Bought a new Delta anchor from West Marine. Any advice on its proper usage is much appreciated. It's made of thicker and higher grade steel than the danforth anchors I'm accustomed to. But if anyone can find a way to bend the shank, it would be me.
Also bought a new main halyard line, which I'll replace today. The old is almost certainly original to the boat, and is beginning to disintegrate.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Eyes of a Beginner
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4 comments:
Ross,
I bought the anchor at West Marine. The price tag read $172, but it rang up as $122. Nice. It's a 22lb/10kg delta, rated for a boat 30-40 feet long. I connected it with an oversize shackle (not sure if it's forged or cast). I don't have a swivel. I'll try to take some measurements and pictures of the chain and shackle (maybe another post). Also, I asked for recommendations on the sailnet forums for deploying and retrieving the delta. I'll try the technique recommended here .
Also, you can post html links in the comments. Your links keep getting cut off. If you used the href html tag, folks could just click on your link.
Thanks as always for the good advice! Hope all is well in NC.
Ross's comments are spot on. You really DO need to invest in that swivel though (between the anchor and the first shackle-chain link). Chain will only spin so far, and eventually the anchor may be flipped out (or the schackle will break open) - the swivel prevents that, and also makes bringing the anchor back aboard easier!
I don't think you need to know anything special to Set the Delta (compared to the Danforth). Once we have let out AT LEAST 3:1 scope
(generally more like 5:1) we cleat the line and engine back to set the anchor and prove it is set (i.e. we stop moving even under power) - then let out the rest of the line.
Another thing you may consider is connecting a shorter length of line to the main anchor with floats (a trip line) - these serve several purposes - they help recover the anchor when it's dug under a rock or some such thing (pulling harder on the chain won't help much here); the help you "see" where your anchor is (and stop others anchoring over your anchor); Of course can also help recover the anchor if the main line gets disconnected from the boat for any reason.
You should have at least 5:1 scope out (7:1 is better), and finally a bridle will help keep the boat from sailing around on the anchor too much AND give some redundancy if your main cleat gives way.
When I talk about a scope of x:y - I mean x is the max depth of water you are expecting and y is the length of rode (line + chain added together). What you are really looking for is that ANY pull on the anchor from the boat/rode is as HORIZONTAL as possible and not vertical.
If you ever find a Chapman's "Piloting and Seamanship" book/manual - they have LOTS of good reading on such things. (On a separate note, don't every buy Bowditch "The American Practical Navigator" you can download the PDFs for free here
Good luck with your next leg of the trip! And I enjoyed Amy's post of purchasing "tubs" for her clothes - Kyle and I went through the same thing and a trip to Target resolved many problems! he he.
Scott –
I followed the link to the sailnet forums post about anchoring technique. I agree with much of what that guy said. Also sv-footprint & I are of like mind on anchoring.
However there is one part of the ‘sailnet guys’ anchoring technique where we differ significantly – the importance of using the engine to back down on the anchor.
I like to let the wind/current drift me back while paying out about 25% of the total rode that I intend to deploy (For total rode length I usually go with the old classic 1:7 ratio). I snub up the backwards drift which is intended to ‘set’ the anchor. Then I’ll payout more rode until I’m at about the 60 ~ 70% point.
Tie off the rode and slowly rev the engine in reverse until it’s running at about ½ cruising RPM. Then just sit and observe for a minute or two to ascertain if you’re experiencing any drag what-so-ever.
I like to line up objects on the shore that are perpendicular to the direction that I’d be dragging, for example a dock that’s right on the shore and a cell phone tower that’s a mile behind it.
If any drag is detected then I’ll move a bit and start over.
If the bottom is so soft that my anchor pulls out during this little test then it’s a sure thing that the hold on the bottom is not adequate. I’d rather test the holding capacity right at the beginning and learn of any problems immediately, as opposed to having it pullout sometime later when I really need it (i.e. – a squall that arises at 2 a.m.).
After the anchor has passed the ‘back-down’ test I’ll then let out the remainder of the scope. This is my ‘insurance’ for some extra holding.
Personally, I don’t use an anchor float/trip line because I’ve seen times where other boaters will mistake it for a mooring float and start pulling it up. I’ve also seen the float line get tangled in propellers of other boats.
I know that some sailors like how this trip line can help free an anchor if it were to become entangled on the bottom, but since I’m a fairly competent free diver I’m prepared to go down and sort things out myself if it ever comes to that although it’s not something I’d relish doing. So far I’ve never needed to dive on an anchor.
Ross
PS - How do I post hyperlinks to your blog so that they don’t get cut off. I need a bit of simple instruction for doing what you said “If you used the href html tag”. ???
Hey guys, I'll pick up a swivel tomorrow. Just measured my chain. I've got 25 feet of 3/8". I'll pick up a swivel tomorrow. There's a West Marine within walking distance. I'll probably tie a float to the anchor, so that I don't lose it. Although I have four danforths aboard as backups.
I also liked the idea I think I read on the gemini forum about tying a five gallon bucket to the stern when the tide and wind are spinning the boat around the anchor. I might have to try that out.
Ross, I've gotten into the habit of putting the engine in reverse when anchoring. The technique has shown me a couple times that the anchor was not properly set.
A short tutorial on using the html href tag (also appropriately enough called an anchor tag) is here.
Amy posted some pictures of the marina we just left here
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