Hand Raising your Anchor

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I just recently went with all chain on the main anchor after finding a really good deal on very slightly used anchor chain. Anyway, I still don't have an windlass. I use two 1/2" retrieval lines to hoist the anchor chain. One to a mast winch and a longer one to the main sheet winch.

I had thought long and hard about a manual windlass. But doing mostly singlehanded sailing, I did not like to be at the bow in a blow more then I need too. Using the rope hoisting lines puts me back in the cockpit where I can motor and steer, while raising the hook. Its not perfect, but it works quite well.

Being a shoestring sailor, a electric windlass just was not in the budget at all. The configuration of my anchor locker and the massive Sampson post support below, limited where a windlass could go anyway.

After setting the anchor, I set up retrieval lines with chain hooks on deck, so they are ready to go, if things get a little iffy. Saves time that way. Plus I think using the retrieval lines and sheet winches may be faster then a slow manual windlass.

See, among all the macho, hand over hand, stronger than the elements guys, it requires a woman to come up with a safe technique without using a windlass. Any form of controlled mechanical help that works is good: a windlass is just what they came up with for creating a standard apparatus for the task. SailorChic had non standard requirements and put some time and effort into it while using her brains to come up with a different solution. My hat off to you SailorChick! :thumbs:

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

ROTFL -- I just ran to Google -- I thought your quote was going to come from some Greek play I'd snoozed through in college!

Do you refer to my signature? No Greek play there. I think it's double meaning is particularly appropriate in this context. It's a metaphor for why many of us go sailing. Eliot means the wheel of life, so when he says "you who turn the wheel and look to windward", he means people who are caught up in the rat race of life. He is suggesting that they "Consider Phlebas" who we have already determined in the course of the poem to have gone down that path. But despite all his hard work and devotion to commerce, he has led a joyless life and is now dead and gone for all eternity. It's a very short passage about mortality and how fleeting life is, and how we should make the most of what we have. "The Wasteland" is like that, every line is rich with meaning. I think Eliot was making a bit of a sailing metaphor here too, as a sailor who is trying to make it to windward for commercial purposes might work hard "turning the wheel and looking to windward", whereas if he gave up such pursuits he might set a more leisurely course. Sort of a "gentlemen don't sail to weather" in life type concept. You can beat your head against the wall of "success" all your life, or you can just say screw it and go sailing. I think that passage is T.S. Eliots way of telling us we should consider doing the latter.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Lots of mud in the SF bay too. I'm finding that using the short haul at the mast and a shorter mid haul with the long line, allows enough hang time in the water. The second haul is short as I have to untie the rolling hitch first from the snubber.

All chain is a good idea in SF bay because there is so much junk on the bottom. I cut an anchor line in there and have been all chain since. Probably a sunken boat or something.

As for raising anchor in 40 knots.. if you need to (cannot wait it out, dangerous place to anchor) then you probably already messed up. But it would be nice to be able to handle anything, and be happy sailing in that weather.

My worst experience was in mexico where I had no charts and ran aground at high tide in an area which had breaking surf at low tide. I kayaked the anchor 200ft out and winched it back in then about 400ft out and very slowly, I winched it very tight, and got the boat to start sliding (with each wave lifting me) then the winch broke, and I started again with the haylard winch, eventually success.

Then I got blown back on.. so I had to do it all over again, setting a second anchor before pulling the first up. I needed to go straight upwind in a narrow space so I could not sail and it was blowing 25 steady so I could not row the boat.

So yes, I can drag the boat across the bottom without a windlass (using a winch) manually.

[foolishsailor]

I too do not have a chain stopper. I simply use the pawl on my windlass when setting the hook and then a chain hook set on a bridle once settled and if needed add a snubber.

I have a 45lb cqr and all chain and have pulled it up by hand from 7meters. It was dead calm and thought I would give it a try, it wasnt hard and I did it using legs as others have mentioned. I have also pulled it up using my winches just to make sure I could and to get a system in place, also not very hard.

As I have a Goiot manal windlass that I love I am always using manpower to haul up my hook.

I would not want to pull hand over hand in anything but very mild weather though.

[phantomracer]

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 ."

Whats a windlass? lol!! Heck we don't even have an anchor locker!!

our boat is as close to KISS as you can get!

The day I can't remove the 35# cqr by hand is the day I quit boating.

[Juniper]

Windless? whats that? 45Lb CQR with 30Ft 5/16 G7, I don't have a windless so it can't break. I'm thinking of getting a Muir easywiegh 500.

[zeehag]

loooong time ago, when i boat sat opb in sd bay, i used the cockpit winches to raise the danforth a friend had on his columbia 26mII. easy peasy......no problem.

[Klos2019]

Originally Posted by 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.

Great discussion. As I ponder what type of backup I should have in case my windlass fails at some point, my biggest concern as a single hander is managing to weigh the primary anchor (30kg bruce, 3/8" all chain rode) while keeping the boat from drifting down on other boats or into other dangers. I can use manual mode on windlass or run lines back to primaries but this is a slow process and once the anchor frees from the bottom, I am likely drifting down towards the boat anchored behind me with 15-25 feet of anchor and chain trolling from the bow.



My thoughts were along the lines of what Charliehows suggests. I could use the backup 44lb Danforth with primarily rope rode, set where it won't foul the primary, to hold boat in place while I'm at the bow raising chain and anchor. Once primary is up and stowed, the Danforth would be much easier to raise and I would even have the option to lead rode back to cockpit in order to be able to retrieve it while at the helm.


Any other suggestions for managing this type of situation solo?