Allen's Hand Windlass, Patent Model

1876

Farmer and sailor Frederick S. Allen of Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts submitted this model with his patent for an improved windlass that received patent number 183,101 on October 10, 1876. The Smithsonian also has a demonstration model of Allen’s invention, object number TR*160324. Windlasses were used for hauling heavy lines and raising anchors, particularly on smaller vessels where there was no room for a capstan and its spread of bars, windlasses were usually turned by brute force using some arrangement of levers. Allen suggested the idea of a double-acting lever that would turn the windlass on both the lever’s upward and downward strokes.