Apparatus for confining a floatable liquid

Claim 1

Apparatus for retaining a floatable liquid on the surface of a body of water including a plurality of floatable barrier sections, each section comprising a flexible water impervious upright curtain; a pair of cables secured to each curtain and extending longitudinally thereof in spaced relationship one to the other, one cable being located adjacent the upper edge of said curtain, the other cable being located adjacent the bottom edge of said curtain; and a pair of first and second elongated buoyant tubes, said first tube being connected intermediate said curtain and said second tube, said first and second tubes being in generally upright vertical alignment relative to the plane of said curtain under normal conditions of floatation but positioned pivotally offset from the vertical to one side of said curtain along said one cable under adverse weather conditions, the buoyancy of said first tube being sufficient for supporting said barrier section while said second tube is positioned essentially above the surface of the water, said second tube having a substantially greater cross section than said first tube so that when said tubes are in said pivotally offset position said second tube contacts the surface of the water while the upper edge of said curtain and said one cable remain below the surface of the water; whereby a pivotal rotation of said first tube to said pivotally offset position brings said second tube into floating contact with the surface of the water to one side of said curtain, changing the center of buoyancy of the barrier and developing corrective forces that maintain the barrier in a generally upright stable position.