Hand Raising your Anchor

[s/v Jedi]

If feel sick to the stomach when I read how you all are trying to put yourselves in hospital. It is the same as pushing a boat off the dock: don't do it, just step back and think about what the bleep you're doing.

It is not only the hauling and heaving by hand, it is also the complete loss of control. When a big wind gust comes you might not be able to hold it and loose fingers when you try to put the rode around a cleat. When a big wave comes you might fall and be messed up by a chain running out or it pulls your hand through some fairlead or over a roller.

Don't take the risk. Install a windlass and maintain it. If it breaks, use a cockpit winch with a long enough line forward and a snubber to hold the chain when moving that line to further on the chain again. Always use something mechanical to take the load and work in a controlled way. An accident that needs stitching can be a hassle ashore but it can be your death out at sea. Protect yourself and your crew from injury as much as possible. Use every piece of equipment that you have to your advantage; out at sea there is enough that can go wrong: recognize that before it happens and correct it before it is too late and can be done in a controlled manner. That... the insight, is the core of good seamanship..

[atoll]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

If feel sick to the stomach when I read how you all are trying to put yourselves in hospital. It is the same as pushing a boat off the dock: don't do it, just step back and think about what the bleep you're doing.

It is not only the hauling and heaving by hand, it is also the complete loss of control. When a big wind gust comes you might not be able to hold it and loose fingers when you try to put the rode around a cleat. When a big wave comes you might fall and be messed up by a chain running out or it pulls your hand through some fairlead or over a roller.

Don't take the risk. Install a windlass and maintain it. If it breaks, use a cockpit winch with a long enough line forward and a snubber to hold the chain when moving that line to further on the chain again. Always use something mechanical to take the load and work in a controlled way. An accident that needs stitching can be a hassle ashore but it can be your death out at sea. Protect yourself and your crew from injury as much as possible. Use every piece of equipment that you have to your advantage; out at sea there is enough that can go wrong: recognize that before it happens and correct it before it is too late and can be done in a controlled manner. That... the insight, is the core of good seamanship..

anything over 45ft should have at least 2 windlasses,independent of each other,preferably one hydrhalic and one electric right ......
that is good seamanship...............
and maybe a rode and chain setup that is big enough to hold the boat,but small enough to be handeled by hand and cockpit winches would also be good seamanship........

[sailstoo]

Have a 34', 11,000 pound boat with a Fortress FX23 (oversized for my boat) that weighs 14 lbs with 25 feet of chain. Pick it up by hand all the time.

[zeehag]

anything over 20000 pounds displacement needs 2 windlasses on bow....ask me how i know....i always found some niiice strong testosterone addled dood for my anchor in a breeze..but now i dont have to impair myselfor some nice hunkaman --and i do have manual backup, a necessary item on every boat--a cheater manual method of anchor raising. you get old fast when you screw up your back. not to mention, most folks with bad backs quit sailing completely. is a rare few who are crazy enough to sail with bad backs.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by zeehag

most people make the mistake of using back muscles to pull anchor--bad choice.
never ever use your back to do the work of pulling or lifting anything. use the strongest part of your body----no, not your head.....use your legs. and your weight.
isnt that hard when you use the correct muscle groups.

I never did get the hang of the correct muscle groups so just use a thumb on the windlass remote now instead

[sailstoo]

Originally Posted by conachair

I never did get the hang of the correct muscle groups so just use a thumb on the windlass remote now instead

And when that breaks (the windlass, not the thumb)?

[conachair]

Originally Posted by sailstoo

And when that breaks (the windlass, not the thumb)?

If it ever does I'll go back to how it used to be raised until the electric one gets fixed, the old manual windlass is still stashed in a locker, but in the meantime I'll enjoy the ease that technology provides.

Don't ever get a bicycle, one of the wheels will break

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

If feel sick to the stomach when I read how you all are trying to put yourselves in hospital. It is the same as pushing a boat off the dock: don't do it, just step back and think about what the bleep you're doing.

It is not only the hauling and heaving by hand, it is also the complete loss of control. When a big wind gust comes you might not be able to hold it and loose fingers when you try to put the rode around a cleat. When a big wave comes you might fall and be messed up by a chain running out or it pulls your hand through some fairlead or over a roller.

Don't take the risk. Install a windlass and maintain it. If it breaks, use a cockpit winch with a long enough line forward and a snubber to hold the chain when moving that line to further on the chain again. Always use something mechanical to take the load and work in a controlled way. An accident that needs stitching can be a hassle ashore but it can be your death out at sea. Protect yourself and your crew from injury as much as possible. Use every piece of equipment that you have to your advantage; out at sea there is enough that can go wrong: recognize that before it happens and correct it before it is too late and can be done in a controlled manner. That... the insight, is the core of good seamanship..

A very good point. Thanks for bringing it up. It had to be said. An effective chain pawl up on the bow roller made the job much safer for me but still the 45 lb anchor and 10mm chain was a bit to heavy to really be kind to my back if I was anchored in over about 7meters depth. Since the pawl went missing from the bow (due to a nut working loose) the job is much harder and pretty dangerous at times. I got a hand windlass, but have sold snow petrel so i'll be fitting it to the new boat.

I once saw a very effective and simple hand windlass on a 40 footer that used a chain pawl on the roller and another pawl and roller half way up a lever that was hinged to the deck. Each time you pulled the lever aft it pulled in the chain. As you pushed it forward the pawl foward held the chain while the one on the lever took another bite. Simple, cheap and lightweight. An ideal backup.

I welded on some lugs to fit one for snow petrel but didnt get around to making one.

[SimonV]

Yes I can raise it by hand but only if wearing gloves. I take it that is what the question was....BY HAND.... I would imagine on a sail boat using any equipment other than the anchor winch you could retrieve any sized anchor.

[charliehows]

45lb cqr, 10mm chain, by hand is ok to depth of 7M, any deeper and i use the manual winch. I recommend having an 'emergency' anchor - in my case a light-ish danforth with a couple M of chain and the rest rope - its main virtue is being able to get it up quick - eg. your electric windlass fails, you have more than easily lifted length of chain out, put out the emergency anchor and you can take your time getting the main anchor up and stowed before a bit of a rest and then prepare to sail off after a quick pull up of the little anchor.

[rebel heart]

60lb anchor, all chain rhode. i haul that sucker up by hand every time. proper body mechanics, good gloves, and not being in a hurry are the keys to success and no back injuries.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

It is not only the hauling and heaving by hand, it is also the complete loss of control. When a big wind gust comes you might not be able to hold it and loose fingers when you try to put the rode around a cleat. When a big wave comes you might fall and be messed up by a chain running out or it pulls your hand through some fairlead or over a roller.

It's no different than handlining a big fish, which you can do safely as well, and plenty of people have for a very long time. Always be in control, never put your hands in a position where if you lose it you'll get crunched. I do all kinds of weight lifting and strength training where one wrong move results in something being mauled or broken. It's just knowing your body and knowing what you're doing.

Sudden winds gusts aren't usually all that sudden. It's not like you'll be in some flat anchorage then be in 80 knots a split second later. If you goosed it a little bit with the engine or just the inertia from the vessel moving forward as you're taking in rhode, it's going to take a second or two at minimum for the vessel respond and for you to get your hands out of the way and lay the chain on the wildcat.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

It's no different than handlining a big fish, which you can do safely as well, and plenty of people have for a very long time. Always be in control, never put your hands in a position where if you lose it you'll get crunched. I do all kinds of weight lifting and strength training where one wrong move results in something being mauled or broken. It's just knowing your body and knowing what you're doing.

Sudden winds gusts aren't usually all that sudden. It's not like you'll be in some flat anchorage then be in 80 knots a split second later. If you goosed it a little bit with the engine or just the inertia from the vessel moving forward as you're taking in rhode, it's going to take a second or two at minimum for the vessel respond and for you to get your hands out of the way and lay the chain on the wildcat.

Hoorah!

[cszosler]

Originally Posted by Don L

Atoll on another thread asks:

"it would be interesting to find out how many out of the posters can actually lift their anchor by hand from 30ft of water in the event of their windlass failing,and what their back up plan is in the event of a failure ."

Yes, iwas doing this before instalation of vertical manual muir 500 (1' of 5/16 chain every turn and 30lbs cqr)

[zeehag]

even with engine and steering by autopilot, biiiig winds and hand raising anchor DO NOT WORK....chubasco have no warning except a faint poof..then a second faint poof. then wholly hail.... have fun with manual upping of anchor in those. aint gonna happen.
is why my electric windlass has been repaired by my friendly slaveboy.

the golfo de california has winds and flat water--could be interesting there.... the water is flat for a little bit of the early part of the winds, so hunkering down or flight is possible early into them...there are spozedly good hiding places from the chubascos--looking forward to those areas and repairs in soc/golfo de california...