GROUND TACKLE

Course no. 11
 The ground tackle

The ground tackle consists of all the equipment used in anchoring.

This includes the anchors,

the anchor cables or the chain,
connecting devices, and
the anchor windlass.
 Anchor

Anchor - an object designed to grip the bed (lake bed, seabed, and riverbed) or
ground, under a body of water, to hold the vessel when it is at sea:

- in moderate sea conditions; and

- where the depth of the water and the sea bed are suitable for the anchor and the
chain cable; and
- where there are no other means of securing the ship.

Anchors are designed to anchor a boat to the seabed allowing for a boat to be held
in position against wind, tide and current.
 Types of anchors

 by stock’s point of view

1. Stock anchor. The first type of anchor was the stock anchor, Type
Admiralty (fig A), which were difficult to store onboard.

Fig A Fig B Fig C

2. Stockless anchor (fig B).

 from the seabed point of view

Danforth Type Slip Ring Sand Reef Anchors Plough Anchors

(Sand Anchors) Anchor - rely on 'hooking' onto - are based on a single
- are great anchors in - is a variation of the underwater structures fluke design which has a
sandy or muddy bottoms sand anchor with a rather than penetrating better holding power in
as they rely on design that allows for the bottom. The great changing currents and
penetrating the sand or the anchor to be easily feature of the reef tides
mud to grip. retrieved backwards. anchor is that it has
bendable prongs which
can be straightened
when lifting the anchor.
 Grapnel Anchor Stockless anchor Screw Anchor Mushroom anchor
- is very effective for - is used on larger ships,
anchoring on hard rocky in different kind of
bottoms. These anchors seabed: mud or sand, Permanent Anchors
have short, strong rocky bottoms, shale or - are used where the vessel is permanently sited, for
prongs which are able to grass. Relies on great example in the case of light vessels or channel
hook onto underwater weight. marker buoys. The anchor needs to hold the vessel
structure. in all weathers, including the most severe storm.
 Each anchor that was described above could fall into one of the two
following categories, accordingly to arms’ mobility.
• Fixed arms anchors (fig A)
• Mobile arms anchors (Fig B)

Fig A Fig B
 Parts of an anchor

1. Ring (Shackle) - Device used to attach the anchor chain to

the shank of the anchor.
2. Shank - The long center part of the anchor running between
the ring and the crown.
3. Crown - The lowest section of the anchor to which the shank
is secured. The shank is fitted to the crown (on some
anchors) with a pivot that allows a movement from 30o to
45o either way.
4.5. Stock - a cross member, spar, or rod that rolls the anchor
into an attitude that enables the flukes to dig into the sea
bed. The stocks position is either next to the crown (4) or
near the ring (5). Most of the new anchors are stockless.
6. Arms - The parts that extend from each side of the crown.
7. Fluke or Palm - The broad part of the anchor that extends
upward from the arms.
8. Bill, Pea - the end of the flukes.
 Use of stockless anchors

1. After dropping off, the anchor will fall on the seabed and it will take a
horizontal position.
2. While the anchor chain is stretching, it forces the anchor ring and it raises
the shank, which is mobile in the crown’s point so the arms will remain in a
horizontal position.
3. Then the anchor is hauled on the seabed until its arms will meet an
oscillation of the seabed.
 The stowage of anchors on board

aweigh - describes the anchor when it is hanging on the rode, not resting on the bottom;
to weigh anchor - mean to lift the anchor from the sea bed, allowing the ship or boat to
move.

An anchor is described as aweigh when it has been broken out of the bottom and is
being hauled up to be stowed.

In contrast to the elaborate stowage procedures for earlier anchors (stock

anchors), stockless anchors are simply hauled up until they rest with the shank
inside the hawse pipes, and the flukes against the hull (or inside a recess in the
hull).
 Anchor chain

The modern anchor chain is made of links with studs.

The links are studded; stud is a solid piece is forged in the center of the link.

Studded link Link Detachable link Chain swivel

Studs prevent the chain from kinking. They also further strengthen the chain up to
15 percent.
 Anchor chain

The size of the link is designated by its diameter, called the wire diameter. The length of a
standard link is 6 times its diameter and the width is 3.6 times its diameter.

• A chain is made up of many parts besides links.

The lengths of chain that are connected to make up the ship's anchor chains are called
shots.
A standard shot is 15 fathoms (90 feet, 27.5 meters) long.
 Detachable link

The shots of the anchor chain are joined by a detachable link (Kenter).

(1) - a C-shape link with two

coupling plates which form one
side
(2) - the stud of the link
(3) - a taper pin holds the parts
together.

The detachable link parts are not

interchangeable.
Chain shots
 Chain anchor marking

For the safety of every ship, the ship's officers and the bosun must know at all
times the scope or how much anchor chain has been paid out.

To make this information quickly available, a system of chain markings is used.

1 shot (15 fathoms) – The detachable
link is painted red, and one link on each
side is painted white; one turn of wire is
wrapped securely around each stud.
2 shots (30 fathoms) – The detachable
link is painted white, and two links on
each side are painted white; two turns
of wire are wrapped around each of the
last white studs.
3 shots (45 fathoms) – The detachable
link is painted blue, and three links on
each side are painted white; three turns
of wire are wrapped around each of the
last white studs.
4 shots (60 fathoms) – The detachable
link is painted red, and four links on
each side are painted white; four turns
of wire are wrapped around each of the
last white studs.
5 shots (75 fathoms) – The detachable
link is painted white, and five links on
each side are painted white; five turns
of wire are wrapped around each of the
last white studs.
Next to last shot – each link is yellow;
the yellow alerts you that you are
running out of chain
Last shot - each link is red.
 The equipment used in anchoring – main parts

Windlass. This includes the standard machinery that is found on the ship’s decks.
The size and shape of the deck machinery may vary depending upon the type of
the vessel, but the operating principles remain the same.
1. Chain on the Wildcat (a sprocket wheel) The wildcat, when engaged, either hauls in
or pays out the anchor chain. When disengaged, the wildcat turns freely and the only
control of the anchor chain is the friction brake.
2. Stockless Anchor stowed on board
3. Hawse pipe are openings in the forward
part of the ship where the shank of the
anchor is stowed.
4. Spurling Pipe of the anchor chain.
5. Chain locker. The bitter end of the anchor
chain is secured to a pad eye in the chain
locker by a safety anchor shackle.
6. Chain stopper
7. Guide roller
8. Forecastle deck
Hawse pipe are openings in the forward part of the ship where the shank of the
anchor is stowed.
 Chain locker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGNHWcAVFhU
 Chain stopper
Chain stopper with security device. There are different kinds of chain stopper,
depending on the size of the vessel, windlass arrangement, size of anchor, etc.

a. turnbuckle inserted in a short section of the chain with a pelican hook

b. devil's claws - are used when the vessel is setting out to sea

c. safety stopper. There are different designs, but the main idea is the same: the
chain stopper is engaged once the anchor has been brought into the storage
position to prevent losing the anchor and the chain in case the break of the
windlass.
Stopper
 Chain stopper

turnbuckle

Stopper

Devils claw
Stowed anchors
 The Windlass

The Windlass is a special type of winch used to raise and lower the
anchors and to handle the forward mooring lines.

It consists of:
 Wildcat - used to grip the anchor chain,
 Controls for connecting or disconnecting the wildcat from the engine,
 Friction brake which can be set to stop the wildcat when disconnected,
 Horizontal drums at each end of the windlass for warping (used in
mooring).
The Windlass
1. Storage part of the mooring
drum
2. Pulling section of the drum
(working part)
3. Brake band
4. Gear box
5. Electro-hydraulic motor
6. Warping head
7. Chain in the gypsy wheel
8. Dog clutch
9. Anchor
10. Hawse pipe
11. Spurling pipe
12. Chain locker
13. Chain stopper with security
device
14. Guide roller
15. Bollard
16. Guide roller
17. Deck
18. Hatch to chain locker
1. Storage part of the mooring
drum
2. Pulling section of the drum
(working part)
3. Brake band
4. Gear box
5. Electro-hydraulic motor
6. Warping head
7. Chain in the gypsy wheel
8. Dog clutch
9. Anchor
10. Hawse pipe
11. Spurling pipe
12. Chain locker
13. Chain stopper with security
device
14. Guide roller
15. Bollard
16. Guide roller
17. Deck
18. Hatch to chain locker
The wildcat
 The Windlass

The windlass (same like the mooring winches) can be driven:

• Electrically by electric motor, not used on tankers due to insulation
requirements
• Hydraulic by hydraulic system (the most widely used)
• By steam from the boilers – not used at a large scale, but found on some
tankers
 The Capstan

The Capstan is a vertically mounted winch head used aboard ship when
mechanical power is required for raising anchor, lifting heavy weights, or
for any similar work.
The main parts of the Capstan
 Maintenance of windlass and anchoring equipment

• Greasing and inspection;

• Inspection of the anchor securing arrangements;
• Inspection and overhaul of windlass brakes and cable stoppers;
• Ensuring that chains are kept cleaned and well-marked. The anchor chain
should be overhauled whenever necessary, with precautions taken to see that the
various shots are properly marked and in good order. As the chain comes in,
when a ship is getting under way, each link should be examined for cracks and
other defects.
• The turnbuckles in chain stoppers require frequent attention to keep them clean,
free from rust, and well lubricated with new lubricant.
• Inspection of detachable shackles, shackle pins, crown pins, joining shackles,
flukes and shank.
• During dry-docking all the anchor chain (including shackles, shackle pins, and
detachable links) should be examined, overhauled, and placed in a good state of
preservation.
 Amount of cable

For an anchor to hold effectively, it is necessary to calculate the correct length of

cable. There are three commonly used and accepted guidelines (one shackle of
cable is equivalent to 27.5 meters):

• Number of shackles of cable = 1.5√D (D=Depth in meters)

• Length of cables in meters = 2 to 3 x D (Depth of water in meters)
• Number of shackles of cable = the number of shackles to the sea bottom + 3 to
5 shackles
 Preparation for Anchoring

The Chief Officer (or another experienced officer in lieu) must supervise
letting go or weighing the anchors and should only assign experienced
crew members to anchor work.

Prior to Anchoring, the Chief Officer should be aware of:

1. Approximate anchoring position
2. Method of approach
3. Which anchor to use
4. Depth of water
5. Method of Anchoring
6. Final amount of Cables
 Dropping the anchor

1. Is the anchor ready for dropping?

2. Have port/ starboard anchor ready
3. Put … shackles in water/ on deck
4. Drop port/ starboard anchor
5. Pay out the cable
6. How is the cable leading?
7. The cable is leading ahead
8. The cable is leading astern
9. The cable is leading to port
10. The cable is leading to starboard
11. The cable is leading round the bow
12. The cable is leading up and down
13. Is the anchor holding?
14. Are you brought up?
15. Switch on anchor light
 Aweigh the anchor

1. How much cable is out?

2. Stand by to heave up
3. Put the windlass in gear
4. Heave up the port/ starboard cable
5. How much weight is on the cable?
6. Stop heaving
7. How many shackles are left (to come in)?
8. … shackles are left
9. There is a turn in the cable
10. Anchor aweigh/ clear of bottom
11. The cables are clear
12. Anchor is clear of the water
13. Anchor is home
14. Anchor is foul
15. Anchor secured
16. Switch off anchor light