Rolling at anchor

[bg9208]

On one of the threads, it was said that all monohulls roll at anchor. Noow that was a problem I had 30 years ago with my displacement cruiser in Portsmouth harbour where the traffic had us rolling all night. The cheap and nasty system which worked for me was th lash a ladder (the one we used as a gangplank) across the foredeck ahead of the coachroof, to the ends of which 2 galvanised buckets were fixed with about 6 ft of chain ( I hope that I have attached a very basic sketch). This Fred Karno setup certainly damped the rolling and didn't cost a lot. Any comments on why it was a bad idea welcomed.
Brian Owen

[CSY Man]

Easier to attach a line to yer anchor chain, run the line aft to a cockpit winch, then winch the bow in the swells..No more rolling at anchor..

Tor explain's it better on his site:

Tor Pinney's Homepage - A Cruising Sailor's Homeport

[Tropic Cat]

Is it me, or does your diagram kind of look like a trimaran?

[bg9208]

CSYman. Why didn't I think of that??
One guy said that it looked as if I was trying to drown a couple of window cleaners!

Rick, I did hope that the buckets might float and would help me reach planing speed - no such luck!

[Charlie]

Looks good to me. Since its done I can't think of why I would change it but I like the idea of those heavy black feed buckets and rope rather than chain.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by rickm505

Is it me, or does your diagram kind of look like a trimaran?

I'm glad somebody said it! ha ha

I was choking back that one myself.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by bg9208

Any comments on why it was a bad idea welcomed.

You’re talking about a flopper stopper.

Not really sure it's bad idea other than it looks like the Clampetts moved in. There’s a good deal about them on the web. Some are stainless with louvers, some are plastic, some are flat, some are cone shaped. And now, the Home Depot version

[bg9208]

Thanks Maren, how long has the flopper stopper been on the market?
Looks like someone pinched my idea, tarted it up and charges $650 for it. Apart from the ladder, buckets and a bit of spare chain which I had to hand anyway, it cost me 4 galvanised shackles. It was, I admit, a bit Wright brothers early work but it worked, wasn't pretty but what the h*** neither is the space shuttle. Do like the much simpler idea of winching the stern around using the anchor rode only wish I'd thought of that.Still working on my low tech low cost RO system and when it's running I'll post sketch, can never be bothered to fire up Autocad any more. Lack of straight lines is more artistic don't you think?

[DeepFrz]

The "at anchor" flopper stoppers usually benefit from having a valve or folding mechanism that allows the "fish" to drop quickly but then closes (in the case of the valve) or opens (folding type) when the fish is lifting. This keeps the weight on the line so you don't get any sudden loads on the lines and helps keep the motion smooth and quiet.

Using whisker poles can help you get the fish out farther so the flopper stoppers are more effective and you don't damage your topsides.

A fish hung from the bow can help moderate hobby horsing at anchor as well.

Skewing the boat into the waves as mentioned above helps but if you have wave trains coming from different directions the flopper stoppers may still be required.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by bg9208

Thanks Maren, how long has the flopper stopper been on the market?

It's not just one thing. Sort of like saying how long has the winch been around (self tail or not? Capstan included or not?) I suspect they started like your idea. And if you want one, whip up the drawings and take it to a metal fabrication shop.

Still working on my low tech low cost RO system and when it's running I'll post sketch, can never be bothered to fire up Autocad any more. Lack of straight lines is more artistic don't you think?

Oh, I don't think you should let not wanting to fire up AutoCad slow you down ... there are a number of people still smiling at your last drawing

[Maren]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

A fish hung from the bow can help moderate hobby horsing at anchor as well.

Hunh... I hadn't heard of that. Learn something new every day.

[DeepFrz]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz
A fish hung from the bow can help moderate hobby horsing at anchor as well.

Ah, just to be clear, I meant "fish" as in "flopper stopper fish"...<BG>

[AnchorageGuy]

Here are a set of the commercial type being sold. There are a couple of different versions

Flopper Stopper :: Kewl Gadgets :: Marine Equipment :: Ship Store by Latitudes & Attitudes Magazine

[Maren]

Originally Posted by Chuck Baier

Here are a set of the commercial type being sold.

The link I put up includes that one, which is what I was thinking about but the photo was small and I just can't stand the constant use of ... kewl. (alright ... there, I said it)

kNo whAT I MeAN dUDez?

[bg9208]

Soooo! glad that we cleared that one up - saved me many wasted hours hanging a herring over the bow on a bit of string and waiting for the vertical motion to stop phew!