This question will be answered by an engineer, senior lecturer of the department of design and technical operation ships of the faculty of shipbuilding and ocean engineering of St. Petersburg State Marine Technical University Kirill Plotnikov.

How does an anchor hold a huge ship in place? ship, informative, surprising, facts, anchor

The attitude of sailors to the anchor in the era of the sailing fleet is reflected in the expressions of the French language that have come down to us: “ancre d” esperance” - the anchor of hope, “ancre sacree” - the sacred anchor and even “maitresse ancre” - madam anchor (in French, the word “anchor " female).

Anchors (and there were usually several of them on the ship) were used not only to hold the ship in a given place in the water area, but also to slow down and even move the ship.
Today, this device is still indispensable.

The holding force of the anchor device of the ship consists of two components:
the first is created by the anchor when interacting with the sea soil,
the second - by a section of the anchor chain, which lies on the ground (for sea vessels, the length of this section is usually at least 25-50 m).

For a reliable anchorage, the weight and design of the anchor is important.

Usually they weigh several tons, and on giant ships with large windage (aircraft carriers, ocean cruisers, etc.), they use anchors, the weight of which reaches 30 tons.
Impressive numbers, but it should be understood that total weight anchors do not make up even a tenth of a percent of the weight of the ship itself.

Each concrete type anchors behave differently on different types of soil.

The holding force of the anchor is the force that must be applied to it in order to pull it out of the ground at the moment when the spindle (the massive rod to which the anchor horns are attached) is located horizontally.
To compare different models, they usually say how many times the holding force of the anchor exceeds its own weight(the so-called "holding force coefficient").

The first device used by ancient sailors as an anchor was an ordinary stone tied with a rope of animal veins, plant stems, lianas..

The holding force coefficient of such an "anchor" is less than one, that is, its holding force is less than its weight.

Later, holes were drilled in the anchor stones and stakes (horns) were installed in them.
Already in the time of the ancient Romans, the anchor became similar to the one that can be seen today on caps and cockades.

On the emblems that readers have seen many times, the stem is a transverse “stick” at the top of the anchor.

By 1852, the most popular was admiralty anchor.
In subsequent years, thousands of applications were submitted to the patent offices for the invention of new, more advanced anchors.
So, the rod that prevents the anchor from being pulled into a niche in the side of the vessel (it is called the “clue”) was eliminated, and the “paws” became swivel.

It would seem that you can tell about the anchor? The simplest, at first glance, design. But he plays a huge role in the life of the ship. the main task anchors - securely tie the ship to the ground, wherever it is: on the high seas or near the coast. A motorboat or a yacht, a cruise liner or a multi-ton tanker - safe movement on the sea for any vessel depends on the reliability of the anchors.

Anchor structures have evolved over hundreds of years. Reliability, ease of use, weight - each parameter was tested in practice by the sea itself, counting nautical miles. Most anchors are worn common names: admiralty, ice, plow, cats. But there are anchors named after their creators. Among the inventors of reliable structures, the following names sound: Hall and Matrosov, Danforth, Bruce, Byers, Boldt.

"Anchor chains ring in the port ...", or the ship's role of the anchor

The anchor must provide safe parking, boats or yachts in the roadstead and on the high seas. In addition, the anchor plays a huge role in solving other problems:

• Limits the vessel's mobility during mooring to another vessel or berth in adverse weather conditions, strong currents, and loading operations.
• Allows you to make a safe turn in a limited space (for example, in a narrow harbor).
• It can quickly extinguish inertia and stop the ship when a collision threatens.
• Helps to refloat the vessel by the crew.

Parts of the anchor structure (chains, fairleads) are sometimes used for towing.

Situations when an anchor is used can be divided into two groups.

The first group is for emergency use: in situations where the anchor must hold the ship at the maximum value of the wind force and sea waves.

The second group is for everyday use: during a short stop in good weather

Anchor structure

The bow of the ship is the place where the anchor device is located. An additional anchor structure is installed at the stern of large-capacity vessels, icebreakers and tugboats. This design includes a chain or rope itself, a chain box, a device with which anchor chains are attached to the ship's hull, a hawse, a stopper, as well as a capstan and windlass, with which the anchor is released and raised.

And what does the anchor itself consist of, in the steel paws of which is the safety of the ship, crew and passengers on board?

An anchor is a special structure (welded, cast or forged) that sinks to the bottom and holds the vessel with a rope or rope. It consists of several elements:

A spindle (longitudinal rod) with an anchor bracket in the upper part - with the help of this bracket, the anchor is attached to the chain;

Paws and horns that are fixed or hinged to the spindle.

For anchors with a rod, a transverse rod is installed in the upper part of the spindle, which enhances the holding force.

Anchor structures: purpose, type

By appointment, ship anchors are:

• Auxiliary: anchors, verps, drecks, crampons, ice. The role of auxiliary anchors is to help deadlifts in certain situations: when boarding and disembarking passengers, loading and unloading, to remove the vessel from the shallows, to keep the vessel at the edge of the ice field.
• Stanovoe: there should be 3 of them on each ship (2 in hawse, 1 on deck).

According to the method of soil sampling, they are divided into two groups.

One group includes anchors that take the soil (i.e., burrow into it) with one paw. First of all, this includes the Admiralty anchor.

Another group includes anchors that take the soil with two paws: the anchors of Hall, Byers, Boldt, Gruson-Hein, Matrosov.

Anchors must meet the following criteria:

• strength;
• fast return;
• good soil intake;
• easy separation from the ground when lifting;
• convenient fasteners in the "stowed" position.

One of the most important criteria is a large holding force, that is, the maximum force, measured in kilograms, under the influence of which the anchor will not leave the ground and will be able to keep the ship “on a leash”.

Anchor-"Admiral"

The Admiralty anchor can rightly be considered a veteran among ship anchors. This is perhaps the only representative of designs that have a stock. Despite the fact that it has been replaced by more modern and reliable models, it still fulfills its ship role in the fleet. This is due to the versatility of the design.

The structure of the Admiralty anchor, proven for centuries, is concise: the fixed paws and horns are cast or forged together with the spindle and form a single whole with it, without additional mechanical elements. The stem is wooden or metal. Its task is to help the quick intake of soil and the correct orientation of the anchor clinging to the bottom.

The design itself folds compactly: the stem is laid along the spindle, and in modern models paws can also be folded. This simplifies the storage and transportation of the anchor during a voyage.

The advantages also include a large holding force (its coefficient is 10-12), which is higher than that of many "brothers" with the same weight.

"Admiral" is able to cope with any soil: he is not afraid of any large stones, among which his "colleagues" often get stuck, nor the insidious compliance of silt, nor the thickness of underwater algae.

The disadvantages of the naval old-timer include bulkiness and volume, laboriousness in handling - this leads to the fact that it is troublesome to mount it in the stowed position and cannot be quickly given away. The anchor is forged from iron with strict requirements for the quality of material and workmanship - this leads to its high cost.

The rod often fails: the iron one bends, and the wooden one is damaged by mollusks, it is fragile and short-lived.

When immersed in the ground, one paw sticks out, representing a threat to ships in shallow water, and the anchor chain can catch and tangle on the horn protruding above the ground.

In 1988, the Englishman Hall patented an anchor named after him. This anchor is also considered a naval veteran, only stockless. The design consists of a spindle and two legs, cast together with the box.

The paws in this design are unusual: they have flat shape, swing and can turn on the axis.

The box and paws are weighted with tides with thickenings in the form of shoulder blades. Their task is to turn the paws, forcing them to go into the ground to a depth that can be 4 times the length of the paws themselves. This is especially important if the ground is weak and you need to dig deep to reach a solid foundation.

The indisputable advantages of the Hall anchor are considered to be a sufficiently large holding force, fast recoil (it can be given away on the go, moreover, this method of recoil even helps to deepen the paws as much as possible) and convenient cleaning in the hawse.

In shallow water, it is not dangerous for other vessels, since the paws lie flat on the ground, tangling the anchor chain or rope around the paws is excluded.

The disadvantages of the design include the unreliability of fastening the anchor on soil of a heterogeneous composition in the event of a torque or while parked in an open roadstead when the wind direction changes or a strong current, when the anchor begins to creep in jerks. In this case, with a strong jerk, the anchor jumps out of the ground, and then deepens again thanks to the shovels, which have time to heat the mound from the ground. This is due to the too large distance between the paws. In addition, the hinge box can jam when sand or small pebbles are collected in it.

When retracting into the hawse when cleaning the anchor, the paws cannot always take the necessary position on their own due to the not very good location of the center of gravity.

This anchor is one of the most modern designs with increased holding power. Created by the Soviet engineer I.R. Matrosov in 1946, he absorbed the advantages and eliminated the disadvantages inherent in the paws of two types of anchors: with fixed paws (such as the Admiralty one) and with swivel ones (Hall's anchor).

The design of the anchor is as follows: spindle, paws, side rods, anchor bracket.

In the Matrosov system, the wide swivel paws are almost close to the spindle and are so close to each other that during burrowing into the ground they begin to work like one big paw. The area of ​​each of them is larger than in other anchor structures. Together with the paws, a stem with lateral tides is cast. The rod is displaced upwards with respect to the axis of rotation of the spindle. Its task is to protect the anchor from capsizing and increase the holding force, plunging into the ground along with the paws.

The advantages of the design are stability when dragging on the ground, a large holding force even on soft sandy-silty soils and in stones, relatively low weight and ease of retraction into the hawse during harvesting. When the ship turns 360 0, it keeps confidently.

The design also has its drawbacks. On dense ground at the initial stage of deepening, the anchor is unstable. If the paws are twisted out of the ground, they do not enter the ground again, and the anchor continues to crawl. The space between the paws at the spindle is so narrow that it is often clogged with soil - this does not allow the paws to deviate freely.

Production

The Matrosov anchor is available in two versions:

• welded (welded paw)
• cast full-weight (cast paw)

The technical standard for the Matrosov anchor is GOST 8497-78. It is used for anchors that are used on surface ships, ships and inland watercraft.

Specifications and parameters are determined by the mass (weight of the anchor)

Welded anchor

Matrosov's welded anchor is made of stainless steel or steel with an anodized or paint coating weighing from 5 to 35 kg.

Anchors covered with paint require additional care (derusting and painting), as the paint is quickly peeled off by the ground. The anodic coating is more resistant, but is also subject to physical impact when in contact with the ground. The most persistent of welded structures- anchors welded from stainless steel.

cast anchor

Cast Matrosov anchors are made in weight from 25 to 1500 kg.

They are usually cast from cast iron and coated with anodic coating or paint.

Anchor Matrosov cast in a prototype version was successfully tested on sea fishing vessels in operational conditions. Its advantages over the Hall anchor were indisputable.

And which one is better?

Given the wide variety of ship anchors, it is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of which design is better.

However, numerous tests to determine the magnitude of the holding force on various types of soil have shown that the Matrosov anchor is 4 times greater than the Admiralty and Hall anchors with equal mass.

The anchor is effective for use on inland navigation vessels, river vessels, boats and yachts. On ships, its use as an auxiliary is practiced.

All people have repeatedly seen the image of the main marine symbol - the anchor. It is present on chevrons, caps, belts, shoulder straps of sailors of all countries and nations, on the emblems of many cities and some states. And most of us at least once saw it with our own eyes, on ships or in museums. The anchor is one of the elements of any ship, the longest remaining in salty sea water, even after the death of the ship. It is anchors that are most often found at the site of ancient shipwrecks, which allows scientists to attribute them to a certain era and classify them. After all, such an important and well-preserved item as ship cannons was introduced into use only in the fourteenth century, and ships plied the seas long before the advent of artillery.

And how often have you had to wonder why this device looks the way it does, and most importantly, how does it hold such a huge ship on which it is used? I'm sure not everyone can answer this question. Let's try to figure it out together.

The first anchors were ordinary stone, which was tied with a braided rope, rarely making holes in them. In the process of evolution of navigation and humanity as a whole, all kinds of devices began to be attached to the stones, often from the horns and bones of animals, allowing them to cling to the bottom soil. Before the anchor was purchased modern form He had to undergo many changes. In the classical sense, today's anchor appears to us in the form as it is depicted on the cockades of naval officers. This type of anchor was called "Admiralty". It consists of a spindle (central base rod), the curved elements at the bottom are called horns, and on the opposite side of the horns, a stem is located perpendicularly. This rod allows the anchor to turn in the right direction when hitting the bottom and allows the horns to dig into the ground with their paws. The anchor is immersed vertically with the horns down, after which, leaning on the rod, it turns under the action of the anchor chain or rope, and is pierced by one of the horns. Modern anchors have dozens of types, sometimes having a completely different look, and not two horns at all, but up to six pieces. At the same time, the horns are not necessarily located according to the “cat” principle, but often on one side, which is due to the design feature.

By the way, cat anchors with four horns curved upwards, which we used to consider a ninja tool for climbing walls, are precisely anchors of light weight. The idea to use them as such a device, as well as for coupling ships during boarding battles, arose later, already in the process of operation. Initially, such an anchor was adapted for boats and small boats. Modern anchors of this type have a small mass and are very loved by fishermen. They are used not only for their intended purpose, but also to search for recessed gear, trawl the day. The horns are often made foldable, or bendable, so that when maximum force is applied, they are released from the hook without forcing the anchor line to be cut. Then just straighten the bent horn.

But it's not just traction that keeps the ship in place. After all, there are huge warships, tourist cruise liners, which cannot be kept in place by one thrust of the anchor into the ground. Their anchors are impressive monsters, sometimes weighing up to 35 tons, and there are usually several such devices for each vessel. The force that must be applied to the anchor at the moment of separation from the bottom, when its spindle is horizontal, is called the holding force. The holding force coefficient is the difference between the weight of the anchor itself and the force required to lift it off the bottom. Taking this coefficient into account, a comparison is made of the types of anchor devices and their purpose for different conditions of use and different soils. Indeed, in addition to the bottom, the anchorage of the ship is due to many external factors, as the strength and direction of the wind, sea currents, waves, location relative to the coast, the presence of a bay. The holding force of any anchor is additionally affected by the weight of that section of the chain or cable, which is located directly on the ground. And this weight is often more than the anchor itself. Usually the length of this section can be from 20 to 75 meters. Although both the chain and the anchor still do not even make up a tenth of the mass of the ship.

The Admiralty type anchor described above had a very impressive coefficient and was popular until the middle of the 19th century. But for all positive qualities due to the transverse rod, it could not fit compactly in the ship's hull. He was soon replaced by the Hall anchor, which had two swivel legs on one side and the technical ability to pierce them into the ground at the same time, provided that the anchor was released right on the move. It had the worst anchoring performance, but was much more compact and more comfortable in every way. Subsequently, this anchor ceased to be standard, but many subsequent improved products were based on its design. For example, very popular, especially in the river fleet, Matrosov's anchor, which has a similar appearance, but exceeding the holding force of the classic Admiralty anchor of equal weight by four and a half times. He is able to keep the ship even in conditions of powerful currents and soft soils.

The article is accompanied by a selection of photographic materials with different types of anchors and a diagram of a classic anchor.

M.

Anchor(from Germanic, OE ankari "anchor", OE akkeri from Latin ansora from Greek agkyra) is cast, forged or welded

a structure used to hold a watercraft in place by gripping it with the underwater soil. The effectiveness of the anchor is estimated by the holding force coefficient - the ratio of the holding force to the weight of the anchor.

The size of the anchor for warships is determined by the area of ​​the midsection of the ship (one quarter of the submerged part of the area of ​​the midship frame in feet, according to the Russian Admiralty rule, is equal to the weight of the anchor in pounds).

The history of the appearance of the anchor

An anchor appeared in the form in which we imagine it back in the distant Vst. about AD Pliny attributes the invention of the anchor to the Greek Eulampius, while others say that King Midas invented it.

In ancient times, anchors were made of wood. The wooden body of the anchor - the spindle was inserted into the middle of the wooden cross - the rod, along the entire length of which a hole passed, it was burned out with red-hot metal and filled with lead.

Sometimes an iron horn was made at the end of the rod, also filled with lead. Later, (possibly by Pliny or the philosopher Anacharsis) a second anchored horn and triangular arrow-shaped overlays on the horns - paws were introduced.

The rod was needed so that the anchor horns did not lie too horizontally on the bottom.

The Romans made it from an alloy of lead and antimony and then fixed it on a spindle with two rectangular holes. Such an anchor was found in Lake Nemi. Now many copies of similar stocks are known. It is assumed that anchors of a similar type were used for quite a long time.

With the development of iron smelting technology, the anchor began to be made of iron, although the rods could also be metal or wooden. At both ends of the spindle, these anchors had an eye. The purpose of the lower eyelet has not yet been found, it is believed that it served to fasten the anchor at the side. An anchor was found on Lake Nemi, which was completely made of iron and its stem was movable, as on later Admiralty anchors.

Anchor layout

Anchor development

In the Middle Ages, only iron anchors were made, which had wooden rods. Looking at the images on the miniatures of old manuscripts, coins, seals and paintings, we can confidently say that almost until the 18th century. the shape of the anchors did not change at all. There were only minor changes in the technique of their manufacture. In the XIV century. a four-horned anchor appears, which, however, was not very suitable for large ships. Such anchors were used mainly on galleys.

The spindle was made from several iron rods (or strips) that were welded together. According to the standard, four rods went to the core of the spindle, to which thinner ones were added to achieve the required thickness. After forging, the spindle section acquired an almost rectangular shape with rounded edges. The top of the spindle, equal to 1/16 of its length, had a square section. This part - the sheima - served to secure the stock, so it had protrusions on both sides - shoulders - or nuts on which the stock lay. There was a hole in the sheim - an ear through which the eye was passed. The paws at the anchor had the shape of an isosceles triangle: the sides were approximately 1/3 longer than the base. The stem was made of two oak bars, which were put on the collar and fastened with four or six iron yokes placed on the bars in a hot state.

There were anchors with curved horns, which were used mainly on merchant ships, but the most common were anchors with straight horns. They were in service with military courts until 1820. Later, they were abandoned due to frequent ship accidents that occurred during their use. By the beginning of the XIX century. are the first studies that led to significant changes in the design of traditional anchors. The most important of these were the appearance of a movable stem, then rotary horns, and the rejection of the stem. In addition, they began to use steel casting for the manufacture of anchors. In 1830, Lieutenant of the English Navy Roger, after many years of research and experience, proposed a new design of the anchor, which began to be called after him. The Roger anchor, which was used until recently, can be distinguished from others by the presence of an iron rod with a square hole in the middle. With this hole, the rod was put on the spindle collar and then cottered.

In order to remove the stem, it was necessary to remove the eye, so later it was replaced with a bracket. The stem could also be wooden.

Types of anchors by design

According to the design of the anchors, they differ into anchors with fixed and swivel paws, according to the method of fastening on the vessel after the removal of the vessel from the anchor - into falling (with rods) and retractable.

Types of anchors by purpose

Standing - placed in the nose to keep equipment in the parking lot.

Auxiliary - placed in the stern to prevent the ship from turning around while it is at anchor.

Dead - for long-term parking in one place, it is most often used on drilling ships, lighthouses, buoys. Dead anchors are often set by specialized vessels, and when unanchored, they are simply abandoned. In turn, dead anchors are directed and circular, the latter are much heavier.

Imports - to hold specialized watercraft like dredgers. The anchor is installed by a special vessel (bringing in), often on a non-navigable strand, so a good holding force with a small mass is required. Often deliveries are made one-horned. The deliveries include papillon anchors designed for reliable retention in a wide sector.

Ship anchors - designed to hold watercraft in the parking lot in open water. Depending on the displacement, the characteristics of the soil in the parking lot and a number of other factors, various types of ship anchors must be used.

A mushroom anchor is a mushroom or umbrella-shaped anchor that has been used since 1850 for anchoring lighthouses, buoys and others.

Types of ancient anchors

Probably the earliest and simplest type of anchor was, of course, a stone with a rope tied to it. This type of anchor is still used on small fishing boats, boats and yachts, especially where the bottom is flat, rocky and the anchor with paws is completely useless, and then any heavy object can also play the role of a stone.

Malay anchor

Appeared approximately on the border of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. e. in the South China Sea region. It was made of solid wood and individual parts were tied with a rope. At the top of the spindle, a load was tied (a stone that was specially customized). The transverse rod was at the bottom and it had only one horn.

Chinese two-horned anchor

Appeared around the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. It was made of fairly durable wood that was forged with iron. The stem was located at the bottom.

Roman ship anchor

Appeared at the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. in the Mediterranean. According to the principle of action, it is similar to the Admiralty anchor. It was forged from iron or cast from bronze. In the upper part, under the bracket for the rope at the anchor, there was a wooden stock. There were also wooden anchors of a similar principle, with a heavy lead rod, which was required to flood the anchor rope. This anchor was highly valued; various sacred inscriptions were even applied to it.

Types of modern anchors

Admiralty anchor - Anchors similar to the Admiralty anchor existed before our era. However, the name "Admiralty" anchor was given in the 1820s, after the British Admiralty tested anchors of different devices and different forging technologies. It is a heavy forged steel anchor, with a steel bail at the top and a wooden stem above it. Until about 1700, the stock consisted of a single piece of wood, and later it began to be made, as a rule, from two wooden blocks connected by steel strips. The rod was inserted into the hole at the top of the spindle or covered it from the outside, like a Roman anchor.

The main advantage of the Admiralty anchor is a strong stable hold. But there are also many disadvantages. This is a very bulky structure, which, being suspended at the side, is dangerous both for the ship itself and for those passing nearby. So the anchor has to be rolled over the side, and for compactness, remove the stock. When the direction of the wind / current changes, the chain can wrap around the leg, and the anchor breaks.

Hall Anchor - Anchor with paws that turn on an axis. This is the optimal anchor on sandy soils, which is currently the most common (2008), although it is increasingly being replaced by newer and more advanced designs.

Anchor Denni (eng. Denni`s anchor) - used in US Navy. Unlike anchors of other types, its spindle rests with a thickened end against the paws, thanks to which the reliability of the anchor does not depend on the strength of the connecting bolt, and in the event of a breakdown of the latter, the reliability of holding the anchor does not decrease.

Anchor Inglefield (eng. Inglefield`s anchor) - is used as a dead anchor and werp in the German fleet. It consists of a tetrahedral spindle with two brackets, two paws fastened to the spindle with a through bolt, an insert and an anchor bracket. A cat is laid in the brackets on the spindle when lifting. The liner forces the tines to go deeper into the ground and limits their angle of rotation. For the reliability of the action, the anchor must be released on the move.

Anchor Marrel (eng. Marrel`s anchor) - used in the French fleet. In its design, it is very similar to the Inglefield anchor. The paws of the anchor are individually made and fastened with a thick bolt passed through the lower thickened part of the spindle. There are special tides for picking up paws.

Martin's anchor (eng. Martin "s anchor) - an anchor with a stem, a tetrahedral spindle with a thickening at the bottom, where paws made of one piece pass. Paws thanks to their cylindrical shape can freely rotate in the thickened part of the spindle. The bolt that fastens the paws to the spindle has a special hole - a groove, which limits the rotation. In the Martin anchor of the new design, the paws have a special box. When the anchor falls to the bottom, the lower edge of the box lies on the ground and, when the anchor crawls under the tension of the anchor chain, it makes the paws turn around.

Anchor Rogers

Rogers anchor (eng. Roger "s anchor) - an Admiralty-type anchor with small pointed paws and large horns. The rod is made of strip iron with butts at the ends that serve to clean the anchor. The trend has a through hole for the buoyrep. The Rogers anchor holds well in hard ground, but in soft ground its holding power is very small.

Sykes anchor is an anchor used primarily in the UK. Instead of a bolt, the Sykes anchor has a hinge that allows the paws to move in any direction.

Smith's anchor (eng. Smith "s anchor) - an anchor without a stem used in the English fleet. The spindle of the Smith anchor is made along with the trend. The paws of the Smith anchor are attached to the ends of a through bolt freely rotating in the trend. The angle of rotation of the paws is limited by the tides abutting the trend .

The Danforth anchor works on the principle of the Hall Anchor, but has a different design. The difference is that on this anchor - the trend has a stock. It prevents the anchor from tipping over on its side when falling on the ground, being a stabilizer.

Matrosov's anchor differs from the previous one in that it has a stock on the lower parts of the paws.

Mushroom Anchor - The mushroom-shaped, or umbrella-shaped, anchor began to be used from 1850, mainly for long-term and durable anchoring of lightships and other ships of this kind.

Anchor-cat - used for small vessels, the preferred is a folding anchor-cat, which on large vessels can only be considered as an auxiliary due to the small holding force. Folding cat vanes minimize its transport dimensions, which is especially welcome on small inflatable boats. Anchor-cat is suitable for use on almost any soil. AT trading network anchors are offered with a weight of 1.5 to 12 kg with a resolution of 0.5 kg. For small boats with a displacement of 200-400 kg, an anchor-cat weighing 4-5 kg ​​is enough.

The inventor of the most famous plow anchor was the Englishman Taylor, who called it "CQR", which is pronounced like the English word "secure" - safe or reliable.

The anchor allows you to keep the ship in a certain position, counteracting external forces on the high seas, such as wind, sea waves, currents, etc. Basically, ships are at anchor when they are in the roadstead and waiting to enter the harbor, as well as in emergency situations when, for example, the ship is in danger of running aground. The anchor device includes: anchor, anchor chain and anchor capstan, or anchor winch. The figure below shows the different types of anchors.

Anchor types

a, b - rod-anchor; c - Trotman's anchor; d - Hall anchor; e - Gruson's anchor; f - anchor Speck; g - clipper anchor with a stem and swivel legs (Martin's anchor); h - mushroom-shaped "dead" anchor; i - drek, cat, vert; j - floating anchor; t - folding rod; 2 - fixed rod; 3 - buoy; 4 - spruyte; 5 - anchor cable; 6 - sorlin.

The first three types belong to the group of so-called rod anchors (rod anchors). They were used on ships in the 19th century. Currently, they can be found, for example, on sports and sailing training ships. On modern ships and warships, anchors of a patented system are installed (Fig. d-g). They do not have a stem, and their paws can turn in both directions. Shown in fig. h the anchor is used for long-term parking of the vessel (for example, on fire-fighting ships, etc.). Shown in fig. i the anchor is used on small vessels. On fig. j shows the so-called floating anchor. It is a canvas device that provides great resistance in water. The anchor is thrown from the bow of the ship when the ship (for example, due to engine damage) loses its maneuverability or when it should be bow to the wave and wind. Cable 5 connects the floating anchor to the vessel, and cable 6 serves to select the floating anchor. The figure below shows the stages of anchoring (recoil) and raising the anchor.

Anchoring and disembarking

a - the anchor slides on the ground; b - the anchor is engaged; c - the anchor is buried; d - the anchor chain is stretched; e - the anchor chain pulls the anchor out of the ground; f - anchor rises

When recoiling, the anchor falls to the bottom (fig. a) and is towed by a moving vessel (fig. b). At the same time, due to the action of the rod (rod-anchor) or due to its shape (anchor of the patented system), the anchor turns its paws to the seabed. If it is towed further, then its paws dig into the ground and the anchor "hooks" (Fig. c). When lifting the anchor, the anchor chain is first selected (fig. d), which gradually assumes a vertical position (fig. e). At this point, the anchor breaks off the ground, and the anchor chain is under heavy load. After the anchor is lifted from the ground, they begin to select it with an anchor winch until it is in the anchor hawse. The anchor chain connects the anchor submerged to the seabed with the ship, so it must absorb all external forces (wind pressure, wave impacts, etc.) acting on the ship. The length of the chain depends on the type and length of the boat. It is much greater than the depth of the sea at the anchorage, since the chain must connect the ship to the anchor in such a way that the force acting on the anchor has a horizontal direction. Thanks to this, the paws of the anchor are buried in the ground.

anchor chain

a - anchor chain bow (with anchor bracket); b - intermediate bow; c - root bow; d - swivel; e - long link; f - big link; g - ordinary link; h - link with spacer; i - end bracket.

Anchor chain consists of individual links; several interconnected links form a link. Separate bows are connected using connecting links. Anchor and anchor chain are connected to each other by an anchor bracket with a swivel, which allows the chain to rotate around its axis. The chain passes through a recess in the board at the anchor hawse, through a stopper that prevents the chain from spontaneously ejecting, and is wound on the chain sprocket of the anchor winch. The other end of the anchor chain is located in the chain box and is attached to the vessel with a shackle.

Bow anchor device

1 - anchor winch (windlass); 2 - stopper for anchor chain; 3 - pipe anchor hawse; 4 - anchor; 5 - anchor niche; 6 - chain box; 7 - device for attaching the anchor chain; 8 - chain pipe.

The anchor device is usually located in the bow of the vessel. An anchor winch is also installed there. The main part of the winch is a chain sprocket, which allows lifting the anchor with a chain, and when winding, the chain links can lie on the chain sprocket on both sides. In addition to the chain sprocket, the anchor winch also has mooring drums (turchki) for winding mooring lines. On older types of ships, anchor winches had a steam drive. Now electric or hydraulic drives are used. The bow anchor device includes two anchors located on the sides of the vessel. On some ships, stern anchor devices with one or two anchors are also mounted. Due to the limited area for placement, an anchor capstan is mainly used as an anchor winch. It is a drum towering above the deck with a vertical axis of rotation. The drum serving as a winch has a chain sprocket at the bottom. It is driven by an electric motor mounted in a drum or below the deck of the ship.