Snag ate my anchor

[partingclouds]

Thanks for sharing your adventures and misadventures. I'm very sorry to learn you have lost your anchor (temporarily) and will have some hard work ahead in order to retrieve it.

I know you're a capable and independent soul, but consider finding someone like yourself to lend a hand with this one. Cutting trees can be tricky, even on terra firma, as the weight of them can easily bind the saw. And a bow saw does not have much of a set to the cutting teeth, making them notoriously prone to binding, even in the best circumstances. Two heads and two backs might be the way to a successful outcome, and with no one ending up in a cone. Another thing to consider is the earlier suggestion of a small chainsaw to do the job. In the hands of a skilled operator, cutting your anchor out would be child's play. You could rent one and DYI. Just use a small undercut initially, prior to the main through-cut, to ensure that the weight of the wood won't bind on the saw chain, et voila!

If I lived nearby, I'd lend a hand and a chainsaw because that's what a sailor
would do...

Best outcome to you!

partingclouds

[GPSocal]

SC
Plenty of ideas for you to consider. Best advice is to enlist some help, either onboard or in a second boat.
If you can raise the tangle enough to retrieve the cut end of the rode, try to move it closer to shore in shallow water. If you tie every fender, inner tube or whatever floats to keep the logs off the bottom, you should be able to move the whole mess to a place where you can untangle it.

[thinwater]

Two other things.

1. I became unemployed about 1 years ago, so I understand the $$.

2. With a Danforth and Northill, I would set both (Bahamian) and sleep very well. I've used both in the past. I'd love the Northill if it wasn't for that pesky fluke; If you imagine it without the fluke, it's not too hard to guess where the idea for Rocna/Manson came from. Just remember that they will twist up with the tide if you don't move every ~ week.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by thinwater

There are a list of precautions, but it doesn't sound too bad. 14' is a reasonable free dive if you know how to clear your ears and don't try to do too much on a single dive. Good rest between dives. Wet suit (which IMHO is basic safety gear for cold water sailors, right up there with PFDs).

Hmm, not so sure about this. The water is zero viz. There are at least two trees a shed load of anchor chain and another anchor rode all bound up together underwater. This isn't a place to go free diving and a accident waiting to happen with diving kit.

However, I note there is a road nearby. Will the 150ft of rode reach the road / path and does someone have a decent 4x4? Just drag the whole carbuncle up the bank then sort it out and prof the other anchor and rode too. You will be doing everyone else who anchors there a favour.

[skeporg]

You are in the land of powerboats. There are lots of 'em berthed nearby. Delta Diver is close.

I've had best luck messing with similar suchlike situations by creating a strong working platform, low to the water. A couple of canoes, skiffs, John boats, etc. lashed together with 4x4's will lift tons.

That said I would bet your basic river rat could offer all the assistance needed.

I keep a boat at the City of Pittsburg marina.

Unfortunately I'm up near Yreka for the next week or so. But I bet I could make a few phone calls from here if you still need help. Please PM me if You'd like me to pitch in.

Skeporg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tbonem17]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Bummer, SC! As Ann said above, back in Tasmania we recently lost our 60 lb Manson Supreme, 70 feet of chain and (through some rather ill considered decisions on my part) 75 feet out of a brand new hank of 14 mm octoplait. Dummmbbb! So I can surely sympathize.

When you relocate the chain, either with your magnet or with dragging a grapnel, get the mess up to the surface once more, and then consider doing your lumberjacking from your dinghy rather than from the foredeck. You will be able to see how things are wrapped up better from there, and have a better position for sawing. may have to tie off the dink to either the snag (being careful not to be tied to the part that you are sawing off!) or to your boat. Sometimes some careful observation from a better place will aid your process of disentanglement.

Viz: a couple of weeks ago, with our new Manson, we got snagged here in the Pittwater area. Straining the windlass a bit, I raised what turned out to be a 16 foot piling, some brass pipe and a mess of double braid line to the surface... pic attached. From the dinghy I could see that the rope was what held the whole mess together, and with one underwater swipe of the trusty bosun's knife I was free! I hope that you are as lucky...

Jim

This is off topic but I can't believe you were lucky enough to have spent time on the Gordon. When I first read the name I thought to myself that I only know of one river with that name and a couple of posts later you mentioned Tasmania.
It is truly a stunning pristine wilderness. I'm green with envy.
It's also one of the few places I've been where the history of the place seems to touch you as well.
If Neptune's price was only an anchor then you got off lightly compared to the brutality the convicts suffered felling and then rafting Huon Pine down to Sarah Island.
Wow wow wow!. I'll have to re-organize my bucket list.
Tony

[Delancey]

Hand Chain Saw?

[markpierce]

With a mid-sized sailboat and no windlass, I'd go with no more than a boat-length of chain with the remainder of the rode consisting of nylon rope. An opportunity awaits.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Tbonem17

This is off topic but I can't believe you were lucky enough to have spent time on the Gordon. When I first read the name I thought to myself that I only know of one river with that name and a couple of posts later you mentioned Tasmania.
It is truly a stunning pristine wilderness. I'm green with envy.
It's also one of the few places I've been where the history of the place seems to touch you as well.
If Neptune's price was only an anchor then you got off lightly compared to the brutality the convicts suffered felling and then rafting Huon Pine down to Sarah Island.
Wow wow wow!. I'll have to re-organize my bucket list.
Tony

Yes, off topic, but the thread is reaching the mature stage where drift begins apace!

The Gordon and Franklin rivers are indeed special places. We had been there before, about 15 years ago, and had been anxious to return. It's not all that accessible, so we procrastinated year after year... as one does!

But this past year we finally returned. The town of Strahan has changed from a basic fishing community to one largely driven by tourism, with the fish farms a distant second in importance (my inexpert guess). There is no significant ocean fishing fleet any more... a few cray boats, but nothing like i remember from before.

The rivers are still pristine, though. The tourist boat rides are limited to the area below Heritage landing, about 4 miles from the mouth, and this leaves the next ~20 miles of river (the part navigable by deep draft vessels) pretty much as before. Beyond Big Eddy, w here the rapids prevent access by yachts, one can still go by dinghy, and we got well up the Franklin... simply gorgeous... breathtaking... what can ya say?

So, a good candidate for bucket lists...enjoy when you get there!

Jim

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by zeehag

for your anchoring until you fetch it, piggyback something to another--a friend uses a plow with danforth backing on same chain.

Ive tried this a fair few times. Never seemed to work very well for me and I have seen a few nasty tangle ups when my brother used a big fisherman with a danforth and they both wrapped themselfs into a big underwater ball and then dragged in light winds.

I now prefer the tangle issues of two separate rodes and anchors to the problems of tandem anchors piggy backed on one line.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by markpierce

With a mid-sized sailboat and no windlass, I'd go with no more than a boat-length of chain with the remainder of the rode consisting of nylon rope. An opportunity awaits.

That's my backup rode that is in good oversized shape. I had been sort of planning on going back to it as lugging chain by hand and with lines to winches gets old after a while. I like how to boat sits with all chain, but My old body was starting to really not like it.

With a bit of help from a few friends and the fine folks at Mantus (THANK YOU), I have ordered a #44 Mantus, that should hold the Rose firmly to Terra Firma. Of course, Now I'm really broke. Luckily I provisioned today too. So I will not starve for the next two weeks anyway.

Just have to use the old Danforth for a week or two till the new shiny hook arrives. Just about like Christmas. Woo Hoo a new anchor and not even a knock off, So uptown. Be still my heart. OK, I'm pretty pumped about it. Better then diamonds....

Yes I'm strange.

[Jim Cate]

SC, good news indeed... and you will love that hook!

Jim

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

With a bit of help from a few friends and the fine folks at Mantus (THANK YOU), I have ordered a #44 Mantus, that should hold the Rose firmly to Terra Firma. Of course, Now I'm really broke. Luckily I provisioned today too. So I will not starve for the next two weeks anyway.

Just have to use the old Danforth for a week or two till the new shiny hook arrives. Just about like Christmas. Woo Hoo a new anchor and not even a knock off, So uptown. Be still my heart. OK, I'm pretty pumped about it. Better then diamonds....

Yes I'm strange.

Glad to hear the news!
Me, I've always valued good tools as being a lot more useful than 'shiny rocks' (gold, & precious stones) 99%+ of the time. So you're looking good. And that hook should do you better than the one it's replacing. Quite beastly for a vessel the size of yours. Good choice!

[JPA Cate]

SC, at that weight, and with a boat length of chain, it may be a bit of a challenge to bare hand your new ground tackle. Or are you beginning to consider a manual windlass? I bet you could design one to self-flake the rode down.

Ann

[quahauq]

You're right to be careful. Maybe have a multihull buddy snag chain by suspending from main hull. I used to move moorings that way. Next, normally once a snag is off the bottom its natural tendency is to free itself over time. limbs may have to be cut off to allow the snag to 'roll' free. Your snags are small so cutting them is possible. Be careful though, as here's a short story: Got anchor 'snagged' in Sausalito Bay, CA. finally CAREFULLY followed the rode down a few feet and discovered it was hung up on 6' long keel bolts from an old hulk. Carefully unwound all the turns from the bolts and was glad I was very careful! You WILL succeed in recovery!