Could Not Weigh Anchor Today

[sailorchic34]

I use the method that tayana42 mentioned. In light or no winds, I can girl handle the rode (all chain) in till the rode is vertical. Then I take the line with chain hook at my feet that is already attached and cleated back in the cockpit. I clip on the chain hook, walk back to the cockpit, motor forward slowly will bringing in the chain. once it's tight, I wait for "Purple" my Yanmar to break the anchor out where I haul in another 10 feet or so. Then set auto and go get the anchor all the way up.

In a blow, I'll use two chain hooks to two separate winches. Much slower, but I've got the anchor up in 30-35 knots that way. Way too much fun though.

The problems with a real windlass on the Rose, is the chain locker is shallow with not enough deadfall and I have a massive hardwood sampson post really in the way, right where a windlass would sit. The sampson post has fairly massive support structure below deck.

[four winds]

Twenty five pound on my 32 foot boat, which is toward the high end of the recommended range. It is physically larger than my 25 pound CQR however. The 35 pound version is huge and would have looked impressive on the bow roller but I'm thinking it's overkill for my boat.

I've anchored out for the last five months straight. No problems yet, including 36 hours of constant 25 knot plus gusts winds last week. My trust is growing in the new anchor.

I also have a new Fortress to replace a rusty knock off I've never used. Gotta get some of that weight off my bow, too. Four anchors and two complete rodes. It's a work in progress.

Regardless, I'm sure I will still be up for any storm front that moves through at night. But likely will hop back in the rack and sleep well just after that. I did not always do that with the CQR.

To add... sleeping during any storm is a different kind of sleep. For some reason any sound anomoly wakes me right up.

[s/v Beth]

Good luck. And low winds for a while.
Do you have a chain stopper?

[Sandero]

Four Winds... my anchoring experience is all with my boat and I am well acquainted with her behavior at anchor. I have quite high freeboard and a fractional rig which makes the boat shear about. The freeboard give me headroom below, a larger anchor locker and a dry cockpit, but the down side is her unwillingness to lay pointed to wind. At anchor I use a riding sail which cuts the shearing down. Even when motoring very slowly the AP cannot hold the course and the bow will blow off. Perhaps with crew one could motor over the anchor and the other take up chain/rode. I don't have that luxury and so I needed an had room for an electric windlass with a cockpit remote. It's still very difficult in a blow to steer straight to the anchor. All this complicated when anchored close to other vessels. The windlass is not powerful enough to pull the boat with a blow over the anchor when there is little to no slack from a catenary. So I would think it important that your boat doesn't shear much when you are trying to get the anchor up.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by four winds

Boatman61, I'm too old to ever reach your level of experience even though I plan to live the rest of my life on this boat. I'm just happy to be able to sail to and from a dock when my boat breaks it's engine.

The time before last when it broke I didn't fix it for a couple of weeks because I was having too much fun without it.

However I will practice what you say soon. That's just too cool not to try and master

Sure would like to crew on a delivery with you some time.

Real happy you said 'experience' as opposed to 'Skill'... got far less off that...
Thanks...

[brownoarsman]

I use boatman's approach as well on both a 23' sonar and my new Pearson 28; mostly rope rode though with just the last 30' chain. It helps that the 28 loves to sail at anchor even without the main up. I try not to take too much in at once, because you have to cleat it down as you turn into the wind and the boat can get blown back a bit. Best not to get greedy!
The other method I've used is, if you have waves, to cleat at the bottom of the wave, rise to the top, and then and haul as you go down. Not a lot of time, so works best with two bow cleats, and alternating between the two so if you have to let go you don't lose too much distance.



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[captain58sailin]

four winds, there is a technique we use when charter fishing. We have a steel ring, usually galvanized about 6" in diameter, that the anchor rode is led through, the ring needs to be large enough to allow the anchor shank to enter easily. Attached to the ring is a good sized buoy, large enough to float the anchor and chain. The process is, with the buoy in the water on the anchor rode, power up towards the buoy, but pointing your bow away until your bow gets even with the buoy, and then turn towards it in a wide circle and as you get further away from the buoy, the anchor rode rides through the ring and the buoy floats the anchor, once the chain and shank get to the ring, the anchor will be suspended by the buoy. I am kind of lazy, so I run up current of the buoy and coil the anchor rode as I drift down on the floating anchor. Now I don't know if that is effective with the lower horsepower of a sailing vessel, but I would give it a try, when fish chartering we have to re anchor many times in a day with strong current by ourselves. Of course this wouldn't work in a really close anchorage, but you don't need too much room. Someone else can probably explain it better.

[Liam Wald]

While an electric windlass can be expensive and a complicated installation, manual windlasses, in my opinion, are far superior. You can find them very reasonably priced, installation is simple and they are quite reliable.

[rogern]

Have you thought about using a chain hook on a line led back to a cockpit winch? Less than perfect, but in a pinch it would get you the purchase you need.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Schrewsburyduo

I have a question for Stu and for the OP - do you find the size anchor you have is adequate? I am on an Ericsson 32-2 which is lighter than the boats you guys have, and I have a rocna 22 lb - I think it's somewhat small in size but as I saw Stu is located in San Fran that means high winds - do you ever drag?

High winds are in the Central Bay, called The Slot, and no, no one anchors there!

Here's how I sized my anchoring SYSTEM:

Anchor System Sizing Tables (Reply #6) & Why Swivels are a bad idea Ground Tackle & Anchor System Sizing TABLES & Swivels

My decisions are explained in detail.

Your boat, your choice.

[Hard Rock Candy]

I had trouble getting the anchor up quite a few times and I could not afford a good electric anchor winch. I used nylon road and about 30 ft of 5/16 chain. I finally bought a cheap on deck anchor winch at a marine swap meet. It cost me 25.00. It was a very cheap little winch like they use to pull cars up on a trailer, except it was waterproof and had a smooth rope style capstan on it. I operated it with a foot switch, so I could stand over the winch and take a turn around the capstan with the road. so as long as I kept the road tight it would pull the anchor in. When I came to the end of the Nylon road it would still pull the chain in also, as long as I was careful to not let the chain lock up. It worked fine for years, untill I sold the boat. Mac

[grantmc]

You could make it simple and just use an anchor buoy (with lots of line). It is simply a buoy tied directly to the front of anchor. When the winds are strong and/or there are other boats, lee shore etc close by, then just bring the buoy on deck, then motor up to where you expect the anchor to be, and then, pull up using the buoy, rather than the anchor rode.

In effect you’re bow is now right above the anchor. So in reality you’re pulling the anchor up first. So long as the buoy is tied on to the anchor at the ‘front’ then the leverage is such that it will usually break out very easily.

Typically, when it’s windy I simply get the anchor on deck and any rope, nothing more (so the chain is still hanging down under my boat in a big loop). I then motor out of the anchorage to somewhere safe where there is lots of space to drift in the wind whilst I pull up all the chain.


In all the suggestions I read about above, there is still the problem for a single hander. The moment the anchor breaks out then the boat will drift backwards with the wind and of course you’re stuck up front, getting sweaty. If there’s land or boats down wide, etc your boat can drift into something. And it’s difficult to keep watch when you’re pulling up chain.
And yes obviously there are places where it’s not practical to sail/motor your boat with a long chain hanging down. But for most situations this works a treat, especially when it’s blowing hard and you need to get away quickly. It’s also vitally important that any rope on the rode is brought in. Chain hangs straight down, but rope obviously doesn’t.

This method is especially useful for the single hander if you don’t have, (or find yourself without a working motor). You have previously set all sail and let it flow for the few moments whilst you get the anchor up. Then you can dash back to the cockpit and immediately make way.

[Tessellate]

Originally Posted by Schrewsburyduo

Actually my 22 lb with 30 feet of 1/4 inch chain is just about as much as i can lift with my back, and I am not even 50....

I know this is probably just a figure of speech, and everyone saying they're lifting with their back may not really be doing that, but some people may not actually know the right way to do it so I figure this is worth saying -

You should definitely not be lifting with your back! The right way to lift is with your legs, which are much stronger. One way is to emulate the form of a deadlift. Lock your arms, do a partial squat with your legs, keep your chest up (don't arch your back - your shoulders should not be dropped or forward) and heave with your legs. Then repeat.

If you have strong enough upper body muscles you can also pull with your arms - using the traps (trapezius muscle in the upper back), lats and deltoids - which is a little faster.

If you want exercises that strengthen that area, think rowing, dumbell lifts, and pulling cabintop mounted halyards.

[Wrong]

Originally Posted by Liam Wald

While an electric windlass can be expensive and a complicated installation, manual windlasses, in my opinion, are far superior. You can find them very reasonably priced, installation is simple and they are quite reliable.

Last time I bought chain it was in Brisbane, Australia. My windlass was a Simpson Lawrence manually operated model and the chain proved too small. Faced with the choice between buying a new gypsy for the windlass to fit the metric chain, or new chain to fit the existing gypsy windlass focused my thinking on the fact using the manual windlass was slow, I was not getting any younger and injuries to various and sunder body parts were combining to affect my confidence level...

So, I challenged Defender to meet a competitor's price on a Pro Fish 1000 that could use my existing Australian chain.

Other than having a hard time overcoming my distrust of all things electro-mechanical, I appreciate having the new electric windlass...

Why the pic is displaying upside down is a mystery. Probably a site error!

[captain58sailin]

Here is an article that shows how to pull your anchor using a buoy, that does a way better job than I did, describing it. They use a fancier hook up than I am used to, but it looks good and they did use stainless, and you can put around your anchor rode even after you have set your anchor. Anyway it might be worth a look. Anchor Pullers - The Best Way to Retrieve Your Anchor