Nautical Style

Boat and ship anchors are relied upon to keep a vessel from drifting due to wind and current, typically in shallow, protected inshore waters. They come in many shapes and sizes, from a small sand anchor, for your tinnie, to gigantic stockless anchors for the massive ships that ply the oceans today.

Small sailing yachts and motor yachts typically rely on four main anchor types, i.e. the Bruce, the (stockless) CQR, the Delta, and the Danforth. For larger yachts and motor vessels, the Admiralty Pattern anchor may be used. Larger ships typically rely on the Stockless (bower) anchor.

Although anchors come in many shapes and sizes, they all have a couple of common features:

1. A shank with a ring or shackle to which a heavy anchor chain is attached;

2. Flukes that branch out from the crown, or bottom end, of the shank.