Anchors

[jollyjacktar]

I was thinking today about windlasses and that got me thinking about a topic I really don't know much about.

Anchors.

And a little more detailed about what and how these monsterous iron hooks were kept attached to the ship. I once read somewhere (I'm not sure if this is right or not so please correct me if I am) that for every foot of water you have in depth you are supposed to have nearly 4 to 7 feet of line on the anchor cable. If that is the case then in roughly one hundred feet of water, you'd be looking at employing an anchor cable upwards of 700'. Ok so now what constitutes an anchor cable? I've seen the term cable in period refer to any large diameter line, roughly 1" or larger in diameter. Would it be practical to have a "cable" over 700' in length or would it have been more practical to have several different sections that were capable of being pieced together to form the larger whole? Was it common to be using chain as part of an anchor cable during the later 17th century or just line? Finally if you were to have a "pieced" anchor cable how would you then accomodate the cable passing through one of the forward housings?

Thanks and any information anyone can shed on this topic would be splendid.

Yours & co.

CJ

[Bright]

The main capstan was used to weigh the anchors. As ships grew larger, so did their anchor cables, until during the 17th century they became too large and heavy to wind around the capstan. Instead, a messenger cable was wound around the trundlehead and around rollers, forming a continuous loop. The anchor cable was temporarily secured to the messenger using small lines known as "nippers". The nippers were then handed to boys who walked aft along the deck, trying to keep the heavy, wet cable and messenger from dragging. The nippers were removed when they reached the main hatch to allow the cable to be fed down into the hold, where another large group of sailors stowed it neatly.

Up to 14 capstan bars could be fitted into the sockets around the drumhead on the middle gun deck, and 12 bars could be used with the trundlehead on the lower gun deck. Ten men could be stationed at each bar, and 260 people were sometimes needed to haul in the anchor and cables. Up to 10 tons could be lifted using this arrangement; a cable of 120 fathoms weighs seven tons. The entire process could take between 30 minutes and six hours, depending on the length of cable used. Cable's length - 100 fathoms, or one tenth of a nautical mile

Edited January 19, 2010 by Bright

[callenish gunner]

The cable tier below deck could be quite sizable space in the bow. That space was often used to store other items that weren't used daily while the ship was at sea such as spare sails and extra lines. The anchors were lashed to the sides of the fo'c'sale. And, on some larger vessels there was a beam added to the hull structure to allow the anchors to be suspended outboard.

As I posted in another thread (it's the area below the Galley/kitchen)

[Littleneckhalfshell]

Ok so now what constitutes an anchor cable? I've seen the term cable in period refer to any large diameter line, roughly 1" or larger in diameter.

CJ

my understanding has always been that you have yarns, which make up ropes, which make up cables, so I would think that an anchor cable would be a 'rope' made of twisted ropes. I know this is from Wikipedia, which is not always a great source, but at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope they state the following which seems to explain it well.

""Twisted ropes are built up in three steps. First, fibers are gathered and spun to form yarns. A number of these yarns are then twisted together to form strands. The strands are then twisted together to form the rope. The twist of the yarn is opposite to that of the strand, and that in turn is opposite to that of the rope. It is this counter-twist, introduced with each successive operation, which holds the final rope together as a stable, unified object.

Traditionally, a three strand laid rope is called a plain- or hawser-laid, a four strand rope is called shroud-laid, and a larger rope formed by counter-twisting three or more multi-strand ropes together is called cable-laid.[3]""

Note the last part, ""and a larger rope formed by counter-twisting three or more multi-strand ropes together is called cable-laid."" There is actually a picture of this kind of cable: ""A piece of preserved rope found on board the 16th century carrack Mary Rose"" which is actually what I would call a "Cable" you can see that the three twisted units making up the greater piece are ropes, not twisted yarns.

[capn'rob]

Once the Anchor was brought clear of the surface it was "catted" and "fished". The Cathead was a beam extending from the foc's'l' head over the anchor hawse area. The upper sheaves to the Cat tackle was in the timber or cathead, the lower a block with a hook to take the ring of the anchor. This tackle was brought "two blocks" and the fish tackle would then take the stock and draw the anchor up and bring the stock level with the bulwark, lashed fast for sea. As in Bright's illustration the cable was brought aboard and stowed below. As ships grew so did their ground tackle. This brought a need for heavier gear. The cables were stowed amidship and low.

As a manner of decoration the ends of the catheads were fitted with a carving of a lion or other cat of prey or other decorative carving such as leaves or a rose, etc. Many were gilded.

Cable laid refers to rope construction and indicates use. A cable may be made of three or more "cable laid" ropes bound together to form an adequet cable for a vessel of substantial size.

Edited January 20, 2010 by capn'rob

[capn'rob]

The cable tier below deck could be quite sizable space in the bow. That space was often used to store other items that weren't used daily while the ship was at sea such as spare sails and extra lines. The anchors were lashed to the sides of the fo'c'sale. And, on some larger vessels there was a beam added to the hull structure to allow the anchors to be suspended outboard.

As I posted in another thread (it's the area below the Galley/kitchen)

Callenish, Isn't that the "Half Moon", Hudson's Ship of Exploration? My Dad did an Oil Painting of her in 1931. It was his first commisioned work after Art School, Yale '31. I have the painting now and it's being restored in Boca Raton, FL.