THE POCKET BOOK OF ANCHORING

Every mariner should bear in mind the enormous number of vessels sailing the world’s oceans today when considering the anchors and the associated anchor work. In the past the anchors, together with their auxiliary equipment and arrangements, used to be designed for the vessels of relatively small size and tonnage. They were considered adequate to comply with the specifications in terms of the bottom and weather conditions.

Nowadays, the vessels are of considerably larger size; however, the expectations set for the anchor equipment are more or less same. But for the really big vessels this is not possible and that is why the seamanship methods shall be re-considered. We shall always note that the anchors are there to temporary hold the vessel in position awaiting pilot or berth availability. This book will provide all information needed to arrange the anchor operations in safe and effective manner. The author has covered such important areas as the types of the ship anchors, anchor chains and windlasses, forcesand holding powers, anchorages including positioning and maneuverability, responsibilities etc.

The separate chapter is devoted to the anchoring and mooring methods. Moreover, there is another chapter covering only the large sized vessels. The other items addressed include after-anchoring activities, handling-off anchors, maintenance of the ground tackle, and others.