Best Drogue for 40ft Catamaran

[GhostChaser]

Hi,

As way of background I am sailing a 40ft Catamaran across the Atlantic and Pacific back to Australia over a year starting in December.

I have a sea anchor for when things turn very poor however am interested in thoughts on the best system for a drogue on a catamaran. That is when sailing with the wind directly behind and I want to slow the boat down to a manageable speed when under bare poles.

Thanks for your input.

[JohnT]

Simple! You should already have everything needed on board. I have used this method on a couple of deliveries, and it works well.

You need a nylon anchor warp of 60 to 100 metres, a short length of anchor chain between 8 and 10 metres and two shackles. Ensure that the warp has no knots or twists in it and dump it on your aft deck. Take one end, making sure you lead it outside any structures and secure that end to your port centre cleat and then, pulling tight, make a turn and lock on port aft cleat. Now take the opposite end of the warp and secure that in the same way on the starboard side, ensuring it runs outside any structures. If you were to now dump the remainder of the warp overboard, it would make a big "U" behind your boat. However, if your boat started surfing, the warp would pull onto the surface of the water and not slow or prevent surfing. This is where the chain comes into the setup. Take one end of your chain and secure a large shackle to the chain - you will find that you need a shackle with a pin that can just go through the last chain link. Then take a far bigger shackle and put the warp in it and secure the pin, with the pin going through the shackle on the end of the chain. The large shackle should be able to slip easily over the warp. Make sure the shackle pins are tight and secured with a cable-tie. Dump it overboard and the chain will slowly centre at the back of the warp "U". There is your drogue. It works well on cats of 40 to 46 foot - the sizes I have tested it on.