[Rhodes22-list] Playing at Anchor
Bill Effros
bill at effros.com
Sun Jun 26 11:58:10 EDT 2005
Rik,
No anchor intended for use on the bottom needs chain to get to the bottom.
Most people anchor from the bow. If they were going so fast that their
anchor would kite on the surface, they would put holes in their hulls if
they tried to use them--and even the drunks don't do that.
First you stop the boat. Then you drop the anchor. Then you set it by
moving the boat backward. My 1 1/2 pound folding grapnel anchor hits
the bottom at the exact same time as whatever you drop overboard--chain
or no chain. Physics 101.
Anchoring is extremely difficult where I live. We have strong currents
that shift 180 degrees every 6 hours, along with strong winds that are
always offshore during part of the night, and onshore during part of the
night. We have shores on either side of our water that vary from less
than a mile apart to more than 20 miles apart. Our bottom is rocky in
some places, muddy or sandy in others. We also have muck from early
20th Century sewage dumping, and clay. There is constant silting.
There is a lot of vegetation in some places, and none in others. The
tidal variation is 7 to 11 feet, depending on the position of the sun,
moon and planets. Our prevailing weather is westerly, and the body of
water is over 100 miles long east to west so there can be a lot of wind
driven water on any given day. The bottom varies from 0 at low tide to
more than 100 feet deep. We have a huge amount of serious commercial
traffic, at all hours of the day and night--which has the right of way.
Most people around here never learn to anchor--they just pick up other
people's moorings.
However, this much I can tell you without fear of contradiction: no
matter what direction you initially set your anchor around here, you
will be pulling on it in the opposite direction at some time during the
next 8 hours. If there is constant tension on the anchor, it will
repeatedly reset itself as you swing around it. But if you you are
sitting on heavy chain you can take all the pressure off the anchor
while you swing 180 degrees, and then yank that anchor right out of the
bottom when the tide or wind picks up in the other direction.
What happens next is anyone's guess. It may reset. It may not. These
anchors do not truly "drag". The chain drags. The anchors are designed
to set and reset if pressure is maintained on them, and they do. Try it.
My point is that if you learn to stern anchor you can anchor from a
moving boat, chain or no chain. The only trick is to pay out the line
faster than your boat is moving. Your anchor will sink to the bottom
and properly set Even if it's just a 1 1/2 lb. folding grapnel with no
chain. When you have enough scope, set the anchor the same way you set
a hook in a fish. The scope is sufficient when the angle of the line is
less than 45 degrees.
Properly anchored line does not touch the bottom, and does not abrade.
It's the chain that drags the line to the bottom thus setting up the
conditions making abrasion possible.
I know you are repeating what you have read, and that you have read the
same misinformation over and over. I have read the same stuff in the
same sources, and it took me a fairly long time to notice the Emperor
has no clothes on.
But it is really simple to test, and doesn't cost very much. West sells
folding 1 1/2 lb. grapnels for less than $12. Attach it to some clothes
line with a bowline knot. You will be amazed at how well it sets, and
just like light fishing tackle, you can really feel the "fish" on the
bottom, even though you may not be able to see it.
I am not spreading this advice around hoping that anyone will take it
seriously. I am merely suggesting that anyone who thinks I am wrong go
out with a cheap simple anchor and try it out for themselves. After
that, they can draw their own conclusions, and if their experience does
not mirror mine I ask that they tell me what happened so that I won't
make the same mistake.
Bill Effros
Rik Sandberg wrote:
>Bill
>
>You said
>"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."
>
>Excuse me Bill, but once your anchor is set in the bottom, it is not going to back out of it's set just because you let the tension off of it.
>
>You said
>"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."
>
>"Modern lightweight anchors" an aluminum fortress for instance, sometime need the weight of a chain to help them get to the bottom. Ever tried to set an aluminum fortress from a moving boat? Without a good heavy chain in front of it, chances are it won't make it to the bottom, but rather, will fly along with you in the water.
>
>The point of the chain isn't it's strength, it's there for the weight and abrasion resistance. Aparently the anchoring conditions in your area are close to ideal. Good for you. I don't think I'd be spreading this advice around hoping that people that must anchor in less than ideal conditions will take it seriously.
>
>Rik
>
>-----Or"Bill Effros <bill at effros.com>
>Sent: Jun 25, 2005 9:06 PM
>To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Playing at Anchor
>
>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 |
>>| | |
>>| | |
>>| | 06/23/2005 08:29 PM |
>>| | Please respond to The |
>>| | Rhodes 22 mail list |
>>| | |
>>|---------+---------------------------------->
>> >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
>> | |
>> | To: R22 List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> |
>> | cc: |
>> | Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Playing at Anchor |
>> >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>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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