Anchor hits furler........help

wiggy

wiggy

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 Jun 2001
Messages
1,490
Location
Portsmouth Harbour
Visit site
How do I stop the end of my anchor shank hitting the underside of my furler? When lowering or raising the anchor with the windlass as the anchor tips of the bow roller the tail end of the shank hits the underside of the furling drum. Any ideas or links to images of fixes.
 
I used to have a U bolt welded onto a fore-deck fixing that lead the chain and anchor shank under the furling drum. It got bust off, after working for years, not strong enough for the job. Now I stow the anchor by hand.
 
If the luff doesn't use all the available foil, do as sailorman suggests. Mine has a link under the drum to do just that.
 
Big deal .Live with it. It isn't the end of the world!

If the dynamics of the fulcrums of the anchor roller and the centre of gravity of the anchor cause this you can, I suppose, change the anchor for one with a different c. of g. (work that out in advance!) or raise your furling drum. (fancy paying for that?)

Otherwise, as I did, deploy the anchor past the point of fouling before releasing it. Dead easy. Mine never snagged on recovery due to a higher tension on the chain.

= non event.
 
I cut a section of grey PVC pipe and fixed it around the lower part of the furler drum: as the anchor comes out of the water towards the davit, it hits the pvc and no harm is done to the furler.

The first piece lasted probably 200 anchor hits, then I replaced it with a new one; furler as new :)
 
dunedin said:
Ours does this also. like RAI we move the anchor by hand the first few inches. Not a big hassle in our case
Click to expand...

+1. Looked at all sorts of ideas and trialled one or two, but solution was going to be expensive so little point. Just something to live with!
 
If you are serious about racing then you should be carrying an alloy anchor to meet regs and will not have anything on the bow. If you are using an alloy anchor it should not be difficult to lower and raise the first or last metre of chain when you are cruising. Get a new fluke and use the Fortress.

I prefer to lift the last metre of chain as I do not like it when the shackle hits the bow roller as it must exert an unnecessary shock load to the windlass (and I'm not prepared to re-engineer the bow roller to take a shackle 'broadside on'). We do not use a swivel as it is both unnecessary and introduces more 'joints'.

The idea of putting a reinforced, flexible hose pipe under the furler, to take any impact, (cable tied under the drum?) seems a good idea.

Jonathan
 
wiggy said:
How do I stop the end of my anchor shank hitting the underside of my furler? When lowering or raising the anchor with the windlass as the anchor tips of the bow roller the tail end of the shank hits the underside of the furling drum. Any ideas or links to images of fixes.
Click to expand...
Pull it in by hand.
 
Interesting topic. I have the same problem with the foresail furling gear on my Colvic Watson 31'6". I inherited the boat with what I saw as a manageable problem. However, this last summer I upgraded from a 35lbs CQR to 55lbs Rocna and now find the palaaver of balancing a boat hook in one hand, the remote push button windlass control in the other, with a foot on the anchor shank, for the initial / final distance, just a wee bit too un-seamanlike! My enquiries so far from the furling gear makers Sailspar would suggest that it is a relatively straight forward operation to cut the foil at the top of the forestay (recommended as opposed to bottom- not sure why?) and to raise the furler by the required amount. However, does that mean that the 'shape' of the sail would be overly affected if the luff of the genoa needs to be cropped?
 
Tormod said:
Interesting topic. I have the same problem with the foresail furling gear on my Colvic Watson 31'6". I inherited the boat with what I saw as a manageable problem. However, this last summer I upgraded from a 35lbs CQR to 55lbs Rocna and now find the palaaver of balancing a boat hook in one hand, the remote push button windlass control in the other, with a foot on the anchor shank, for the initial / final distance, just a wee bit too un-seamanlike! My enquiries so far from the furling gear makers Sailspar would suggest that it is a relatively straight forward operation to cut the foil at the top of the forestay (recommended as opposed to bottom- not sure why?) and to raise the furler by the required amount. However, does that mean that the 'shape' of the sail would be overly affected if the luff of the genoa needs to be cropped?
Click to expand...
I bought a secondhand genoa a couple of years ago and it was about 6" too long in the luff - I bought it from a sail loft and he altered the head by the required amount. Still sets fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top