New or Improved Means or Devices for Raising Anchors.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Oct., 1893-Accepted, 2nd Dec., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Means or Devices for Raising Anchors.
We, HENRY ALONZO HOUSE, Senior, HENRY ALONZO HOUSE, Junior, both
of The Orleans Boat House, Teddington, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Engineers, and ROBERT RINTOUL SYMON, of 20 Abchurch Lane, in the City of
London, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, that is to say :-
The object of this invention is to provide means or devices whereby anchors,
which have been caught or held by rocks or other obstacles in such manner as to
prevent their being raised in the ordinary way by power applied to the shackle end
of the shank without breaking or bending them, can be raised by power applied at
the opposite end of the anchor in such manner as to draw the flukes longitudinally
out of and to free them from the hole or other space in which they may be
engaged.
For this purpose we employ the devices shown in the accompanying sheet of
drawings in which
Figure 1 is the elevation of an anchor with its fluke or flukes caught in between
two rocks, and having our recovering gear applied thereto;
Figure 2 is a plan of the grappling tackle shown in sectional elevation at I in
Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an elevation of one half of the said grappling tackle, and
Figure 4 a plan of the part marked H in Figure 1.
The anchor shown is of the kind known as "Martin's" but the invention is
also applicable to other kinds of anchors.
A is the shank of the anchor, B one of the flukes which is shown engaged
between two rocks C C in such manner that power applied, in the usual way, to
the main cable D in the direction of the arrow, cannot raise the anchor unless the
Huke B breaks or yields by bending sufficiently to allow of its being drawn out
from between the rocks. Our new
or improved devices consist as follows:-
E is a chain connected at one end by a shackle F, or otherwise, to the crown B
of the fluke arm, or to any other suitable point at that end of the anchor. This
chain E is connected at its other end by a shackle G, or otherwise, to a sleeve H
which is free to slide on the main cable D. The upper end of this sleeve is conical
as shown at H* and formed with a pendent lip H which extends round the lower
end of the conical part. The chain E and sleeve H may be kept permanently
connected to the anchor, or be only applied thereto when it is known or suspected
that the bottom is rocky or of a nature to unduly hold the anchor and prevent it
from being weighed in the usual way. I is a grappling apparatus (shown partly
in section in Figure 1) which is lowered from the ship down the main cable D by
a chain J when it is found that the anchor has fouled something and cannot be
weighed by the main cable. The grappling apparatus consists of a sleeve I¹
which is free to slide up and down on the main cable D; the chain J is con-
nected to the sleeve I by the shackle I. 13 are arms standing out from the
lower part of the sleeve 11 and having hooks I turning on fulcra 15 at their
lower ends. The ends of these hooks are pressed normally inwards towards the
main cable D by means of the counterbalance weights 1°. When this grappling
apparatus is lowered by the chain J, it slides down the main cable D and the
hooks I slide down the conical surface H* of the sleeve H until their points
descend below the lip H₁ of the sleeve H when the weights I force the hooks
nwards under the said lip into position shown in dotted lines at the right hand
top corner of Figure 1. When the hooks I have got well under the lip H¹

page_text: (which can be ascertained by pulling the chain J upwards until sufficient
resistance is encountered to indicate that the sleeve H has been grappled and
raised as far as the chain E will allow) the main cable D is slackened out, and
the chain tightened until the main cable D and the chain E assume positions
such as those shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 and a continuance of the pull
on the chain J (which pull is transmitted through the grappling apparatus 1,
sleeve H and chain E to the head of the anchor) will draw the fluke or flukes
out of the hole or cavity in which it or they have been caught; and the anchor
may then be raised to the ship either head first by the chain J or shank first by
the main cable, or more or less in a horizontal position by simultaneously pulling on
both chains D and J.
The sliding sleeve I' of the grappling apparatus is preferably made in two halves
so that it can be easily placed on or removed from the main cable D, and for this
purpose the two halves may be hinged together at one side as at 17 in Figure 2,
and fastened together at the other side by a bolt or stud passing through lugs 18, or
by any other suitable means.
In Figure 2 four hooks are shown on the grappling apparatus, but it is obvious
that any other number may be employed according to circumstances.
In the foregoing Specification, the parts D, E and J are described as chains;
but it is obvious that wire ropes or ropes of any other suitable kind may be
employed instead of chains for any or all of those parts.
Similar letters of reference relate to like parts in all the figures of the
drawing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
:-
First. The means or devices for raising anchors by transferring the lifting point
from the shackle end of the shank to the head or fluke end of the anchor, which
consist of a sleeve sliding on the main cable, a chain or rope connecting the said
sleeve to the head or fluke end of the anchor, and grappling apparatus adapted to
slide on the main cable and to engage with the aforesaid sleeve, combined, arranged
and operating substantially as described.
Second. The means or devices for raising anchors which consist of a sleeve H
free to slide on the main cable D and provided with a lip H', or other suitable
device, adapted to be engaged by the hooks of the grappling apparatus, a chain or
rope E connecting the sleeve II with the head or fluke end of the anchor, and
grappling apparatus I sliding on the main cable D and provided with hooks I*
adapted to engage with the sleeve H so as to connect the chain or rope J with the
chain or rope E combined and operating substantially as described with reference
to the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 6th day of October 1893.