An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current.
There are two primary classes of anchors: temporary and permanent. A permanent anchor is used in the creation of a mooring, and is rarely moved; a specialist service is normally needed to move or maintain it. Vessels carry one or more temporary anchors which may be of different designs and weights. A sea anchor is an unrelated device: a drogue used to control a drifting vessel.
The vessel is attached to the anchor by the rode which is made with chain, cable, or mooring line (or a combination of these). The hole in the hull through which the anchor rode passes is called "hawsepipe" because thick mooring lines are called "hawsers".
