Forgot password

An idea for preventing chafe at anchor

  • 22 Jan 2014 20:41
    Quote
    Reply # 1480937 on 1478116
    Anonymous member
    Karlis Kalnins wrote:I was very interested with the thoughts on hurricane anchoring and rode chafe in this article Anchor By Stern by Don Jordan (of series drogue fame). Any thoughts or experiences?

    The basic idea seems to be to prevent tacking at anchor.  That brings me to the other idea  I have been wondering about, which is fixing a beam to the bow to attach a bridle that can carry a chain hook.  If it were, say, half the beam of the boat, the effective point from which the anchor pulls moves forward of the boat, and the stability that Jordan aims for might be achieved while anchoring from the bow.  It's the same idea as the bridle arrangement that Arne linked to, but without the need to angle the boat.

    Regarding not anchoring in a hurricane, I hope not to, but I assume much the same issues apply, to a lesser extent, in conditions one must expect.  I would quite like not having to worry about this stuff.  Or rather, I would prefer to worry about it at the design stage, when I have to upgrade the anchoring gear anyway.  Gecko has no windlass, no chain locker, and a single bow roller that looks a tad undersized.  Fine for sailing from a mooring or a marina, not something I want to trust when I have to rely on the anchor.  Seeing that I have to rebuild anyway, I want to design out as many problems as I can.  Sorting out chafe and sailing at anchor seems like a worthwhile goal, if it can be done.
  • 19 Jan 2014 21:52
    Quote
    Reply # 1478373 on 1477142
    Anonymous member
    Lets not get too hung-up on anchoring in hurricanes. If you do, I for one will not take a bet on you coming through unscathed. The standard tactic is to get deep into a creek, moored four-square to the mangroves. Even then, Graham will confirm that it's bedlam, and quite exhausting enough. Better by far to keep out of the tropical storm areas at the "bad" times of year.

    A cruiser needs to have a well-practiced procedure for anchoring in an honest-to-goodness gale. Mine will continue to be to lay two good anchors in a wide V formation, with a snubber on each rode. But if I have a choice, I'll get myself tucked in behind the trees, which are the best things for soaking up wind, and avoid being exposed to too great a fetch. 
  • 19 Jan 2014 21:24
    Quote
    Reply # 1478367 on 1478116
    Anonymous member
    Karlis Kalnins wrote:I was very interested with the thoughts on hurricane anchoring and rode chafe in this article Anchor By Stern by Don Jordan (of series drogue fame). Any thoughts or experiences?
    Been there, done that (not in a hurricane, just in a moderate breeze), didn't like it. All those waves hitting the transom and splashing into the cockpit. It might be better with a double ender, though.
  • 19 Jan 2014 16:19
    Quote
    Reply # 1478257 on 1477142
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

                                                                        Stavanger, Sunday

    Hi Karlis.

    From the safe position at my keyboard, I think that article was very well written. Actually, I have moved the anchor gear on my Johanna aft to let me anchor by the stern.

     

     

    However, the waters I sail in have very little tidal currents. I can imagine that if you are anchoring by the stern in 3kts plus, then things may get interesting, but not so fun.

     

     

    Arne

     

    PS: Here is another possible way to keep the boat from sailing about at anchor. Not meant for hurricanes…

    Last modified: 19 Jan 2014 16:19 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 19 Jan 2014 06:26
    Quote
    Reply # 1478116 on 1477142
    Anonymous member
    I was very interested with the thoughts on hurricane anchoring and rode chafe in this article Anchor By Stern by Don Jordan (of series drogue fame). Any thoughts or experiences?
  • 17 Jan 2014 22:44
    Quote
    Reply # 1477438 on 1477142
    Anonymous member
    I use a reel winch similar to Brent Swains design but electric powered (with full manual backup). Currently, because in New Zealand's North Island the bottom is normally sand, mud or shell I use 40M of chain and the rest is rope. I have wire as well but only bend it on when the bottom is not so benign. I also use a 5M nylon snubber as David does, I attach it to the chain with a chain hook or if I'm on to the nylon part of the rode, with a rolling hitch.

    You will be able to find out more about my winch and anchoring methods in the coming issue of our magazine, check the Laodah's Corner.

    Inserting sections of chain in a nylon rode could well be a good idea. I've been through a hurricane (hurricane Luis 1995) and one thing I did learn, is that you have to setup all your ground tackle before the hurricane gets going. Once the wind gets over 60kts you are not going to be doing any adjusting of anchor rodes as the loads are just to high. Once the wind gets to 100kts, you cannot even breath or see if you are facing into the wind. That's when you get out your dive mask and snorkel...

    I suspect that the man to write about anchoring in hurricanes or cyclones will be Graham Cox, his been through quite a few and survived. For me, I believe the best way to survive a hurricane is not to be there :-)
  • 17 Jan 2014 17:01
    Quote
    Reply # 1477182 on 1477142
    Anonymous member
    When using an all-chain rode, it's usual to use a nylon snubber, about 5m long, to take the load off the windlass, and to permit a little elasticity in shoal water, when the catenary effect is not great. The outer end can be hooked to the chain, or rolling-hitched to the chain. It must have a length of plastic hose covering most of its length, from the samson post to well outboard, to eliminate chafe. I believe this is easier to handle than using a length of chain here, but I can see how a short length of chain would function perfectly well. I don't think that a rolling hitch onto the anchor rode will weaken the latter. It's the knots such as the bowline, that cause the rope to double back on itself, that weaken the rope by 50%.

    When I deploy two anchors in bad weather, one on all chain and one with a short chain and a long warp, I usually use such a snubber on each, one rolling hitched to the warp and one hooked to the chain. Quite apart from the risk of losing the anchor, it would be a great shame to ruin a long, expensive warp by half chafing it through in the middle.
    Last modified: 17 Jan 2014 17:07 | Anonymous member
  • 17 Jan 2014 16:00
    Quote
    Message # 1477142
    Anonymous member
    Hinz included in his book on anchoring the story of a sailor who brought his boat through a hurricane while at anchor.  The take home message was that chafe was the big problem.  His first anchor rode chafed through despite all his attempts to protect it, the second he managed to protect well enough, through rather heroic efforts.  Over half the boats in the anchorage grounded, and when he dove to recover the anchors he found them well dug in, with the rodes chafed through.

    Earlier in the book Hinz recommends that if you leave your boat for a while and you have a chain and rope rode, you should put a short chain around your Samson post, lead it over the bow roller, shackle some rope to that, and attach that to the rope portion of the anchor rode with a rolling hitch.  The chain goes over the roller, it doesn't stretch significantly, so there is no significant chafe there.

    So, first I wonder whether that would also be recommended for a hurricane, eliminating the need for heroic foredeck work to replace chafe protection and let out a bit more rode.  Or would the rolling hitch weaken the connection too much?  I read the rule of thumb is that knots weaken a rope by about 50%.

    Second, if I use an anchor reel like the one that Brent Swain designed (http://www.freewebs.com/origamiboats/apps/photos/photo?photoid=15971947), would it make sense to insert about 2 metres of chain into the rope at distances of about about 15 metres?  That chain could go into a chain stopper behind the bow roller.  It should not chafe.  The chain inserts would be connected to the rope by splices, just like the initial chain leader.  So that connection should not weaken the rode overall.  Using Brent Swain's anchor reel, I wouldn't need to worry about the transition between rope and chain, the way I would have to with a conventional windlass.  The only downside I see is that I wouldn't have fine adjustments to rode length, I would have to adjust in increments equal to the distance between chain inserts.

    Is there anything I have overlooked?  Would this be a rode that would allow me to forget about chafe?

    If I correctly understood what Brent Swain wrote in "Origami Boatbuilding", he uses lengths of wire rode, and a snubber attached to whichever eye splice gives him a suitable scope.  So he seems to increase rode length in discrete increments.
    Reply
       " ...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk-rigged boats" 
                                                               - the Chinese Water Rat

                                                              Site contents © the Junk Rig Association and/or individual authors

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software