Bridle length .... shallow water with current

[Sail IC]

Arrived to Florida east coast. Many anchorages are in shallow water with rather strong current from tide.
Looking for advice from people with experience anchoring with a catamaran in these conditions.

Reading reviews, people have been having issues with when the wind coming from opposite direction than the current. The catamaran points in different direction than into the wind, and some have even reported damage from the anchor chain rubbing against the hull. Yesterday I had the stern pointing into the wind, but the wind was not strong so the chain went rather strait down.

Been thinking if using a short bridle is a good idea, moving the attachment between the bridle and the chain away from the hulls, making it a less pointy "V". Also, making the "Y" part of the bridle shorter. Never understood why the bridle is shaped like a "Y" and not just a "V".

Thanks

[billknny]

A bridle is "Y" shaped because one of its jobs is to stretch and absorb shock loadings and prevent them from getting transferred to the anchor.

A very short bridle gives up that "stretchiness" and yanks harder on the anchor. If you make the "Y" part of the bridle LONGER the weight of the chain keeps the chain deeper under the boat and from rubbing on the hull in conditions where the boat is sitting to current instead of wind.

[belizesailor]

Other than keeping the bridle short enough to not foul the bottom there is really not a lot you can do, unless you go to multiple anchors like fore-aft or bahamian moor.

Many cats will behave badly in wind oppossed to current anchoring...large deck houses dont help that matter. And not all cats will behave the same, so anchor well clear of any other boats if you expect such circumstances. I once bumped sterns with friends on another cat...two cats swung exactly opposite of each other in the same conditions. The difference was mini-keels vs raised dagger boards...this affects how they respond to current.

Anchored right now in shallow water with oppossing wind & current near Sandy Hook, NJ.

[mikedefieslife]

My bridles are v shaped i.e two equal length lines that run to a ring with a mantus chain hook on it.

In shallow water it's long enough to touch the bottom which you don't want, but equally bad is losing the stretch. The solution is rather than running it from the bow cleats, to run it from mid-ships instead. It has all the length needed for the stretch/damping, but is short enough then not to touch the bottom.

[CaptPFD]

Put a 5 gallon bucket off the back of each pontoon and she'll ride more to current hopefully solving your issue

[kas_1611]

Originally Posted by CaptPFD

Put a 5 gallon bucket off the back of each pontoon and she'll ride more to current hopefully solving your issue

Unless you end up wrapping the lines around your props

[wannacat]

We use a bridle and a killet. Half the time you just spin around the killet and don't have to worry about fouling anything or chafing the hulls.

[jmschmidt]

I've never used a bridle so short the chain or shackle could touch any part of the hull. The bridle is for shock absorbing, not necessarily make a cat behave like a mono at anchor.

[44'cruisingcat]

I have "V" bridle with each leg not quite long enough to reach the opposite bow at the waterline.

I get the required elasticity by actually using longer legs, but braiding them down to the length that keeps the chain clear of the hulls.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

I have "V" bridle with each leg not quite long enough to reach the opposite bow at the waterline.

I get the required elasticity by actually using longer legs, but braiding them down to the length that keeps the chain clear of the hulls.

Sorry, I don’t understand ‘braiding them down’. What do you mean? Thanks.

[44'cruisingcat]

Each leg of the bridle is maybe 12m long, but some of it is "braided " to shorten them down to around 6m.

[44'cruisingcat]

Like this:

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Like this:

Macrame not braid, no? I've thought about that solution on and off as well...

[Rustytony]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Like this:

I could be wrong but oesn’t that macrame bridle now loose its elasticity?

Imagine cord thin enough that you can pull and stretch it by hand.... but after doing a bit of macrame to it I doubt you’d be able to stretch it at all.

Just my mostly landlubber opinion... I could easily be wrong.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Rustytony

I could be wrong but oesn’t that macrame bridle now loose its elasticity?

Imagine cord thin enough that you can pull and stretch it by hand.... but after doing a bit of macrame to it I doubt you’d be able to stretch it at all.

Just my mostly landlubber opinion... I could easily be wrong.

Yes, you could.