CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ANCHORS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR FISHING SUCH IMPROVED ANCHORS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY RESPECTIVELY BE ADAPTED TO ANCHORS NOW IN COMMON USE
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
MEGGITT, of the Town of Kingston-upon-Hull, Master Mariner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Second day of July, in the seventh year of His
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Samuel Meggitt, His especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Samuel Meggitt, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Samuel Meggitt, my executors, administrators,
or 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, and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ANCHORS, AND
IN APPARATUS FOR FISHING SUCH IMPROVED ANCHORS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY
RESPECTIVELY BE ADAPTED TO ANCHORS NOW IN COMMON USE;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Samuel Meggitt,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the

page_text: 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
Samuel Meggitt, 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 following description thereof, (reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My improvements in anchors are designed, firstly, to cause the anchors to
take hold of the ground with greater facility than anchors of the ordinary
construction; secondly, to cause them to penetrate deeper into any sort of
ground or bottom; thirdly, to afford greater strength in the holding position;
and, fourthly, to lessen the risk of breaking either in riding or weighing.
And my improved apparatus for fishing such anchors have for their object
a more ready means of taking hold of the anchor than by the old fishing
hook.
These improvements are represented in the accompanying Drawings, and
the same parts of the anchor and its appendages are referred to by similar
letters in all the Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 represent what may be denominated elevations of the
improved anchor in two positions; Figure 3 is a view of the arms of the
anchor looking down upon the crown, the shank being in section; Figure 4
represents the under side of the same.
The points or ends of the arms a, a,
instead of being furnished with broad flukes or palms as usual, are made
narrow, and the breadth of the fluke is transferred by means of an angular
piece to the crown. By means of this construction the point of the anchor
is enabled more readily to take the ground, and also to penetrate deeper than
the points of anchors of the ordinary kind; and the increased breadth at the
crown, caused by the addition of the angular piece b, affords much greater
strength and resistance against the draught of the cable, with less leverage,
and consequently with less risk of breaking. Another advantage arising from
this construction of anchor is, that it is scarcely possible for the cable to
become foul of the arm, as in the event of the cable coming in contact with
the arm or being twisted round it, it would necessarily slip off the narrow
point at the end of the arm and thereby disengage itself.
The apparatus for fishing the anchor is best seen in Figures I and 4. It
consists of a bar c, c, placed at the under part of the crown; this bar may
be attached to the arms in any convenient manner, I prefer connecting it by
links d, d, as shewn, because by that means the bar will be allowed a

page_text: small degree of lateral action. To this bar c the fishing chain 6 is attached,
and the end of it being connected by a line to the ring of the anchor is
readily taken hold of by the seaman, who passes the stopper of the anchor to
the cathead, and therefore renders a fishing hook unnecessary. This chain e
is attached by a loose ring to the bar c, which enables it to slide along
the bar. The delay and inconvenience that frequently occur in fishing the
anchor in a rough sea, and particularly on dark nights, is by means of this
apparatus effectually avoided, as may be seen by Figure 5, which represents a
part of the head and bows of a vessel with two anchors.
A represents the anchor above described, with its fishing apparatus drawn up
after being weighed in the ordinary way, and ready to be fished; B represents
another anchor in the act of fishing, having the same construction of fishing
apparatus. The seaman having drawn up the fishing chain e by the line attached
to it, and having affixed it by one of the links or rings to the tackle f. the
anchor is raised on the bows, and is easily slipped off again when required, there
being no palms to obstruct it.
I sometimes adapt my improvements to an anchor, the shank of which is
separated into two parts and opened upwards at a considerable angle, the
ends of the shank being in that case united to the ends of the stock, as shewn
at Figure 6. This construction of anchor will effectually prevent the
possibility of the cable fouling round the stock. It is unnecessary for me to
expatiate upon all the advantages which my improved construction of anchors
and fishing apparatus possess over the ordinary kinds of anchors, but I will
observe that these improvements may be readily adapted to anchors of all
sizes of the old construction.
Lastly, I desire it to be understood that the particular features of improve-
ment which I claim under the above recited Letters Patent are,-
Firstly, an enlarged part 6 at the crown of the anchor, for the purpose of
giving strength to the arms, and causing them to penetrate and hold
more firmly in the ground, instead of the broad flukes or palms usually
employed.
And, secondly, the bar c, or any variation of or substitute for it, by means
of which a sliding chain or line may be adapted to the under part of the arms
for the purpose of what is technically called fishing the anchor.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Meggitt, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.
SAMUEL MEGGITT. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of December,
in the seventh year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth,
the said Samuel Meggitt came before our said Lord the King in Ilis
Chancery, and acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every
thing therein contained and specified, in form above written. And also the
instrument aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made
in the fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the
Inrolled the Second day of January, One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-seven.