Capstans & Winches

steam-powered winch
A steam-powered winch on a schooner barge. Note the various drums for drawing up anchor chain, towing hawsers, etc, and the anchor chains themselves going down through the deck into the chain locker below.

Prior to steam power, the only force available on a sailing ship to perform all the necessary work was the men on board. For some tasks, such as raising the anchor, it might be necessary to yoke the entire crew to a multi-deck manual capstan. On the largest vessels, even with every available man, this might take several hours to complete. With the advent of steam power, a "donkey engine" and a single engineer could do the work of many men, in less time, and these were soon installed in almost all vessels.

In layman's terms, the difference between a capstan or windlass and a winch is that a capstan or windlass has a vertical axis of rotation, while a winch has a horizontal axis of rotation.

capstan
Modern sailors turn the capstan on the preserved sailing frigate USS Constitution. The capstan bars are removable when not in use. The vertical shaft runs down to the keel of the ship, with similar hubs on decks below.

2 decks x 8 arms per deck x 4 men per arm = 64 men, and the Constitution was not a very big vessel, even for her day.

steam-powered winch
A remarkably similar winch in the bow of the Sea Girt wreck. The anchor, chain pile, a small boiler, and a large towing bit are nearby.
One of several enormous winches on the Oregon
One of several enormous winches on the Oregon.
A more modern winch near the bow of the Mohawk
A more modern winch near the bow of the Mohawk.
A winch on the Macedonia
A winch on the Macedonia.

Shark River Bay Aerial
The new steps are just off the top edge of the photo, past the tennis courts.
Type:
inland tidal bay
Depth:
20 ft max, 15 ft in most places

This dive site, formerly known as 'L Street' has changed completely, and for the better. The town of Belmar has done something really nice for us divers and installed wide wooden steps down the bulkhead in Maclearie Park. This more than makes up for the loss of the boat ramp area, which is off-limits to all swimmers since it was rebuilt. I suppose the little cove by the ramp is still accessible from the beach, but the new site is much better, and far from all the dangerous boat traffic around the ramp and marina.

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