Endeavour by Bill97 - OcCre - 1/54

[Bill97]

Thanks Trevor. You have been extremely helpful. 

[Kenchington]

Glad to assist where I can!

[Bill97]

So Trevor I guess the easiest thing would be just to stow them on deck maybe. However I think I am confused. Are the fish davits just used to hoist the anchor and then stowed away once the anchor is locked in the weighed position or are they part of the weighed setup?  Are they still helping to support the anchor the entire time it is secured on the side of the ship?

[Kenchington]

My understanding is that fish davits, of the era you are portraying, were stowed away when not actually in use for raising an anchor up to its stowage position.

 

Have a good look at contemporary sources before showing your ship with no anchors on the bows. I don't doubt that there almost always some on deck but there may also have been some on the bows (unless they were on the bottom of some anchorage). If they were brought inboard when out in mid-ocean, then one would expect the sails to be set if the anchors are on deck. Not that you would be wrong to show the ship that way but it would look a bit odd to someone expecting to see the anchors outboard, if the anchors were in and all sails furled.

[alpayed]

Hi guys.

On a collier like Endeavour the anchors were carried as shown here. Best bower and second bower were catted and stowed as shown.

I have not shown the shank painter or the securing of the sheet and kedge anchors stored on the fore channels.

She would have carried spare anchors in the hold.

The fish davit was moved from place to place and probably stored in the channels when not used.

 

[Bill97]

Ok great. My curiosity kenchington was, as you stated above, the fish davits were stowed away when not actually in use.  alpayed I am leaving the anchors at the bow. So my question was once the anchors were raised with the help of the fish davits and fixed in position was the fish davit then stowed away? From what you guys are saying I think it was. So if I have my anchors on the bow then the fish davits should be stowed away not sticking out as mine are now. I need to remove them and stow on deck somewhere. 

Edited 15 hours ago by Bill97

[Kenchington]

Just one fish davit! One alone was awkward enough.

 

Until a generation before the time you are representing, large ships had a long davit (as long as the ship's beam) that was stowed across the forecastle and lashed down. When in use, it was moved so that one end or the other projected far enough for its purpose. By the time of Endeavour, the much shorter davit that you have already modelled was preferred. In use, it was mounted on whichever did of the forecastle it was needed. 

 

Unfortunately, the near-contemporary seamanship manuals, like Darcy Lever's and Brady's, go on at length about how the davit was rigged for fishing an anchor, then go silent on what was done with it afterwards. Maybe somebody can come up with specific evidence. (Sometimes details can emerge from the oddest sources, such as an aside mention in a court-martial record. I've never gone looking that deeply for anything to do with fish davits.) All I can offer is surmise:

 

The davit was big, awkward and heavy. Stowing it somewhere near where it was used but out of the way would be the first choice, though there were plenty of men and plenty of tackle, if it was necessary to hoist the beastly thing. If you can find somewhere on the forecastle where the davit might be lashed down, without obstructing other gear or the men's access to wherever they had to go, then that would be a likely spot. Another possibility would be the fore chains, between the ship's side and the deadeyes of the foremast shrouds. Or perhaps on the boat skids across the waist, if your ship had those. Making things serve two (or more) purposes has value in a small, crowded ship. I'm not sure what second purpose a davit might serve, other than as a place for men to sit when having yarn during a dog-watch, but maybe someone can be more imaginative.

 

Trevor

 

[Kenchington]

8 hours ago, alpayed said:

Hi guys.

On a collier like Endeavour ...

 

That's a beautiful illustration, Alpayed!

 

In my own defence, however, I'll just note that how gear was handled on a collier serving the regular trade down the coast from Newcastle to London and how it was handled on an ex-collier leaving the Cape for a long voyage into an unknown ocean were not necessarily one and the same.

 

Given the prominence of Cook's voyages, I'd not be surprised if the officer's journals have been published. I wonder whether any of them happened to mention specific details?

 

Trevor

[Bill97]

Thanks gentlemen. Sorry to have belabored such a small detail, but so appreciate your help. I am going to remove both fish davits, repair the area where it was, and find a convenient place to stow just one. Will show update when completed. 
Thanks again

 

Bill

[alpayed]

4 hours ago, Kenchington said:

In my own defence

Hi Trevor, sorry you felt you needed to defend yourself. It was not intending to offend just adding to the discussion.

 

Hi Bill.

Trevor may be right. there could be 2 fish davits, 1 each side. Harland states that the earlier type is manhandled side to side and then talks about the shorter one. (easily confused)

The stowage of the smaller latter type is a grey area. given that is secured to the deck in an iron "shoe" (Harland) as Karl depicts.

Maybe it was stood vertically and secured using the topping lift, (probable) or maybe over the side permanently. (unlikely) Or the shoe could be a loose fit and they were removed and stowed elsewhere.

My guess is as good as another's unless some evidence turns up later.

 

Harland also details where the anchors were stowed.

Flinders records dropping 2,3 and sometimes 4 anchors at various places on his circumnavigation. These must have been ready to drop quickly at these times.

 

This is the details of Investigators anchors:

 

Anchor stowage

(A) Best Bower.                 starboard, secured with shank painters to the timber heads with the fluke on gunwale. and to the cat heads with stoppers.

(B) Small bower.                port similar to best bower

(C) spare anchor,               carried port and fixed to the fore part of the fore channel.

(F) Sheet anchor.    starboard and fixed to the fore part of the fore channel.

(H) Kedge starboard and fixed to the aft part of the fore channel.

(D,E,G,I )  Stored in hold

Stream and Kedge anchors

The spare stream and kedge anchors were stowed below.

The sheet anchor (starboard) and spare anchor (port) were stowed at the after ends of the fore channels with the stream and kedge anchors on the spare anchor or down below.

 

Regards

Allan