Calling Snowleopard and everyone else that owns a cat

[Stingo]

Chris and everyone else that owns a cat

What does your cat weigh and what anchor do you use as your main anchor (size too please)?

While you're about it, please could you explain the rocket science of using a bridle?

Thanks in advance for your help.

John

 

[ParaHandy]

bridle occurs after engagement with "L" plates .....

 

[alanhanson]

hi
i have a 38ft lagoon and we use a stainless plough 25kg with 50mts chain and 50mts warp
we also have a spare 25 kg danforth
the bridle cuts down on swinging area
it uses the cats wide beam so the pull on the anchor line is spread .as soon as the boat starts to sail of in one directionall the force of the anchorline turns the boat back head to wind so sailing at anchor shouldnt happen.
it works for ours

 

[Stingo]

Thanks for that Alan. What is the strongest wind that your 25kg plough has successfully held in?

 

[alanhanson]

forgot to mension the weight she displaces around the 13000 kg mark
i think the highest sustained wind was force 7 gusting force 8i was very happy with how she held through that

 

[Stingo]

Alan, do you know what the empty weight of your boat is? i.e. how much of the 13000 kg can be attributed to books, charts, SWMBO's necessities, fuel, victuals, toys, etc etc.

 

[alanhanson]

yes she is around 7700 kg
we have a lot of extras she is on the weight limit that is advised at 13000.
it makes her a little slow for a cat but we are happy

 

[snowleopard]

Bridle...

The bride said to the groom as they checked into their honeymoon hotel..

"Do we want the Bridal Suite?"

groom replied

"No darling, I'll just hang on to your ears".

Apart from that.... My boat weighs 5.5 tonnes in cruising trim, nearer 6 loaded up for liveaboard. My main anchor is a 16kg Delta on 20m 6mm chain + 90m of 12mm nylon. It has held in winds up to F8. The only times it has dragged have been in very soft mud or when choked by kelp. I carry two fortresses, an FX16 as a kedge and FX37 for emergencies.

Because of my unstayed rig and aerodynamic mast, my windage is low compared to similar sized cats.

Use of bridle: I have an unusual arrangement in that I set and recover the anchor from the foot of the mast, under the trampoline, the bridle is about 14m total with a pigtail in the middle. It comes back under the trampoline and is parked on a cleat by the windlass when not in use. When I have let out the desired length of rode less 10m, i attach the pigtail of the bridle to the rode with a rolling hitch (I make the last half-hitch in a bight for quick-release) then continue veering cable until the bridle is taking the load and a loop of rode is hanging down.

This arrangement has the benefit of bringing the weight of the anchor aft at sea but suffers from one major flaw: it's very difficult to keep the boat in line with the rode when recovering - I find the rode is leading off at an angle and I have to use the engines to keep the boat straight which makes lifting the anchor a slow process. I am in process of fitting a conventionally-placed bow roller to fix this problem and plan to stow the anchor inboard for passage-making.

 

[Abigail]

Hi there Stingo -

with some difficulty just weighed Oscar, who's a medium size cat and came in at just over 1.5kg. He wouldn't make a good anchor, so we use a CQR as a general rule.

Both Oscar and Tigger hate wearing a bridle, so they're only made too on deck underway - red ones from pet world.

Does this help?

Best of luck with the new boat from Roaring Girl

 

[srm]

Re: Bridle...

Hi

I have a small Prout, (Quest 31) purchased in 2003. Crane driver put it at 4 tonnes when lifting out minus mast and rig. Cruising weight getting on for 5 tonnes. It came with a baby Bruce (about 7kg) which dragged merrily in Isle of Man (delivery trip) with all 20 metres of chain and 20 m of warp out, wind about 6 or 7. Not surprising really and confirmed my view that any anchor needs weight to be trusted as it had dug in and held against the engine OK.

Have just purchased a 16kg Oceane anchor. Weird looking thing but a lot of weight on the point for digging in and a big fluke area to hold once into the bottom. This is on 40 m of 8mm chain + 20m nylon warp. Also 20m of 8mm chain with 90m 14mm multiplait carries 35lb CQR as second anchor.
CQR held fine in October gales in sheltered water on muddy sand - boat was left unattended for a month. Have not had to use the Oceane in anger yet.

Have reinforced inside of both bows with west epoxy and woven mat plus 50mm x 5mm alluminium strip bedded in epoxy filler to take 10mm U bolts. Anchor bridle, nylon, is attached to U bolts with ss winch hooks (SWL 3.5 tonnes). This avoids the chaffe of bridle lines off the bow cleats.
Boat rides quietly head to wind on a bridle but being a Prout with aft mast and fixed cockpit sprayhood all the windage is aft.

On my previous cat, 8 metre Bobcat (dont laugh it was my first cruiser and I sailed it halfway around Britain to keep it in Shetland) I used 8mm chain and 2x35lb CQRs. and only dragged once in very soft mud so relaid with both CQRs in tandem which held well enough to leave the boat unattended for a week. Had not discovered bridles then and boat did sail around its anchor as it was teathered from the middle of the bridge deck.

Hope this helps,

Sean

 

[Talbot]

Need to consider weight of the chain as well as the weight of the anchor. The real problem is the amount of windage that the boat has. My Catalac is well known for the amount of windage, and will do 7 knots under bare poles in the right wind! thus I use heavier tackle than would be needed on a larger but more aerodynamic modern design. I have 30metres of 10mm chain and main anchor is a 24lb KLI anchor (danforth). I also have a 10kg delta on 5/16 chain as a lunch hook which has been known to drag in strong winds. I was considering changing to the 16kg delta as a main anchor, and intend to change the chain on the lunch hook to 10metres of 10mm leaving the danforth as a spare.

 

[CodStewart]

Re: Bridle...

I'm a bit busy at the moment with my tiller but will e-mail you at length about the ins and outs of sailing a cat when I get the time.
Good to see you back!

 

[boatmike]

Depends on your philosophy Stingo.
My Prout 37 weighs in fully loaded at 6 tonnes. I often anchor in places like the Isles of Scilly and therefore lean towards the heavy side with ground tackle where most cat owners would avoid adding weight for performance reasons. I have a 15Kg Bruce on 30 metres of chain with another 30 metres of rope on the end of that which is a bit superfluous as I have never used it. As a back up I have a 35lb CQR. The bridle performs the functions others have described but also serves to keep the chain away from the hulls when the boat tends to sail over the anchor as all cats tend to do sometimes.

 

[Stingo]

Thank you all. I've learned a lot and will go for a 35kg CQR with 50m of chain + 100 rode.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

wow a 77lb CQR, surely at the weight a block of lead would suffice? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[snowleopard]

A friend of ours had a hernia repaired in St Maarten. I can get you the doctor's number if(when) you need it /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Stingo]

Okay, maybe I didn't learn that much, but the new boat comes with a 1200W windlass - hope I don't burn it out!

 

[StriderOzone]

My boat is a strider so only 800Kg (ish) anchor is 15Lb plough about 20m chain 20m warp. Deploy off port bow and tie on a 6m line with a rolling hitch, and lead to stbd bow to form a bridle once suffiently deployed. Simple system, works well as a luch hook, not tested it in any great wind strenght though.

However, was advised by surveyor on purchase (last summer) that 15Lb was a bit light for the boat 7.5m LOA. Multihull seamanship book advises size up one size for multihull d/t windage cf similar length mono. So may be my survor was correct.

Planning bigger but lighter replacement eg Aluminium fortress FX11 or maybe even an Aluminium Spade if funds permit. Anyone any experience of Spade?

Snowleopard how have your Fortress been?

 

[snowleopard]

I would advise against a danforth type as a main anchor. It is difficult to get it to set in some circumstances, it doesn't like to be pulled at an odd angle e.g. when the tide changes and it can be a b***** to get up when it has set firmly. The light weight and compact stowage of the Fortress make it ideal as a second anchor.

 

[SolentSnowgoose]

We have a Snowgoose Elite which is around 6 tonne

Our main anchor is a 45lb CQR which has held in F7+.

We lay to 5x depth of warp with 10m chain. If it really blows then we add a 45lb fishermans in tandem

A bridle makes a huge difference to the way the boat swings and keeps her from sailing around the anchor by biasing the load to the hull furthest away from the line of pull. It works really well and we nearly always use a simple bridle by setting a rolling hitch on the main anchor warp . One way to image the effect is to consider what would happen if you moved the anchor from the hull furthest from the anchor each time the boat swung a bit. The lazy bridle goes slack very quickly so the load moves across the boat and exerts a huge correcting moment pulling her back in line with the anchor .

From my experience a Cat with a bridle slews about a lot less than a mono in the same conditions

I have also found that the bridle seems to prevent the boat from drifting over the anchor when tide rode and ending up moored up back to front ( our last cat was very stable in this strange position)

In a crowded anchorage we find using a small 20lb kedge as a chum slid down the warp does well to restrict our swinging room.

Hope this helps more than some of the old tosh I have seen posted.