Platform for afloat-condition drilling

Claim 1

A BUOYANT DRILLING RIG BASE FOR AFOAT CONDITION DRILLING, COMPRISING, A HULL MEMBER COMPRISING A WAVE TRANSPARENT STRUCTURAL FRAME DEFINED BY VERTICALLY SPACED UPPER AND LOWEER STRINGER ELEMENTS INTERCONNECTED BY HOLLOW TUBULAR BRACING ELEMENTS DEFINING BUOYANCY ELEMENTS AND DISPOSED IN PARTLY SUBMERGED FLOATING POSITION IN A WATER BODY, THE LOWER STRINGER ELEMENTS AND SAID BRACING ELEMENTS DEFINING FLOTATION CHAMBERS HAVING DISPLACEMENT SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT SAID BASE IN SAID PARTIALLY SUBMERGED FLOATING POSITION WITHOUT RIGID CONNECTION TO THE UNDERLYING LAND, A DRILL SUPPORT MOUNTED ON SAID HULL MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF AUXILIARY BUOYANCY CHAMBERS RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID BRACING ELEMENTS AT A UNIFORM LEVEL INTERMEDIATE THE UPPER AND LOWER STRINGER ELEMENTS AND PARTLY SUBMERGED IN THE WATER BODY, SAID AUXILIARY BUOYANCY CHAMBERS BEING OF SUBSTANTIALLY LESSER LENGTH THAN THE VERTICAL DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID UPPER AND LOWER STRINGER ELEMENTS, EACH F SAID AUXILIARY BOUYANCY CHAMBERS HAVING GREATER WATER PLANE AREA THAN THE PORTIONS OF SAID BRACING ELEMENTS EXTENDING ABOVE AND BELOW SAID AUXILIARY BUOYANCY CHAMBERS, THE COMBINED WATER PLANE AREA OF SAID AUXILIARY CHAMBERS EXCEEDING THE WATER PLANE AREA OF THE BASE AT ANY OTHER HORIZONTAL PLANE BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER STRINGER ELEMENTS, SAID AUXILIARY BUOYANCY CHAMBERS HAVING A TOTAL BUOYANCY TO PROVIDE TONS-PER-INCH IMMERSION SUFFICIENT TO PREVENT SUBSTANTIAL VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SAID HULL MEMBER UNDER VARYING LIVE LOADS, AND MEANS FOR BALLASTING AND DE-BALLASTING THE SEVERAL FLOTATION CHAMBERS WHEREBY TO REGULATE THE EXTENT OF SUBMERGENCE OF SAID BASE IN SAID WATER BODY.