Age of a ship thru size of anchor????

[cornelis 816]

Ivan did you sail in the old Spanish merchant navy ?

 

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[Jolly Mon]

As Ivan points out , the presence of a forged cross member near the top of the shank --the "stock"--strongly indicates a date of construction after 1820. Prior to 1820 there would have been a hole or square cutout near the top of the shank at right angles to the flukes to facilitate the insertion of a wooden "stock". This is a generalization in terms of dates, of course...

If there is no sign of chain and there is a hole at the top of the shank for the insertion of a cross member...in other words, if there is no "stock" visible, you probably have an anchor dating from the 18th century or earlier.

 

[ivan salis]

corn -- not I ( I sailed for 27 years On the modern US merchant marine vessels) but past members of my family might have sailed for the old Spanish merchant navy long ago 1700 /1800's * remember what I said about my 300 year old family line of "merchant seaman" on my dads side -- I do have a Spanish background in my family tree. seafaring knowledge is often pasted down father to son -- thus a seafarer will know many odd and strange things related to the sea via the "family storehouse" of knowledge

a wooden stock (or cross bar) * means pre 1804 in 1804 they came out with the iron stock type cross bars --which rapidly got rid of the older style wooden stock type anchors *-- so rough rule of thumb is wooden stock -- hole but no wood or wooden stock pre 1804 -- iron stock type cross bar 1804 or later

 

[Old Bookaroo]

I recommend Potter's Treasure Diver's Guide for questions such as this one. In many respects the technology has changed since 1960's, of course. But this remains the single best source out there.

"Anchors, Chains, and Cables"

If the anchor is hand-forged, it was made before 1510. If cast in one piece it can be dated after 1510. If it has an iron stock, or crossbar, it was made after 1820. If a rectangular hole penetrates the shank near the top, at right angles to the arms and flukes, the anchor dates before 1820, and had a wooden crossbar...

The size is not a good indication of the ship's tonnage, because often as many as six anchors were carried on a nao or caravel. In general, if the shank is no longer than 9 feet, the ship was small - a caravel or patache. The larger galleons, naos, frigates, and warships all had anchors about 15 feet long and 12 feet from fluke to fluke, which varied so little in construction between 1600 and 1800 that an expert often cannot identify their period...

Anchors were suspended from rope cables, often 20 inches in circumference, until the early 1800s. if an anchor chain is found, it dates the wreck as after 1815.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

 

[ivan salis]

a 8 foot long 1820ish type kedge anchor was used commonly on british frigate class vessels of the 5th rate class 16 guns per side (32 guns total) which tended to run about 260 tons

 

[Southern_Digger]

corn -- not I ( I sailed for 27 years On the modern US merchant marine vessels) but past members of my family might have sailed for the old Spanish merchant navy long ago 1700 /1800's * remember what I said about my 300 year old family line of "merchant seaman" on my dads side -- I do have a Spanish background in my family tree. seafaring knowledge is often pasted down father to son -- thus a seafarer will know many odd and strange things related to the sea via the "family storehouse" of knowledge

a wooden stock (or cross bar) * means pre 1804 in 1804 they came out with the iron stock type cross bars --which rapidly got rid of the older style wooden stock type anchors *-- so rough rule of thumb is wooden stock -- hole but no wood or wooden stock pre 1804 -- iron stock type cross bar 1804 or later

Who is they? which country? Spain? It was not uncommon for one country to sail a ship that was seized from another country. Also, consider this, if a Portuguese vessel lost an anchor in the Caribbean, they certainly will not sail home to get a replacement. Instead, they will acquire what ever is available in the nearest harbor, no matter the nationality of the anchor or for how many years that anchor has been in service. So, if you find an anchor and that anchor is used to i.d. and date a shipwreck, the best average of accuracy would be 50-50. For this reason alone, one must use several identifiable artifacts to cross-reference and increase the accuracy of dating an unknown shipwreck. The more the better... just me thinking out loud...

 

[ivan salis]

oh agreed without a doubt a spread of artifacts would be better than a "single one" thats just good ole common sense * but an anchor can often tell you a lot of info in the proper context

 

[Mud Skipper]

Does the anchor have a ring if so what is the inside diameter of the ring and thickness.
What are the shapes of the flukes?
Those two things will narrow it down, however as you already know an anchor could have been recovered several times over for years on end, or used to salvage or you are in an area where they careened vessels and its an old mooring or or or or or, you get it. Judging by your question regarding chain,,,if it has chain?
There was a day sail boat from St.John that brought customers over to the BVI every week, one of the guest from New York found a small anchor with chain running towards the shore, they subsequently dived the wreck for a couple seasons, I was never interested as the coins they recovered much like yours were pillar dollars 1790 - 1850 period. Enjoy your site.

oh agreed without a doubt a spread of artifacts would be better than a "single one" thats just good ole common sense * but an anchor can often tell you a lot of info in the proper context

 

[BVI Hunter]

Gonna have to get my tank back on and take a closer look!!

thanks all - great info!!!