Flexible oil boom

Claim 1

A flexible boom for catching and collecting residues from the surface of bodies of water comprising: a. a barrier wall of flexible sheet material for depolying in a substantially vertical position in the water such that the upper edge thereof is above the water surface and the lower edge thereof is below the water surface, said barrier wall having an upper portion and a lower portion sewn together by an overlapping longitudinal connection at a location below the water surface, b. a plurality of substantially vertical pockets in spaced relationship along the length of said barrier wall with each pocket containing a stiffening rod, c. a series of flexible float connecting straps, each being positioned immediately adjacent a vertical stiffener pocket and each surrounding the lower edge of the barrier wall upper portion and passing through the overlapping sewn connection such that the free ends of each strap extend outwardly from each side of the barrier wall for connecting floats thereto, and d. individual weights connected to the barrier wall at the lower end of each stiffener pocket, whereby when the boom is deployed in the water with an individual float connected to each strap free end on each side of each vertical stiffener, each combination of vertical stiffeners, opposed pairs of floats and lower edge weights maintains the boom in a substantially vertical position in the water while permitting limited independent movement of each stiffener and adjacent portions of the flexible barrier wall in both vertical and horizontal directions relative to the remainder of the boom under the action of small choppy waves.