Cathead Angles

[allanyed]

I have come across something that I have not seen before.  The cathead on the profile drawing of Antelope 1703 shows the cathead angled up and aft, not up and forward as seen on other plans and contemporary models.  In looking at photos of models and plans of late 17th and early 18th century British ships, none that I have seen show the cathead angled aft.   Has anyone seen this configuration before?  

 

Thanks

 

Allan

[Mark P]

Hi Allan;

 

My guess is that it is drawn this way to show the termination of the main rail clearly,  as this is obscured by a normally drawn cat-head.  Can't think of any other reason;  and I've certainly never seen a cat-head this way on either a model or a draught.

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

[allanyed]

Thanks Brian and Mark.   Your answers are among the several I have considered.   But, before I change a contemporary drawing, I would love to find some other examples or something definitive. 

 

Another interesting thing on this drawing is the body plan(s) which show both port and starboard for the forward stations and port and starboard for the aft stations.  This was a first for me as well as the cathead.

 

Allan

[mtaylor]

Could this have been something experimental?  There's a couple ship plans I've seen that had oddities that were outside the norm.  The French ship I'm building has a couple of non-standard items (masts/yard dimensions and stove placement) so it's possible the Brits did that also.  

[jud]

The aft Port Lids look like they depict the swing resulting from the shape of the aft hull. Cat Heads, need more of the plans to make the call that is a Cat Head, you probably have good reason to identify it as such and what is there is not a part of the forward rig. Cat Heads have some necessary considerations, one; where the Anchor could be let go from to clear the Hull, two; where it could be hooked by the Cat head falls when hoisting through the Hawse Hole and the Cable relieved of the Anchor weight, three; where the supporting timbers are attached to the Hull considering Deck layout of the Deck furniture necessary to work the ship. The drop point is somewhat fixed by the Hull and Hawse Pipe, how the Cat Head is attached is controlled by the layout of deck fixtures and construction of the ship, put it where it is secure and clear of sailing rigging, Different construction layouts will force change. If it works, remember the saying, "More than one way to skin a Cat". The Star of India is using her Cat Head for two purposes as can be seen in this photo.

 jud  

Edited December 3, 2017 by jud

[druxey]

I concur with Mark: this was probably experimental. Obviously it was not successful as it was not generally adopted!

[allanyed]

Thanks everyone for your input.   I will chock it up to experimental on paper, if not in practice.  Even if in practice, and an assumption that it did not work well, it would likely have been redone in the more commonly known fashion.  At least that is my story and I will stick to it until proven otherwise. 

Thanks again!

Allan