A fish davit is a piece of timber that has a sheave or roller block on the end. This is used like a crane and, with a partner, hoists the flukes of a large anchor up and out of the water so that the anchor does not slam into – and potentially hole – the hull of the ship. The process is referred to as fishing the anchor. The lower end of such a davit rests above the cathead at the fore of the ship where the anchor is secured when not in use. The upper part of the pulley system is secured to a tackle from the foremast head.
Smaller davits, known as boat davits, can be fitted into larger ship’s boats such as a penace to assist in weighing the boat’s smaller anchor.
Davit guys are ropes used to secure a davit for duty. Davit rope is the lashing used to store the davit securely when not in use. A davit topping lift is a rope which is attached to the outer end of a davit. Similar to the system of the fish davit, this rope is passed through a block secured aloft to a vessel’s mast. This davit is specifically used for bringing an anchor inboard for repair or cleaning.
Davies and davits are, of course, no kin to Davy Jones, the origin of whose name remains one of the mysteries of the sea. The Sailor’s Word Book addresses him no further than to say he is “… the spirit of the sea; a nikker; a sea-devil”.
Header: Looking out of Battle Harbor by William Bradford ~ davits can be seen projecting from the stern of the sloop in the foreground
5 comments:
Ahoy, Pauline! But is Davy Jones the owner of Davies' sow? And how drunk is he (the sow, I mean)?
Oh, nice painting too...
Ahoy, Timmy! Well, if it's a sow it's a she so I'm going to say she's a pretty toasted porker, at least according to Preserved Killick.
I did an inspection of one of my sailors' work, once... his PM was on "Boat Stowage Gear" which is what some plankowner long ago had ceremoniously titled the boat davit. Not knowing enough to ask what the "Boat Stowage Gear" entailed, apparently, the young feller showed me what he performed the maintenance upon.... it was not the davit, but a locker of cleaning gear nearby. His reasoning was that it was cleaning gear for Deck Department being stowed, and therefore "Boat Stowage Gear". I commended him for his ingenuity, and then reminded him that the Boat Davit still required maintenance :-)
Ahoy Charles; good to hear from ya! And thanks for adding to the post with a little modern insight. The more things change...
You're most welcome, ma'am, and thanky for the well-wishes :-)
Interesting theme we have hit upon: "The more things change..." haha Too True!
As for me, busy, busy, busy! [and ye know it - if I am too busy to write, I am busy indeed!]
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