US3908575A - Anchor particularly suitable for small boats - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention has for its object an improved anchor, particularly suitable for small boats, having at the same time high capacities of grounding on a sandy or muddy bottom, a shape such as to allow an easy breaking ground and further a shape such as to allow chains or ropes to slide over it without being engaged thereby when said anchor is in mooring position, and finally a shape such as to allow the anchor to easily break ground when it slides on chains or ropes met on the bottom.

Description

United States Patent [191 Giolfo ANCHOR PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR SMALL BOATS [76] Inventor: Mario Giolfo, Via Sergio Piombclli 27/3, Genoa, Certosa, Italy [22] Filed: Oct. 15, 1974 [211 Appl. No.: 514,914

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 27, 1973 Italy 13012/73 [52] US. Cl 114/206 R [51] int. Cl. B63B 21/24 [58] Field of Search 114/206 R, 207; 52/155, 52/156 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 902,046 10/1908 Babcock 1 14/206 R l,705,335 3/1929 Owen 114/206 R [4 1 Sept. 30, 1975 Brady 114/207 Skoog 114/206 R Primary E.\'uminer--Trygve M. Blix Assismn! ExaminerCharles E. Frankfort Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert E. Burns; Emmanuel J. Lobato; Bruce L. Adams [57] ABSTRACT The present invention has for its object an improved anchor, particularly suitable for small boats, having at the same time high capacities of grounding on a sandy or muddy bottom, a shape such as to allow an easy breaking ground and further a shape such as to allow chains or ropes to slide over it without being engaged thereby when said anchor is in mooring position, and finally a shape such as to allow the anchor to easily break ground when it slides on chains or ropes met on the bottom.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures Sept. 30,1975

US. Patent ANCHOR PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR SMALL BOATS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known that an anchor efficiency depends on one side on its capacity to grasp the bottom and on the other side on its weight.

The efficient weight of the anchor may be increased by the weight of the chain or rope the anchor is connected to. As a matter of fact, it is an old sea practice to give the anchor a chain length up to about seven times the water depth for ensuring a good anchoring. In this case it is obvious that a good portion of chain rests on the bottom and co-operates with the anchor in preventing the latter from dragging.

On the other side, a good anchor may break ground easily when the chain is brought to sink and that is a feature which in a certain sense is in opposition to the one requiring the anchor surely grounded when the boat is moored.

With the help of the length of the chain or rope, the anchors now available succeed in solving well enough said task, particularly for the large boats in which the chain length may be increased, if necessary.

On the contrary, on the small boats it is necessary for the anchor a greater capacity to ground on the bottom, considering the lower efficiency of the relatively thin chain and smaller rope. Further, there is the disadvantage that as the small boats are to be often moored in small spaces close to many other similar boats, the chains or ropes of the anchors easily entangle with one another. And that happens very easily in the small har bours.

Therefore, it would be convenient that the anchor shape may be such as not to engage the chain or rope of another anchor which incidentally slide over it.

No one of the anchors at present available has such a feature.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, the invention aims at providing an improved anchor having at the same time high capacities of grounding on a sandy or muddy bottom, a shape such as to allow an easy breaking ground, fur ther a shape such as to allow chains or ropes to slide over it without being engaged thereby when said anchor is in mooring position, and finally a shape such as to allow the anchor to easily break ground when it slides on chains or ropes met on the bottom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that it may be clearly understood, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of an anchor according to the invention, this view being partly in section along lines 1-l in FIG. 2, and

FIG. 2 shows a front view of the same anchor.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Said anchor consists substantially of two main elements, a straight stem 1 and a tubular element 2 of cylindrical shape, acting at the same time as a pair of arms and as a crown 2 of the anchor.

Said tubular element, as shown in the drawings, may comprise a metal pipe 2 cut obliquely with respect to its axis by two parallel planes 4 and 5. These planes accordingly define with the pipe axis and with the generatrix 9 of the tubular or cylindrical element, an oblique angle A, advantageously comprised between 60 and Said stem 1 is fixed on the inner face of said tubular element 2 corresponding to a generatrix and projects through plane 4. For fastening said stem 1 to said tubular element, there is provided a seat which comprises for instance a pair of bent rods 6 welded on the inner face of said element 2, to define a triangular seat for the stem end 1 in body 2. The locking between said stern and element 2 may be obtained in any known way, e.g., by means of pins 7. As shown in the drawings, said stem 1 is obtained from a T-shaped section insertable with a sufficient comfort in the space obtained between said tubular element 2 and said rods 6. As said stem could be made in any other cross section, it is obvious that in such a case also the space defined by said rods 6 should be modified accordingly.

On the inner face of said element 2, and on the side opposite to said rods 6, there is provided a semicylindrical metal plate element 8, arranged inclined for about lO-30 with respect to the generatrix 9, diametrally opposite to the position of said stem 1.

Thus a gap 10 is provided between a part of the annular element 2, opposite to the position of said stem 1, and the semicylindrical element 8. The gap is wedgeshaped. Similarly the edges of said elements 2 and 8, facing along the stem 1, are wedge shaped, tapering toward plane 4. The gap 10 between the plate element 8 and the tubular element 2 is suitably filled with a heavy material, e.g., lead, so that when resting on the bottom the anchor tends to position itself with its edge 11 and the upper end 12 of said stem 1 resting on the bottom, shown with the dotted line 13 in the drawings.

Said dotted line 13 is inclined with respect to the apparent horizontal of the sheet only for drawing purposes, while said line is actually nearly horizontal in operative conditions.

Plate element 8 is welded along its front edge 14 and its side sides 15 to the inner face of said tubular element 2.

As for the anchor operation, when the anchor reaches the bottom owing to the weight of said filling 10 and element 8, it rests naturally with its edge 11 and upper end 12 against the bottom shown by said dotted line 13.

If incidentally the anchor reaches at the beginning the bottom with the whole length of said stem 1 adjacent to said bottom, the weight of elements 810 and the circular shape of said element 2 enable the anchor to rotate so as to take the correct position on the bottom.

Under a pulling action exerted on the shackle, that is on the upper end 12 of said stem 1, by the anchor chain, the tapered edge 11 of said tubular element 2 tends to insert itself onto the bottom. If, notwithstanding that, the pulling action on the chain is such as to cause the anchor to drag, the portion of the tubular element 2 inserting itself into the bottom increases, with a corresponding increase in the anchoring effect.

Besides this advantage, the anchor according to the invention offers two other advantages.

Thanks to the relatively smooth shape of the upper profile of the anchor according to the invention when same is grounded onto the bottom, the chain or rope of another anchor may slide on the back of the anchor according to the invention without being engaged thereby.

If, during breaking ground, the anchor according to the invention meets the rope or chain of another anchor, the obtuse angle B complementary to angle A, and the absence of projections extending forward from the tubular element 2 enable the anchor to avoid any engagement with such a rope or chain, whereby said anchor may be easily recovered even when many other small boats are moored close by.

What I claim is:

1. An improved anchor particularly suitable for medium and small boats, comprising a straight stem and a substantially tubular anchoring body with parallel bases, said bases forming with the axis of said tubular body an oblique angle, said stem being fastened inside said tubular body, parallel to a generatrix thereof in such a position that the stem projects through one of said bases and that the axis of said stem intersects said one base of said tubular body at an angle larger than 2. An improved anchor as claimed in claim 1, including in said tubular body, in a position diametrically opposed to the stem, ballast means secured to said body.

3. An anchor according to claim 2, wherein said ballast means comprises an approximately semicylindrical metal plate element secured to an inside surface of said tubular body at an acute angle, the vertex of which points in the direction in which the stem projects.

4. An anchor according to claim 3 including a filling of heavy material between said plate element and said surface.

5. An anchor according to claim 1 in which said anchoring body has an edge portion, opposite said stem, which portion tapers in the direction in which the stem projects.

Claims (5)

1. An improved anchor particUlarly suitable for medium and small boats, comprising a straight stem and a substantially tubular anchoring body with parallel bases, said bases forming with the axis of said tubular body an oblique angle, said stem being fastened inside said tubular body, parallel to a generatrix thereof in such a position that the stem projects through one of said bases and that the axis of said stem intersects said one base of said tubular body at an angle larger than 90*.

2. An improved anchor as claimed in claim 1, including in said tubular body, in a position diametrically opposed to the stem, ballast means secured to said body.

3. An anchor according to claim 2, wherein said ballast means comprises an approximately semi-cylindrical metal plate element secured to an inside surface of said tubular body at an acute angle, the vertex of which points in the direction in which the stem projects.

4. An anchor according to claim 3 including a filling of heavy material between said plate element and said surface.

5. An anchor according to claim 1 in which said anchoring body has an edge portion, opposite said stem, which portion tapers in the direction in which the stem projects.

Images