[Rhodes22-list] Playing at Anchor

[Bill Effros]

Bill,

Calling it "an anchorage" gives it a little more credit than it 
deserves.  It was more like open water where if anything went wrong no 
one would get hurt.  According to my charts it was around 20 feet deep, 
but I didn't know that at the time.

I can't really tell you what the bottom looked like, because the anchor 
came up totally clean.

I used no chain, and will probably shortly remove all chain from my 
rodes, although I'll probably keep 20 feet or so on board for no good 
reason.

The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that, despite 
what we repeatedly read, chain undermines the functionality of modern, 
high-tech, lightweight anchors.

The point (and I use this word advisedly) of modern anchors is that 
their exposed tips will dig into the bottom no matter how they are 
oriented when they initially touch.  Once dug in, it is important to 
maintain constant pressure on the anchor to keep it from releasing.  
It's like keeping a fish on the line.

22 feet of chain is likely to be heavier than any anchor I want to use.  
When the current and wind slacken, or cancel each other out, my boat 
will be lying at chain rather than lying at anchor.  All the upward 
pressure from my boat at the surface will be released from the tips of 
my anchor, causing it to lose its grip on the bottom.  This is the exact 
opposite of the conditions the anchor was designed for.

All of the pictures of catenary curves on small pleasure boats at anchor 
are absurd.  Look at them when you are at anchor.  They all pull the 
rode straight.

Putting 22 feet of chain at the bottom of a much longer piece of line 
will not make the line any stronger.  It's not going to break anyhow.

The notion that the line might get cut or abraded on the bottom is 
completely wrong.  The line wants to float.  It only sinks to the bottom 
if you put chain on it.  If you only attach it to the stem of the 
anchor, it should never touch bottom at all.  Even if everything goes 
slack top side.  It will not pull the anchor out of the bottom, nor will 
it be damaged by the bottom.

I'll play some more, and I urge you to do the same.  The all-line rode, 
combined with a lightweight modern anchor, is totally safe, and highly 
reliable.

Bill Effros



William E. Wickman wrote:

>Bill,
>Thanks for sharing.  How deep was the anchorage?  What type bottom?  Did
>you use any chain?
>
>Bill W.
>
>
>
>
>|---------+---------------------------------->
>|         |           Bill Effros            |
>|         |           <bill at effros.com>      |
>|         |           Sent by:               |
>|         |           rhodes22-list-bounces at r|
>|         |           hodes22.org            |
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>|         |           06/23/2005 08:29 PM    |
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>  |       To:       R22 List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>                                                                        |
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>  |       Subject:  [Rhodes22-list] Playing at Anchor                                                                            |
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>
>Bill, Peter,
>
>Well, it turns out all you need is a 1 1/2 pound folding grapnel anchor.
>
>The only trick to it is an enormous amount of scope.
>
>I've never seen a boat anchored with the amount of scope I gave myself
>today -- probably around 30 to one.  I was swinging in a 600 foot arc.
>But I didn't drag that anchor.
>
>I swung through roughly a 110° arc before I got bored, and went back to
>sailing.  Wind was in the four to seven knot range.
>
>To set the anchor I furled both sails, locked the grapnel in its open
>position, and lowered it overboard while the wind continued to move me
>slowly forward.  I lowered from the stern, making sure that I paid out
>the line faster than I was moving forward, causing the anchor to drop to
>the bottom.
>
>When I had paid out roughly 150 feet of line I cleated it off.  Sure
>enough, when the line pulled straight, the boat stopped, and, except for
>swinging, stayed stopped.
>
>I then put the remaining 150 feet of line into the water, holding on to
>the bitter end.  The line floated more or less in place.  I wasn't going
>anywhere.
>
>I then uncleated the line in the middle, and re-cleated it at the end.
>The boat drifted to the end of the line, and stopped.  I stayed anchored
>like this for 15 minutes.  Then I pulled the boat backwards for easily
>150 feet before the anchor pulled free -- and then immediately reset.
>As the scope got shorter, the anchor released more frequently, however
>it always reset until the scope approached the 1:1 range, at which point
>the tines were pointing upward like a flower, and could not possibly set.
>
>I then pulled it straight up, and placed it, along with the flaked line,
>in the Rubbermaid box, and let everything dry in the sun.  Both the
>anchor and the line were completely clean.  I would not hesitate to use
>it as a lunch hook in the future.  What's more, by stern anchoring, your
>bow is facing in the direction you wish to go.  Pull the anchor, sail off.
>
>I'm still going to play with the three and 5 pound anchors, and I'll try
>anchoring in higher winds.
>
>Try it, you'll like it.  Anchoring becomes so simple, and effortless you
>won't think twice about doing it.  I suspect that's got to make boat
>operation safer.  I have long believed that multiple anchors are the way
>to go, and will start playing with multiple anchors deployed in
>different directions.
>
>Please play along.  By the end of this summer we should all know how to
>anchor our boats so they won't move until we are ready.  Heavier anchors
>with longer tines will allow shorter scopes.
>
>Bill Effros
>__________________________________________________
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>