CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON ANCHORS
Year: 1828

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
RODGER, of Norfolk Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Lieutenant in
the Royal Navy, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth
did, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of March, in the ninth year of His
reign, give and grant unto me, the said William Rodger, His especial licence,
that I, the said William Rodger, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said William Rodger, my exors, admors, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON ANCHORS;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that I, the said William Rodger,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Rodger, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawing hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say):-

page_text: My said Invention of "Certain Improvements on Anchors" consists in part
in a new method or methods of constructing them by particular combinations
of wood and iron, some of which are shewn in the different Figures of the
Drawing, which as aforesaid is annexed to this Specification, and in which
Figure 1 is a side view of one of my improved anchors; Figure 2, a top view
or plan thereof; Figure 3, a front view of the anchor stock; and Figure 4, a
back view of the crown and fluke of the anchor; in all of which Figures, as
well as in the others, the same letters of reference indicate the similar parts.
A, A, is the top plate of iron, and B, B, the bottom one, which is made
stronger than the bar A, A, and which constitute a chief part of the shank of
the anchor. These plates A and B are thickened at the front ends, and united
by welding them together, as shewn at C, in Figures 1 and 5; their back ends
are then connected or welded to the sides D, D, of the arm or fluke E;
there are also corresponding holes F, F, &c., made through both of the plates
A and B, to receive bolts or pins, by which they are connected together in the
manner to be described hereafter. Holes G, G, are made through the sides of
the arin or fluke, as shewn in Figures 6 and 7, for a bolt H to pass through,
as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4; the plates A and B are thickened or
strengthened towards the throat or crown of the anchor, in order that the sides
of the arm or fluke may be welded to them more firmly, and they are further
secured by the bolt H; the palm I, which forms the extremity of the fluke, is
welded to the sides D, D, of the arm, as shewn in Figures 4 and 7; a hole
J is made through the front end of the shank, which is thickened on its
upper side for that purpose, and as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 5, and 8, through
which hole is passed the bolt of a shackle K, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2;
in the sides of the plates A and B, gaps or notches are made, as shewn
in Figure 8, which receive into them the sides of a staple L shewn in
Figure 9, and which is secured in its place by means of a pin passed through
holes made in the sides of the staple, as shewn in Figures 1, 5, and 9.
The use of the staple is to perform the office of the nut commonly formed
upon the shanks of anchors for securing the stock in its place thereon.
Between the plates A and B of the shank of the anchor I introduce a centre
piece M, M, formed of any fit and proper kind of wood, such, for instance, as
African or English oak, saul or teak, as shown in Figures 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11,
and through which centre piece I make holes corresponding with the holes
F, F, &c. formed in the plates A and B before described, for pins or bolts to
pass through, and which said pins or bolts are to be firmly rivetted on one end
of each into countersunk holes formed in one of the plates to receive them,
the opposite ends of the bolts having projecting heads made upon them, or

page_text: they may be connected together in any other fit and proper manner. I can
also surround the said pins or bolts with iron bushes, tubes, or sockets, such as
shewn at N, N, in Figure 12, and which will prevent the plates A and B from
approaching each other in case of the wood becoming decayed or injured
by worms or other causes; and in order to prevent as much as may be the
said injury, I can also coat the sides of the said wood with sheets of iron, or
protect them with filling nails, as is frequently done in the case of piles or
other woodwork under water. I can also introduce. iron pius or dowels O, O,
Figures 1 and 13, at intervals between the said pins or sockets, as a substitute
for the above bushes. The anchor stock P, P, Figures, 1, 2, 3, 14, and 15,
instead of being formed of two pieces of wood as usual, consists of one main
piece of wood Q, Q, Figures 1, 2, 3, 14, and 15, and of a broad flat iron plate
R, R, shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, 14, and 16, united to the main piece of
wood Q, Q, by the iron bolts S, S, &c., and the iron bands or loops T, T, T, T,
the latter of which are shewn in Figure 2, and the former in Figures 2 and 3;
the bolts S, S, &c. have countersunk heads corresponding with the countersunk
holes formed in the iron plate R, R, as shewn in Figure 3, and their other
ends are secured either by being rivetted into holes formed in iron collects,
clinch rings or washers, or by being screwed and having screwed nuts bound
upon them. There is also required another piece of wood U, U, shewn in
Figures 1, 14, and 16, and which I term a filling piece, to occupy the angular
gap left between the edge of the iron plate R, R, and the back edge of the
main piece Q, Q, of the stock, as shewn in the sections of the stock in Figures
1 and 14. Besides the staple L affixed upon the shank of the anchor in the
manner before described, in order to secure the stock in its place, I likewis
form a shoulder or stop V, shewn in Figures 1 and 5, upon the under side of
the iron plate B, for the still better security of the stock, and against which
stop the iron plate of the stock R, R, is lodged; the front of the anchor stock
and the iron plate is bevelled or sloped in such a manner as to give the stock
a tendency to bury itself deeper in soft ground than it otherwise would do
were it formed in the usual manner; this bevel is shewn in the sections of the
stock, Figures 14 and 15, at W, W, and which said sections are taken at the
parts of the stock indicated by the dotted lines X, X, in Figure 2; the middle part
of the stock is however left square, as shewn by the section of it in Figure 1.
for the sake of giving more strength to that part. I likewise, for the same reason,
weld a thin iron plate Y, shewn in plan in Figure 17, and edgeways in Figure 18,
upon each sile of the front end of the shank of the anchor, as shewn by dotted.
lines at Y, in Figures 1 and 5, and which leave between them a recess into
which the front end of the centre piece of wood M, M, is received; in case of

page_text: a hempen cable being used with this anchor, I have provided a ring Z,
Figures 1 and 2, to receive it, and which, with two or more links, is to be
joined to the shackle K by another shackle of suitable dimensions, as shown in
Figures 1 and 2. A chain cable may be attached to the shackle K in the
usual manner, as it is made large enough for that purpose; and also to receive
the cathead stopper an eye bolt a, Figures 1, 2, and 4, is passed through the
iron plate A, A, and the wooden centre piece M, M, near to the crown, and
secured in a proper manner, to which the chain of the buoy rope is attached
by means of a shackle. There is also provided a shackle b, Figures 4 and 7,
affixed to the heel of the palm of the anchor, to which may be attached a chain
for fishing the anchor, and which chain may be designated a fish pendant;
this chain passes over either of the projecting heads of the bolt II, and along
the shank over the stock, and is fastened around the shank at the front
end thereof. Near to the extremity of this chain there is a ring affixed, to
which the fish tackle is to be hooked in fishing the anchor, at which time
another smaller chain, which is also affixed to the said ring, and which has
been wound, tied, or fastened around the front end of the shank, is to be
unloused or cast off, when the fish pendant takes another direction, and will
bring up the fluke of the anchor as usual. The bolt H, which passes through
the crown of the anchor, has affixed upon each end of it a perforated circular
piece of wood hooped around, and upon the extreme rounded ends of which
an iron cupped washer is placed, and one end of the bolt having a counter-
sunk head formed upon it which fits into the countersunk hole of one of the
washers; the other end is to be rivetted into a countersunk hole made in the
other washer to receive it; the intent of cupping these washers is to prevent
the outer ends of the two circular pieces of wood from splitting.
Figure 19 is a side view, and Figure 20 a plan, of another method of
forming an anchor similar to that already described, with this difference
however, that the plates A, A, and B, E, instead of being placed upon
the top and bottom of the shank, are laid upon the sides of it, and are
both of an equal thickness. I, however, prefer the former method of
constructing the anchor as possessing more strength than this latter one.
Figure 21 is a side view, and Figure 22 a plan; of an anchor formed nearly
in the shape of the common anchor, with two flukes, but combined in the
manner already described, excepting in those variations which are necessary.
to adapt them to the double fluked anchor; Figure 21 shews that the plates
A, A, &c. previous to being welded together at the ring end of the shank of
the anchor, are bent into the shape shewn in that Figure, in order to form the
arms or flukes, and they are strengthened or supported by the curved piece of

page_text: iron c, c, shewn separately in Figure 23, which is welded to them at the
extremities of the arms or flukes, and as far upwards as possible, and the
middle parts are connected together by iron pins, which are passed through
holes made in them, and rivetted, as is shewn in Figure 21. The palms of
the flukes are welded at their heels and points to the plates A, A, &c., as
shewn in Figure 24. Before the plates are bent and connected together ready
for welding, the wooden part M, M, of the shank of this anchor is introduced
between the plates A, A, &c., and secured by means of iron pins rivetted
through the whole in the manner already described, and further secured by
means of an iron strap d, d, d, shewn in Figures 21, 22, and 25, which is
lodged in a gap e made at the crown of the anchor, shewn in Figure 23, and
is afterwards secured by iron pins rivetted through it, and the wood on the
shank, and which said pins, as well as those securing the side plates A, A, &c.
to the beam of wood or centre piece M, M, may be surrounded with iron
bushes, tubes, or sockets, in the manner before described. Two wooden
filling pieces f,f, are also lodged and secured within the angular gaps left on
each side of the main piece of the wood M, M, at the throat of the anchor, to
fill up those gaps, as shewn in Figure 21; the form of the curved piece of iron
c, c, at the dotted line in Figure 23, is shewn in the cross section thereof,
which is annexed to that said Figure instead of the staple L, Figure 9, which
forms a substitute for the nut usually welded to the square of the shank of
the common anchor to secure the stock in its place, as before described.
I here employ the hoop g, shewn in Figures 21 and 22, and separately in
Figure 26, and which is also firmly secured by means of a pin or bolt passed
through it and the wood and rivetted. This double fluked anchor may be
stocked as usual. I do not mean or intend hereby to claim as my Invention
the forming of anchors with one fluke only, such having been already in use,
although differently formed from mine, as herein shewn.
But I do hereby
claim as my Invention, and the object of this my said Patent, the combining
of iron and wood in the formation of anchor shanks in general, and the
particular modification of form necessary to ensure the fluke of this single or
one fluked anchor always falling in the proper position to take hold, namely,
that it should be always downwards; this is effected by raising the point of
suspension to which the shackle K is affixed, so as to place the line of
traction as much as possible above the centre of gravity. I also claim the
clongation of the shauk of the anchor beyond the point of junction of the
arm commonly termed the crown of the anchor, and which causes the fluko
of the anchor to turn in the direction that the ship is drifting at the time that
the anchor reaches the ground or bottom. I also claim the combination of

page_text: wood and iron to form the stocks of one-fluked anchors, and the particular
shape or form given to the front side of the stock, which is bevelled or sloped
so as to cause it to penetrate as deep as possible into the ground, and which
tendency is further increased by the angular shape given to the front end of
the shank, and by the line of traction being so much more elevated than in
the common anchors; I also claim the method of forming the shank, and
those parts of the arms of double-fluked anchors to which the palms are con-
nected, by welding of one entire piece of iron, as shewn in Figure 21, and also
the method of strengthening the crown and throat thereof by means of the
iron strap d, d, d, as shewn in Figures 21 and 22. I also hereby claim the
application of one or more iron hoops or bands to be placed and secured upon
such parts of the shanks of both single fluked and double fluked anchors,
made upon either of the several methods herein described, as may most
conduce to the further strengthening thereof, and particularly by placing
them near to the throat and trend of the anchors.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Rodger, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight.