anchor

which side of the ship is the anchor on ?

There is one on both sides of the bow, as well as anchors at the stern. The Stern anchors are usually only for emergencies.

Some with more knowledge may correct me but I think most ships have them on both sides. Frequently ships these days just use GPS auto-positioning instead of an anchor

Some with more knowledge may correct me but I think most ships have them on both sides. Frequently ships these days just use GPS auto-positioning instead of an anchor

Some ships do not have this technology yet, but many do. All have two anchors near the bow, however.

I had a couple of beers one night with the Capt./Engineer of a drilling platform that used the system, and he said it and he could keep the platform from breaking the drill pipe in very stormy seas (But he hoped he didn't have to).

Bow, Stern, port, Starboard.

Some with more knowledge may correct me but I think most ships have them on both sides. Frequently ships these days just use GPS auto-positioning instead of an anchor

They have to have an anchor in case of a mechanical breakdown!

GPS is great, but you need ships power to make it work, otherwise the GPS will show you drifting into land, the rocks, or whatever else in in the way.:rolleyes:

which side of the ship is the anchor on ?

Is there a bet involved with this question? And if you lose, what do you have to do?

Port and starboard just aft of the bow and on the stern....I am happy to say that I have never seen one deployed from the stern. One of the forward ones is dropped in tender ports.

Just to clarify this a little. GPS doesn't maintain the ship in position. The thrusters do. GPS just tells the operators if the ship is where the operators want it to be.

Additionally, for tendering operations to be as smooth and safe as possible, the dock area (on the side of the ship) needs to be sheltered from the wind, and thus, from some waves. As the direction of the wind and waves can move over time, so the ship will need to move to maintain this sheltering position. Again, GPS has nothing to do with this, using the thrusters does.

which side of the ship is the anchor on ?

both sides. and sometimes they both get used.

And this question is often asked by those with a forward cabin. The answer is, very noisy. You will know when they deploy and are retrieved. Doesn't matter if it is either or both, you will hear them and feel them!!!

Many (most ?) ships carry a spare anchor.

a lil anchor 'science'

most large ships have two anchors at the bow and usually one on each side

there have been military vessels built that deviated from this tho: a US class had only one anchor at the bow as I recall and I seem to recall a non-US military vessel having two bow anchors on the same side. ships up to 200 feet often have but 1 bow anchor.

most modern cruise ships have the two on the bow and a stern anchor. the stern anchor is much less common on merchant vessels which makes me wonder if it is a SOLAS recommendation for a passenger vessel over certain size. I dunno. i don't recall EVER seeing a cruise ship with the stern anchor deployed . . . {did CONCORDIA drop their's} WWII LSTs had stern anchors. these were the ships designed to run the bow on the beach then drop a ramp to unload vehicles. they'd drop the stern anchor b4 beaching and use that anchor and their windless as extra pull to get the bow off the beach. but I digress.

it is not unusual to see modern ships of size carrying a spare anchor, I've seen this most on pass' ships ... large cargo ships are sometimes seen carrying a spare propeller. if you think about it, it seems almost silly .... not like they could put the thing on by themselves at sea, so why do they do it? LEAD TIME .... these are not items you buy off the shelf. If you need one and HAVE one you can go to a shipyard and put on your spare quickly while ordering a replacement might be a 12 month wait or more.

Operational note: dropping BOTH bow anchors is a last resort action. In a normal anchoring, one drops a single anchor 'cuz a Master knows the currents are going to shift with the tides ... in and out, in and out. The ship is going to swing at anchor all time, and during tide shifts will turn 180 degrees. If the ship is 'suspended' from one anchor this is no problem. The ship pivots from this one fixed point. With two anchors down as soon as the ship turns the 180, the chains cross. This is BAD. Ships turns again ... chains MIGHT uncross, or they might cross again. Result = ship can not pull up EITHER anchor. OUCH. I know a Captain who dropped both anchors because of an approaching storm .... he had to cut the anchor chains and leave everything on the bottom. THAT'S EXPENSIVE

A factor in this situation is that the anchor really has little to do with keeping the ship in place. If that was the case one would simply drop the anchor and be done and this IS nearly the case with little boats - you back away a little to dig in the flukes but that's it..you depend on the anchor and the mud. On a ship, when you anchor you KNOW the weight of the anchor or the anchor and mud is NOT going to hold you position for long, you drop the anchor then back away dropping chain - the chain amount is many times the depth of the water ... as much as 5 times or more. It is the resistance of the chain dragging along the bottom, plus the shock absorber effect of the weight of the chain trying to be lifted off the bottom that holds the ship. The anchor is like the anchor man of a tug-o-war team .... helps dig in the end but not usually able to do the job alone.

****

and BTW my reply has at best a 10% application to OP's question

for that I say

sorry

Don't be sorry, very interesting discourse.

Thanks for the info Capt! Informed me.

We were aboard Eurodam at Half Moon Cay...... HAL's private island in the Bahamas.

Time to leave and they could not raise the anchor. I don't know if it was stuck in the mud or what the reason but try as they would for hours, that anchor was finally cut and left behind.

It was last day of our cruise and next stop was Port Everglades for disembark/embarkation day.

We arrived about 12 noon instead of the scheduled 7 A.M. Lots of flights home were missed but they did the most amazing disembarkation/embarkation we've ever seen. :)

We stayed on in FLL and saw Eurodam sail a mere one hour late that afternoon.

They got us all off and the new group on in record time.

About the anchor....... they went back and picked it up the next cruise. We were told it was retrieved and survived to anchor Eurodam once again. :)

It must have been fun watching them raise it and bring it aboard.

WWII LSTs had stern anchors. these were the ships designed to run the bow on the beach then drop a ramp to unload vehicles. they'd drop the stern anchor b4 beaching and use that anchor and their windless as extra pull to get the bow off the beach.

 

In a similar vein, I've watched car ferries in Naples using their anchor to achieve the maritime equivalent of a handbrake-turn.

They need to reverse into their slot - but they approach forwards, drop anchor & swing the wheel. The anchor grabs, slowing the ferry & tightening its 180deg turn, allowing them to spin in a slot little more than the length of their vessel.

I watched a number of them perform the same manouvre.

Magnifico :)

JB :)

A bit of anchor trivia.

A new anchor for the average cruise ship costs over $100,000.

There is only one country left on earth today that makes anchors large enough for cruise ships - the People's Republic of China.

In heavy weather a ship can use two anchors to minimize the risk of dragging anchor. The first anchor cable (chain) is paid out to a length of up to seven times the depth for maximum holding, and the second is paid out to just over the water's depth -- this second anchor will drag over the bottom - which action will minimize the shifting of the ships position as the wind clocks around.

A bit of anchor trivia.

A new anchor for the average cruise ship costs over $100,000.

 

There is only one country left on earth today that makes anchors large enough for cruise ships - the People's Republic of China.

Makes me wonder if the People's Republic of China is making the anchors for U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and other large naval vessels?

In a similar vein, I've watched car ferries in Naples using their anchor to achieve the maritime equivalent of a handbrake-turn.

They need to reverse into their slot - but they approach forwards, drop anchor & swing the wheel. The anchor grabs, slowing the ferry & tightening its 180deg turn, allowing them to spin in a slot little more than the length of their vessel.

I watched a number of them perform the same manouvre.

Magnifico :)

 

JB :)

Oh 4 SURE, holding a ship in place is only one function of an anchor. The anchor is a valuable tool in slow speed handling of a ship. b4 the advent of thrusters ... knowing how to use and anchor in pier side man'vering was what meant you were Captain

and btw that dropped anchor helps them get OUT too

In a similar vein, I've watched car ferries in Naples using their anchor to achieve the maritime equivalent of a handbrake-turn.

They need to reverse into their slot - but they approach forwards, drop anchor & swing the wheel. The anchor grabs, slowing the ferry & tightening its 180deg turn, allowing them to spin in a slot little more than the length of their vessel.

I watched a number of them perform the same manouvre.

Magnifico :)

 

JB :)

I watched the Lake Michigan Car Ferry... The Badger perform this maneuver both from the shore and on the ship coming in to Manitowoc WI. A pleasure to watch some expert seamanship. I know it is still a formidable task to put one of these modern day behemoths along side, but with all the bow thrusters stern thrusters and azipods some of the magic is gone.

I just looked at several photos and it seems the anchor is always on the bottom of the ship. I hope this helps.

I just looked at several photos and it seems the anchor is always on the bottom of the ship. I hope this helps.

Don't you mean near the pointy end?

which side of the ship is the anchor on ?

The outside.

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

Vista class ships have two anchor winches on the forward mooring deck, one on each side. There is (usually) a spare anchor on the foredeck. There isn't an anchor at the stern, however there are three mooring winches.

VP