by Gene Andes
Categories:
- Build type: [Scratch]
- Material: [Wood]
- Scale: [1:64 (3/16" = 1')]
- Subject Type: [Salvage]
- Era: [1815-1914]
- Nationality: [United States]
- Propulsion: [Sail]
Model Images
About the Model
I had previously built an anchor hoy, in about 1996, using plans I adapted from an illustration in American Ship Models and How to Build Them by V. K. Grimwood, and I found the hull plan in the Archives shortly afterward. The latter plan was a much more interesting hull, so I used Grimwood’s reconstruction of the sail and rigging plan and adapted them to the “new” hull, when I built this version in 2012.
One reason I built the model was to learn more about how anchors were handled. I had shown anchors fished and catted on several models, and included the anchor buoy on some. When I researched the hoy and how it might be used to retrieve an anchor I learned more about the purpose and uses of the buoy: not just to mark location of anchor, but also to provide means to back out a snagged anchor (by the ship itself) and finally as a way to retrieve an anchor lost when anchor cable or chain broke or was cut. And also concluded that I had been modeling the buoy incorrectly, as it needed to be shorter and stouter than I had been showing.
About the Vessel
“Hoy” was a general term for a harbor workboat and they came in all sizes and specialties. Mostly sail, sometimes oar powered, they were used to carry materiel, equipment, cargo, and supplies to and from vessels at anchor, too large to come alongside docks or pier. The “anchor hoy” was a specialized version with heavy lifting capability used to carry large anchors between ships, or ship to shore, and to relocate old anchors used as mooring points in a harbor. They could also retrieve an anchor via the “anchor buoy” rope as shown in the model.
The model was built from a hull plan in the National Archives, so is presumed American. The plan is a copy of one dated 1836, and the vessel is called “Anchor Hoy and Water Tank” and the plan shows the approximate location of the double capstans and a large water tank in the forward half of the vessel. The plan also shows the large lifting crane/cathead at the bow, but little else. Since hoys were used to supply water to ships at anchor, I suspect this particular boat did double duty. No indication on the plan however of any special pumps to transfer water, so the water tank might have been a variable ballast system for carrying heavy anchors at the stem. But why then call it a “water tank”?