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Anchoring
Terminology

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• Anchor aweigh: The anchor is said to be
aweigh the moment it is broken out of the
ground and clear of the seabed.
• Anchor a-cockbill: When the anchor is
hanging vertically from the hawsepipe, with
the flukes turned into the ship's side. In this
position, it will not stow correctly in the
hawsepipe.
• Anchor buoy: A buoy used to indicate the
position of the ship's anchor when on the
bottom.
• Anchor coming home: When the anchor is being
drawn towards the ship in the operation of
heaving away, by means of the windlass or the
cable holder/capstan, the anchor is said to be
coming home. Instead of the ship being drawn
towards the anchor, the reverse is happening.
• Anchor dragging: The anchor is said to be
dragging when it is not held in the seabed. It is
said to bite well when it has a good hold in the
ground. The vessel is dragging anchor if she
moves her position while dragging the anchor
over the seabed.
• Anchor warp: The name given to a hawser or
rope when it is attached to the anchor and used
as a temporary cable.
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• Brought up: A vessel is said to be brought up
when her way has stopped and she is riding to
her anchor, with her anchor holding. The term
'come to' and 'got her cable' are sometimes
said to be the same thing. The officer in
charge of the anchor party will know when the
vessel is brought up, by the cable rising up
from the surface towards the hawsepipe when
the brake is holding it. The vessel should then
move towards the anchor, causing the cable to
drop back and make a catenary.
• Cable clench: A strong steel forged fitting in
the cable locker for securing the bitter end of
the cable.
• Cable jack: A device for lifting the cable clear
of the deck.
• Cable's length: A length of 600 ft or 100
fathoms (183 meters).
• Cat the anchor: The anchor is said to be catted
when hung off from what used to be called the
clump cathead. More modern vessels will be
fitted with a pipe lead set back from the line of
the hawsepipe and used for the purpose of
hanging off anchors. Found in practice when
mooring to buoys by means of mooring
shackles with the cable.
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• Chain hook: A long iron hook used for
manhandling cable links.
• Drop an anchor underfoot: Letting an anchor
go to the bottom, then holding on to the brake.
This is sometimes done to steady the ship's
head and prevent it from yawing about when
lying to a single anchor. Care must be taken in
this operation to ensure that the second
anchor is let go when the riding cable is
growing right ahead and not when it leads off
the bow.
• Foul anchor: The term used to describe an
anchor when it has become caught on an
underwater obstruction. The flukes of the
anchor often get fouled by an old hawser or
cable, obstructing its normal use.
• Foul hawse: This term is used to describe the
crossing of the anchor cables when both cables
are being used at the same time, as with a
running standing or open moor, owing to the
uncontrolled swinging of the vessel when
anchored with both anchors (moored).
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• Cross: Occurs when the cables are fouled as in
a foul "hawse," when the ship has swung
through 180 degrees, forming a cross with the
two cables.
• Elbow: Occurs when the cables are fouled as in
a "foul hawse," when the ship has swung 360
degrees, forming an elbow in the anchor
cables.
• Round turns: Occurs when the cables are
fouled as in a "foul hawse," when the ship has
swung through 720 degrees or twice round.
• Grow: The cable is said to grow when the
exposed part of the chain above the surface is
seen to expand towards the anchor.
• Gypsy: The vertical wheel on the windlass that
the cable passes over. The cable is held in the
segments of the wheel known as the "snug."
The gypsy is held by the clutch plate when in
gear or by the brake when about to be let go.
• Hawse pipes: Two pipes on either bow that
accommodate the bow anchors. Some vessels
will be equipped with a stern anchor. The term
hawse pipe is in general use for the stowage
space for the anchors of a vessel.
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• Hove in sight: When heaving anchor, it is
"sighted and clear" at the point when the
anchor crown shackle breaks the surface of
the water. A prudent officer would not
consider the anchor to be clear until they see
that the flukes are clear. Similarly, an officer in
charge of an anchor party tends not to ring
anchor aweigh until they see the anchor is
hove in sight and clear.
• Joggle shackle: may be described as a long-
bent shackle, used for hauling cable round the
bow. Sometimes encountered when clearing a
foul hawse or other similar operation in
moving of the cable.
• Kedging: moving a vessel by means of small
anchors and anchor warps.
• Long stay: the term applicable when the
cable is leading down to the water close to the
horizontal, with the weight on it. A good length
of the cable is exposed.
• Moored: a vessel is said to be moored when
she has two anchors down to the sea bed.
• Ream a shackle: to clean away any residual
lead left inside the lug of a shackle after the
lead pellet and the spile pin ishave been
removed, by the use of a reaming tool.
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• Render cable: To apply the brake lightly so
that when weight comes on the cable it will run
out slowly.
• Shackle of cable: the length of a shackle of
cable is 15 fathoms (90 feet or 27.5 mts). It is
defined by a length of cable between the
joining shackles.
• Sheer: when applied to a vessel at anchor,
sheer is an angular movement of the vessel
about the hawse pipe point, it can be
deliberately caused by applying helm to port
or starboard.
• Sheer anchor: an additional anchor used on
larger vessels; a practice largely dis-continued
(this is not to be confused with the spare
anchor carried by the majority of the vessels).
• Shorten cable: to heave in, a portion of the
cable so as to reduce the scope.
• Short stay: the cable is said to be short stay
when the anchor is hove in close to the ships
side and not over extended. The cable is not up
and down in that position.
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• Snub: to snub the cable is to stop the cable
running out by applying the brake. A vessel is
said to snub round on her anchor when she
checks the paying out of the cable by applying
the brake on the windlass, so causing the cable
to act as a spring, turning the bow smartly in
the direction of the cable.
• Spurling pipes: termed naval pipes in the royal
navy, the cable passes from these pipes
through the windlass or cable holder to the
cable locker.
• Surge: to allow the cable or hawser to run out
under its own weight. The term is often used
when handling mooring ropes on drum ends.
(you should not surge on man-fiber rope,
because of the possibility of heat / friction
causing the yarns / strands to fuse .)
• Tide rode: a vessel is said to be tide rode when
she is riding at anchor head to tide.
• Up & down: the cable is said to be up & down
when the angle the cable makes with the water
surface is 90o, usually just before anchor
aweigh.
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• Veer cable: to pay out cable under power, by

walking back the gypsy of the windlass.
• Walk back the anchor: to lower the anchor
under power.
• Wind rode: a vessel is said to be wind rode
when she is riding at anchor head to wind.
• Yaw: a vessel is said to yaw when at anchor
when she moves to port & starboard of the
anchor position under the influence of wind & /
or tide. Yawing should not be confused with
sheering.

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