Weighing Anchor

starboard anchor of The starboard anchor of the OLYMPIC being either raised or lowered

How the center anchor was raised and lowered

The TITANIC had 5 anchors; two on the stern and three on the bow. The anchors were of course used to hold the ship in place as either passengers were boarding or they were loading cargo. The anchors weighed 15 1/4 tons (34,188 pounds) each.

The center anchor was pulled up and lowered down by the crane which is seen as a sideways triangle on the bow and raised and lowered the center anchor by a series of pulleys. A rope was used on the crane since in could not support the weight of a chain. The rope itself was made of very thin strips on metal which was stronger and could not easily snap as the string rope for the center anchor of the Maurentania did.

The starboard and port anchors of the bow and stern were held by chains and were raised and lowered the way a normal ship today does. The chains themselves weighed 108 pounds per feet and were 175 fathoms long (1 fathom = 1/2 mile). Today, the anchors on the bow are out waiting to be lowered.