Army surplus extractor chute as drouge.

[SailorMAK]

I have been considering the purchase of a drogue for a small sailboat. I tend to be conservative with the amount of sail I raise but if conditions warrant it, I'd like to have a drouge to set. In shopping the internet I found a fella who is selling small drogues for small boats. Upon closer inspection of his advertisement it turns out he selling Army Surplus Emergency Extractor Chutes. It seems to me that the would have to be strong but, would they be durable? So, I'm wondering if anyone has ventured a try with anything other than a standard marine drogue. I've also considered simply trailing 500' of line... I'd be interested in what you've got to say on this.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by SailorMAK

I have been considering the purchase of a drogue for a small sailboat. I tend to be conservative with the amount of sail I raise but if conditions warrant it, I'd like to have a drouge to set. In shopping the internet I found a fella who is selling small drogues for small boats. Upon closer inspection of his advertisement it turns out he selling Army Surplus Emergency Extractor Chutes. It seems to me that the would have to be strong but, would they be durable? So, I'm wondering if anyone has ventured a try with anything other than a standard marine drogue. I've also considered simply trailing 500' of line... I'd be interested in what you've got to say on this.

Please share the link.


Perhaps the most important thing is learning how they work and what you intend to use it for. Steering? Slowing? Stopping? Where will you be sailing? Even trailing line is not as simple as it sounds. It needs to be in a loop with weight in the center. How fat is the line? How much weight? Would a small boat have 500 feet of line? One loop or two?



https://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...e_12074-1.html

[44'cruisingcat]

Pretty sure Richard Woods tried an army surplus parachute as a sea anchor, and discovered the thread used to sew it together rotted in the marine environment.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Pretty sure Richard Woods tried an army surplus parachute as a sea anchor, and discovered the thread used to sew it together rotted in the marine environment.

If one has access to a sewing machine, perhaps one could restitch it?? Only worth while if it were quite cheap and was gonna work well after all the effort.

Jim

[SailorMAK]

Before I run afoul of the rules, I have no connection to the seller nor the items being sold. I post the link strictly for information purposes and make no claims as to the suitability of the items for boating.
The chutes are up for sale on eBay at:
ttps://www.ebay.com/p/Small-Drogue-Chute-Boat-Anchor-Military-Parachute-Extraction-5-FT-Diameter/1067961821?iid=132344217621&chn=ps&ul_ref=https%25 3A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmpre%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww .ebay.com%25252Fp%25252FSmall-Drogue-Chute-Boat-Anchor-Military-Parachute-Extraction-5-FT-Diameter%25252F1067961821%25253Fiid%25253D13234421 7621%252526chn%25253Dps%2526itemid%253D13234421762 1%2526targetid%253D485683406545%2526device%253Dm%2 526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9005717%2526po i%253D%2526campaignid%253D1497327725%2526adgroupid %253D60666402227%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-485683406545%2526abcId%253D1139446%2526merchantid% 253D6500154%2526gclid%253DCj0KCQiArqPgBRCRARIsAPwl HoUl2XfZyHQrK92OXB7scfZ4pekmW9GaJ1xcUbJmBh-bFDT5asJegqkaAvgMEALw_wcB%2526srcrot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D1771676576397%2526rvr_ts%253D8554 11531670ab6070a31e7fffde807d#ProductDetails

[SailorMAK]

Oh, yes, I would be interested in using a droguefor only in the event of high following seas, heavy winds, simply to slow and stabalize the boat. As a hedge against broach. I have a small day sailer and a large thurst for adventure and have several trips up and down the Great Lakes planned where I could conceivably be caught in increasing gale conditions.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by SailorMAK

Oh, yes, I would be interested in using a droguefor only in the event of high following seas, heavy winds, simply to slow and stabalize the boat. As a hedge against broach. I have a small day sailer and a large thurst for adventure and have several trips up and down the Great Lakes planned where I could conceivably be caught in increasing gale conditions.

I don't know that drogue, but I have tested this one pretty extensively, including dropping it repeatedly off the back of a 5-ton cat going at 11 knots to take measurements. It's strong. I have owned it for 20 years.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-UNISSUE...S!-1:rk:2:pf:0

I'm not sure I would trust surplus chutes for a big boat, but let us remember that nearly ALL of the early work on parachute sea anchors was done with surplus jump chutes. There were some failures in horrible conditions, but not that many. I'd be pretty comfortable with a 25-foot boat, and I think that is what we are talking about.

In fact, the January issue of Practical Sailor has an article concerning the use of small chutes on small boats.


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All that said, if I really thought I was going to use it, I'd look at a Delta Drogue from Paratech; they're a good value. Also remember that rigging and chafe control are at least as important as the drogue.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by SailorMAK

Before I run afoul of the rules, I have no connection to the seller nor the items being sold. I post the link strictly for information purposes and make no claims as to the suitability of the items for boating.
The chutes are up for sale on eBay at:

https://www.ebay.com/p/Small-Drogue-...ter/1067961821

[George DuBose]

Personally, I feel that safety equipment is no place to save money. The best piece of equipment for storm survival is a Jordan Series drogue. They aren't cheap, but I haven't heard of anyone losing their boat while using this piece of equipment.

Some minor modifications to a boat might be necessary. Strong fixtures to fix the bridle to, close all holes or possible holes (cockpit speakers), the capability to lock all lazarettes and reinforce the companionway are necessary to prevent water ingress from a breaking following wave.

I have a Jordan Series drogue, but haven't had the occasion to deploy it. If you carry an umbrella, it usually doesn't rain...

[Hardhead]

There are a lot of commercial sea anchors available at Cabelas, Bass Pro, etc. also in that price range.

I bought one for a center console fishing boat a few years ago, and it's definitely of solid quality. For a smaller sailboat, I'd be confident in it for the purposes needed.

[Paul Howard]

I used a U.S. surplus cargo parachute (26ft. diameter canopy, stamped 1945) as a sea anchor off the bow on a 39ft catamaran in the Denmark Strait when heading towards Iceland. Lay to it during a gale for about 28hours. Had 30ft of chain, plus about 400ft of nylon anchor line. A fender plus 30ft of floating line for picking up from the vent hole end.
Worked great. There was no damage to the chute and I still have it.

[Jim Cate]

They aren't cheap, but I haven't heard of anyone losing their boat while using this piece of equipment.

Well, they do have a good track record, but at this very moment, Susie Goodall is being rescued in the Southern Ocean after her boat pitchpoled whilst lying to a JSD.

No details yet on how it happened.

Jim

[01kiwijohn]

You could also consider a suitably sized old auto tire (tyre), connected via a loop of your stern anchor chain and rode. Not pretty, but works.

[Ken Z]

I bought a army parachute about 6’ roundyears ago, in a army surplus store for a drogue, storm anchor. It was made of nylon and very strong, it didn t rot, and worked. I put a trip line on the tailing edge to help retrieve it , basically to collapse it .Trailing 2, 5 gal. buckets can also work on smaller boats.

[wgoodbye]

Don't reinvent the wheel.
This problem has already been solved.
Use a Jordan Series Drogue!

Jordan Series Drogue

Hundreds of vessels have used this system successfully and no vessels have been lost or capsized after using one in many severe storms.