Rafting at Anchor

[ilya t]

Wow! A good point! I was wondering, how well a single engine would do with three hulls attached...
I can see why so many seem to hate rafting so much... sounds like a serious pain!
So in case of trouble, would you then use all three engines at once to try to get out of trouble, and then break the raft apart?

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by ilya t

So in case of trouble, would you then use all three engines at once to try to get out of trouble, and then break the raft apart?

Yes, a raft up needs all engines running if they need to re-anchor after a drag. This way it makes it easy to move and control that much beam.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Yes, a raft up needs all engines running if they need to re-anchor after a drag. This way it makes it easy to move and control that much beam.

Don't try to move a raft while connected. If it drags, break up and reform it in the new location. There is no way you are going to set multiple anchors effectively while connected.

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Don't try to move a raft while connected. If it drags, break up and reform it in the new location. There is no way you are going to set multiple anchors effectively while connected.

I do it myself and have seen it done many time very successfully.
All crew on deck. No fire drill. The team of boats has total control.

[DefinitelyMe]

It's very easy to move a raft as one. Much easier in fact than breaking it up and putting it back together. You just need engines on the outermost boats. One boat puts the engine in gear and motors ahead at whatever constant speed you decide on. The other controls the movement of the raft by varying their throttle; if you want to turn one way, throttle up, if the other, throttle back. If you want to spin the whole raft around on it's own axis, go astern with one engine. The whole time the other engine just sits there going ahead. Don't bother with the rudders - just stick them in the middle and then leave them alone. Minimal communication is necessary between the drivers of the two boats. You have complete control over the direction of movement; moreso in fact than someone with a single-screwed boat on their own. The guy in the middle just sits back and has a rum/deals with the anchor. Honestly it really is very very easy. If one boat has a bigger engine than the other, have the boat with the smaller engine keep the constant throttle and the larger do the manoeuvering. I've done this with lots of boat, over long distances (several miles) and in considerably less than ideal conditions. Tried and tested!

p.s. for people reading this that have cats, provided the raft is reasonably balanced at the ends you can get away with just using the central cat to do everything. Having twin engines is really handy! Again though, don't even bother with the rudders. Put them in the middle and leave them.

[valhalla360]

If it's a small raft (3-4 boats) and you have people who know what they are doing, it could be OK. But I've seen people try and cause damage when they do stupid things. After 3-4 boats, there is no way I'm trusting that you won't have an idiot do something stupid.

[ilya t]

So, using the engines of the two outer boats would be like running a Cat! Nice point. Thanks.
It sounds like I should really attempt this in the calmest of conditions... I'll give this a try with a single central boat bow anchor if it gets calm...
thanks a lot!