Reeve the purchase with a

through a lead, and belaying abaft. piece of rope as large as the cat fall, using another three-fold block. Make the standing part fast to the davit-head, and lead the hauling one across the deck through a lead aft. Steady up the guys and lash the lower purchase block on the upper side of the shank about half way from the crown, the crown of course being aft. If the yards are up, their tackles are useful on each end of the anchor to steady it and keep it square; if not, any tackle outside the fore rigging on the upper stock will do. If on weighing, the anchor is not well poised, it must be relashed. When it is up high enough, the fall is belayed, the davit topped by the runner, the stock and shank painters are passed and bowsed to, the tumblers are raised and placed under the shank, and the anchor lowered on them and secured, keeping the edge of the flue well on the bill board. The upper arm is confined by a slip lashing, and a tripping strop is passed round the lower one. If the ganger is in the lighter, it will save trouble to bend it before hauling ahead.

For the Bower anchor-the cat-fall is rove from inboard, through the foremost sheave in the cat-head, the foremost in the cat-block, and so on full, the end being timber hitched round the inner and after part of the cat-head.

The cat-block is iron bound, three-fold, with a standing large hook pointing inwards, and the fall is first rove through its fore side, that the other parts may not ride whilst hauling them taut through, when the tackle is led forward.

The Cat is hooked to the ring of the anchor, the fish to the inner flue, and a tackle put on the upper stock. Whichever way the anchor lies in the lighter, unless it is raised by the tackles simultaneously, the vessel will be stove. When high enough, the topping-lift brings the flue on the bill board, and the cat-stopper and shank painter are passed. All these stoppers or painters should be passed under and over so that, when let go, their ends will be thrown downwards; else they will sometimes come inboard with a most dangerous jerk.

The cat and fish are unhooked, and a similar operation performed on the other side.

The bower chains are hauled out of the inner hawse holes by hawsers led through leading blocks made fast on the stock of their anchors, and shackled on to the rings.

The object of the stock-tackle is to throw the lower end of

the stock off the bow, otherwise, it would turn inwards, over the slack cable, and the anchor would come up foul. The omission of this essential duty in stowing an anchor has interfered with many a passing certificate.

Stream anchors are conveniently stowed when placed flat on the deck amidships at the bows of the boom boats; anywhere but on the sheet anchors. They are usually carried out by a boom boat; and when the tackles have hoisted the boat out, the main yard and fore-stay are immediately available for hoisting out the anchor.

The outer ends of the gangers being shackled to the waist anchors, the inner ones are hauled in through the outer hawse holes, and are secured inboard, being thus ready for connection with a third or fourth cable when requisite.

The lashing of a ganger carried away in a first rate when at sea in a gale; the bucklers and hawse plugs were dragged out, and a serious amount of water shipped before the mischief was remedied.

The bights of the gangers are stopped up outside, clear of the ports.*

The buoys and buoy ropes are now put on the anchors; the bower cables are hauled in taut and bitted. Thus, hook a block to the eye-bolt which is over the bitt head, reeve a hook rope in it, and hook on the cable a little abaft the cross piece of the bitts. A few careful observations will teach the very link that should be hooked. Light forward the chain; trice up the bight,

Fig. 168.

a

letting the after part fold over to the side on which the cable is, and then throw it over the bitt head, as in fig. 168; the

* At sea, with the cables bent, hawse plugs, scored out to fit the cable, should always be driven into the hawse holes before securing the bucklers.

starboard cable, a, being with the sun, and the port cable, b, being against the sun.

The object of the buoy is to indicate the position of the anchor when on the bottom; and the buoy rope is supposed to be equal to weighing the anchor, in the event of the ship having slipped, or the cable having parted. Care is taken that the buoy rope is not longer than is necessary to let the buoy watch at the highest time of tides where used.

Hemp cables are usually made with a shackle spliced into one end, and it is well to fit the other in a similar manner. (Fig. 165.)

When supplied with splicing tails, the end is unlaid for some distance; and, after leaving length enough for the tails, laid up again. It is now open enough in the strands to admit of being fidded out for splicing. Put a seizing on at the place from whence it is unlaid, open the strands of the tails, taper and plait them down, finishing with a piece of rope. The chain tails are puddened, and hitched down; then proceed with the chain and rope tails as with a common splice, expending the ends along the lay of the cables, and seizing them down.

Coil hemp cables, both in the lighter and tier, right handed, clenching the lower end in the heart of the tier to a chain strop round a beam, and lashing down to an adjoining one.*

CHAP. XIV.

STORES AND PROVISIONS.

TOPMASTS of large ships weigh as much as three tons, and should therefore be hoisted in with the yards and stays.

If the fore ends of spars take the fore rigging or backstays, a pull on the after main brace will clear them; but as a general rule, it is a sign of indifferent contrivance, and it certainly is unsafe to touch braces when yards are bearing weights.

* In fitting out and paying off, large ships are sometimes placed at moorings where they take the ground at very low water; so that unless allowance be made for this possibility, whilst lashing lighters for the night, if the ship should ground, the timbers are either torn out of the lighter, or else lashings are carried away, and she gets adrift.

The fore stay is occasionally taken to the after, and the main stay to the foremost ends of a long spar, and thus kept clear of the rigging; when this is done care must be taken in lowering, for the spar is very apt to "sally" fore or aft.

In slinging spars alongside, wet and its consequences may be avoided by running a large hoop up on the spar, stopping the end of the slings, or lashing to it, and turning it round.

Booms should be secured with strops having lashings at each end; certainly on one end: long lashings passed turn by turn are very tedious, both in securing and casting loose.

In hoisting in spars that are in the water, it is sometimes not easy to see that the tackles are properly hooked to the strops. Accidents have happened by hooking the stay to one bight of a strop passed twice round the spar, and the yard tackle to the other bight. All goes well whilst there is an equal strain on each tackle, but on easing in the yard, the spar rolls suddenly out of the strop. The heel of a top-mast went through the deck of the **** in this way.

Provisions, water casks, &c. are usually hoisted in by the quarter" tackle and small stay. Jammed fingers on deck, broken heads in the lighter or launch, the paintwork outside, and gang boards, will all be saved by working the lower block of the tackle with a light tricing whip on the yard. The stay hooks to the cap with a lizard on the main-stay, so as to overlook the hatchway, and it is well to fit its lower block with a second strop for the quarter, which may thus be unhooked before lowering down the hatchway.

In putting on a whip for the quarter, it should be on the lift, and bent on the pendant some distance down, having the hook stopt above the bend. The heavier the lower block of the quarter the better, as it will overhaul down more easily.

In hoisting in water casks that have been rafted, lift them with can-hooks into the stern sheets of a boat; then sling them, and much delay will be avoided.

In starting water, it may be of consequence to remember the curious fact in hydraulics, that more water issues from a vessel through a short pipe, than through a simple aperture of the same diameter with the pipe; and still more will come if the pipe he funnel shaped.

All lime should be slaked before being received on board.

In completing provisions and stores, when stronghanded, the more lighters that can be had the better. Every yard davit, or other projection may have a whip, and especial working party,

The lighters must, however, be stowed with reference to this simultaneous clearance, so that there may be no delay in waiting for articles that should be stowed in certain order in the holds.

Each cask has its contents and date of package marked on it; and the provisions are stowed in such proportions that one day's allowance of every kind can be got out without breaking bulk. The newest sort are placed lowest, and all casks are stowed bung up. Billets of wood (" Dunnage ") are packed under the "chines," so that not only is the whole stowage made secure from the danger of shifting, but a sufficiency of fuel for the ovens is daily forthcoming.

A press of work such as this, unavoidably affords opportunities for trickery; and as in the early history of a ship there are always some who are more skilful with a gimlet and piece of straw, than with a marlingspike and piece of rope, spirit casks should be struck down and secured in the spirit room without a moment's delay.

A young officer will find that the stowage of holds offers favourable opportunities for learning the use of bale and butt slings, can-hooks, levers, wedges, &c., besides being very useful in carrying out the orders against naked lights.

The keys of all store rooms are kept in the first lieutenant's cabin, and are supposed to be absent from thence only during the actual issues of stores. In ships where the bread-room has been made a mess place, and the fore store-rooms a lounging place for idlers, the natural consequences have been foul air, dirt, and danger. From such causes, the *** was twice on fire during one commission.

The engineers' stores are in such constant demand when under steam, that their store-room must be kept open: but it must be remembered that hemp or cotton, &c. with oil and lamp black, &c. (such as wipes," for instance), generate heat, and will eventually ignite spontaneously on exposure to air.

When the lamps are put in order, oil" lights up" better than candles. A pint of good oil will burn eleven hours in an argand lamp, and give light equal to that of three six-mould candles.