Anchor Advice

[bdgiantman2]

Hello everyone. I am looking for suggestions beyond what I know. So I am in the beginning phases of building the brig Eagle of 1814 and have been researching and accumulating parts for later steps. One of these items has been the ships anchors. Reading the documentary by Gene Bodnar, he suggests using anchors that are two and five-eights inches in length for the model. Blue Jacket makes such a size of anchor, but for a ship the size of Eagle, plus the fact that she operated in shallow water compared to the ocean like larger ships, I feel that an anchor of that suggested size is too big and measurements show these would interfere a lot with cannon operations. I would think that the one and a half inch anchor offered by Blue Jacket to be a better size? Does anyone here know more about proper anchor size for a ship like Eagle?

 

Thank you so much in advance, I look forward to any input.

 

Brian

[allanyed]

Brian,

  The anchor has more of a relation to the  weight of the ship than anything else.  Eagle was about 500 tons, so you can probably use the scantlings for anchors that Brian Lavery gives on page 33 of Arming and Fitting even though it is for British ships.  The physics should be the same regardless of nationality assuming they have the same basic design at that time.   He shows that the length of the shank for the largest anchor on a 625 ton vessel was 14 feet 2 inches, and for a vessel of 364 tons the shank was 12 feet 2 inches long.  The length of the arms would be about 5 feet each and 4 feet each respectively.  What scale is your model?  You can do a simple ratio between 625 or 364 to 500 and use the lengths above to come up with the size anchor you need then scale it to your model scale.  Maybe consider making your own if you want it to be the correct size.  There are a number of drawings of anchors and anchor stocks on RMG Collections site that may also help as well as the detailed drawings and dimensions given by Lavery.

  

Edited June 28, 2021 by allanyed

[Roger Pellett]

Complicating matters is the fact that Eagle was built in a very short period of time, less than a month?  Transporting an anchor from civilization on the East Coast would take time, so maybe they used what they had on hand.

 

In 1776,  ironwork for Benedict Arnold’s gunboats was forged on site at Skenesboro so if this capacity still existed anchors might have been forged on site.

 

An old style anchor works by hooking the bottom and the resistance to pulling loose is a function of the angle that the anchor rode makes with the anchor shank or in nautical terms, it’s scope.  You are therefore, correct, that all other factors being equal the anchor will have more holding power in shallow water.

 

And finally, two anchors have been recovered by divers from the Plattsburgh battle site.  One has British markings, the other is unmarked.  The unmarked anchor measures 12ft-1in from crown to head, and 7ft-1in between the tips of the flukes.  The ring had an outside diameter of 24in. The anchor shank had broken 2ft below the ring.  Eagle’s log records that “the small anchor broke off the shank” during the battle.  They also left at least one more anchor on the bottom after cutting the cable to move the ship during the battle.

 

Here is a drawing of the anchor:

 

[bdgiantman2]

Thank you so much gentlemen for your input,  much appreciated. I went ahead and purchased two anchors that actually measure 2-7/8 inches long. Looking forward to checking these out when they arrive in a week.

[allanyed]

Brian

What scale are you working?  

Tx

Allan

[bdgiantman2]

Hello Allan, this build is in 1:48 scale. The same scale that Gene Bodnar built his demo model with the detailed blog.

 

Brian

[allanyed]

The anchor would be 3 inches long based on a twelve foot full scale, so 2 7/8 seems to be certainly reasonable if the anchor you wish to purchase is of the proper design for that era?  Depends mostly on how accurate you want to be so it is totally up to you.  In the end, in all likelihood, only you will know if it is a tiny bit short.

Allan   

[bdgiantman2]

That was the biggest option available on Blue Jacket for their Heavy Bower pewter anchors.  There is another option available that is longer, but was dated 17th century and I knew that wouldn't be very appropriate. They have a wood option that was over an inch shorter. 

Like I said in the intro to this discussion, I wasn't sure about the proper length. Using my drafting ruler on the printed sheets of Eagle, the anchors would be blocking cannon operations perhaps up to two ports in full scale. Taking out two guns is a lot of lost firepower. But I guess that is a problem of having built the ship so quickly.  In research that I have done, Lake Champlain at it's deepest part is 400' down, which is deep for a lake; this area also happens to be at least two miles south of where the battle took place and the wrecks found.