Making drogues

[Poey50]

I know I should probably put this on the for sale site but if anyone is interested I have a very large quantity of 20mm black polypropylene tape which I bought before a last minute decision to buy made up cones. It is available for 50% of what I paid. You can see it in the first photo in #10. I paid £43 for it and will let it go to a good home for £20 plus postage.

 

[Roberto]

I was tempted to make a Jordan drogue then abandoned the plan, I'll keep staying very far from the southern ocean.
I made this instead, a copy of the Galerider, I was intending to play with it and test it as emergency steering last summer but that will be next year then.
I was very surprised by the amount of sewing thread that is used by that type of stitches, I was continuously keeping on changing bobbins, in the end I used about one full thread cone (the intermediate size one).

 

[HunterWanderer]

I have a single drogue and it works really well. Its a bulders bag from a builders merchants. You could use 2 or 3 in series or parallel if needed. They are rated at 2.5 tons each plus safety factor.

 

[afterpegassus]

I think this is what Roger Taylor / MingMing did too and it does indeed "look the part". However, why would you not just use the stern cleats? Are your chainplates appreciably stronger?

I would say they are.
The boat us a Sadler 32 and the stern cleats are held with 4 x 10mm bolts each. They are also very close together.
The chainplates are 6mm x 50 stainless with 8 x 8mm countersunk screws through the substantial glass on the quarters.

 

[thinwater]

I was tempted to make a Jordan drogue then abandoned the plan, I'll keep staying very far from the southern ocean.
I made this instead, a copy of the Galerider, I was intending to play with it and test it as emergency steering last summer but that will be next year then.
I was very surprised by the amount of sewing thread that is used by that type of stitches, I was continuously keeping on changing bobbins, in the end I used about one full thread cone (the intermediate size one).

View attachment 102672

Very nice. I've used a Gailrider and find it very smooth and stable, perhaps the best of the lower drag drogues. I made a small one for testing, and yeah, it's a lot of sewing and a little tricky to figure out. But a LOT of built-in redundancy.

I like the way you rigged the bridle. What did you use for a hoop?

I keep expecting to see Delta Drogue DIY knock-offs. Much easier to sew. Pretty much just a truncated triangle of cloth with webbing reinforcements. Well proven.

(this is not the test version--this is a factory version, 30 inches, I believe)

 

[Hallberg-Rassy]

Quick response, I remember someone approaching this same issue and their solution was to get someone like a tent maker or someone to make up a batch. Can't remember specifics at present.

A lot cheaper than using a sail maker, although they had to order a batch, eg 100+.

If you go down such a route, I'd be interested in chipping in or taking some.

 

[Hallberg-Rassy]

I have a single drogue and it works really well. Its a bulders bag from a builders merchants.

I have a couple of virgin ones with the intent of using them more as a parachute than a drogue. How do they perform, do they open up enough? Do you have a separate line for hauling them in, and if so do they tangle?

 

[Roberto]

I like the way you rigged the bridle. What did you use for a hoop?

Hello,
thank you thinwater, it's a length of my previous rigging wire, 1x19 7mm dia, with a couple of cable clamps where the two ends meet. It is still flexible enough to double/triple wind it and give the whole thing a sensible size. It passes inside the red webbing sewn end loops, and inside a tubular webbing all around. All a bit experimental, I have not tried it yet.
regards
r

 

[thinwater]

Hello,
thank you thinwater, it's a length of my previous rigging wire, 1x19 7mm dia, with a couple of cable clamps where the two ends meet. It is still flexible enough to double/triple wind it and give the whole thing a sensible size. It passes inside the red webbing sewn end loops, and inside a tubular webbing all around. All a bit experimental, I have not tried it yet.
regards
r

The reason I asked is that there have been a few cable breakages on the Galerider, but ...
a. They did not prevent proper function in the water, only folding, and...
b. Your bridle arangement looks better, like it should reduce the stress on the cable.

 

[peter gibbs]

I'm mulling making up my own. Of those here who've done that, what kind of tape did you use - and where from?

Has anyone any experience to share of heat-welding tape to vinyl-coated fabric?

In all my years I have never encountered a sailor who's actually deployed one in anger.

I have a strong manufactured drogue on my boat - there's a lot of reinforcement to consider. Ress year after year in a locker . Pity I've never used it even in fun!

PWG

 

[RobbieW]

In all my years I have never encountered a sailor who's actually deployed one in anger.

I have a strong manufactured drogue on my boat - there's a lot of reinforcement to consider. Ress year after year in a locker . Pity I've never used it even in fun!

PWG

Good write up of a deployment by @northcave earlier this year... Singlehanded Jordan Series Drogue deployment

 

[thinwater]

In all my years I have never encountered a sailor who's actually deployed one in anger.

I have a strong manufactured drogue on my boat - there's a lot of reinforcement to consider. Ress year after year in a locker . Pity I've never used it even in fun!

PWG

If you've never deployed it, go out in a good breeze (near gale) and play with it. I've tested many, and I promise you that you will learn a few things about rigging and recovery that you would rather learn on a merely breezy day. Experiment with using it for emergency steering; really, a bent rudder is the more likely problem. (rig bridle to winches with turning blocks at the widest beam, not the transom).

 

[zoidberg]

Single cone or series drogue? I assume that the seams and edges are to be sewn as well as taped.
PS Have you seen this - If you have purchased a pack of cones

Yes, thanks. Like others, I've chosen 10mm single-braid UHDPE which offers a large margin of strength/safety over bulkier, heavier double-braid poly-rope - and I shall not have a knotty junction between 'leader' and the rest of it. I see no benefit from introducing an unecessary potential point of failure.

Thanks, 'pandos', for those links.... As for Christmas activities, you 'n me both.

 

[pandos]

Victor Shane's Drag Device Data Base | Using Parachutes, Sea Anchors and Drogues to Cope with Heavy Weather – Over 130 Documented Case Histories

here is an interesting site with details of various ocassions when drogues etc were deployed


https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=143519&d=1489965511

here is a template with measurements