Bob Cleek

It's sure looking good, Rob! Thanks for sharing the build with us. 

I could easily imagine it being a storm-driven wreck. Even if it happened post-settlement, hurricanes can move incredible amounts of sediment, easily covering a large anchor before anyone had the chance to salvage it.

There may be some confusion here in the use of the terms "reef," "furl," and "brail."

Quite true. Although anchors, by their nature, usually stay put where they first fell unless moved by human intervention. The other thing is that large anchors like that one which are lost in harbors are usually lost in water shallow enough to have been recovered by free divers at the time they were lost. Iron was a sufficiently precious commodity that a big hunk of it like that would have been worth recovering. An origin from a ship blown ashore and wrecked before the area was settled may be more likely. That could have put it ashore and it could have been covered over by beach sand. I'm very familiar with the archaeological excavations of Gold Rush Era ships which were sank for fill on the shoreline of San Francisco. We don't find much in terms of nautical artifacts. There's often lots of garbage, bottles and china shards, but it seems anything on the ships that was useable was stripped for recycling when they were abandoned.  The same was true for unburied sailing ships left to rot on the mudflats. I suppose we'll have to wait for more information to know anything more about this anchor. 

Interesting that this anchor was dug up on land during the remodeling of a boardwalk. Somebody must have hauled it ashore at some time previousl

Quite true. Although anchors, by their nature, usually stay put where they first fell unless moved by human intervention. The other thing is that large anchors like that one which are lost in harbors are usually lost in water shallow enough to have been recovered by free divers at the time they were lost. Iron was a sufficiently precious commodity that a big hunk of it like that would have been worth recovering. An origin from a ship blown ashore and wrecked before the area was settled may be more likely. That could have put it ashore and it could have been covered over by beach sand. I'm very familiar with the archaeological excavations of Gold Rush Era ships which were sank for fill on the shoreline of San Francisco. We don't find much in terms of nautical artifacts. There's often lots of garbage, bottles and china shards, but it seems anything on the ships that was useable was stripped for recycling when they were abandoned.  The same was true for unburied sailing ships left to rot on the mudflats. I suppose we'll have to wait for more information to know anything more about this anchor. 

Quite true. Although anchors, by their nature, usually stay put where they first fell unless moved by human intervention. The other thing is that large anchors like that one which are lost in harbors are usually lost in water shallow enough to have been recovered by free divers at the time they were lost. Iron was a sufficiently precious commodity that a big hunk of it like that would have been worth recovering. An origin from a ship blown ashore and wrecked before the area was settled may be more likely. That could have put it ashore and it could have been covered over by beach sand. I'm very familiar with the archaeological excavations of Gold Rush Era ships which were sank for fill on the shoreline of San Francisco. We don't find much in terms of nautical artifacts. There's often lots of garbage, bottles and china shards, but it seems anything on the ships that was useable was stripped for recycling when they were abandoned.  The same was true for unburied sailing ships left to rot on the mudflats. I suppose we'll have to wait for more information to know anything more about this anchor. 

That's true. I was hoping somebody wasn't using a Stradivarius as a paddle!
If anybody in the world would know the back story on that paddle, it would be Ab Hoving.

Quite true. Although anchors, by their nature, usually stay put where they first fell unless moved by human intervention. The other thing is that large anchors like that one which are lost in harbors are usually lost in water shallow enough to have been recovered by free divers at the time they were lost. Iron was a sufficiently precious commodity that a big hunk of it like that would have been worth recovering. An origin from a ship blown ashore and wrecked before the area was settled may be more likely. That could have put it ashore and it could have been covered over by beach sand. I'm very familiar with the archaeological excavations of Gold Rush Era ships which were sank for fill on the shoreline of San Francisco. We don't find much in terms of nautical artifacts. There's often lots of garbage, bottles and china shards, but it seems anything on the ships that was useable was stripped for recycling when they were abandoned.  The same was true for unburied sailing ships left to rot on the mudflats. I suppose we'll have to wait for more information to know anything more about this anchor. 

Yes. The triangular "architects'" and "engineers'" rules have grooves cut down the middle of each face. Their purpose was to hold a couple of purpose-designed spring clips that served as grips so the rule could be picked up and set down with the chosen scale always "face up." The spring clips could be set in the grooves so the scale face desired was instantly identifiable. I've only seen pictures of these spring clips in drafting manuals. They're scarce as hen's teeth these days, I suppose, but the grooves remain. As noted, the common spring binder clip serves as well.
 

The best way to be sure is to spend the money to purchase rules from one of the recognized quality manufacturers. Accurate rules are intended for use with the desired distances taken up with a pair of good dividers. The divider points make accurate measuring easier as small distances can be seen on the rule's markings. Rules should be handled with care and not used as straightedges, especially not for cutting. 
 
A reliable top of the line brand is Starrett. Their instructional bulletin is a gold mine of knowledge on measuring in the shop:    tools-rules---bulletin-1211.pdf (starrett.com) . They have a separate catalog for rules: Precision Rules, Straight Edges & Parallels (starrett.com) Starrett's competition since forever is Brown and Sharpe. One of their six-inch pocket rules will run you around $23.00 at Walmart, but you'll know it's exactly six inches. Brown & Sharpe 599-313-603 Stainless Steel Stainless Rule, 6" Length - Walmart.com On the used market, another very high quality U.S. rule manufacturer to keep an eye out for is Theodore Alteneder & Sons of Philadelphia, which is no longer in business. Similar names from the past are Keuffel and Esser, Dieitzgen, Post, and Bowen.
 
Modeler's will find triangular architects' scales handy. These have six scales, two on each face of the three sides of the triangular-section rule. The scales permit picking up the scale distance directly from the rule without needing to convert measurements to scale each time you take up a measurement.
 

Top 10 Best Scale Ruler (topportalreview.com)
 
Once upon a time, the manual drafting instrument manufacturers made a wide range of scale rules for architects and engineers. (Another type were  "shrinkage rules" made for patternmakers, whose measurements had to take into account the shrinkage factors of various casting metals.) These rules weren't of the newer triangular pattern, but, rather, each flat rule had two scales, one on each edge. They were beautifully made of boxwood and came in cased sets. There are out there drifting around. If you ever see one for a price you can afford, grab it, because they aren't making these beauties anymore.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Interesting that this anchor was dug up on land during the remodeling of a boardwalk. Somebody must have hauled it ashore at some time previousl

Interesting that this anchor was dug up on land during the remodeling of a boardwalk. Somebody must have hauled it ashore at some time previousl

He's explaining to the other men what a fiddle block looks like....

Haha, might it be Jack Aubrey’s great-grandfather? (For our Patrick O’Brian fans) The drawing was made too early to make us think it’s Haendel practicing his Water music, because that only premiered in 1717…

It would appear to be a simple enough process to tie in the reef before setting the fixed-gaff boom sail flying. 

The guy with the violin seems oddly out of place. There had to be a story there.  

The guy with the violin seems oddly out of place. There had to be a story there.  

There may be some confusion here in the use of the terms "reef," "furl," and "brail."

A properly laced luff should not impede lowering the sail at all. As the gaff boom is lowered, the tension on the properly laced luff will be released.
 
A sail set on a fixed gaff boom would most likely be set "flying." (The sail is set by raising with halyards at the  throat and peak.) Such sails are often not reefed at all, being light air beating sails rendered redundant downwind by the square sails.

There may be some confusion here in the use of the terms "reef," "furl," and "brail."

There's a tremendous variety in gaff rigs, not only between different periods, but also during the same period.. That said, most gaff sails, be the foot lashed to a boom, loose-footed, or without a boom at all, will be reefed from the foot up and the gaff boom lowered to accommodate the shortened sail area. I would say that a fixed gaff boom is a rather rare bird. In such case, the sail would be brailed when not set. The reefing arrangements varied "according to the needs of the service." Vessels which carried high deck loads, such as scow and lumber schooners, would "reef up" when carrying a high deck load, so that the lower boom would be raised to clear the deck load while the gaff boom remains at the previous height. 

Not sure but Denatured Alcohol will do the job.  Dampen a clean WHITE cloth and wipe the area and the pencil marks will be gone.  Use a white rag because the coloring of the rag may be affected by the Alcohol.  The Alcohol shouldn't affect the primer or paint as long as the paint is dry and the rag isn't saturated and rubbed too hard.  This works well for pencil marks on bare wood too. 

In shops where I have worked no one shared measuring tools of any kind.  Doing so was a sure-fire way to create doubt in anything done on any particular project.  The only thing that mattered was being within tolerance of the inspection gages.  Even the finest calipers were called "guess sticks". 
 
All this being said, Starrett sells a large variety of "rules" (their terminology) graduated in Imperial fractions to 1/64 inch and in decimals to 0.01 inch as well as in 12ths, 24ths, 48ths, and 50ths and 1/2 mm.  They come thick, thin, flexible and in lengths from four to one-hundred-forty-four inches.  Metric rule lengths from 150 to 1800 mm.  With or without hooks.  Any number of them compared will match well beyond the limit of vision.  

Yes. The triangular "architects'" and "engineers'" rules have grooves cut down the middle of each face. Their purpose was to hold a couple of purpose-designed spring clips that served as grips so the rule could be picked up and set down with the chosen scale always "face up." The spring clips could be set in the grooves so the scale face desired was instantly identifiable. I've only seen pictures of these spring clips in drafting manuals. They're scarce as hen's teeth these days, I suppose, but the grooves remain. As noted, the common spring binder clip serves as well.