Dropping vs lowering anchor

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Gave out some wine that evening.

The owner of the boat in Papeete never even tried to find out who saved his boat.

Strange behavior. We're always happy to help whenever we can and don't expect a reward - but we (and a couple of others) spent a couple of hours late at night saving this guys boat. A bottle of wine or a beer would have been a nice gesture of appreciation.

[DuncanWells]

Controlled on the electric windlass generally. The exception would be stern to mooring under anchor in a strong cross wind. Then free fall is best to get some weight out and prevent the bow from being blown off.

[sail4evr]

I always use my motor to lower it becausea it lets chain out at 1ft per sec so I always know haow much I have let out. Unless of course I get distracted. Was that 20 sec or 30 sec? And of course i have let out more chain while I try to remember correctly. And by that time I haven't a clue.

[ChrisPuget]

I have a Maxwell 800 with capstan on my Catalina 36 mkII. I have been considering installing a down switch and relay but have decided to not go down that road. I mostly singlehand cruise. I set up the anchor for dropping, position and go forward to lower the anchor using the clutch. I do not think that I would be comfortable dropping the anchor from the cockpit and it just seems like more wear and tear on the windless motor for no real gain. Depending on the weather/wind and bottom I will drop out the amount of chain for the scope considering the depth and tidal exchange and if the conditions are calm to mild I will go ahead and attach the bridal before going back to set the anchor. Done deal.

[DuncanWells]

Originally Posted by sail4evr

I always use my motor to lower it becausea it lets chain out at 1ft per sec so I always know haow much I have let out. Unless of course I get distracted. Was that 20 sec or 30 sec? And of course i have let out more chain while I try to remember correctly. And by that time I haven't a clue.

You need my Anchor Buddies (westviewsailing.co.uk/anchor-buddies) coloured silks that you tie into the chain at 5m intervals and coded according to the order you pot the snooker balls (red, yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black) or alphabetically if snooker means nothing to you. That way you always know precisely how much chain/cable/rode you have veered.

[carmarche]

I use a fast but controlled decent with the brake only... quick drop so as to hit the bottom as close to my intended spot with the boat drifting slowly astern. As soon as it touches ground I hit the brake to orient it and then slack out scope as needed... once a good amount is out lock up the brake again to set it. Then adjust scope again and rig the bridle. Works 99% on the first go.

[Talbot]

Even big ships lower their anchors under "Free Fall" , bit is always (well nearly always) controlled by use of the brake to ensure the cable is laid out rather than dropped in a heap. It worked for me in many warships up to cruiser, so don't see why I should waste 12v power when not needed.

But I emphasise again - lowered under control. Let it run too fast, or back down too aggressively and you can be in a world of hurt.

[Perfect Ride]

Controlled 99.9% of the time.

If we are freefall dropping it is due to an earlier error that we are trying to overcome.

[edlepera]

I done freefall drops with 30 ton anchors and 15 pound anchors. As long as boat was moving. I. Never worry about piling the chain or anchor line. On amphibious navy ships the more knowledgeable sailors Whole going 5 knots would stop engines for the last few hundred yards and drop the hook when the ship was a “X” for the Anchorage. By the time the ship (LPD Austin class) came to a full stop the anchor would be set.

[IanTrail]

We drop it with just enough clutch so it stops when it hits the bottom. Then when backing up to set it, the anchor 'takes' just as much chain as it wants, as fast as it wants. So the chain is laid pretty much in a straight line.

Dropping with the clutch is much faster than cranking it out under power. Great when you want to drop it in a sandy patch between weed. In the Med you berth stern-to the quayside with your anchor out ahead. I've seen people pick their spot and start cranking the anchor down as they back-up to the quay, only to get to the quay before the anchor has hit the bottom! Shouldn't chuckle - we've done worse.

[C Paton-Gay]

Two bow anchors but use my primary 120 lbs CQR most times. Controlled decent matched to speed of forward way residual forward motion. (sails in / engine in neutral). 2:1 scope and let the mass of the boat set. Then adjust scope to minimum 5:1. I carry 500 ft. of chain on primary. 360' on secondary 110 lb Bruce. I also carry a 60 lbs Bruce stern anchor with 500' of rope rode in stern locker. This makes solo anchoring very simple for me. 71 LOA WL 60' Cradle mass: 38T 76,000 lbs. Hope that helps. I am a strong advocate for solid settings underway. You know when you set. The only time I had a problem was when I caught a cement artificial reef in the PNW. No damage but one helluva quick stop. Replaced all shackles after that. My fault ... failed to study the harbour chart or do a sonar survey. Sigh .... it happens! :-) Horizontal winch HWC2500 3/8 short link chain.

[Poeme]

With a 25kg Spade and 5/16" chain I do a controlled freefall using clutch and also a foot on top of the gypsy in case the chain gets jumpy. Works well ergodynamically in my case, and particularly in deeper anchorages I want to get that anchor down on the bullseye quickly. With either a small burst from the engine or working with the wind, my bow will always be falling off from where the anchor lands, so never a tangle (Uh... so far). This summer in the San Juans, I observed a boat that got anchored on the 4th try, lowering with the windlass. Perhaps just unskilled, but the poor guy had no idea where his anchor was landing as he backed endlessly waiting for it to grab. Clearly others of us in the anchorage were rooting for him, but worried too, as he threatened boats astern. I'm on my bow, can see, hear and control my chain, and the momentary slack when the anchor lands on spot is very reassuring.

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by Gary Mc

I like the free fall method!

Holy moly! First question, what would cause the slow drop at first, then fast? Did they have a partially applied brake and then let 'er rip? And what was the fire & smoke? What that an overheating brake? Was it a partially applied brake that overheated and failed, leading to the increase in pay? And the bitter end was not fast? I suppose that amount of speed/momentum would like have torn off any cleat or other attachment of the bitter end. And what was the guy in the yellow slicker doing on the left side of the screen with that arrhythmic back and forth motion?
Were they discarding an unwanted anchor and rode? The whole thing just doesn't make sense. Also, seems a little odd that they would be filming this and that there are used car lot flags surrounding the area - like they were planning for things to go awry.

[CassidyNZ]

I admire sailors who can “feel” when the anchor gets to the bottom.

I have 10mm chain on my anchor so by the time the anchor gets 6 metres down, the chain hanging from the roller weighs 14kgs and I am unable to determine whether the anchor is hauling out more chain or whether the chain is hauling out more chain. Especially when free-spooling the chain out. When I free-spool, the chain just runs at the same speed and will empty the chain locker (80 metres) without slowing.

I have to rely on the markings on my chain vs water depth to know the anchor is on the bottom.

[merrydolphin]

Unless you are lowering from a remote location, I figure why waste the windlass usage wear to do something that gravity does for you. I lower it using the brake on the windless to control the decent. This is always much faster also. But no, never just drop it in a big pile. I like to lower fairly quickly with just a little stern way on (or drifting back ) also. Some windlasses are slow enough that by the time you get it down, you are out of the position that you wanted.