An earthquake-resistant off-shore gravity structure which can stand on the sea bed under its own weight and the weight of any ballast carried by the structure has coupled to its undersurface a separately formed substantially flat concrete foundation grid which underlies at least a major part of the area of the undersurface of the structure, which is of a thickness substantially less than the height of the base and which has a downwardly extending projection for penetrating the sea bed. The coupl...

Marine apparatus comprising a boat hull including opposed walls extending generally in the fore and aft direction, and a mounting bracket connected to the walls for supporting a propulsion unit for pivotal movement relative to the boat about a generally horizontal axis.

A marine transmission is capable of operating in three modes, normal ahead, maneuver ahead and reverse. It includes a positive engagement clutch for the normal ahead mode and modulated engagement mechanism (a clutch and a brake) for the maneuver ahead and reverse modes. Power is supplied to an output shaft through an external shaft. The maneuver ahead and reverse modes use an internal shaft concentric with the external shaft. In the reverse mode the direction of the external shaft is changed by ...

A paddle wheel transducer for mounting to a marine vehicle utilizes a source of radiant energy for establishing a beam of radiant energy directed perpendicular to the direction of movement of the paddle wheel vanes and a radiant energy responsive element for detecting interruptions of the radiant energy beam produced by passage of the paddle wheel vanes therethrough to detect paddle wheel rotation. The radiant energy beam is a beam of infrared light and the radiant energy responsive means is a p...

A marine structure includes a base which is to be founded upon the sea bed. An elastic pre-stressed column is rigidly fixed to and extends upwardly from the base. A buoyant, rigid structure is fixed to the upper end of the upstanding elastic column. The buoyant, rigid structure includes a submerged part and a part projecting up above the sea level to support a deck superstructure. The pre-stressed elastic column is designed to deflect in a curved manner when the buoyant, rigid structure is subje...

The present invention relates to a navigational system and in particular, provides for the use of one or more vessels as shunters for maneuvering larger vessels in restricted waterways, each shunter comprising a body portion, a pair of clamping arms with each arm being pivotably connected at one end thereof to the body of the shunter with the opposed end of each arm being adapted to engage the hull of the vessel to be maneuvered to thereby exert a lateral force on the hull. Preferably, hydraulic...

1. In a pressure responsive mine having a casing and an arming and firing rcuit therein, a pressure responsive device mounted in the casing and exposed to the pressure of the sea water, a second pressure responsive device mounted in the casing, a fluid connection between the first and second pressure responsive devices, a third pressure responsive device mounted in the casing, a restricted fluid pressure responsive connection between the second and third pressure responsive devices, and a circui...

A small, wave-following, relatively stable marine buoy designed for floating at the surface of a body of water and for carrying data measuring equipment. The buoy comprises a buoyant hull member of substantially cylindrical configuration of relatively small axial extent, a mast, and a keel. The keel comprises a spar and a ballast weight attached to the spar. Both the mast and the keel are guyed to the hull at opposite ends thereof, and supported thereagainst by couplings which do not transfer be...

An offshore structure is provided for handling cryogenic fluids such as liquefied natural gas. The structure comprises a lower section of concrete and an upper section which projects up from the lower section above the sea level to support a deck superstructure. The lower section is formed of a plurality of cells and at least one of the cells houses an insulated tank for the storage of low temperature fluids. The tank or tanks are completely submerged when in operation and are rigidly supported ...

The base of an offshore gravity platform consists of at least two separately formed caissons, preferably of concrete, which are mounted one on top of the other or another. The roof of the lower of adjacent caissons and/or the bottom of the adjacent upper caisson is or are so shaped as to form between the caissons a space which is rendered substantially fluid-tight and wherein, when the platform is floating on the sea and when the platform is standing on the sea bed, fluid pressure in the space b...