KNOTS, SPLICES, AND BENDS. 



201 



FIG. 57. Stone Killick. 



in attaching a stone to a bulter, or for the purpose of mooring 

 a boat in place of an anchor on very foul rocky ground, with an 

 additional hitch at its side. 



The Killick, or Sling-stone (fig. 57), does the duty of an 

 anchor on rocky or rough ground, the 

 loss of which it often obviates, 



The Yoke Anchor. This is also 

 known by the appellation of the 'killick ' 

 in many places, and consists of a trian- 

 gular frame of wood, enclosing a heavy 

 stone. The piece of wood at the bot- 

 tom, forming the base of the triangle, 

 projects beyond the legs about 5 inches, 

 and the ends act much in the same 

 way as the flukes of an anchor. The 

 legs pass through two holes bored 

 through this piece of wood, which 

 forms the base of the triangle, and a 

 pin through each prevents their slipping 

 out again. This holds better than a stone on a mixed bottom, 

 although it is not equal to an anchor on smooth ground. 

 It is generally used on a rough bottom, and a short piece of 

 half-worn rope should be spliced into the fork of the triangle, 

 and the cable be bent on to this. If this yoke anchor gets 

 fast in the bottom, a heavy strain will break the weak piece of 

 rope, and thus the cable will be saved. The cost of making 

 one of these yoke anchors is very trifling, and the risking of a 

 real anchor is avoided. The stone here shown should also 

 always be slung with a weak piece of rope, and the cable be 

 bent on to it, to avoid risk. Varieties of the wooden anchor 

 combined with a stone appear to have been in use by maritime 

 nations from remote periods. In Norway a wooden cross is 

 used, from the arms of which four legs rise, and are secured 

 together, at a height of about 2 feet 6 inches, enclosing a stone 

 of a sugar-loaf shape to give sufficient weight. This will hold 

 .well upon soft ground, and acts like a mushroom anchor, which 

 are used for mooring the lightships. These contrivances may 

 be looked on as the parents of the iron anchor, and doubtless 



