A SHIP WEIR OR MOVEABLE DAM FOR CLEANING AND APPROPRIATING THE BED OR COURSE OF RIVERS OR OTHER RUNNING NAVIGABLE STREAMS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George White, of 68, Queen Street, Cheapside,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "A SHIP
WEIR OR MOVEABLE DAM FOR CLEANING AND APPROPRIATING THE BED OR
COURSE OF RIVERS OR OTHER RUNNING NAVIGABLE STREAMS."-A communi-
cation from abroad by Mr. Johann Nepomuc Moerath, of Vienna,
in the Empire of Austria, Naval Engineer.
Sealed the 15th October 1869, and dated the 22nd April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George White at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd April 1869.
I, GEORGE WHITE, of 68, Queen Street, Cheapside, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A SHIP WEIR OR MOVEABLE DAM FOR CLEANING AND APPRO-
PRIATING THE BED OR COURSE OF RIVERS OR OTHER RUNNING NAVIGABLE STREAMS,'
a communication from abroad by Mr. Johann Nepomuc Moerath, of
Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Naval Engineer, to be as follows:-
"
The Invention relates to a ship weir or moveable dam to be made use
of for cleaning and appropriating the bed or course of rivers or other

page_text: running navigable streams by directing the impact of the water to those
shallow parts of the river or stream required to be deepened, and causing
the mud or gravel removed from these parts to be conveyed towards the
banks or sides of the river or to suitably deep parts of the bed, and thus
procure the required regularity of this latter.
The apparatus consists of a ship, boat, or other suitable vessel provided
over the greater part of its length and from the keel to the deck with a
longitudinal slit or furrow open at the bottom and closed at the top and
sides so as to prevent any communication between the water entering
into this slit and the interior of the vessel. In this slit or furrow is
inserted a panel or stout partition, which is to serve as a moveable weir
or dam, and which for this purpose may turn in the vertical plane and
by means of horizontal trunnions in fixed bearings in such manner that
one end of the panel or partition dips into the river that thus serves as a
weir for the time being whilst the opposite end rises into the slit. Two
or more earth screws, screw piles, or other suitable means serve for
keeping the ship or vessel in position in any desired part of the river,
and provision is made for admitting water into the vessel when this
latter is required to dip into the river and for expelling this water when
the vessel is to rise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George White in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd October 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WHITE, of 68, Queen Street, Cheapside, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said George White, Her special
licence that I, the said George White, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said George White, 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

page_text: 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 "A SHIP WEIR
OR MOVEABLE DAM FOR CLEANING AND APPROPRIATING THE BED OR COURSE OF
RIVERS OR OTHER RUNNING NAVIGABLE STREAMS," a communication to me from
abroad by M. Johann Nepomuc Moerath, of Vienna, in the Empire
of Austria, Naval Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said George White, 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 George White, 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:-
The Invention relates to a ship weir or moveable dam for cleaning.
and appropriating the bed or course of rivers or other running navigable
streams by directing the impact of the water to such shallow parts of the
river or stream that require to be deepened, and causing the mud or
gravel removed from such shallow parts to be conveyed either towards
the banks or sides of the river or stream or to suitable deep parts of the
bed, and thereby procure the required regularity of this latter.
These ship weirs or moveable dams may in a like manner be made use
of for rectifying the banks or the course of rivers or other running
navigable streams for cutting off curved or crooked portions of them,
and thus straighten the course, as will hereafter be described.
In Sheet I. of the annexed Drawings are represented various views of
one of these ship weirs or moveable dams.
Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal vertical sectional, Fig. 2 a cross vertical
sectional, and Fig. 3 a plan view of the apparatus, which consists of a
ship, large boat, or other suitable vessel or hulk A provided over the
greater part of its length and middle of its width or beam with a lon-
gitudinal slit or furrow a extending from and through the keel or bottom
of the ship to the deck, which slit or furrow is open at the bottom and
closed at the sides and top so as to prevent the water which enters

page_text: freely from below into it from communicating with the interior of the
hulk or vessel. In the slit a is situated a vertical partition plate or
panel B of wood, sheet iron, or other suitable material, which is to serve
as a moveable dam, and for this purpose may be set more or less inclined
in the vertical plane by means of the horizontal trunnions or bolt C
working in bearings C', C', fixed to the kelson E or other suitable part
of the vessel. To the stern and to the bow are fixed pintles I, in which
are inserted piles H provided at the lower end with an earth screw F
for screwing the piles in the bottom of the river for fixing the hulk in
any suitable angular position in respect to the current, and allowing it
to rise or to be immersed according as found necessary. Two or more
port holes D communicating with the slit or furrow a may be opened or
shut by slide valves d and rods d' worked from the deck or other
suitable means, which port holes allow of admitting water in the hulk
when this latter is to be immersed deeper in the stream; whilst one or
two archimedian screws G, pumps, or other analagous means are provided
for when required for withdrawing water from the interior of the hulk
and causing this latter to rise. The partition plate B should as much as
possible be set in equipoise, and suitable means be adopted for setting
and fixing the same in any required angular position in the vertical plane.
I will now describe in what manner these ship weirs or moveable
dams may be made use of either for deepening shallow parts, appro-
priating the banks, or straightening the course of a river or navigable
stream, and for this purpose will refer to the Figures of Sheet II. of the
annexed Drawings, in which is shown an illustration of the mode of pro-
ceeding for straightening the course of a river and causing the water to
form, for the greater part by its own impact, a new channel.
Supposing J, K, K, L, (Fig. 4) to represent a part of the river with
two curves J, J, & L, L, which require to be straightened so as to
cause the water to follow the course indicated in this Figure by the
dotted lines M, N, O, P. For this purpose two channels M, N, and O, P,
(Fig. 5), of suitable width and depth, are cut in the direction which is to
be given to the new watercourse, after which the banks of this latter are
set out on either side of the cuttings M, N, & O, P, by fascinery and
pickets or other suitable means, in the manner as shown by Q in Fig. 6,
and corners q are made of rubble work, ashlar, or in any other suitable
manner of sufficient strength to to resist the impact of the water. Two
of the ship weirs are now fig at R, Fig. 7, by their screw piles H, in the

page_text: manner as shown by r & 8, and the panel B of each of them is let down
in the manner as represented in Fig. 1, so as to establish a dam and
direct part of the water into the canal O, P, immediately a com-
munication has been established between the channel O, P, and the river
by cutting through the banks of this latter at O & P. A third ship
weir is then applied at R', in the manner as shown by t, Fig. 7, by which
means the current in the curve L', L, will be considerably diminished,
and a deposit of sedimentary matter take place in this curve, which
thereby will become partially obstructed, whereas the water in running
through the cutting O, P, will soon deepen this latter. A fourth ship
weir is then applied at u, Fig. 8, and both ends of the cutting M, N,
having now been put in communication with the river, the ship weirs >
&s are set in the position shown in this Fig. 8, in consequence of which
less water will be admitted in the curves J, J, and L, L, and the
current becoming consequently considerably less intense in these parts
they will more and more become choked up by the sedimentary deposit,
and so as to allow after a suitable length of time of applying a suitable
number of additional ship weirs, in the manner as shown by , &, u¹, & u²,
Fig. 9, by which means the greater part of the water will be directed
into the channel M, N, O, P, and the parts J, J, & L, L, become more
and more choked up, so as to allow after a certain length of time of
setting the ship weirs and adding those t, t, t, in the manner as shown
in Fig. 10, when finally the curves J, J', & L', L, will become entirely
filled up by the sedimentary matters, and the entire bulk of the water
take the course shown by the arrows in Fig. 11.
Having thus described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be put into
effect, I wish to add that I do not intend to confine myself to the precise
details of what has been above described, as many variations may be
made without deviating from the principles or main features of the
Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
1.etters Patent is, providing a ship, boat, hulk, or other suitable vessel
with a moveable partition plate or panel working in a longitudinal
vertical slit arranged in such manner so as to allow of causing the said
partition plate or panel to attain any suitable inclined position in the
vertical plane, the vessel, ship, boat, or hulk being at the same time
provided with suitable means for causing the same to be immersed more

page_text: or less deep in the river or running navigable stream for the purpose of
making the said vessel, ship, boat, or hulk and the moveable pannel or
partition plate serviceable as a moveable dam or weir for directing the
current or impact of the water to such parts that require to be deepened
or otherwise acted upon by the water, substantially as described and
shown in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George White, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
GEO. WHITE. (L.S.)