Anchor|Ship & Boat | Nautical Device

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Anchor, an essential device, typically made of metal, attached to a ship or boat via a cable or chain and dropped to the seabed, securing the vessel in a specific location with the aid of a fluke or pointed projection that digs deeply into the ocean floor. Early anchors consisted of massive stones, sacks filled with sand, logs loaded with lead, or baskets overflowing with rocks; these vessels held their ground purely by weight and friction along the seafloor. As ships grew in size, they required a more effective holding device, prompting the introduction of wooden hooks that dug into the ocean floor to keep them anchored. Iron eventually replaced wood in anchor construction, and teeth or flukes were added to enhance the hooks' ability to dig into the seabed. A significant improvement came with the addition of a stock, or horizontal arm, set at right angles to the arms and flukes of the lower part of the anchor. This feature ensures that the arms rest vertically on the seafloor, allowing one fluke to dig in and provide maximum holding power. This design, featuring two flukes and a stock at right angles, remained the standard anchor for many centuries. It is commonly referred to as a stock anchor in the United States and a fisherman's anchor in the United Kingdom.