66 The Evolution of Floating and Other Dry Docks. 



Floating Docks. 



In my opinion the introduction of the Modern Floating Dry 

 Dock was a considerable advance upon any previous contrivance 

 for docking vessels, and is both scientific, practical, and 

 economical, merits which are being more appreciated every day. 



The history of their origin and development is very in- 

 teresting. 



Camel Dock. 



In the reign of Peter the Great it is reported that a Geordie 

 Captain had a vessel in the Bay of Cronstadt, which ^t was 

 imperative that he should recaulk, and there being no dry dock 

 available the Captain cast about and found an old craft much 

 larger than his own, which he purchased for a small sum ; he 

 then gutted out the hulk, cut one end off, fitted gates to it, 

 floated his vessel inside this improvised contrivance, closed the 

 gates, pumped out the water contained in the space between 

 his own and the old craft, both floating; so the idea of a floating 

 dry dock originated, and to the present day these docks and 

 other similar contrivances are known as '' Camels." 



No doubt the news spread and practical minds saw a future 

 for docks so constructed, and in or about 1774 a dry dock 

 embodying these principles was constructed at Devonport by a 

 shipwright named Aldersley, and a year or so later one was 

 built by Watson on the Thames. 



In 1809 one was designed by Trevithick & Dickinson, to be 

 constructed of iron, with cellular side platforms to make the 

 structure stable and give reserve buoyancy to avoid sinking too 

 deep, but the dock was never constructed. 



Sectional Docks. 



In 1837 a Sectional Floating Dock was invented, which was 

 the pioneer of many which are much used to this day. 



The earlier ones were constructed of wood and consisted of a 

 series of large pontoons, transverse to the vessel which they 

 support, each section or pontoon having a house on each end, 



