Windlass

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Windlass

A windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights.

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Encyclopedia

A windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch

Winch

A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank ....
is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound around the winch, pulling a weight attached to the opposite end.

Windlasses are sometimes used on boats to raise the anchor

Anchor

An anchor is an object, often made out of metal, that is used to attach a ship to the bottom of a body of water at a specific point. There are two primary classes of anchors?temporary and permanent....
as an alternative to a vertical capstan

Capstan (nautical)

A capstan is a rotating machine used to apply force to another element, notably used on board ship and on dock walls, for heaving-in or veering ropes, cables, and hawsers....
. See anchor windlass

Anchor windlass

An anchor windlass is a machine that restrains and manipulates the anchor chain and/or rope on a boat, allowing the anchor to be raised and lowered....
.

They can also be used to raise water from a well

Water well

A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground ??by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access water in underground aquifers....
. The oldest depiction of a windlass for raising water can be found in the Book of Agriculture published in 1313 by the Chinese

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
official Wang Zhen

Wang Zhen (official)

Wang Zhen was an official of the Yuan Dynasty of China. He is credited with the invention of the first wooden movable type printing in the world, while his predecessor of the Song Dynasty , Bi Sheng , invented the world's first earthenware movable type printing....
of the Yuan Dynasty

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was both the continuation of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol founded historical state in Mongolia and China, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368....
(fl. 1290–1333). In Medieval Europe

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
they were used by about 1425 AD. Some Medieval European crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a Bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word Ballista, a siege engine resembling a crossbow in mechanism and appearance....
s employed a windlass as a cocking mechanism.