Abstract: A method of making an inflatable liferaft from thermoplastic sheet material, wherein the thermoplastic sheet material which is to form a floor of the liferaft is heat welded around the periphery of the floor to the thermoplastic sheet material which is to form a peripheral inflatable buoyancy tube of the liferaft, after which edges of the material which is to form the tube are joined by heat welding to close the tube along its longitudinal extent.

Abstract: Ice is broken with expenditure of less energy by pumping water from beneath the ice and discharging it in large quantities onto the surface of the ice. Breaking stress is provided by the weight of the water and by thermal shock. A conventional ice breaking apparatus can also be run up onto the ice to provide a breaking force in which case friction between the ice and the ice breaking apparatus is lessened by the water.

Abstract: The container ship comprises a hull having outer starboard and port sides with a bottom extending between the sides and with longitudinal bulkheads spaced inwardly from each side and extending substantially coextensive in height above the bottom to the side walls. A bracing deck interconnects the side walls and the longitudinal bulkheads at the level of the tops of the side walls and the bulkheads. A container bottom loading space is defined above the bottom and between the longitudinal bulkheads and this space continues above the bracing deck to form a top container loading space. For this purpose a plurality of top longitudinal walls extend upwardly above the bracing deck and are supported thereon. The plurality of transverse support frames extend above and are supported on the bracing deck and connected to the longitudinal walls at spaced longitudinal intervals.

Abstract: A diver distress signalling device that has two separable dye containing elements. The device is strapped to a diver and includes an actuating mechanism. Upon actuation, the dye from one of the elements is released in the vicinity of the diver, while a float carries the other dye container to the water surface, streaming a trail of dye behind it. At the surface, dye is emitted to color the water in the vicinity of the float.

Abstract: A hard-facing deposit of weld metal in the form of parallel, spaced-apart tracks extends along the external bottom wall of a railroad coupler shank for engagement with the working face surface of a coupler carrier. The tracks of weld metal are arranged longitudinally within the shank area located, in part, between the horn line and connector opening in the coupler shank. The weld metal is usually 1/4-inch or less in thickness, 1-inch wide with a 1-inch space between the track deposits of weld metal.

Abstract: The invention relates to an improvement in partial secondary barriers for self-supporting, axi-symmetrical cargo tanks having a layer of thermal insulation thereon, the cargo tanks mounted on board marine vessels having a double-bottom construction with an inner shell by means of an annular support supporting the cargo tank of the vessel. The improvement in the partial secondary barrier comprises a secondary barrier tank, preferably cylindrical in shape. The secondary barrier tank is installed under each cargo tank wherein the cross-section of the secondary barrier tank is substantially less than the maximum horizontal cross-section of the cargo tank. The barrier tank, in one embodiment, is structurally joined to the inner shell of the double bottom of the vessel. The tank comprises a stiff external wall, and internal thermal insulation, and an inner impermeable layer for withstanding the low temperatures of the liquid being collected in the secondary barrier tank.

Abstract: A leadscrew and a coacting nut are provided with shallow helical grooves forming a track for a set of balls whose radius exceeds the combined depth of the grooves. The groove bottoms are of arcuate cross-section, with a radius of curvature slightly exceeding the ball radius, and are machined in a hardened zone of the leadscrew and the nut, respectively.

Abstract: A low-drag hull for high-speed displacement type water-craft is constructed with a constant-section keel-less midbody having a length equal to or greater than one-third of the waterline length of the hull, and with a run of less than one-sixth of the hull length. The balance of the hull comprises a slender entry defined by a linear basal ramp extending at the centerline for at least one-half of the length of the entry. The ramp slope is chosen in the range between 10:1 and 18:1. The parallel midbody is constructed with a full cross-section, the section coefficient being always greater than .785, and the ramped entry conforms, within the limits established by the need to fair in the bow and transition sections, to the sectional character of the midbody. The hull form shows a low wetted surface coefficient and sharply reduced wave-making resistance in the range between Froude numbers of 0.60 and 1.20.

Abstract: A readily assemblable and collapsible floating or standing dock is constructed of a plurality of transversely-extending elongate aluminum deck forming members releasably connected, through a simple interlocking fastening arrangement, to parallel elongate aluminum side rail members provided at each longitudinal side of the dock. Aluminum end rails are releasably interconnected between the side rail members to provide a rigid frame structure. An aluminum bumper rail extends along each longitudinal side of the dock with portions overlying the ends of the deck-forming members and portions releasably connected to the elongate aluminum side rail members.

Abstract: A barge-carrying shiphaving an opening at one end provided with an elevator for lifting barges from the water surface. Rails are laid in the fore-and-aft direction on the upper deck and along the inner walls of both sides of the ship's hull for the transportation of the lifted barges to the points where they are stowed. Barge trucks equipped with low-lift means for raising and lowering the loads thereon are movable along the rails, a pair of said rails. Supports are provided protruding inwardly from the inner walls to support the barges after being moved to stowed accomodation by the trucks.

Abstract: A pair of generally cylindrical inflatable bodies are provided for transverse disposition beneath the bow and stern bottom portions of a boat equipped with a transom drain opening and internal flotation. Straps are attached to the ends of the inflatable bodies and extend upwardly along the corresponding sides of the boat and across the upper surfaces thereof and are joined together in order to strap the inflatable bodies in position beneath the bow and stern bottom portions of the boat. The bodies may be inflated after being secured in position in order to buoy the boat to an elevated position above its normal floating position and the transom drain opening may be thereafter opened to allow any rain water or wave spray entering the boat to automatically drain therefrom through the transom drain opening.

Abstract: A boat made up of a foldable frame and a plurality of open-topped containers, having outwardly extending marginal flanges. The frame is made up of sections that fold into a compact unit for storage and transportation. When the frame is extended, the shoulders on the rails support the marginal flanges of the containers thereby forming a boat.

Abstract: A pair of telescoped inner and outer tubes together provide a post-like handle that is mounted on the gunwale of a boat. The outer tube is fixed to the top of the gunwale and projects down through a hole in the gunwale, and the inner tube which forms the actual handle slides in the outer tube between a lowered inoperative position beneath the gunwale to a raised operative position standing erect and rising to a convenient height above the gunwale. A spring-pressed latch moves with the inner tube and snaps into an annular groove that is fixed with respect to the outer tube and located directly above the gunwale, to secure the inner tube against either upward or downward movement. A resiliently manually actuated loop located in the annular groove enables the latch to be dislodged from the groove when it is desired to lower the handle.

Abstract: A hollow plunger extends into the cavity of the draft gear body. The inner end of the plunger is expansible. One or more wedges are held by the body adjacent the inner end of the plunger, and shoes are positioned between the wedge(s) and the inner side of the inner end of the plunger. Spring elements positioned within the plunger are in compression between the outer end of the plunger and the shoes. When the plunger is forced into the body the shoes are wedged outwardly against the expansible portions of the plunger which in turn are forced into contact with the body. There may be one or a plurality of successive stages of wedges and shoes.

Abstract: A forced aerating apparatus for an inboard live well positioned within a fishing boat. The apparatus includes a water pipe having an intake end positioned outwardly of the boat below the water line. The water pipe has a discharge end positioned within the boat adjacent the well for supplying water thereto. A water aerator is provided on the discharge end of the water pipe. A water pump is mounted exteriorly of the well and is connected to the water pipe for selectively pumping water from outside the boat through the water aerator during the periods that the boat is not traveling through the water. Water is automatically supplied to the live well when the boat is traveling through the water. The apparatus also includes means for powering the pump.

Abstract: A marine transport system encompasses at least three ports. A plurality of modular hold units are releasably engageable with any one of a plurality of vessels and are so sized that, when loaded with cargo, each hold unit consumes a substantial fraction of the load-carrying capacity of any one of the vessels. A dock facility is located in each port for supporting a hold unit, independently of any of the vessels, so that cargo can be worked into and out of the hold unit through at least one side of the hold unit. The hold units are loaded into and removed from the docks by ballasting a vessel up or down into or out of load-transferring relation to a hold unit. Each vessel is arranged to operate normally only between two adjacent ports in the system. To move a hold unit between two non-adjacent ports, the hold unit is transferred by use of the corresponding dock facility, from vessel to vessel at each intermediate port so as to be passed from vessel to vessel.

Abstract: An energy absorbing bumper for protecting an object from a collision is disclosed which has a compressible cellular core having a plurality of relatively large spaced apart cavities extending from the back side at least partially through the cellular core and a resilient outer skin enclosing the compressible core.

Abstract: A marine propulsion system includes a hull-contained, open-ended duct extending from bow to stern along the bottom of a vessel, the top of the duct being disposed above the water line and all duct walls extending parallel to the axis of motion of the vessel. Buoyancy chambers extend along the top and sides of the duct from a location aft of the duct inlet to the stern and converge at their forward end to define a venturi throat. A reaction device, located aft of the duct inlet and forward of the venturi throat, imparts rearward flow velocity to water in the duct. In one embodiment the reaction device is a partially-submerged horizontally-extending cylinder oriented perpendicular to flow through the duct. The cylinder, when rotated, increases water flow velocity in the duct and additionally pumps the water toward the throat in which the water experiences further flow velocity increase.

Abstract: A single-point mooring buoy comprises a vertical column which is secured at its lower end to the sea floor. The buoy is connected to the column for rotation relative to the column through 360.degree. about a vertical axis. A conduit extends from the lower end of the column to a swivel joint connection for a hose on the column. The buoy is mounted on the column by its own bearing, which is below that swivel joint assembly. There is a passage through the buoy in alignment with the column, which extends from above the water level to below the swivel joint.

Abstract: Marine water is conducted onto a ship from a bilge vortex area, and is discharged from the ship into a dead water area above the ship's propeller. The water is moved from the vortex area to the dead water area with the aid of suction generated by the propeller. On the ship the water is desirably used for cooling purposes in the propeller's power plant, particularly in a condensor of the power plant.