Regarding anchor retrieval, all of your suggestions are greatly appreciated and I more or less tried them all. Perhaps the biggest problem with singlehandedly raising the anchor (why are there so many unforeseen problems with soloing?) is after it pops out. Moving ahead under power(very slowly) with the anchor off the bottom, I snagged some lobster warp (line from pot to buoy) before I was able to get back to put it in neutral. Boy, that was some mess, let me tell ya! And, I always like to clean the chain before stowing, but if it is windy, down the pipe it goes with a pound of mud on the chain. SO, after all has been contemplated, this old fella has decided on an electric winch, with two controls, and a washdown pump and hose. Great winter project! Thanks again for the excellent input. Bill/Morning Light. a Maine based CD28.
meislandbill@yahoo.com
Physicists...thank you
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Larry DeMers
Re: Physicists...thank you
Bill,
Something I just thought of, and should have mentioned earlier. I have raised our anchor singlehandedly a few times, and one trick I used that may work ok for you, depending on how crowded that anchorage gets I suppose, is:
Use the engine in absolutely lowest possible rpm, *after* giving the engine a slight shot of more power to break momentum of being at rest. Use the autopilots remote control, extended to the bow, to steer the boat before and after working the anchor out. You can then throw in a turn of say 60 deg. to direct the boat away from the dangers around it, while you work with the rode and chain cleaning it up.
An idea I have seen used with a rode wash-down system is a small brass tube with spray orifice at the end (like the ones on a pump-up garden sprayer). This tube could be clipped down on the bowsprit, and angled so that it impinges on the rode as it is taken aboard, blowing the mud and crud off. This seems like a nice project to put together, as all parts are readily available. You just adapt it to your situation.
Larry DeMers
demers@sgi.com
Something I just thought of, and should have mentioned earlier. I have raised our anchor singlehandedly a few times, and one trick I used that may work ok for you, depending on how crowded that anchorage gets I suppose, is:
Use the engine in absolutely lowest possible rpm, *after* giving the engine a slight shot of more power to break momentum of being at rest. Use the autopilots remote control, extended to the bow, to steer the boat before and after working the anchor out. You can then throw in a turn of say 60 deg. to direct the boat away from the dangers around it, while you work with the rode and chain cleaning it up.
An idea I have seen used with a rode wash-down system is a small brass tube with spray orifice at the end (like the ones on a pump-up garden sprayer). This tube could be clipped down on the bowsprit, and angled so that it impinges on the rode as it is taken aboard, blowing the mud and crud off. This seems like a nice project to put together, as all parts are readily available. You just adapt it to your situation.
Larry DeMers
Bill Armstrong wrote: Regarding anchor retrieval, all of your suggestions are greatly appreciated and I more or less tried them all. Perhaps the biggest problem with singlehandedly raising the anchor (why are there so many unforeseen problems with soloing?) is after it pops out. Moving ahead under power(very slowly) with the anchor off the bottom, I snagged some lobster warp (line from pot to buoy) before I was able to get back to put it in neutral. Boy, that was some mess, let me tell ya! And, I always like to clean the chain before stowing, but if it is windy, down the pipe it goes with a pound of mud on the chain. SO, after all has been contemplated, this old fella has decided on an electric winch, with two controls, and a washdown pump and hose. Great winter project! Thanks again for the excellent input. Bill/Morning Light. a Maine based CD28.
demers@sgi.com
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Tod Mills
weighing anchor
my own method of weighing anchor is as follows:
I make sure the helm is free. Not sure if this would work with a wheel; my boat has a tiller.
I hoist the mainsail only with the boom sheeted in tight.
I weigh anchor. The boat hardly moves, self-tacking within a very small area. I've done this in very light air and in winds over 20 kts, although only on flat water. Haven't tried it in choppy water. The helm has to be free to move or the boat will try to sail away without immediately tacking back and forth. The boat has stayed nearly still enough that I've been able to weigh anchor pretty leisurely, taking time to clean clay off, etc, even in a fairly tight anchorage, such as in the eastern arm of Pulpit Harbor where I was about 3 boatlengths from shore and 4 or 5 from neighboring boats.
It works well for me.
htmills@bright.net
I make sure the helm is free. Not sure if this would work with a wheel; my boat has a tiller.
I hoist the mainsail only with the boom sheeted in tight.
I weigh anchor. The boat hardly moves, self-tacking within a very small area. I've done this in very light air and in winds over 20 kts, although only on flat water. Haven't tried it in choppy water. The helm has to be free to move or the boat will try to sail away without immediately tacking back and forth. The boat has stayed nearly still enough that I've been able to weigh anchor pretty leisurely, taking time to clean clay off, etc, even in a fairly tight anchorage, such as in the eastern arm of Pulpit Harbor where I was about 3 boatlengths from shore and 4 or 5 from neighboring boats.
It works well for me.
htmills@bright.net
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Chris Scheck
Clean the chain in a bucket, or use the shower hose
I've found the easiest, neatest way to clean the anchor chain is to put it in a bucket of sea water as you bring it up. Don't even let the dirty chain touch the deck. When all the chain is in the bucket, just slosh it around for a minute or so. Most of the mud will fall off. Then take the chain out and feed it down the hawsepipe. Empty the bucket of muddy water over the side and you're done. Another good trick is to keep a flattened-out cardboard box on the boat. Take it up on the foredeck and pile the chain on it as you raise anchor. Then dump a bucket of water on the chain. The cardboard will catch most of the mud and squirmy things. (This saves your foredeck from getting scratched by the chain as well.) Then you can shake the cardboard over the side, and throw it out when you get to shore. If you try this, I don't think you'll need to rig a pressure water system just to wash your chain. However, there is an easy way to get pressure water (hot and cold!) on your foredeck ... if you have a handheld shower in your head, splice in a longer hose - 10 feet is about right. Pass the shower head out the porthole and you have a nice sprayer for washing your anchor chain, or rinsing yourself off after a swim.
Chris Scheck
RAGTIME CD33
Newport
cscheck@aol.com
Chris Scheck
RAGTIME CD33
Newport
cscheck@aol.com