Windlass and Forecastle Arrangement     

 Up to the 19th century naval ships brought in the anchor cable (hemp) by means of a capstan operated on one or two decks, this also being the only machine for moving or hoisting any heavy weights. Merchant ships also had capstans, somewhat smaller and chiefly used for warping into berths. The anchor cable was brought in by means of a windlass, along horizontal barrel operated by handspikes inserted into holes. This barrel, in small ships, was secured at each end in heavy sockets built against the bulwarks, and in larger ships in sockets or holes in heavy wooden posts (carrick bitts) which had strong knees to the deck on their forward sides.

  Chain cables had been in use since the first decade of the 19th century, with studded links on some of the larger Indiamen, and by the advent of the American clippers were in common use.
With the ship at anchor the strain on the cable was taken by the turns on the windlass barrel which was prevented from unwinding by a heavy iron plate ratchet (pawl) from another strong post, which dropped by gravity into an iron cogged rim around the middle of the barrel. Sometimes there were up to three of these pawls of varying lengths above one another. The windlass thus could only operate normally in one direction, bringing the cable aboard and not letting it go. When a ship was coming to anchor an estimate had to be made beforehand of the approximate length of cable required and this was brought up from the cable locker. The end of the cable was led over the top of the windlass barrel from aft with two complete turns and then forward through the hawse pipe and shackled to the anchor ring. The full length of required cable had now to be pulled around the windlass drum and laid along the deck in long loops until the turns around the windlass were at the end of the required length, or as nearly so as could be estimated. When the anchor was let go, the cable along the deck would run out until it was stopped by the turns around the windlass, which were left slack to avoid a sudden shock. Any additional length required had to be eased around the drum by means of long hooks, and additional hooks with two prongs were hooked onto links of the cable and attached to an eyebolt on the centre pawl bitt to help ease the strain on the windlass when riding at anchor .

  The wooden windlass drum had iron whelps around it which were renewable and varied in shape, their purpose being to protect the wood and also grip the cable. Sometimes the last length of cable might pull around the windlass in a shower of sparks before being held tight, and when this happened it was necessary to keep the turns around the windlass free of each other, otherwise they could override,jam and possibly break.

  To prevent this, stout iron bar hoops called normans were inserted into holes in the upper whelps, straddling each separate turn. The hoops and the windlass remained stationary, locked by the pawl. The period of the 1830s and 1840s was prolific in the invention of  mechanical gadgets for ships.