20G 



SUEMAEINE CABLE LAYING AND EEPURING. 



In 1899 the late Mr. W. J. Murphy brought out the well- 

 known rock grapnel bearing his name, which has for many 

 years been in use with conspicuous success. The illustration 

 (Fig. 118) shows two of these grapnels shackled together and 

 Fig. 118a four similarly connected in the manner ordinarily 

 used. The chain foim allows the grapnel to follow the con- 

 figuration of uneven bottoms and 

 the small diameter of body renders 

 it capable of passing over the bow 

 sheaves. Cable can therefore be 

 hove up immediately under the 

 bows and a good deal of time 

 saved in stoppering, or a slack 

 end may be hauled right inboard, 

 thus obviating the necessity of 

 lowering a man over the bows to 

 put on stoppers. 



The grapnel is star shape in 

 section, the body having five 

 ribs each of which at the lower 

 end is formed into a hook. The 

 dimensions of the body are small in comparison with ordinary 

 protected prong grapnels ; consequently it is not so easily 

 caught in crevices of rocks and the liability to get jambed is 

 minimised. The top and bottom eyes are in different planes, 

 separated by half the angle between the ribs, so that when 

 shackled together one grapnel has two hooks engaged in the 



Fig. 117. 



Fig. 118. — Murphy's Eoek Grapnel. 



bottom and the succeeding one a single hook towing in a line 

 between the other two. This increases the chances of hooking 

 cable, especially with four grapnels in tow. The ribs extend 

 outwards rather further than the prongs and thus protect the 

 latter from injury. Also the openings between ribs and prongs 

 are restricted, so minimising the chances of breaking off prongs 



