ANCHORSAnchors can be defined by their stowage locationsaboard ship or by their type of construction. Boweranchors are carried on the bow and are secured (housed)in the hawsepipes. Stern anchors are carried on the stern.On landing ships and craft, stern anchors are secured tothe stern and are used to help pull away from beaches.The most common types of anchors used aboardship are the stockless and the lightweight (orstock-in-crown) anchors. The two anchors shown infigure 7-2 are of Navy design. The stockless types areused chiefly as bow anchors (bowers) on most Navyships. Originally, the lightweight types were used onlyon small boats and as stern anchors of landing ships andcraft. However, recently they are carried as bowers forseveral types of vessels.ANCHOR CHAINModern Navy anchor chain consists of studded linksof high strength steel. (Studs are crosspieces of metalforged or welded in the center of the links to prevent thechain from kinking.) Chains are made up of 15-fathom(90-foot) sections called standard shots. The number ofshots per chain depends on the size of the ship. Shots aresecured together by detachable links that can be readilydisassembled whenever it is desirable to break the chain.STOWING CHAINAs the chain comes aboard, it passes along the deckon metal flash plates, over the wildcat, and down into thechain locker. Each chain goes into a bin called a chainlocker, as shown in figure 7-1. Its bitter end is secured to aring bolt on the bulkhead of the chain locker.ANCHOR WINDLASSESThe Navy uses two types of anchor windlasses forlifting the ship’s anchor—the vertical shaft type and thehorizontal shaft type (fig. 7-3). The vertical shaft type isused on most combatant ships. The horizontal shaft typeis used on amphibious and auxiliary ships. Both typesare equipped with wildcats, which engage the links ofthe anchor chain. The wildcat may be disengaged whenit is desired to use the capstan (vertical type) or thegypsy heads (horizontal type) for handling lines or wire.7-2Student Notes:Figure 7-1.—Typical ground tackle and chain stowage.Figure 7-2.—Anchors.Figure 7-3.—Horizontal shaft anchor windlass.
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