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04-04-2009, 19:34
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: mid nsw Australia
Boat: Endurance 35 ADDICTION
Posts: 22
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Series Drogue or parachute Anchor
Series Drogue or parachute Anchor
Which is preferred or do you need both?
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04-04-2009, 19:38
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#2
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Senior Cruiser

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: 29° 49.16’ N 82° 25.82’ W
Boat: Pearson 422
Posts: 16,307
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Never had to use one but looking at the design and how it works i really like the idea of the series drogue.
__________________
The water is always bluer on the other side of the ocean.
Sometimes it's necessary to state the obvious for the benefit of the oblivious.
Rust is the poor man's Loctite.
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04-04-2009, 20:22
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Adelaide Aus
Boat: Tasman elite Cat
Posts: 82
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Have used series drougue once
Major problem with hyd steering approx 30ml off N.S.W. coast in about 25knots of wind. Hung off bow for a couple of hours.Very comfortable and drifted maybe 2 mls. My main reason for carrying is to slow boat down in a following sea but hav'nt needed as yet. Was very easy to deploy and recover
cheers Steve
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04-04-2009, 23:59
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#5
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Long Range Cruiser
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Australian living on "Sea Life" currently in England.
Boat: Beneteau 393 "Sea Life"
Posts: 12,820
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Para anchor from Para Achors Australia. Bloke there is Alby. He's great
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05-04-2009, 15:03
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Whangaparaoa,NZ
Boat: 63 ft John Spencer Schooner
Posts: 956
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In a perfect world carry both, no two situations, no two storms are the same, so the more tools you have to deal with them the better the chance you'll have the right one.
If you are constrained by space or budget then you need to choose one.
My choice the drogue, I've used one in anger more than once and it works. Second ly, and maybe ,most important, is ease of deployment and recovery, I've heard too many stories of parachutes that tangled, twisted, were cut loose, damaged the boats deck hardware. Tossing over the drogue and pulling it back in was easy.
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05-04-2009, 17:36
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: San Antonio, TX/Bocas del Toro, Panama
Boat: 1990 Macintosh 47, "Merlin"
Posts: 2,869
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Long review(s) in Practical Sailor over the past couple of months.
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05-04-2009, 18:25
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Cruising
Boat: Privilege 39 Catamaran, Exit Only
Posts: 2,723
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We constructed our own series drogue when we were in New Zealand. It's not hard to make, but it does take some time. I have never used my series drogue because I have never been in a storm with seriously breaking seas where this type of drogue would be a big help. I used a simpler and less powerful drogue that I created myself using materials that I had on board. Check out the following link:
ABBOTT DROGUE
I have used the parachute sea anchor only one time in a winter storm three hundred miles north of New Zealand, and the parachute worked flawlessly on that single occasion. We are a catamaran, and parachutes seem to work well on many catamarans.
If you would like to see a discussion on storm managment using drogues and parachutes, you can check out the following link.
STROM MANAGEMENT FOR CRUISERS
I would not sail offshore without both a drogue and a parachute. Sometimes you need to completely stop the boat, and a parachute does a good job stopping it. Sometimes you just need to slow down, and a medium powered drogue will do that. Sometimes you have plenty of sea room and you need protection against wave strikes in breaking seas, and a series drogue will do a good job.
What works for you will depend on the design of your yacht, and what works on one vessel might not work as well on another.
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05-04-2009, 19:06
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Plimmerton, New Zealand
Boat: Samsara, a Ross 930
Posts: 380
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maxingout
What works for you will depend on the design of your yacht, and what works on one vessel might not work as well on another.
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This is a key point, according to Hal Roth. Likely to be a point of debate which I cannot add experience to, but he says many modern monohulls do not lie to wind on a sea anchor. As I recollect, he says many modern monohulls deploying sea anchors risk going beam on (to be avoided).
Many have been very happy with sea anchors ... but this is what Jordan (the 'non-profit' series drogue designer) said of his test programme:
A sea anchor cannot be designed to protect the boat. When tethered from the bow, the boat will yaw and develop unacceptable loads. The reason for this is that all boats must be designed to be directionally stable when moving forward - or it would not be possible to steer the boat. Therefore, if moving backwards, the boat will be unstable and will yaw and turn broadside to the sea. Worth reading:
http://www.jordanseriesdrogue.com/pd...riesDrogue.pdf
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06-04-2009, 03:20
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#10
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Moderator and Certifiable Refitter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: South of 43 S, Australia
Boat: C.L.O.D.
Posts: 21,526
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roger.waite
This is a key point, according to Hal Roth. Likely to be a point of debate which I cannot add experience to, but he says many modern monohulls do not lie to wind on a sea anchor. As I recollect, he says many modern monohulls deploying sea anchors risk going beam on (to be avoided).
Many have been very happy with sea anchors ... but this is what Jordan (the 'non-profit' series drogue designer) said of his test programme:
A sea anchor cannot be designed to protect the boat. When tethered from the bow, the boat will yaw and develop unacceptable loads. The reason for this is that all boats must be designed to be directionally stable when moving forward - or it would not be possible to steer the boat. Therefore, if moving backwards, the boat will be unstable and will yaw and turn broadside to the sea.
Worth reading:
http://www.jordanseriesdrogue.com/pd...riesDrogue.pdf
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FWIW, The Pardeys disagree in so far that their view (if I understand them correctly) is that most modern mono's can be made to hove to with the right degree of sail and rudder balance although not as easy/simple as older long keel designs.
They seem to support the view that a para-anchor directly off the bow can cause unacceptable yawing with most monos and their remedy is the running bridle from the bow and one quarter.
__________________
All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangereous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. T.E. Lawrence
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06-04-2009, 15:09
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Plimmerton, New Zealand
Boat: Samsara, a Ross 930
Posts: 380
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Which highlights the point that preparation is everything, whichever route you go. With series drogues, you have to make sure attachment points on the stern are set up to handle peak loads, and make sure the rear half of the boat (hatches etc) can take a breaking wave.
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11-04-2009, 14:49
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1
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I recently made a series drogue for my yacht. Hope I never have to use it, But if I need it it's there.
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