Model of a Dry Dock

Model of the dry dock of Willemsoord, on a baseboard. The baseboard shows the composition of the wooden raft on which the dock was built. The dock has an elongated oval shape and a metal ship door with a keel. At the entrance, four pipes run from the bottom to the top through one of the sides; this allowed water to be pumped out when the dock was being emptied. The ship door has a double skin up to two-thirds of its height; the inner caisson is divided into four compartments. Each compartment has a mechanical pump, a scupper valve, and two shutters connecting it to the neighboring compartments. There are two hand pumps for the space between the double skin. The mechanical pumps are connected at the top to a single drive mechanism, which is to be driven by a steam engine; they all connect to two pipes leading on both sides outside the ship door.