Do you move your anchor and chain underway?

[Kevin84]

Something I'm curious about, if you are going to be sailing for several days in a row without dropping the hook, do you leave your anchor and chain in the chain locker or do you move ir aft to get the weight out of the end of the boat and cut down on hobby horsing? I've never shifted my anchor or chain, but I've also never been out that long. Just looking for other people's opinion on it.

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[svHannabel]

No, we don't. But we also only have 30' of chain on a 35lbs Delta for our 34-footer. I also keep a 22lbs Danforth in the anchor locker because it stores nicely there in the molded holders. We carry a secondary chain/rode down below in our aft cabin.

I don't notice any dramatic hobby horsing or unbalance from the weight in the bow, but then again, I've never sailed our current boat without zero added weight/gear in the bow either.

[Mike OReilly]

I've heard of lighter, more performance-oriented boats, doing this. I doubt if it would make much difference for heavy displacement boats like yours (and mine). Unless you're carrying an extreme amount of chain, or massive anchors, I really doubt the added bow weight is making that much difference on your Tayana.

[Randyonr3]

We carry 300 feet and 3 different anchors in our forward locker.. thats their home while cruising..
Have thought about moving the anchor off the bow while traveling but never done it..
we dont have any "hobby-horsing".. I think it more to the individual boat and owner of how they pack a boat.........

[farmall.dude]

Wouldn't that be sort of risky? I have this vision of dragging it along deck from the bow to the stern and Oops... Slip... Over she goes before I can right myself enough to grab it! Even if I did manage to get hold of it, the weight would likely jerk me overboard as well! Probably just my lack of experience though.

[scuba0_1]

If something happens and you need to drop you're anchor you might want to keep is up front.

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[Cadence]

I wouldn't go through the hassle. If you are so inclined keep at least a lunch hook up forward for that unanticipated need.

[steve77]

I had this same question for a different reason. Setting aside the question of moving the chain, what are the risks involved with a large anchor on the bow roller when on a long passage? Burying the bow in a wave will have the real possibility of damage if the anchor came adrift. We are crossing the Atlantic this May.

Our primary anchor is a Mantus, which can be disassembled and stowed in a cockpit locker. However, our secondary anchor is a CQR. I can't think of anyplace else to stow it other than the bow roller.

So for those who have crossed oceans, did you remove anchors from the bow? If so, how did you stow them?

Thanks!

Steve

[CruisingKitty]

Hi all,

We've crossed the Atlantic several times and have always removed the anchor for several reasons: 1) There is no place to anchor out there 2) you need to be able to work freely without obstructions at the bow 3) there's a lot of ocean coming over the deck at times putting strain on anything in its way 4) anything protruding can catch things when you least expect it 5) you want as little weight as possible up there not that it matters on our Bowman 57. We stowed the anchor below by hoisting it through the forward hatch with a halyard.

We do not remove our anchor on short (2-4 day) passages because it's a lot of work and you may want to anchor en route if possible/necessary. We have also found that replacing the anchor on the bow when the conditions are boisterous and you want to get out of the chop quickly to anchor can be dangerous if not impossible. Once, we were forced to heave to overnight off the coast because we just couldn't get the anchor in place.

One thing to note, if you do leave your anchor on the bow, always secure your anchor with a rope to a cleat or some other secure point and leave the chain a bit loose. That takes the strain off the windlass and shackle. Friends lost an anchor overboard when their swivel sheared. They had always made their chain bar taut to keep the anchor from rattling. Bye bye shiny SS anchor!

Co-author Happy Hooking. The Art of Anchoring

[RichandHelen]

I'm curious. How do you secure that anchor below once you've lowered it through the forward hatch? Given the size of your boat your primary must be substantial, I'm guessing...

[Kenomac]

Our anchor and chain weigh over 700 pounds... it stays where it is.

[CruisingKitty]

Originally Posted by RichandHelen

I'm curious. How do you secure that anchor below once you've lowered it through the forward hatch? Given the size of your boat your primary must be substantial, I'm guessing...

Our forward compartment is a workshop with bench/vice and built in storage bins. The bins stabilize things somewhat. We have rings attached to bulkheads that allow us to secure things up there with rope. We usually have the dinghy deflated and spare sails up there so it makes a nice cushioned package. The weight doesn't seem to affect her at sea as we have counterweights in the aft section and she's got a very seakindly motion .

[Gerrycooper56]

Did South Pacific and didn't move the anchor. Good advice about release chain tension with a stay.


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[JPA Cate]

Never removed anchor and chain. However, have always secured anchor with an extra line to cleat on deck, and sealed off the hawse pipe after knocking down the chain as necessary. On our first Insatiable, if you didn't knock down the chain as it went below, which we did with a broom handle, it would pile up like a witch's hat, then fall over on itself from the ocean bouncing us around, and then not want to deploy at the end of the passage. Not necessary on I-2, because there's a longer drop for the chain, and we also have power down switch for windlass, which seems to defeat any hockles in the chain.

Ann

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by CruisingKitty

Friends lost an anchor overboard when their swivel sheared. They had always made their chain bar taut to keep the anchor from rattling. Bye bye shiny SS anchor!

Co-author Happy Hooking. The Art of Anchoring

Wow... Well, I certainly hope the anchor took that piece of crap with it :-)

They should consider themselves lucky, better to have a failure of a swivel result in the loss of an anchor, rather than the boat...

Hopefully, they've been cured of using a swivel?

:-))