IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS AND FOR LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1884

page_text: I HENRY RIVIÈRE of Upper Woolhampton near Reading in the County of
Berks Vice President of St Mary's College Upper Woolhampton aforesaid do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS
FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS AND FOR LIKE PURPOSES," to be as follows :→
The principle object of my Invention is to effect the ready raising of sunken
ships but it may be used for raising other things from the sea or other waters.
According to my Invention I provide a large drum or vessel which is provided
with means whereby it can be suspended from ships or boats or other supports it
being preferably suspended between two ships or boats by chains or ropes passing
under pulleys on the said drum or vessel and attached at the opposite ends to the
two ships or boats respectively. The said drum or vessel is provided with tubes
one for the inlet or outlet of water and the other for the passage of air from and
into the drum or vessel. The said drum or vessel is brought over the place where
the ship or other thing to be raised is situated and water is pumped or passed into
the said drum or vessel which then descends into the sea or other waters and is
attached by means of fastenings with which it is provided to the ship or other
thing to be raised. The water is then pumped out of the drum or vessel and this
causes it to rise bringing with it the ship or other thing to which it is attached
which can then be towed or removed to any required position.

page_text: Improvements in Means for Raising Sunken Ships and for
like Purposes.
I HENRY RIVIERE of Upper Woolhampton near Reading in the County of
Berks Vice President of St Marys College Upper Woolhampton aforesaid do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR
RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS AND FOR LIKE PURPOSES" and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The principal object of my Invention is to provide means for effecting the
ready raising of sunken ships but the said means may be used for raising other
things from the sea or other waters.
I will explain my Invention with reference to the accompanying diagram.
According to my said Invention I provide a drum or vessel (indicated upon the
diagram at A) which drum or vessel is furnished with means whereby it can be
attached to and lowered and raised from and to ships barges or other boats or other
supports it being preferably suspended between two boats as shewn in the
diagram (where the supporting boats are marked B) by a chain or chains or rope
or ropes C passing under a pulley or pulleys a on the said drum or vessel the said
chains or ropes being attached at the opposite ends of each of the two boats
respectively The ends of the chain or rope shewn in the diagram are indicated
as being attached to windlasses a² by which it can be payed out or hauled in
The said drum or vessel is provided with flexible or jointed pipes D of a length
according to the depth to which the said drum or vessel has to descend one of the
said pipes being for the inlet and subsequent outlet of water and the other of
the said pipes being for the passage of air from and into the drum or vessel I have
indicated a pump on one of the boats B in connection with the pipe through which
the water is to be admitted to and withdrawn from the drum or vessel the other of
the pipes being open to the air.
When the apparatus is to be used the said drum or vessel is brought by floating
it or otherwise conveying it to over the place where the ship or other thing to be
raised is situated and water is pumped or passed into the said drum or vessel
through the pipe for the purpose and the drum or vessel then descends into the
sea or other waters and is attached by any suitable fastenings with which it may
be provided to the ship or other object to be raised-These fastenings may be
automatic grapples or catches or they may be of a nature requiring to be secured
to the sunken vessel or other object by divers-The water is then pumped out of
the drum or vessel and this causes the said drum or vessel to rise bringing with it
the ship or other object to which it is attached which can then be towed or removed
to any desired position.
It will be understood that there may be any suitable number of these drums or
vessels provided and that each may have any suitable number of suspending chains
or ropes and of pipes for the inlet and outlet of water and air and of fastenings
to be secured to the object to be raised and the actual details of construction may
be considerably varied without departing from the nature of my Invention.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
An apparatus or means for raising sunken ships or other sunken objects the said
apparatus or means consisting of a drum or drums or vessels or vessel provided
with means for lowering and raising it or them and for pumping water into it or
them for lowering and out of it or them for raising after it has or they have
been attached to the ship or other object to be raised substantially as bereinbefore
described.