Abstract: A mooring chain is guided for movement through the frame of a chain stopper along a pair of upright rails, with vertical links of the chain received between the rails and horizontal links of the chain riding on top of the rails. A pawl is swingably mounted on the frame above the rails with inner legs of the pawl engaging a horizontal link of the chain at opposite sides of an adjacent vertical link. The pawl has outer legs which extend downward to a release pin. The release pin has grooves positioned to receive the bottom ends of the outer legs and prevent the pawl from moving in a direction which will allow loosening of the chain, unless the release pin is freed for rotation through an angle of about 90.degree.. The release pin is connected to a trigger assembly including a spinner block which is normally held against rotation by a trigger finger. Movement of the trigger finger frees the spinner block and thereby allows the release pin to move from a pawl-engaging to a pawl-released position.

Abstract: The head of a fish is severed from the fish body in a two-stage operation, in the first stage the root of the fish head beneath the gill covers being cut partway through and in the second stage the severance of the fish head from the fish body being completed. The first stage cutting operation is effected by cooperating disk cutters converging toward the fish head at an acute angle, means for sensing the thickness of a fish, and means for adjusting the spacing of the disk cutters in accordance with the thickness of the fish sensed. The fish are transported unidirectionally, and the spacing of the cutting disks is adjusted while the cutters are being reciprocated in the same direction of the travel as the fish is transported, and the disk cutters are then reciprocated in the direction opposite the direction of transport of the fish to effect the first stage cutting operation.

Abstract: As a carriage carrying a mooring line guide is lowered by paying out a hoisting line two retaining projections mounted on the carriage are inserted into complementary stationary sockets to anchor the carriage in a lower position, As the carriage reaches such lower position two reciprocable latch pins mounted on the carriage are projected by compression springs into stationary sockets to lock the retaining projections in their sockets, Retraction of such latch pins in opposition to the force of such compression springs to remove the latch pins from their sockets is effected by tensioning of the hoisting line, The carriage is guided for elevational movement by rollers engageable with upright tracks or by guide sleeves encircling an upright taut guide line.

Abstract: An arcuate fairlead for mooring lines has an arcuate row of grooved line-engaging shoes of plastic material which shoes can be removed and replacement shoes can be installed without disassembling the mooring line from the fairlead. The fairlead is of generally triangular shape supported by trunnion and bearing means at its upper tip and adjacent to its apex enabling the fairlead to swing about an upright axis for self-alignment with a stretch of mooring cable beyond the lower tip of the fairlead.

Abstract: An accessory for a fish-cleaning machine of the rotary bull ring type having rotary brushes adjacent to the peripheries of the bull rings, includes a nozzle projecting a flat fan-shaped glancing water spray into the nip between a rotary brush and the bull rings and, subsequently, two abreast nozzles adjacent to a spreader bar for spreading apart the belly cavity walls of a fish carried by the bull rings project two coplanar flat fan-shaped partially edgewise overlapping sprays. Such two abreast nozzles, a fixed contour brush and a wide angle spray nozzle are carried by geniculate mounting means spring-pressed toward the bull rings.