By Captain ANTHONY S. THOMSON, C.B., Elder Brother of Trinity House, Commander E.N.R.

Reprinted from the " Journal of tJie Royal United Service Institution," by permission.

There is little reliable information about the anchors used in ancient days.

As much mystery and confusion seem to exist in regard to the anchors of old time as attach to the arrangements by which vessels were in former days propelled by oars, in tiers one above the other. The reason in either case is perhaps that the historians were but slightly acquainted with the technical details, and unable therefore to transmit clear and intelligible accounts. It may be also that vessels, in the very early days of navigation, were less dependent on anchors than was the case in later times, the general practice which then obtained being to beach their vessels when unable to moor to the shore. It is certain, however, that the anchors used by the Phoenicians were made of wood, weighted with stones and later on with lead. There is no record that the Egyptians used any form of hooked anchor. The invention of the anchor proper is ascribed by Pliny to the Tuscans, but still without a stock, and having only one arm. The anchors used by the Normans even do not appear to have been furnished with stocks. Time need not be taken up in attempting to trace the evolution of the anchor from ancient days; it will suffice at the outset to indicate certain stages in development which appear likely to assist us when considering the functions of the different parts, and the value of recent modifications.

In the first place, then, it is interest- ing to note that the earliest iron anchors were without a stock, and that they had only one arm or fluke. They were in fact mooring anchors as we have them to-day, and for such purposes quite efficient. Anchors of this kind, how- ever, must have been chiefly useful for mooring vessels to the shore or to banks which occasionally uncovered. To make such anchors automatic, so to speak, it was necessary to provide three or more arms; hence the grapnel, a very old form of anchor.

Grapnel.—Grapnels are ill-adapted for penetration into the ground, and are prone to roll over on hard bottoms, their holding power being always slight in comparison to weight.

Mushroom.—From the grapnel to the mushroom is only a step in development, though the latter type is of com- paratively recent origin. The bad points of the grapnel are accentuated in the mushroom, yet to the credit of the mushroom must be placed two very good qualities. Owing to its large sur- face and concavity the mushroom head is able to arrest moving particles at the sea bottom, and so produce an accumula- tion of sand or gravel under which it lies deeply buried. This property, technically called "sanding up," is a valuable one, but it is not available in cases of temporary anchorage. Mush- rooms are not trustworthy anchors on hard bottoms, nor indeed are they to be recommended anywhere unless there is a reasonable certainty of their being sanded up. Another good point for the mushroom consists in its immunity from fouling by the cable. For this reason it was formerly always used for lightship moorings, and it is still the best anchor for telegraph buoys in deep water. It may be of interest to state here that whenever overhand or figure-of-eight knots have been found in the cables of lightships, this curious state of things has always occurred when a mushroom has been in use, and it may be accounted for by the bight of the chain working its way under the rounded mushroom head.

Ordinary Stocked Anchor.—The or- dinary two-fluked stocked anchor seems to have been gradually evolved under the stimulus of necessity, and was probably first brought into general use by the Dutch. The stock, or wooden portion, as the name implies, may have been at first a mere stick passed through a hole in the end of the shank, as is sometimes the case with small boat anchors at the present day. The stock 2ND FEBRUARY, 1903.] THE LIFE-BOAT.

571 was originally provided simply to cant the anchor and to compel the arms to take up a vertical position so that the lower one of the two would bite into the ground. Even in later days, when fitted to the largest anchors, stocks were always constructed and arranged with a view to lightness rather than for strength, and intended to cant and keep the arms up to their work rather than to increase the holding power.

The Anchor up to beginning of last century.—Ships' anchors in general use up to the commencement of the last century consisted of a long round iron shank, having two comparatively short and 'nearly straight arms or flukes in- clined to the shank at an angle of about 50° and meeting it in a somewhat sharp point at the crown. The stock was generally a little longer than the shank and in the large anchors consisted of two beams of oak placed side by side, the shank end passing between them.

A space of from one to two inches was left between the beams to admit of tightening them on the shank by hoops of iron. The surface of stock next the ring was generally straight, but always tapered away on the other side, towards the ends. This tapering of the stock on the inner side must, I think, have been intended to lessen the risk of the hempen cable catching under one arm of the stock and causing the anchor to come up foul, although I have nowhere seen it so stated. In the earlier anchors, indeed, the arms of the stock were bent backwards so as to make obtuse angles with the shank. In addition to their proper function for canting the'anchor, the bulky wooden stocks of former days also served to ensure the anchor sinking crown first. When let go with way on the vessel, the great resistance offered by the stock must have been conducive to the anchor taking up a proper posi- tion for biting even before it reached the bottom.

It is quite otherwise with iron stocks, which offer comparatively slight resist- ance in the water when sinking to the bottom. Indeed it often happens that the iron stock sinks end on land sticks upright in a stiff bottom while the arms lie prone and useless. In such cases the vessel rides to the stock alone, and if the pull on the cable be sufficient to bend or break the stock, serious risks result.

This may be the reason for the practice which I am told obtains in Chinese junks of lashing beams of wood along the iron stocks of their anchors. It may be of interest to note here that in some early wooden anchors the stock is depicted as being secured to the shank only a very short distance from the crown, and this is essentially the principle of the modern anchor, where the cross-head takes the place of the stock.

About the year 1800 the shanks of large anchors were of composite manu- facture. Four square iron bars of large cross section were placed together for the centre, and then surrounded faggot- wise with smaller rods, some seventy or eighty pieces in all. The bundle of iron was then hammered at welding heat into a more or less homogeneous state by a mass of iron weighing about 5 cwt;., which was dropped on the weld from a height of nearly 10 ft. This form of hammer was called a Hercules.

Anchors were expensive items in those days, a 90-cwt. anchor costing about H51. The dimensions of an 80-cwt.

anchor about the year 1800 were roughly as follows:—Shank 19|- ft., stock 21 ft., and 12 ft. across from pea to pea. Such an anchor would have large broad palms occupying nearly half ,the length of the arm.

About the commencement of last century, a clerk in Plymouth naval yard, Pering by name, suggested and carried out certain improvements, the most important of which was making the arms curved instead of straight.

At first sight this simple change may seem of little value, but consideration will show that this is not the case.

The holding power of an anchor depends on two principal conditions, namely, the extent of useful holding surface, and the amount of vertical penetration.

The latter quality is necessary on account of the nature of ordinary sea bottoms, the surface-layers of which are generally less tenacious and resisting than is the ground a short distance below. Now the measure of penetration, and also, to a limited degree, that of useful holding surface, is the vertical _— 572 THE LIFE-BOAT.

[2ND FEBRUARY, 1903.

distance from the lower portion of shank to the pea, or extreme end of the arm, when fully buried. This distance depends on the length and on the inclination of the arm to the shank.

Some inclination the arm must have, in order to bring about penetration; yet the more at right angles to the shank, the greater the penetration. These two opposing conditions are reconciled by curving the arm to the arc of a circle having its centre in the shank.

Two minor advantages also accrue.

During the process of tripping or breaking out the anchor, the buried arm continues its curved path in the ground until the shank is nearly ver- tical, and the pea ready to emerge with the least possible resistance. The old- fashioned straight arm, on the other hand, continued to offer resistance in the ground until the leverage derived from the effective length of shank became very much reduced. Again, with straight arms there exists con- siderable resistance to penetration, because the entire anchor must move longitudinally before the arm can bury itself; but with curved arms, the weight alone of shank and upper arm suffices to bury the anchor, in soft bottoms, without longitudinal displacement.

This last consideration, which has some bearing in the case of modern stockless anchors with two flat blades, will be again referred to when dealing with the Martin's type' of anchor.

Subsequent Improvements.—In the year 1831, chain cables began to supersede the hempen ones, with the result that the long-shanked anchors hitherto in vogue were no longer necessary, and anchors with shorter shanks and with heavier and stronger crowns gradually came into use. In consequence of these changes a Commission was appointed, in the year 1838, to enquire into the holding power of anchors, and a principal result of their labours was the adoption of the so-called Admiralty pattern anchor, which continued to be used in the Navy up to 1860. The invention of the steam hammer in 1842 made the forging of heavy masses of iron a comparatively easy and reliable process, so that from this time onwards the strength of anchors fully kept pace with that of the chain cables which had come into general use. A great number of patents for anchors were taken out prior to the Great Exhibition of 1851, and public attention having been called to the models there shown, in the following year a committee was ap- pointed by the Admiralty to report on the qualifications of anchors of the various kinds. Practical trials were then instituted, and, as a result, Trot- man's anchor took the highest place out of eight competitors, Rodger's anchor being second on the list. Some of the tests to which the anchors were submitted were of doubtful value, such, for instance, as " facility for sweeping." Nowadays, at all events for deep ships in shallow harbours, it is considered an advantage for an anchor to offer as little obstruction as possible above the ground. In this particular test, as also in some others of small importance, Trotman's anchor was handicapped as against those of ordinary form, yet it came out first, owing to its undoubted superiority in holding power.

We may now proceed to consider the structure and qualities of the two anchors last mentioned, which may be taken as types of the best stock-depen- dent anchors. This phrase is used advisedly, so as to exclude for the present certain modern forms falling between the designations "stocked" and " stockless." Badger's Anchor.—Rodger's anchor, dating back to about 1830, is named after the designer, Captain Rodgers, R.N., who, for forty years or more, devoted much attention to the subject of anchors, taking out many patents.

This anchor, which, in its present improved form, has been in use for many years, is generally acknowledged the best of ordinary shaped anchors.

It is made of iron of square section, possessing great strength in shank and crown. The palms were at first made comparatively small to ensure good penetration, but nowadays they are made somewhat larger. Mr. Richard Green, of Blackwall fame, in giving evidence before a Select Committee in 1860, said, " he preferred Rodger's original anchor on the whole, because it had Very small palms, the crown going 2ND FEBRUARY, 1903.] THE LIFE-BOAT.

573 right into the ground. They did not make such a large hole and disturb the ground so much as broad-palmed anchors." We see the importance which this gentleman attached to good penetration without undue disturbance of the ground.

Trotman's Anchor. — The anchor generally known as Trotman's is the first and best of the so-called " patent" anchors, i.e., anchors which depart from the ordinary type. It is an improve- ment on the earlier Honiball, better known as Porter's. The original, under the designation of the " Tumbling Fluke Anchor," was the invention of Lieutenant Belcher, R.N., in 1818.

The anchor is forged in two separate parts, the arms and the shank, and the two connected by means of a pin passing through a fork at the end of the shank into which the crown fits.

The crown and arms pivot on this pin, so that, when the anchor bites, the lower arm enters the ground, while the other arm bears against the upper side of the shank. In this way great pene- tration is obtained, with a corresponding increase of holding power. During the repeated trials to which this anchor was at first subjected, the only important defect noticed was failure at times to bite quickly; that is to say, when the lower arm became jambed between the ground and the shank, the anchor occa- sionally failed to open out and bite, or dragged some distance before doing so.

This defect was subsequently remedied by John Trotman, Esq., who added supplementary canting palms, which caused the anchor to bite readily. These supplementary palms, however, are not unmixed blessings; they make fouling by the cable possible, while they tend to lessen penetration and to break up the ground; they also offer considerable resistance to quick tripping, as is shown by the results of the Admiralty trials in 1852, when for quick tripping a pro- portion of 7 was awarded to Porter's as against 3 to Trotman's, the average value for the eight competing anchors being about 6. The weak points of this otherwise excellent anchor are to be found, of course, in the pivot and forked shank, especially when used on hard or rocky bottoms; but I believe breakages due to failure of these por- tions have seldom occurred when the anchors have been properly looked after.

Notwithstanding its good qualities, this type of anchor is becoming practically obsolete, owing principally to the altered conditions under which anchors have now to be used. With the advent of bluff-bowed, wall-sided vessels and straight stems, these anchors were found inconvenient to cat, the long open arm being likely to hook under or across the stem. They are also somewhat difficult to handle in case of coming up foul, owing to the tendency of the arms to cant over at awkward times, during the process of clearing the chain.

Martin's Anchor.—We now come to the type of anchor found more con- venient for ordinary modern require- ments, where the stock serves only as an auxiliary, or is altogether dispensed with. The first anchor of this kind, invented by a Frenchman named Martin, about the year 1865, was found to possess distinct and important advan- tages over most of its predecessors, and still retains a foremost position. It is interesting, however, to note, that from this time forward, owing to the rapid increase of steam propulsion, more and more importance was given to conveni- ence of handling and stowage, qualities which are in evidence only when the anchor is idle, so to speak, rather than to good points afforded by the anchor when fulfilling its proper function of holding into the ground. Thus, the great feature of Martin's anchor is the small space it occupies when stowed; it is short, narrow, and lies flat. In common with Trotman's anchor, it is without a weld, being forged in two principal parts, but Martin's anchor has the greater strength in the crown. In construction it is simplicity itself; a solid round bar having the palms already forged, and one arm bent to shape, is passed through a hole in the shank head, the straight arm being afterwards bent and forged to the required form.

The short auxiliary stock is then fitted on the ring end of the square shank and keyed to its place. The stock, which is really unnecessary, this anchor being self-canting, is set on the shank edge up and bent away from the flukes 574 THE LIFE-BOAT. [2ND FEBRUARY, 1903.

on either side; it was probably intended as an addition to the useful holding surface, rather than as a stock proper, the function of which is to cant and keep the arms up to their work. The shape of the stock in Martin's anchor is similar to that of stocks in some of the oldest anchors, but the intention seems to have been to increase the leverage of the stock for keeping the shank down, and also to give better holding, rather than to facilitate the cable clearing itself, as we have suggested was the intention of the anchor-makers of old.

As against great strength, close stowing and self-canting qualities, we must set a few faults, which, however, only in a very slight degree detract from the great value of this well-known anchor.

The most serious defects seem to be insufficient penetration, absence of ver- tical curvature in the arms, and a too general distribution of weight. The weight of an anchor should be concen- trated as far as possible in the crown and arms, as provided for in Lloyd's Register's rules, which now require the heads of stockless anchors to be not less than three-fifths of the total weight.

These anchors are also rather difficult to trip out of hard ground, owing to the long flat palms and small shank leverage.

The form of stock too offers a certain resistance to biting, because to obtain complete penetration, the anchor must move about half its own length, and this the stock tends to prevent. On hard bottoms, thei'efore, there is a tendency to hold only by the tips of the palms and by the lower edge of the stock ; and in soft bottoms, the anchor may break up the surface ground and drag, rather than penetrate to the harder layers below. Martin's anchors are generally used in the ships of the Royal Navy, where low flat stowage and economy of space are all-important; they are also very suitable for securing on inclined anchor beds, or for being stowed vertically against the ship's side as is now the ordinary practice in large war-vessels.

Since the above was written, I have received from Messrs. H. Charlton & Co., of Gateshead-on-Tyne, the following account of the Martin's anchors, which is so interesting and instructive that very little apology is needed for quoting it almost verbatim.

The first Martin's anchor was patented 6th May, 1864 (No. 1154), by Mr.

Fran9ois Martin, and it is of interest to note that it was provided with a centre trip, fixed securely to the arms; this would assist the palms in tripping promptly as well as holding more securely—a principle which is now adopted in most patent anchors.

There is no record of many of these anchors having been made; they would require rather more fitting up than was desirable, and possibly their cost was to some extent prohibitive; at any rate, we find that on the 21st October, 1864, Mr. F. Martin patented a second anchor (No. 2604), and in one opening para- graph of this patent specification Mr.

Martin says :—" Part of my present improvements are intended to simplify, and thus facilitate, the construction of such anchors, thereby reducing the cost of manufacture" ; and from the tone of the following paragraphs we gather that his first designed anchor held so well that there had been difficulty in.

breaking it out of the ground, and that he now dispenses with the centre trip— which in later patents is again adopted —and substitutes the form of anchor shank so well known in Martin's patent self-canting anchors.

This anchor was adopted by the British Admiralty, and in 1865 H.M.S.

Vixen, Viper, and Favourite were fitted with them, followed in later years by the Industry, Pallas, Prince Albert, Glatton, Devastation, Thunderer, Hecate, Gorgon, Cyclops, Hydra, Rover, Rupert, etc.

This patent was improved upon and a new patent secured for the same by Claud and Hyppolite Martin, dated 30th May, 1872 (No. 1632); this im- provement being the adoption of a pin through the head of the shank, pene- trating the arms, which had a corre- sponding slot of sufficient length to allow the arms to travel to their correct angle on either side of the shank. These anchors were fitted to H.M.S. Colossus, Edinburgh, etc., being extensively used in H.M. Navy, as well as by most foreign Governments, shipowners, etc.

On 10th May, 1882, Mr. Claud Martin was granted another patent 2ND FEBRUARY, 1903.] THE LIFE-BOAT.

575 (No. 2197) on a further improvement in this anchor, when the centre trip was again resorted to as a means of assisting the palms in holding and biting quickly.

This was accomplished in one design by fitting plates on either side of the head of the shank, blocks being fitted be- tween them on either side. Mr, Martin died soon after, and this patent was improved upon and repatented by Mr.

Barton—who had assisted Mr. Martin in his work—on the 7th December, 1883 (No. 5663), the shape of the side plates and blocks being improved, but the principle was the same as in Mr.

Martin's last patent.

In 1885 a limited company was formed to work the Martin's patents, who adopted the style of the Improved Martin's Anchor Co., Ltd. Mr.

Martin's older patents were known as Martin's Patent Self-canting Anchor, but the new form now introduced was called the Improved Martin's Patent Anchor, so as to distinguish it from the older patterns.

In 1885, also, the Admiralty carried out an exhaustive series of trials with anchors, and on this occasion the Improved Martin's Patent Anchor gave excellent results, and was adopted by the Admiralty for their ships, many of the older Martin's self-canting anchors i being converted into the newer form.

| These anchors were fitted to a great ' many of H.M. ships, amongst which • were H.M.S. Royal Sovereign, Hood, Repulse, Ramillies, Resolution, Revenge, I Blake, Blenheim, Pique, Terpsichore, Thetis, Howe, Collingwood, St. George, etc., etc. They were also extensively used in many foreign navies.

In 1893 the introduction of cast steel into the manufacture of anchors made it possible for the Martin's anchor to be still further improved, and a patent (No. 5606) was granted to Mr. Henrj Charlton for a new form of anchor head made of cast steel; the main features of the older patent were retained, but I the manufacture was simplified so that i an equally effective anchor was secured | at a much cheaper rate. This anchor has also been fitted to a large number of H.M. ships, including the new battle- ships Duncan, Cornwallis, Exmouth, Russell, Leviathan, Good Hope, King | Alfred, Bedford, etc., etc. It is also extensively used in foreign navies.

I This anchor is known as the Ini- ! proved Martin's Patent Anchor, Adelphi I Pattern, the words " Adelphi Pattern " j being added to distinguish it from the ; former pattern.

(To le continued.).