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Home-made Anchors


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HERE are two ideas that may be useful to the handy man who owns a boat, but doesn't own a suitable anchor. One of the illustrations shows an anchor of the conventional form, but made of wood and stone. A piece of wood with a natural bend is used for the fluke piece. The ends must be pointed and two holes must be bored through it, about 4% inches apart, to receive two sticks of very hard wood. Each stick should have a knob on one end to keep it from drawing through the fluke piece. A stone should be placed between the sticks which may be sprung so as to em- Anchor for a house boat. brace the stone tightly. The sticks should then be weIl seized close to the stone and also at the upper ends. Anchor ropes are usuaIly fastened to the fluke piece and thence pass up to the ring or loop, being seized there with a smaIl cord. When pulling up the anchor this cord will break if the anchor is caught in the rocks. The rope will then capsize the a nchor and probably release it. The writer saw thjs anchor on the hank of a river and thought it a very clever idea. The holding qualities looked very good. The other anchor illustrated here is adapted particularly for houseboats. A cross of wood is made and holes are bored near the ends. A square weight is laid on the cross, and bows of hard wood are inserted in the holes and are drawn down tightly on the stom, The ends of the bows are well secured by means of hard-wood wedges. The rope is fastened to the cross and seized with a cord to the junction of the bows. This anchor was used hy the captain of a small craft. He felt very secure when anchored with this homemade device.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 105 Issue 4This article was originally published with the title “Home-made Anchors” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 105 No. 4 (), p. 84
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican07221911-84d