Hand Raising your Anchor

[cfarrar]

Flying Cloud,

I'm trying to envision how this works. As you back down, how does the chain slide through the shackle / loop on the buoy until the anchor comes to the surface? I would think the buoy would stay near the boat end of the chain.

[cfarrar]

Ah, some videos on YouTube, like this one (though I don't think I can replicate this technique with my boat):

anchor retrieval 101 - YouTube

[FlyingCloud1937]

Originally Posted by FlyingCloud1937

I use it about 5-6 times a year, that's how I raise my stern anchor when deployed. I have also used this technique to raise crab and prawn traps.

I first learned of this in the late 60's, when as a kid I had to hand pull my traps, the prawn traps are down 3-400 feet. I was just about to give up setting traps, because it was so much work to pull em. That's when Walt an old guy my parents purchased our marina from, said here is how I do it.

I have a copy of a 1930's Yachting Magazine with an how to editorial on this very topic.

As a matter of fact I just looked in the current Fisheries Supply catalog they list an Anchor Ring retrieving System rated at an 80lb anchor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7v8uiDWFnE

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by cfarrar

Ah, some videos on YouTube, like this one (though I don't think I can replicate this technique with my boat):

OK

so how much horsepower was required to raise this toy anchor by an unlimited stink-boat by a bunch of "hold my beer while I show you something" redneck hillbillies? Lets try to make this relavent to a 58 foot, 36 ton boat with a 120# anchor and 300 feet of big chain. My anchor would send this toy float to the bottom (at 5 mph) and then I could worry about getting the iddy-biddy bumper back too. All of this assumes the floaty thingy and its shackles would actually slide down my chain rather than just follow me at 5 mph.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

OK

so how much horsepower was required to raise this toy anchor by an unlimited stink-boat by a bunch of "hold my beer while I show you something" redneck hillbillies? Lets try to make this relavent to a 58 foot, 36 ton boat with a 120# anchor and 300 feet of big chain. My anchor would send this toy float to the bottom (at 5 mph) and then I could worry about getting the iddy-biddy bumper back too. All of this assumes the floaty thingy and its shackles would actually slide down my chain rather than just follow me at 5 mph.

is there a utube video of what happens when the sport fishing boat comes to a sudden stop at 20 knots trying to break out my 95lb anchor

[FlyingCloud1937]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

OK

so how much horsepower was required to raise this toy anchor by an unlimited stink-boat by a bunch of "hold my beer while I show you something" redneck hillbillies? Lets try to make this relavent to a 58 foot, 36 ton boat with a 120# anchor and 300 feet of big chain. My anchor would send this toy float to the bottom (at 5 mph) and then I could worry about getting the iddy-biddy bumper back too. All of this assumes the floaty thingy and its shackles would actually slide down my chain rather than just follow me at 5 mph.

Well my boat is 52 feet and 28 gross, you size the lifting buoy to the weight of the anchor. You don't need to go fast, I back down after the anchor is tipped. I carry 2 of the bouys, as they are what we use in the locks.

I have used this technique for more then 30 years and it's never failed me once. My shackle is a logging shackle about 5 inch in diameter, the very same one I started with back in the late 60's

Lloyd

[FlyingCloud1937]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

OK

so how much horsepower was required to raise this toy anchor by an unlimited stink-boat by a bunch of "hold my beer while I show you something" redneck hillbillies? Lets try to make this relavent to a 58 foot, 36 ton boat with a 120# anchor and 300 feet of big chain. My anchor would send this toy float to the bottom (at 5 mph) and then I could worry about getting the iddy-biddy bumper back too. All of this assumes the floaty thingy and its shackles would actually slide down my chain rather than just follow me at 5 mph.

I can retrieve my stern anchor using my 10 ft inflatable and a 4 hp evinrude. It's a 60lb Barnegat w/60 ft of 3/8 backed by 100 ft of rope. I usally just use the sampson post off the stern of the mothership.

Lloyd

[TacomaSailor]

I can lift my 66 pound spade using the primary winches in the cockpit as described by an earlier post. I would never consider anchoring in really lonely remote spots without knowing that I could haul the anchor IF the windlass failed for any reason.

We have spent a lot of time anchored where we did not see another boat for weeks at a time. If we can't haul the anchor we can't move!

In 18 years and over 1600 nights anchoring my windlass has failed several times:

- bad switch
- alternator failed and I had to conserve battery power for a week
- windlass motor failed

[Mr B]

Thats interesting that so many winches fail,
I would have thought those winches would be almost Bullet proof,

[JonJo]

Our 8mm chain at 10m (the 30') would be about 15kg and with a 16kg anchor we do not need a winch nor windlass, we do it as the poll seemed to ask - by hand. We have done it when the solenoid switch packed up - but would motor forward so that we (I) am only lifting chain and not pulling the boat. If we went BIB and I aged we have winches on the mast but it would be slow - not something to do in a hurry in the dark

Jonathan

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by motion30

I hand.pull a 45 lb mnson with 40" of 3/8"" chain. Pull the boat overtop and.heave. gloves help

The same 45lb and 60m 3/8 chain. Was reasonably easy with the chain pawl on the bow roller. But much harder since the bolt came undone... Wouldn't want to do it in much over 10 meters. I run a rope rilling hitched onto the chain and led back to the primarys if it's buried to deep (uncommon in southern tassie).
If there is any wind I normally sail of and time my pulling for when the rodes slack. I then only have to grunt for the last bit when the anchor comes off the ground.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Thats interesting that so many winches fail,
I would have thought those winches would be almost Bullet proof,

i had the windlass fail on a new (10 month old) 67ft moody after a trip up the red sea due to water ingress around the aluminium brush housing.

fortunately it died as the anchor came onboard in mandraki harbour rhodes,after that we had to plan very carefully our stops to be in a marina every night till the replacement was flown in(at great cost),which in the greek islands is not so easy,as lying stern too the dock using your own anchor is the norm for larger vessels in most small greek harbours.

we did spend one night tied stern too, to the rocks using the kedge,but found retriving it to be difficult and risked scratching the gelcoat on the multimillion dollar yacht.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by shorebird

I had to pull our 10kg Bruce by hand last summer in windy conditions, and almost put my back out, until I discovered the "technique." I sat down with my feet braced in the anchor compartment, pulled myself up using the anchor rode, then let my weight pull on the line. Repeated until the anchor was up. Would have been much easier in calm conditions. Problem was just a dead battery in the windlass remote.

That's pretty much how I am positioned when I do it. I also have a set of leather gloves to wear, since the worst part for me is the hand pain when doing it. Once you get a little forward momentum going, it's not bad.

Doing it with anything more then ten knots of wind, by myself, is a real job. I've always pulled that off (expecially on my boats without a windless) by putting the motor in forward gear, idling, and pulling in as much as I could before the boat veered off. Then snubbing the chain, and running back to take the motor out of gear. Then letting everything settle down, and repeating until done. Again, not fun, but doable.

[zeehag]

most people make the mistake of using back muscles to pull anchor--bad choice.
never ever use your back to do the work of pulling or lifting anything. use the strongest part of your body----no, not your head.....use your legs. and your weight.
isnt that hard when you use the correct muscle groups.

[Kettlewell]

use the strongest part of your body----no, not your head.....use your legs. and your weight.
isnt that hard when you use the correct muscle groups.

Exactly! I pull in my anchor with a sort of squat and then stand motion--squat and then stand. Use the legs. Work gloves help too. If it is blowing hard I can take a break by dropping the chain back onto the gypsy of my manual horizontal windlass--that's one advantage of a horizontal configuration. I haven't figured out anyway to rig a proper pawl that wouldn't ruin the fair lead