Anchoring Technique on a Cat

[UFO]

I did a charter a while back on a Cat (first time on a cat) and in the brief and demonstration we were told not to worry about keeping the nose to the wind when laying down the chain for anchoring - The theory he explained was that when you lock off the chain it will come back round helping to dig in the anchor.


Is this a good technique for a cat or not?

[Palarran]

I do it all the time. But I also use the windlass friction break to let the chain out and then feather the chain drop so it doesn't really snap the boat back around. It's great because the anchor sets at the same time.

It's the way the French do it.

[44'cruisingcat]

Usually when letting out chain the bows will fall off the wind. Happens with cats or monos.

You can simply stop letting out chain for a few moments and let the boat straighten up before continuing, if it bothers you.

I'd always use the motors to set and test the anchor though.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by UFO

I did a charter a while back on a Cat (first time on a cat) and in the brief and demonstration we were told not to worry about keeping the nose to the wind when laying down the chain for anchoring - The theory he explained was that when you lock off the chain it will come back round helping to dig in the anchor.


Is this a good technique for a cat or not?

Cat or mono, it does not matter. What would be the point of keeping the bows pointed into the wind?

Read here: How to anchor

[Dave_S]

Not sure I get it. Do you mean just rock up, stop, drop all the chain in one spot and let it work itself out?

I can't see that being a good plan.

I head against the current, stop, drop the anchor until it hits bottom, by this time you are drifting which ever way wind and tide take you, pay out chain roughly at the speed you are moving (help with engines if slow), stop letting it out 2 or 3 times and feel it grab, then when it's all out pull back with engines.

[David Mark]

How many other boats in the anchorage ? Need to respect them , Usually should line up with them , decide if there is enough room to swing safely with them . If safe , drop anchor , other boats are usually already bow into the wind . Back down , set anchor, make sure it is safe , and then ! Start the blender !!!



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[meirriba]

Originally Posted by UFO

I did a charter a while back on a Cat (first time on a cat) and in the brief and demonstration we were told not to worry about keeping the nose to the wind when laying down the chain for anchoring - The theory he explained was that when you lock off the chain it will come back round helping to dig in the anchor.


Is this a good technique for a cat or not?

Well, it depends...
There is no problem with the anchoring process if you fall back without keeping the bows into the wind. Once you are drifting back (with adequate scope) the anchor will dig in (given proper seabed, i.e. not rocks or so...).
However we are keeping are bows into the wind because our bow chain roller has two perpendicular side plates and if we drift sideways the chain chafes on these plates to the danger of damage.
Second comment is that a cat will not straithgten itself into the wind due to having two bows while the anchor and chain pull on the middle of the front. It will come into the wind only after connecting a bridle between the chain and both bows.

[eyschulman]

Not conventional, but used to be common on sail without engine, an anchor line run from bow to stern with a stern set and later release to allow riding from bow. This way while setting your boat will want to point down wind. This is a variation of the down wind sailing set no motor used. Sail dead down wind drop sail or shorten when boat slows enough drop anchor from stern and allow slow way to set anchor from cleat on stern and then allow slow turn to wind when stern cleat released or never cleat to stern and allow boat to come around you pick which way with a little rudder. I have used this on sail boats and also pick up moorings from stern quarter. It works surprisingly well once you understand the process. It fits my philosophy of dealing with boats, Know what your boat likes and does not like to do then model your maneuvers based on that knowledge. In this case most boats prefer pointing down wind and do not like bow to wind. With fast setting deep digging modern anchors with a little practice one can be fairly precise about where you set your anchor and how your boat will lye.

[Mark424]

Originally Posted by meirriba

However we are keeping are bows into the wind because our bow chain roller has two perpendicular side plates and if we drift sideways the chain chafes on these plates to the danger of damage.

I've seen this happen, 20-25 knots of wind, the cat got turned sideways, all of sudden the chain went taught and bent the bow roller.

As a general principle, when the words "uncontrolled" and "boat" are in the same sentence, things don't end well.

I'm not obsessive about these things, but I'm also not cavalier and just let whatever will happen happen. Just like wind and current, always be aware of the loads on your equipment.

[R2boat]

What about your bottom paint? There is certainly a chance that as the boat spins, the chain could chafe the hull and remove a section of bottom paint....I think I’ll keep using the engines to keep my bows facing in the director of the anchor

[singlespeed]

How far you can let the bows drift off the eye of the wind will be dependent on the location of the anchor roller. If you draw a line through the very tip of the bows, the further the roller is behind this line, the less you want to allow the bows to ever away from the wind. Also, the distance the roller is above the water is significant. Low bridge deck clearance gives you slightly more lattitude. Plum or reverse bows decrease the amount at angle of dead to weather the boat can drift before contact is made between the chain and the bow. If you get much more than thirty degrees off dead to wind, likely you'll draw an anxious crowd on the neighboring vessels. More than thirty degrees may also result in a much stronger pull, while the anchor is still trying to set; could lead to complete failure in muddy bottoms.

[Jetx]

Originally Posted by UFO

Is this a good technique for a cat or not?

This can also depend on which cat you're talking about. Many Leopards for example don't have a roller on the forward crossbeam, and the anchor deploys from underneath the tramp just forward of the mast. On these boats, if you let the bows blow off, the chain winds up laid out underneath the windward hull. If you just stop paying out and allow the chain to tension up and bring the bows back around, the chain can bear up against the bottom of that hull and either scrape off some bottom paint or scratch up the hull.

[ozsailer]

Hello all,
thought I would throw my five cents worth in here. A couple of things - 1) its not always suitable to turn boat head to wind to drop anchor although it is our preferred method. In wind against tide such as rivers or large bays you may be anchoring against a substanial tide which is far stronger than the wind. 2) Bow into wind or tide is preferable to us as you are always in control of the vessel direction against the anchor. Not so sideways. You are placing the vessel most exposed windage or underwater profile to the force of wind or tide. You cannot control the speed of your boat in this profile. 3) The windlass is not designed to take these full force loads of a boat suddenly coming under load.
Recently when trying to anchor there was a flood tide on the river which was running at a substantial speed, 2 to 3 knots in my estimation. Just dropping anchor chain with the vessel increasing in speed had the potential to do some serious damage to the anchoring system without controlling the vessel correctly. By dropping the anchor bow to wind we had full control of the boats speed and direction while we anchored.
We recently witnessed a large power boat try to set anchor with his vessel sideway to the 25 knot wind. Not pleasant to watch and certainly not pleasant to hear the noises coming from the windlass when they finally came up hard on the anchor on the third attempt.
With the vessel bow to when anchoring we are normally in full control regardless of most conditions.


Greg H

[UFO]

Thanks for everyone's input

[valhalla360]

In a light breeze I wouldn't worry too much (do set it with the engines).

If it's blowing like stink, a controlled stop makes a lot of sense. You can build up a lot of momentum drifting back at 3-4kts and then suddenly being pulled up short if the anchor digs in solid.