Deploying a Drogue

[dpollitt]

Ihave a rather fast 47 foot Conser Catamaran and am trying to rig a drogue. I would like any advice on how to do so....my main problem is how to get the drogue back in if it is attached to the middle of a bridle that is then attached at both ends to two winches. Any help?

david

[delmarrey]

Normally one would stop the boat to retrieve the drogue.

[fishwife]

You may have already seen this Jordan Series Drogue - Launching and Retrieval I'd start by shortening the bridle on the winches and making fast, then use the method in the diagram at the above URL.

P.

[Ram]

Ive tried my drogue out a few times just to see how it worked,but I did not have it on a bridle, so my qustion is- how is the best way/ knot to attach the drogue line to the bridle??

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by dpollitt

Ihave a rather fast 47 foot Conser Catamaran and am trying to rig a drogue. I would like any advice on how to do so....my main problem is how to get the drogue back in if it is attached to the middle of a bridle that is then attached at both ends to two winches. Any help?

david

We make our bridle by tying (with an icicle hitch) a second line (a spare jib sheet) onto the main rode (about 75' from the end of the main rode). To recover, we crank in the main rode until the icicle hitch comes within reach, untie it, and then continue cranking in the main rode. This has worked well.

[oscar]

Icicle Hitch.... new one. Cool.

[Flip 980]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

We make our bridle by tying (with an icicle hitch) a second line (a spare jib sheet) onto the main rode (about 75' from the end of the main rode). To recover, we crank in the main rode until the icicle hitch comes within reach, untie it, and then continue cranking in the main rode. This has worked well.

Is an Icicle hitch the same as a rolling hitch ?

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Flip 980

Is an Icicle hitch the same as a rolling hitch ?

no, it has more grip than the rolling hitch - see: www.bethandevans.com/pdf/Icicle%20Hitch.pdf

[Polunu880]

attach a pickup line on the end 30' to 50' with a float. when things have calm down release your drogue and motor to the float and pull it in.

[oscar]

Could one rig a trip line to the outside of the drogue and pull that in, "deflating" it in the process?

[Polunu880]

thats what i said, in a long about way

[delmarrey]

I would think a float would keep the drogue too close to the surface unless it had a weight to overcome the stretch, and that would depend on the speed.
Plus most drogue's spin in the water, which would take another swivel.

[Polunu880]

nope not a problem, go look at sea anchor setup, your trip line is 30' to 50 feet long. the float goes at the end of the trip line and the other goes to the drough or sea anchor.
You wont need a swivle on the trip line.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Polunu880

nope not a problem, go look at sea anchor setup, your trip line is 30' to 50 feet long. the float goes at the end of the trip line and the other goes to the drough or sea anchor.
You wont need a swivle on the trip line.

Yeah, you are right!
The more I think about it, it makes since. A drogue/sea anchor is like a kite, the harder it is pulled, the higher/deeper it goes. Only if one were to go very slow would it be stretched out to the surface.

I only had to use my drogue once and that was when I was being towed on a short line.

[fishwife]

I experimented with the deployment and recovery of my Jordan Series drogue. The first time I tried to recover it was in very light winds, motoring at 3 knots, simulating some wind pressure. Despite having a hydraulic winch in the cockpit it wasn't easy to get it on-board. After some thought and a few beers back at the dock we decided to attach a polypropylene floating line to the chain weight at the end of the drogue, paying both lines out at the same time, so that when the drogue was deployed, there was effectively a loop in the water. A couple of days later we tested this in force 6 winds after adding about another 6kg of chain at the end. The drogue seemed to function perfectly and recovery was easy using the floating line. I've not tried this in circumstances where we truly needed the drogue but I will deploy it that way if the need ever arises.

P.