ok... What is this?

[Rebar_Caruso]

new to boat ownership and have been thinking about this yellow ball.... I'm guessing it is either something to do with marking anchorage.... am I in the ballpark, and if so, where do I attach the doggone thing... to the anchor, or the end of the rode? or what....

Thanks in advance from a noob....

[Training Wheels]

You tie the end of the line up on your mast, and play tether ball around the mast.

[Nicholson58]

It marks your anchor location so the next guy know exactly where to throw his ground tackle to create the largest tangle. Attached to the anchor. It is attached at the pull-out end in case you need to back the hook out of a rock.

[DDabs]

throw it overboard when you're clearing into foreign countries

[Jim Cate]

Possibly used as an anchor buoy by the PO. This is usually attached to the anchor itself with a line long enough to reach the surface. It both marks the location of the anchor and give you a means of extracting the anchor if it is fouled on a cable or rock or such. Can be useful, but also clutters up the anchorage and is sometimes thought to be a mooring by a latecomer, who then picks it up, ties off and because of the ~1:1 scope, immediately dislodges your anchor. Bad scene follows...

Cheers,

Jim

[belizesailor]

Could be used as an anchor marker/trip line or whatever you might need a marker bouy for...like where your motor fell off the dinghy...though I do like the tether ball idea.

Lots of ways to rig a trip line, discussion here:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ues-64316.html

[fuentes]

I believe it is a bumper. Put it on the side of your boat to prevent damage when you are tied to a pier or another boat. I have been thinking of getting two. One for the front end and another for the back end with the other bumpers in between. The sides of my 45 ft. Leopard are curved. This would make the bumpers hitting the pier in high winds more even.

[TrentePieds]

Around here it's known as a "Scotsman". In former times Scotsmen were so plentiful in this corner of the Empah that they were often used as fenders on the vessels that served the Coast. As Scotsmen became relatively scarce due to the consequent attrition, other means of fendering , specifically inflated rubber and, later, plastic balls came into use. But the name "Scotsman" stuck.

TrentePieds

[jag39]

Originally Posted by fuentes

I believe it is a bumper. Put it on the side of your boat to prevent damage when you are tied to a pier or another boat. I have been thinking of getting two. One for the front end and another for the back end with the other bumpers in between. The sides of my 45 ft. Leopard are curved. This would make the bumpers hitting the pier in high winds more even.

I agree, it's a fender.

[seasick]

A buoy can be tied to the rode in order to provide the same shock absorbing properties of a kellet, only the orientation of the 'spring' is reversed. Rather than lifting a kellet in order to straighten itself, the rode must instead sink the buoy. An advantage over a kellet is that rather than requiring dead weight, its force is generated by its buoyancy (dictated by its displacement), which means it is lighter to stow onboard.

The ideal position to maximize the buffer effect is, as with a kellet, halfway between the anchor and vessel. However, this effect disappears as the force in the rode overcomes the buoyancy just like it does the catenary from the chain and weight from a kellet. The straighter the rode, the less distance the buoy has over which to provide its effect.

Moreover, the buoy has the drawback of working to disadvantage the anchor in terms of angle of pull: unlike a kellet, the rode is initially kept at a higher angle. However, as with a kellet, by the time the anchor is likely to be troubled, the rode will be close to tight regardless, so the impact on angle of pull and consequent ultimate performance will probably be negligible.
From: Kellets and buoys (Rocna Knowledge Base)

An additional use for such a buoy is an attempt to keep the rode clear of tall obstacles on the sea-bed, such as coral or dead trees. In this case the buoy can be placed at a point on the rode a distance away from the anchor a little greater than the depth of water. In light weather the buoy will then keep this final section of the rode raised, but will sink to allow the rode to provide scope when necessary.

[JD-MDR]

We called them diver buoys and used them on trawl nets to keep the mouth of the net open. They can be lowered into deep water and won't collapse

[boeing1]

agree, looks like a fender to me

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Around here it's known as a "Scotsman". In former times Scotsmen were so plentiful in this corner of the Empah that they were often used as fenders on the vessels that served the Coast. As Scotsmen became relatively scarce due to the consequent attrition, other means of fendering , specifically inflated rubber and, later, plastic balls came into use. But the name "Scotsman" stuck.

TrentePieds

We use to do that with dwarfs till that became politically incorrect. Made good bumpers, noisy though.

[Tayana42]

It might be one of these...http://s7d9.scene7.com/is/image/BedB...7291317020196p


S/V B'Shert

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

It marks your anchor location so the next guy know exactly where to throw his ground tackle to create the largest tangle. Attached to the anchor. It is attached at the pull-out end in case you need to back the hook out of a rock.

If you know it is anchor related? I would agree with the pull out end. A trip line.