to each
mooring, with her name and number stamped on a brass plate secured
to the recovery buoy; also in case of necessity the buoy may be usefully
applied where property is compelled to be thrown overboard in submarine
works, and in all cases of submerged property where it may be convenient or
inconvenient to use a surface float.
The advantages that will accrue from this Invention are, 1st, the
submerged property is preserved from absolute loss; 2ndly, it is easily
recovered after any lapse of time; 3rdly, no extra expense is required;
4thly, it gives increased facility to ships in slipping their moorings when they
know they are recoverable to a certainty and with no risk of loss insured;
5thly, it is available at greater depths than can be attained by diving;
6thly, it is economical as applied to ships' moorings, as it saves the destruction

page_text: of good rope which must otherwise be required; 7thly, the submarine buoy is
free from all risk of damage or loss, as it is in still water.
.
It is applicable to submarine telegraph cables in cases where it may be
required to lighten and raise the cable at any given point or points.
The apparatus which I employ consists of a sheet metal or other suitable
buoy, which I attach by a short length of chain to a ship's cable in lieu of the
ordinary buoy rope being connected to a chain cable by a shackle, as will be
readily understood. This buoy is of a size sufficient to raise up about a fathom
of the cable, which is therefore prevented becoming embedded in the sand.
To this recovery buoy are fixed one, two, three, or more strong hooks at its
largest diameter, in a position turned downward, by either of which it may be
hooked by a sweeping rope, and hauled up. Instead of affixing the hooks to
the buoy itself they may be fixed to a chain, by which it is connected to the
cable, a small inverted grapnel being well adapted for the purpose. The
ordinary buoy and buoy rope indicating the position of the submerged buoy
and anchor may also be used.
When a ship cuts or slips her cable, in most cases the ordinary buoy rope,
when left for any length of time, is either cut through or so much damaged as
to be incapable of lifting the cable, and if altogether adrift, great difficulty is
often experienced in finding the anchorage and recovering the tackle, whereas
by the addition of the submerged buoy according to this Invention, it is readily
found by sweeping for it, as it rises considerably above the ground, and also
lightens up the cable; which may be grappled if necessary. The sweeping rope
readily embraces the buoy and takes hold of its hooks, or it may be the hooks
on the chain, by which it can be readily hauled up.
In cases of property being thrown overboard its position may be marked and
readily found by the submerged buoy being attached thereto, with a greater or
less length of chain, according to the depth of water and the size of the buoy
submerged. Property may be also partially lightened by the submerged buoy,
and so prevented sinking into the sand.
These submerged buoys may be attached to submarine telegraph cables at
intervals with advantage, in case they are required to be raised.
The Patent embraces the application of this principle in all cases where a
buoy is used as in this description, namely, where a submarine buoy is
employed, of whatever shape or material, which shall remain above the
surface of the ground and under the surface of the water, and be so placed as
to catch hold of and retain the sweeping rope or chain; also its applicability
to submarine works, telegraph cables, &c.
Fig. 1 represents a buoy fitted and furnished according to my Invention, the

page_text: buoy a being in itself like an ordinary iron ship's buoy; it has one, two, three,
or more hooks b attached to it, as seen; these all converge to a ring c, to which
the buoy may be otherwise attached if necessary, which connects it with the
short piece of chain d, which is shackled to the cable e, previously to its being
let go. The buoy has sufficient buoyant power to lift its own chain and some
portion of the cable e, but not altogether to raise it to the surface of
the water. Thus it will be seen the buoy floats at a distance from the
ground, according to the length of its own chain d, and the extent of cable it
has power to lift. .
Fig. 2 represents another arrangement of submarine buoy according to this
Invention. In this the hooks are replaced by a small strong grapnel 6¹
affixed to the chain d, as seen.
In Fig. 3, ff, show two small boats sweeping for a submarine buoy with
line g, g; after the buoy has been found the bight of strong rope and chain h, h,
or chains alone is lowered from the ship and swept round the buoy, and the
mooring treasure or other article to which the submarine buoy is attached
is caught by the hooks b, b, and is hove up to the surface. Different
articles are also represented in the Figure as lying at the bottom of the sea
with submarine buoys attached, rendering their recovery easy at any time, as
described.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the use and application
of buoys having books or other projections attached thereto, or to sustain
hooks or other projections in position to afford the hold required as and for
the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Payn, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
WILLIAM H. PAYN. (L.S.)