T&T: Anchor Chain Recommendation

[Bob Austin]

John,

I don't question your wisdom or knowlege about what is done in the merchant
marine.
I have absolutely no knowlege of that world.

The reality is that in todays world the chainwheel/wildcat is also called a
Gipsy/Gypsy.  That is all that it is called in an number of product
catalogues.  Language evolves with time.  Neither you or I can change that.
We don't use all of the nautical termology which was utalized 60 years ago.
How many on this list know what a "Crance Iron" is?  Most likely less than
10%.

 I also called the chain wheel a "wildcat" for a long time, but since the
current termology is changed, I went with the times.  There may be an
explaination--and that is that many of the windlasses today have combination
rope chain wheels--which cannot correctly be called a wildcat, so this is
perhaps why the term "gypsy" has evolved to be the combination rope chain
wheels and eventually also applied to chain wheels.

I agree with the use of capstan as being a vertical axis traditionally.

Specific defination in Rogers Origins of Sea Terms is: " Gipsy the warping
head of a winch or windlass" 19th century.  It does not specifiy vertical or
horizontal axis.  "1.Warp means to move a vessel at a dock or pier with the
use of lines."  "2. the line used in Warping".  Most often ships were wraped
with the capstan.  I prefer to call a vertical axis drum a capstan and a
horizontal axis drum a "drum"--Gipsy would be correct, but then there comes
confusion in todays yacht, because the combination rope chain--which many
windlass are equipt with is present.  We are not on a merchant ship.

..  --It is possiable that the word Gipsy was derived from that fact that
Gipsies were slaves to row the Galleys and may have also been utalized to warp
the boats at docks....

I am afraid that I will still call the combination rope chain wheel a gipsy.
Your points are very well taken.

Regards,

Bob Austin