Found old Iron Kedge Anchor, Need help Identifing Time period

[Rickelpickel]

I found this anchor in about 30' of salt water about a mile off the south west coast of Florida. I do not believe it was located near a wreck because it was located in a 4ft ledge. I am fairly sure it is made of iron. It is also somewhat heavy Id say about 60-75 lbs. It's about 4' long and 2-1/2 ft wide. I'm mainly curious about how old it is and how to preserve it. For now It sits in a kiddie pool completely covered by salt water from the beach. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm sure Ill need more photos but Just got it up and It's dark now.

 

[FISHEYE]

If a ship dropped the anchor to prevent itself from being blown into shallower water and then sank further away from the anchor then the shank would point the way to the wreck site.Did you note the cords of the site of the anchor and which way the shank was pointing before you brought it up?Welcome to T-net.

 

[stevemc]

That is from the early 1800s to mid 1900s. The crossbar tells that story. Prior to that they used a wood crossbar. You have probably seen those iron crossbar types, with a ball on one straight end, and one end curved and a ball on it. I have found a few of those stuck in reefs. Nice find! You will want to keep it in freshwater, for quite a while, and then do some reverse electrolysis, to get all the salts out of it. If you dont, it will fall apart fast. Trust me, it has happened to me even with new stuff like dummy bombs-BDU-36s that looked perfect, the wire wrap and blue paint looked fine, fins were fine, even the shotgun hole in the front was sharp, and fell apart in a few months, because I didnt think they needed it. They werent very rusty, but the salt in iron is like cancer, it will go through it all very quickly once it is out in the air. That anchor is rusty now and will fall apart fast, so stick it in a freshwater pond or something.

 

[Rickelpickel]

Ok,.. Cool,.. So freshwater is key. Someone else told me to get it in saltwater. he wasn't sure tho. I have never done anything like this before. It says your from Sarasota. I'm like only a half hour or so from there. Do you know Anyone who restores Anchors like this. I'm putting it in freshwater now. Wow 1800's holy cow. That means It could be over 200 years old Awesome!! Most of the ledges around here run parallel to the beaches. not always tho. The high side of this ledge is the west side and that's where the shank was leaning toward. I need to search this area over better. Ive only been to this spot three times. just before we found this anchor I did notice a large (5-6') rubble pile in the direction the shank was pointing. Probably 4-600' away. It is pure speculation this is anything other than broken parts of more ledges. But just thinking about it gets me excited..

 

[inletsurf]

I need to search this area over better. Ive only been to this spot three times. just before we found this anchor I did notice a large (5-6') rubble pile in the direction the shank was pointing. Probably 4-600' away. It is pure speculation this is anything other than broken parts of more ledges. But just thinking about it gets me excited..

Might be a ballast pile. Look very closely next time.

 

[stevemc]

Yes, it definetly could be a ballast pile. The used whatever kind of rock they could find to make ballast, so it is hard to tell from looking at it. But if it is all by itself, maybe it is. Let me know if you want to go over it with metal detectors, and see if there is anything to it. PM me. That era is most likely a fishing boat, but you never know. Could be anything, but that is a small anchor.