Anchoring--who works the bow, husband or wife/child?

[thinwater]

Most often I read of the husband driving and giving instructions to his wife of crew at the bow. We never did it that way and it does not make much sense to me.

Most of the time I just anchor single handed. Turn the boat into the wind, walk to the bow while it slows, and deploy etc. from the bow. I can control the drift from there. Assuming that things are properly laid out, it's easy. I'll power set it after I walk back, no rush.

If I have crew I will go to the bow and direct them as to where I want the bow, and then work it from the bow. I will let them know when to power set. Easy, because we discussed the procedure before we started. Generally there is no need for anything more than a few hand signals. If the space is tight I will place the bow before walking forward. I will have preped the anchor and snubber before maneuvering began, so no rush.

Raising, similar, just backwards.

I don't understand sending the less trained and weaker individual to the bow to deal with what can be more physical, dangerous if done wrong, and more needing of a trained eye and "feel." It's much easier to train the very simpletasks of stopping under power and backing down when signaled to.

What say you? Do you send your wife or less trained crew to the bow and give instruction from the helm, or do you go up front yourself?

 

[noelex]

If there are two experienced sailors on board, I don’t think it matters which one is at the bow or at the helm. Modern anchor windlasses require no physical strength so if these devices are fitted the roles are interchangeable.

 

[thinwater]

If there are two experienced sailors on board, I don’t think it matters which one is at the bow or at the helm. Modern anchor windlasses require no physical strength so if these devices are fitted the roles are interchangeable.

True. If it is physical you probably did something wrong. Think it through before you start.

And if one is less experienced or inexperienced?

 

[Hoolie]

I don't send the OH to the bow, but go up there myself. She looks after keeping the boat into wind and deploying astern as needed. However she has recently claimed she needs to know about anchoring and wants to have a go! I can't win ... ...

 

[ctva]

Personally I do the bow and she drives with directions from me if needed.

However, the important thing is to stick to one role as then you know what and when to expect anything that happens, whichever way round you do it.

 

[Gsailor]

I used to do the anchor work if I had an inexperienced crew onboard.

Single handing it was just me, obviously. I did experiment a lot and rig it so I could drop anchor from cockpit.

 

[Beneteau381]

Most often I read of the husband driving and giving instructions to his wife of crew at the bow. We never did it that way and it does not make much sense to me.

Most of the time I just anchor single handed. Turn the boat into the wind, walk to the bow while it slows, and deploy etc. from the bow. I can control the drift from there. Assuming that things are properly laid out, it's easy. I'll power set it after I walk back, no rush.

If I have crew I will go to the bow and direct them as to where I want the bow, and then work it from the bow. I will let them know when to power set. Easy, because we discussed the procedure before we started. Generally there is no need for anything more than a few hand signals. If the space is tight I will place the bow before walking forward. I will have preped the anchor and snubber before maneuvering began, so no rush.

Raising, similar, just backwards.

I don't understand sending the less trained and weaker individual to the bow to deal with what can be more physical, dangerous if done wrong, and more needing of a trained eye and "feel." It's much easier to train the very simpletasks of stopping under power and backing down when signaled to.

What say you? Do you send your wife or less trained crew to the bow and give instruction from the helm, or do you go up front yourself?

So a wife equals a less trained crew? Wooo! Better not say that to Mrs D!

 

[Neeves]

We secure our anchor 'on passage' which demands pulling it further up the bow roller until the flukes are tightly held. Once the anchor is secure we release the tension, if any, on the windlass. Our anchors are not heavy 8kg its not a big deal but when we release the anchor, or secure the anchor I do it. For deploying this will be completed long before we reach the location which we want to anchor.

Josephine releases the anchor, foot switches, counts the marks (for amount of rode deployed). I keep the yacht lying straight to the rode (wind can yaw the yacht). We will have already decided what scope we want and when it is deployed Josephine passes all responsibility to me - she has the serious task of pouring the chilled Chardonay and preparing dinner.

Once the anchor has set, I determine this by simply laying my fingers on the rode - so do it by feel - I then reverse up (power set), a bit. Go back to the bow and add the snubber/bridle.

Retrieval is slightly different, Josephine indicates the lie of the rode and I manoeuvre to keep the pull in the correct direction, Josephine retrieves (foot switches) until the anchor is hanging just below the surface. She then takes over the helm and as she exits the anchorage I finish cleaning the anchor and secure on the bow roller.

None of these procedures involves any major physical effort nor danger. instructions are all by hand - we've been doing it like this for 20 years - works for us.

I can do it all single handed - its tends to need more walks from helm to windlass - but its hardly onerous.

For us physical effort is minimal, our rode is HT 6mm chain and the anchors are all aluminium. If you like the idea of light anchors but not the idea of aluminium - then look at Viking. However after almost 20 years of using aluminium anchors - we have had no horror stories. Similarly we have been using 6mm chain for a decade (38' x 7t cat) we would never go back to heavy chain.

Now.... if you have a 50' yacht with a 50kg anchor and 10mm or 12mm chain ..... different story

Part of our practice is to never ram the anchor hard against the bow roller, as this strains the windlass and similarly we take all tension off the windlass once its task is completed. We have a short dyneema strop with chain hook to back up the bridle and my lashings when at sea.

Jonathan

The only variant to our procedure, which delays the process, is when we are anchored in thin soupy mud and then washing the chain, bow located seawater hose, can take time.

 

[PetiteFleur]

I also do the bow position with hand signals to to my wife on the helm. Also when picking up our swinging mooring.

 

[vyv_cox]

My wife Jill does the majority of helming under sail but she is less confident helming under engine in anchorages and ports. Consequently it is her wish that I helm and she handles the anchoring. Just occasionally there may be a problem that requires more strength, in which case I may need to walk forward (not that I am Mr. Muscles!)

 

[NormanS]

A properly thought out anchoring system using a windlass requires little or no physical effort. My wife has been doing it for decades. We either sail or motor up to the desired position, with myself at the helm. I then give her a nod, and she lets it go by gravity until she reckons that the anchor has reached the seabed. She then slows the rate, as the boat drifts back. I give her a hand signal signifying the depth, and she lets out an appropriate amount of chain. Simple.
When we had a big boat with 140lb anchors and 5/8" chain, we used exactly the same method.
Why anyone would want to start a sexist argument insinuating that the female of the species is incapable of dropping or retrieving an anchor is a mystery to me....

 

[Plum]

I do the foredeck work as I mostly sail single handed but if I have crew I still do the foredeck work.

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[john_morris_uk]

My wife Jill does the majority of helming under sail but she is less confident helming under engine in anchorages and ports. Consequently it is her wish that I helm and she handles the anchoring. Just occasionally there may be a problem that requires more strength, in which case I may need to walk forward (not that I am Mr. Muscles!)

Likewise. Mrs M gets worried when manoeuvring the boat in close quarters with other vessels but she’s very happy to take charge of the anchor. There’s no physical effort involved as we power it up and down on the windlass. After I’ve put the engine in astern to prove its set, she then attaches the snubber while I wander f’wd with the anchor ball. We do swap roles sometimes, but the above method is well rehearsed and usually very smooth. (We’ll also usually stand in the cockpit together discussing best places to anchor as we approach.)

 

[billyfish]

I tend to do it all as I'm on my own a lot . The trouble is when there is a lot of wind and tide getting her to the right place . Now I'm thinking that a power windlass would be the way forward if I can get the hook up and down from the cockpit , never had any trouble on my last boat , a 9 ton gaffer, but this new modern ish motorsailer is all over the shop.

 

[Tintin]

Well, I send either the wife or the smallest child, they are all expendable compared to me "the Captain", and lets face it, if a child loses a finger it's one less grubby fingerprint to wipe up and wife often tells me she can do many jobs at once one-handed.

Only a proper strong alpha man can control the power of an engine and the steering, and of course wife and offspring prefer to follow strong leadership, which can only be done from the comfort of the helm.

Gotta go, wife has just delivered bacon sandwiches before she starts her chores.....

 

[Mark-1]

Back in the day on larger boats wife/gf did the helm and I did the nasty muddy bit.

Now on a small boat with young kids I've had the problem of very enthusiastic kids who would sell their souls to deploy the anchor and really I've had to say no for years because if they get caught up in the cable it's a one way trip to the bottom. (And a four YO will always find a way to damage something.)

Now the youngest is seven he's allowed to deploy the 2kg lunch hook (yes, 2kg) solo but I always attach the last bit of cable to a cleat near the helm so if he ever got tangled up and ended up on the sea bed I could pull him up. (Whether I *would* pull him up is between me and my conscience. )

I'm the only one who can lift the main anchor so that's down to me alone. That's a good thing because it's a Danforth Copy so could easily trim a finger off.

A lot of the time I'm single handed so I do the anchor work and wind and tide do the helm.

 

[Mark-1]

I've just thought of the other case where there are people sitting in the cockpit obstructing the path between helm and bow but unwilling to do either task.

There are babies to consider too.

It always makes me chuckle that there is an assumption that there are two cases: Single handed or crewed. I suspect a lot of people have to deal with the third case where there are people on board actively detracting from the sensible running of the boat.

Now I think about it there are sometimes people *off* the boat interfering. A few weeks back I had 10yo daughter sailing in company in a Topper and son+friend on board. Daughter sailed off miles in the distance and wasn't answering on the PMR radio - she looked to have sailed down wind and tide of our destination with little prospect of getting back. So 90pc of my focus is on her. As that realization hit me we were sailing into shallow water and need to imminently tack. At that *exact* moment one boy caught a Bass and dragged it flapping into the boat for me to unhook and the other urgently told me he needed a wee which required me to immediately help him take his LJ off.

Now I think about the "Kids being way faster than me, but also completely clueless about where we are going" is a common one for me. Cycling/Parkrun/Sailing.

If I'd trapped my 'nads in my Danforth copy 15 years ago life would be much simpler.

 

[Stemar]

(Whether I *would* pull him up is between me and my conscience. )

Madame and I saw a kid in the supermarket yesterday whose Mum would definitely have left the little bugger there, and If I were on her jury, I'd have called it justifiable homicide A 6 year old having a full-on red-faced screaming temper tantrum - WTF?

Back to the thread. Madame couldn't pull up our anchor, so we do the same as Thinwater. She drives, I do the muddy bit.

 

[billyfish]

I don't have crew . I have a passenger

 

[dunedin]

As I am chief navigator (and chief worrier if I think we are sub-optimally placed relative to other boats, rocks etc) I tend to do the helm and her ladyship the bow when dropping anchor. We use silent hand signals to signal the drop and agree amount of chain for initial snubbing.
On lifting I do the bow - as if need to remove weed with boathook it is awkward reaching down to water level.

If solo the wireless remote does the dropping.