With the Soleil Royal come 4 anchors, two are lashed to anchor ropes connected to capstans. The other two are lashed to the first shroud. My questions are:This matter is discussed at some length in the chapter on Management of the Ship at Anchor in Seamanship in the Age of Sail.
- Was this second pair of anchors connected to a set of anchor ropes/capstans when underway, just when inport or only when they were using this second pair of anchors ?
- Through which hawse hole were ropes fed ? In other words which anchor rope went through which hawse hole.
It depends a bit on period, but later on, the four anchors referred to were of
equal size and weight. The system for naming them is a bit fuzzy, but the
primary anchors were the First and Second Bowers, (Large and Small Bowers)
which were stowed just abaft the catheads. These would have had cables clinched
to their rings, and these would have led through the forward (inboard)
hawse-holes, and then down the main hatch. The other two anchors were the Sheet
Anchors, or perhaps the Sheet and the Reserve anchor. In the usual way, the
sheet anchor would have been stowed on the channels to starboard, perhaps
fitted with a tumbler to facilitate pitching it away from the ship's side in
the event it was let go. From the early 1800's on, a length of cable or chain
(a "ganger") was secured to this, secured at intervals to the ship's side, and
led through the outboard hawse-hole. It was not necessarily secured to a cable,
but arranging things in this way, allowed a cable to be brought to the ganger
if necessary. The reasons for designating the port bower anchor the 'working'
or (Taglich) and stowing the sheet anchor to starboard are explained in the
book cited.
{John H Harlan}
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