Modern Ship Model Fittings

The first anchors were probably made of stone. The disk-shaped stones had at least one hole in the middle, to attach the line, and the stone anchors probably could serve as ballast as well. Stone anchors have been used in parts of the world until historical times. In Roman times, in the Mediterranean, ship anchors were made of either lead and wood, or entirely of iron.

The weapons and supplies of war with which a military unit is equipped.

A telegraph is an apparatus, usually mechanical, for transmitting and receiving orders between the bridge of a ship and the engine room or some other part of the engineering department. In early vessels, from the 19th century until about 1950, the device usually consisted of a round dial about nine inches (20 centimeters) in diameter with a knob at the center attached to one or more handles, and an indicator pointer on the face of the dial.

First developed in the late 15th century, the davit is any of various crane-like devices used on a ship for supporting, raising, and lowering boats, anchors, etc. Davits are most often used to lower an emergency lifeboat to the embarkation level to be boarded. Davits can also be used as man-overboard safety devices to retrieve personnel from the water.

A closed weather tight door can seal out spray and periodic minor flow over weather decks, but may leak during immersion. These outward opening doors are useful at weather deck entrances to compartments above the main deck. Joiner doors are similar to doors used in conventional buildings ashore. They afford privacy and temperature control for compartments formed by non-structural bulkheads within the ship's hull.

A fender is any piece of equipment, such as a tire, inflated ball or cylinder, or rope, which, when mounted or inserted between the vessel and another object, will absorb shock and prevent damage or chafing. It is a bumper used to absorb the kinetic energy of a boat or vessel berthing against a jetty, quay wall or other vessel. Fenders are used to prevent damage to boats, vessels and berthing structures.

Historically, fenders were woven from rope in a variety of patterns. Fenders of woven rope are still used today by historic boat owners.

Hatch covers are used to cover and protect the cargo in the cargo spaces. Hatch covers close off the hatch opening and makes it water tight. In the days of wooden ships, the hatch covers were made of wooden planks, beams and boards and were covered with tarpaulins.

Wooden hatch covers had many drawbacks. Mainly, they used to get spoilt due to continuous exposure to the moisture laden sea winds. Rain and sea water also used to produce detrimental effects on the wooden hatch covers. But with the advent of steel, the wooden hatch covers started disappearing.

Nowadays, mostly steel hatch covers are used.

Horns, Sirens & Whistles all have one thing in common; they are a signal that sounds a warning be it navigational hazards or emergencies.

Each ship used several different types of ladders. The straight inclined ladder was the most common. Some inclined ladders, used along bulwarks or at poop and quarter deck steps, had curved sides. Simple vertical ladders were also common.

On late 19th-century warships flexible hanging ladders would replace the normal fixed ladders on deck during battle. These and railings would be removed and replaced with Jacob's ladders and ropes while preparing for battle the days before. This was done to prevent them from blocking line of sight or turning into shrapnel when hit by enemy shells.

Life rafts in general are collapsible, and stored in a heavy-duty canisters, and also contain some high-pressure gas to allow automatic inflation to the operations size.
A lifebuoy, ring buoy, life ring, lifesaver, life preserver or life belt,is a lifesaving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in the water, to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning.
A life vest consisting of a sleeveless jacket of buoyant or inflatable design such as cork is rescue equipment consisting of a buoyant belt or jacket to keep a person from drowning.

Steering Wheel. From the 15th to the early 18th century, the tiller was controlled by a vertical side-to-side lever attached to its end. The earliest forerunner of the wheel was a horizontal drum. The full-fledged wheel made its debut around 1714-15. The wheel pedestal, a late 19th century innovation, contained mechanical steering linkage, and often doubled as a binnacle stand.

Long the workhorse on many a cruising boat, polyester (Dacron) double-braid is still a good choice for many onboard applications. Dacron is about 220 times stronger than manila. It is resistant to water and chemicals, will not rot and it stretches very little.

One of the most complex areas of boating is the light combinations used on ships at night. To avoid collisions, vessels mount navigation, masthead, stern and bow lights that permit other vessels to determine the type and relative angle of a vessel, and thus decide if there is a danger of collision. Other types of lighting are searchlights and deck lights.

A net is large piece of open-meshed material used for fishing, climbing, fastening down cargo or camouflage on board the ship.

An oil drum is a cylindrical container used for transporting mainly liquid bulk goods such as oil and fuel. The drums are typically made of steel or plastic with a ribbed outer wall to improve rigidity and for rolling.

Developed in 1827, the screw propeller is a mechanical device for propelling a boat through water. Consisting of a revolving shaft with two or more broad, angled blades attached to it, the propeller transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the blade.

Equipment used for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of ships by sending out pulses of high-frequency electromagnetic waves that are reflected off the object back to the source.

In sailing, a block is a single or multiple pulley. One or a number of sheaves are enclosed in an assembly between cheeks or chocks. In use, a block is fixed to the end of a line, to a spar, or to a surface. A line (rope) is reeved through the sheaves, and maybe through one or more matching blocks at some far end, to make up a tackle.

A stanchion is the upright member that, along with a rail, is used as a guard or barrier on the outer deck edge of a ship. The taffrail was the open rail across (or around) the stern, especially when there was a raised quarter deck. It was supported by decorative turned pillars, called stanchions.

A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eye bolts, one screwed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a right-hand thread.

Note: length measurement is eye-to-eye.

A ventilation cowl is a hood-shaped covering used to increase the draft of a chimney and prevent backflow. A ship board vent permits the passage of air, steam and galley stove smoke in and out of the cabin or engine room of a boat while keeping rain, spray, and sea wash out.

A horizontal winch used on ships to hoist anchors and haul on mooring lines. The winch restrains and manipulates the anchor chain on a boat, allowing the anchor to be raised and lowered by means of chain cable.