Anchor Stowage For Sailing Offshore?

[capn_billl]

I keep my anchor in place, I keep the spare bolted with U bolts on the stern rail. I've seen anchors lashed with fairly light line, I wouldn't do that. I cruise mostly coastal, (<100 miles from shore), but I have 3/8" retractable pins to keep my 50lb bruce in place. After heavy seas one day I found the pins had a slight bend to them. I wouldn't go any smaller than that.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Moving sizeable anchors around sounds foolish. While they need to be secured, anchors also need to be ready to deploy. . .

I would agree. Removing anchor(s) from their location on the bow is a recipe for disaster. If you loose your engine or steerage when entering a harbor or bay or port, having those anchors ready to deploy can make the difference between an annoyance and having having your boat up on the rocks.
- - It is not difficult to "lash" or install clamps to hold the anchor down on the bow. There are many devices sold in marine stores to do just that. I use anchor holder/chocks and drill holes through them and the anchor and install a long pin to hold down the anchor. Or install eye-bolts and lash the anchors down using them.

[beetle]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Moving sizeable anchors around sounds foolish. While they need to be secured, anchors also need to be ready to deploy. While I've been on dozens of ships, I've never seen them moved so as to be not immediately available for deployment. Or does the recommendation pertain only to toy boats with 20-pound anchors?

I've not had reason to deply an anchor in mid-ocean, at least not mid-Pacific, in depths of 1000 fathoms or more - I don't have enough rode So I contest the need for an anchor to be ready to deply on an ocean crossing.

I have helped deliver boats where we have had anchors break free from their lashings and launch itself - retrieving an anchor and several hundred feet of chain from the bow is not the safest thing to do in the dark in six foot seas and a lot of wind (a lot of concern over fingers getting caught up in the chain).

- rob/beetle

[beetle]

Originally Posted by osirissail

I would agree. Removing anchor(s) from their location on the bow is a recipe for disaster. If you loose your engine or steerage when entering a harbor or bay or port, having those anchors ready to deploy can make the difference between an annoyance and having having your boat up on the rocks.
- - It is not difficult to "lash" or install clamps to hold the anchor down on the bow. There are many devices sold in marine stores to do just that. I use anchor holder/chocks and drill holes through them and the anchor and install a long pin to hold down the anchor. Or install eye-bolts and lash the anchors down using them.

I do NOT recommend a metal pin passed through a hole in the anchor for securing the anchor to the bow roller; I've had those pins bend in place from a wave striking the anchor, at which point it becomes extremely difficult to pound the pin back out to free the anchor (i've had to cut through such pins twice now on different boats). A clamp mechanism is better than a thru-pin, provided the clamp can't bend if the anchor is struck hard, or if the clamp does bend it can still be released in the bent condition. A securing lashing that can be cut with a knife is a good thing, but then you have to deal with chafe, which can lead to self-launching anchors.

Also note that the original question was regarding anchor storage on a passage, not near shore. I completely agree with you that one of the first things to do upon closing shore is to re-assemble the anchor and rode for use, ideally prior to reaching a place you might need it.

- rob/beetle

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by markpierce

I disagree. This is hazardous except in the calmest conditions. Anchors should be available for deployment in all conditions.

what good is the weight in the bow going to do you mid pacific? I personally know of no ships or boat that can anchor in mid ocean. I like my "Toy" and know what balance it needs, it's not shaped like a ship either.

[boasun]

Depending on how much room you have on the bow of your vessel. You can take one off the bow rollers and lash it on deck using prepositioned securing chocks for that anchor. The other anchor you may want to stow below or secure in the roller with larger sized bolts or turnbuckles for a more secured anchor.

If you do use turnbuckles, you want them well greased and wrapped (so the grease isn't washed off).

[sck5]

I lashed the anchor where it was and also used a chain snubber led back to one of the bow cleats. I would be really nervous to not have an anchor I could deploy when approaching a coast. And I really dont want to wrestle an anchor up from below in a seaway.

But what someone said about chain being heavier than the anchor is true - I dont remember the exact figure but I remember that 5/16 HT is just about a pound a foot.

[barnakiel]

We kept our bower on the bow. Number 2 traveled on the lee side deck tied down to the rail, midships. Number 3 in the aft locker, number 4 and 5 in the cockpit lockers. Some chain at the bower, the rest of the chain (plenty!) in the bilge /dry).

b.

[Capt Phil]

Jime Cates has wisdom from actual experience and I would favor his advice over others. Personally, I would transfer the anchor to a well secured poition below decks before a blue water passage. For coastal cruising, I would be comfortable lashing in place. My concern is lashings have a habit of wearing and failing, usually at the most inopportune times and under the worst of circumstances. Trying to relash an anchor loose in its roller in high seas, wind and rain needlessly risks your life IMHO.
Deck work in storm conditions is always risky even with jack lines, tethers and an experienced crew member at the helm. Just my opinion... Capt Phil

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by Exile

When you say "tighten up the chain and lock the windlass," I assume this means you're leaving the chain tensioned on the gypsy. I thought this could potentially strip out the windlass from wave action hitting the anchor (if not firmly lashed I suppose), or this concern only when the anchor is deployed? Given your 125K sea miles, I guess I already know the answer.

Thanks to all for taking some time to respond, esp. the folks actually out there doin' it. Hopefully I'll be out there with you in another year or two.

Valid point! One should never set the hook, lay too, or hold the anchor in place on the roller, with the windlass! I set the hook with a "chain fork" that has a 3' rope tail spliced to it. It is cleated! When under way and the anchor is in its roller, the chain is held tight by a "chain tensioner" with a redundant safety. It pulls the anchor into the roller SO tightly, that it neither rocks or rattles. The 1' of chain between the tensioner & windlass, is completely slack.

M.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Exile

When you say "tighten up the chain and lock the windlass," I assume this means you're leaving the chain tensioned on the gypsy. I thought this could potentially strip out the windlass from wave action hitting the anchor (if not firmly lashed I suppose), or this concern only when the anchor is deployed? Given your 125K sea miles, I guess I already know the answer.

Thanks to all for taking some time to respond, esp. the folks actually out there doin' it. Hopefully I'll be out there with you in another year or two.

G'Day Exile,

Yes, we leave the chain tensioned on the gypsy, and have never experienced or worried about windlass damage being done from wave strikes. If one compares the loads imparted from such strikes to the normal stress generated by hoisting the anchor free with a bit of swell running, I believe that such worries are unwarranted. We do lash the anchor firmly into our roller (lashings going to a nearby bow cleat), and have not had any chafe issues with that. Perhaps on a different boat with a different roller this couldn't be done, but that seems a bit unlikely to me.

Frankly, I would be far more worried about some ad hoc lashing below decks or on a side deck than one at the bow where there are strong points galore, a tight chain, and a strong windlass. Also, the folks who advocate removing and restoring the anchor when approaching the coast may have smaller anchors to deal with. The chances for injury or loss that accompany hoiking a 60 plus pound lump of steel over the pulpit and into place while at sea are a real consideration for me. YMMV.

At any rate, that's how we deal with the issue... hope that it gives you some perspective, Exile. Maybe we'll see you out here someday soon.

Cheers,

Jim

[zeehag]

my cqr is lashed to roller and in number one spot at present as my 60 pound bruce is a tad large for the roller. i have it lashed to mast. i like my bows bouyant as possible as mine is a boat prone to hobby horsing in quartering and following seas. the weight off the bows helps keep that to a minimum

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

Jime Cates has wisdom from actual experience and I would favor his advice over others.

Personally, I would transfer the anchor to a well secured poition below decks before a blue water passage.

And what if your blue water passage ends with a couple of stormy days and then you enter an atoll or a lagoon and there is no time for messing around with the anchor so neatly stowed ... below decks?

I think if a boat is incapable off carrying her bower on the bow offshore, then there is a design issue with the boat and I would see if this specific issue can be addressed.

If the bow setup does not allow for secure storage of anchor in all conditions, does it allow for secure anchoring in all conditions?

b.

[boasun]

Note: When lashing an Anchor, it is not one or two turns of small line. It is several turns and tighten with half hitches around the lashing its self.

[Capt Phil]

Barnakiel... you make a good point. My preference to stow below on blue water passages is it is one less thing to worry about tripping over on the foredeck. Not sure I would be comfortable entering a lagoon or atoll during a storm but would probably stand off and await calmer waters before attempting to enter. However, I've never been personally faced with that situation.
Having been pounded a few times on the west coast on commercial vessels, the anchor was always a worry but more because of the integrity of the lashings, if there were any, and, because we usually had a tow, anchoring was the least of our worries. But having the bloody thing fall off the bow was a bigger concern!
I recall we used to run a light cable through the chain rings as well as harden up on the windlass. If ever we had to drop anchor I'm not sure what we would have done other than try and cut the cable with a fire axe.
Sometimes I truly wonder how we lived through those days with asbestos blowing around the engine room like confetti, outdoor ice boxes for refrigeration and a radar the size of a volkswagon... but I digress... sorry about that! Capt Phil