An old engraving showing Bishop’s floating derrick It is from a Victorian mechanical engineering book of the 1880s. In this illustration the massive steam-powered derrick is lifting another ship. It was a flat-bottomed boat, built by the Thames Iron Shipbuilding Company of Blackwall, London, England, UK to raise sunken ships. It was 270 feet in length and had a 90-foot beam. Watertight compartments could be filled with seawater to counterbalance any weight on the opposite side of the vessel when lifting. Derricks mounted on dedicated vessels are also known as sheerlegs.
An old engraving showing Bishop’s floating derrick It is from a Victorian mechanical engineering book of the 1880s. In this illustration the massive steam-powered derrick is lifting another ship. It was a flat-bottomed boat, built by the Thames Iron Shipbuilding Company of Blackwall, London, England, UK to raise sunken ships. It was 270 feet in length and had a 90-foot beam. Watertight compartments could be filled with seawater to counterbalance any weight on the opposite side of the vessel when lifting. The iron tripod was 50 feet high and the boom 120 feet across. Derricks mounted on dedicated vessels are also known as sheerlegs. The term is also applied to the framework supporting a drilling apparatus in an oil rig. The derrick derives its name from a type of gallows named after Thomas Derrick, an Elizabethan era English executioner.
Size: 3442px × 4252px
Location: England, UK
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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