Thanks to the fact that nowadays more and more books are digitized we are able to read books that are some times for decades no longer available for the public for several reasons. That’s quite a pity while these books contains useful information while the archives are destroyed, incomplete or nor accessible.
P. 445: “The Bermuda Floating Dock. On May 31, an interesting and important operation was performed on board the Bermuda floating dock at Sheerness. It was the careening of the dock by the admission of 5,000 tons of water into the chambers of the port side, by which an angle of inclination to the extent of 47 deg. was obtained. It caused the keel of the dock to emerge several feet above the surface of the creek in which she is moored. The object in view was to remove from the bottom an accumulation of grass and small barnacles, as well as to
P. 446: effect some necessary repairs within two feet of her keel. The latter was the more important part of the work, as the Bermuda is almost the only floating dock capable of being repaired by her own appliances. Neither of the docks at St. Thomas's, nor Saigon (Cochin China) is capable of being careened to an angle sufficient to bring its keel out of the water, and, therefore, in the event of any repair becoming necessary, a very considerable outlay would be involved in their removal to a convenient locality. The dimensions of the Bermuda are - length, 381ft.; width, extreme, 124ft.; and height 74ft. 5in. When ready for docking a vessel she will contain 22,000 tons of water, a considerable proportion of which will, however, be discharged in order to give the dock the lifting power necessary to raise the vessel out of the water. This lifting power is equal to 8,000 tons, so that the heaviest ironclad yet afloat can be lifted bodily, with guns, stores, &c., on board. The injection of the 5,000 tons of water was commenced at half-past 9 a.m., and finished at half-past 1 p.m.; the discharge occupying only two hours. The operation, as well as the necessary cleansing, was performed under the direction and superintendence of Mr. Barnaby, the Admiralty overseer; and as a proof of the extraordinary buoyancy of the dock, he states that an additional 2,000 tons could have been suspended on the submerged side without endangering its safety. The builders were Messrs. Campbell and Co., of Silvertown, under the direction of Col. Clarke, R.E., the cost being something like 300,000l. On June 5, Vice Admiral Sir Spencer Robinson, K.C.B., Controller of the Navy, visited the dock and inspected her. He afterwards proceeded to the Agincourt, to make arrangements for that vessel to be one of the squadron of ironclads to accompany the dock to its destination across the Atlantic. The squadron consists of the Agincourt, Northumberland, Hercules, Black Prince, and Warrior; and the departure of the dock from Sheerness has been fixed for the 20th inst.”
Source
Colburn’s United service magazine: and naval and military journal, part II, July 1869.
