Does anyone make or sell or own a legal anchor ball?

Is there a time limit to hanging the thing? Should you hang it before deploying the anchor?

I've lost half of mine so it only looks like a ball from certain angles.
 
john_morris_uk said:
Big ships have anchor balls made of canvas that collapses to a circular sort of thing when they are lowered.

What's the problem with the two interlocking disc approach from Plastimo etc? They comply with the law as they are arguably proportionately smaller etc - unless you are saying your boat is over 20m?
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Over 25kts lifespan is 1 week
 
um, no time limit is specified - it's gotta be there when you're at anchor. I suppose that while the anchor is going down and you're reversing against it, it would be a nice touch to sound three short blasts
 
ricky_s said:
Is there a time limit to hanging the thing? Should you hang it before deploying the anchor?

I've lost half of mine so it only looks like a ball from certain angles.
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On super yachts it's customary for the anchor ball to be going up at exactly the same time as the anchor is going down. You'll probably find the navy do the same. However, if you haven't got dozens of idle hands for when you do such maneuvers I think a short time delay between dropping the hook and hoisting the ball is acceptable.

That said, I don't own an anchor ball. Also an RYS member, no less, once described hoisting one as 'pretentious'. Which I did think a bit rich coming from someone who sails in a yachting cap...
 
ricky_s said:
Is there a time limit to hanging the thing? Should you hang it before deploying the anchor?
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On Stavros, the anchoring crew involves an officer in command, a deckhand to take off the devil's claw and open the guillotine, a second to operate the windlass brake, and a third deckhand to hoist the ball and light. With that many warm bodies available, the ball goes up the moment the anchor goes down.

On KS, the ball and light is the next job after getting the anchor down, the sail down or engine off, and the bobstay out of the way. And it can take a minute or two to fish the ball out of the locker, run the cable for the light, and get the signal halyards into position. So it goes up reasonably soon after stopping, but not instantly.

Pete
 
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Woodlouse said:
An RYS member, no less, once described hoisting one as 'pretentious'. Which I did think a bit rich coming from someone who sails in a yachting cap...
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Having nearly collided with someone not showing an anchor ball who I believed to be motoring, I disagree with his assessment.

Pete
 
johnalison said:
I wouldn't recommend that. We have been got at in the past in Germany for not showing a cone when we were motor-sailing across the firing-range east of Kiel. It wasn't quite dark enough to get away with putting steaming lights on, so I had to scramble on deck, which I did pointedly slowly. Nowadays, the cone goes up when we see a coastguard boat, or the engine goes off.
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I know the firing range you mean - we sailed (very slowly) around it on a hot day at the end of July, heading for Lippe, so didn't need the cone. Someone told us that the German navy had spending cuts, so the firing range would not be in use for a while.

We rigged up a line on the backstay to hoist the cone if or when we felt the need - certainly if approached by a police launch or coastguard. It was up when we were stopped by the Dutch police near Harlingen, but they only asked for passports and callsign and stuff - very polite and friendly.
 
Saguday said:
Does anyone else's Plastimo black-ball-facsimile spin at ferocious speed in any kind of wind? Twists up my flag halyards something chronic. Is there a way to stop it going that or is that the idea?
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I have a loop at the top to attach the halyard and a long line at the bottom which I secure to the foredeck cleat, I have a third line which is attached to the edge of one of the "blades" and this is tied back to the mast.

This stops any tendency to spinning back and forth. Apart from the chance of wearing through the lines the noise can be very irritating, well worth doing something to stop it.
 
Saguday said:
Does anyone else's Plastimo black-ball-facsimile spin at ferocious speed in any kind of wind? Twists up my flag halyards something chronic. Is there a way to stop it going that or is that the idea?
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I have 3 'strings' attached to mine. One is hitched to the forestay with a rolling hitch and the other two are attached to the guardrails. That tames it.

If you prefer to hoist it up a flag halyard you could have a line attached to one side of the ball with a spring clip on its other end to clip around the cap shroud so that it slides up the shroud as the ball is hoisted (and down again, hopefully!)
 
Sometimes they spin, sometimes they don't. Can't for the life of me figure out what the difference is - flag halyard line too thin? Kevlar vs dyneema? 3-plait vs multi-plait? It does seem to need a third line to stop it spinning but there isn't anywhere to tie it to on the "ball" so I was going to fashion something but then that makes 3 sets of 'string' to faff about with - a black mooring ball on a line between the mast and the forestay just seems much easier :rolleyes:
 
Saguday said:
Sometimes they spin, sometimes they don't. Can't for the life of me figure out what the difference is - ...
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Maybe it's a simlilar effect to that which makes the umbrella on our patio table spin when the wind is blowing.

I was contemplating this interesting aerodynamic phenomenon the other day (whilst sitting outside enjoying a summer's evening with my overcoat on and nursing a cup of Bovril) and I reckon the air between the house and the umbrella is moving faster than the air on the side of the umbrella furthest away from the house, i.e. Venturi effect. The air can't flow through the house so it has to go round it and consequently speeds up.

So, in the case of an anchor ball, the airflow between the ball and the mast is faster and causes the ball to spin (provided the anchor ball is near enough to the mast to be influenced by it)
 
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A slight imbalance in weight or orientation when the wind is blowing and it starts to rotate and thus twists the halyard. It accelerates and then reaches a point where the halyard twist exerts a force greater than the turning force of the wind on the "ball". At this point it stops turning and starts to unwind, aided by the wind but in the opposite direction. Once again it accelerates and overshoots, winding as far again in the opposite direction. Thus, it oscillates with the twisted halyard acting as a spring.

So I understand that having stood there watching it for hours, but why does mine do it and the blokes on the next yacht not move at all, hmm?
 
ricky_s said:
Is there a time limit to hanging the thing? Should you hang it before deploying the anchor?
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Ah, but at what point in the process of anchoring are you actually at anchor?

Is a vessel whose anchor is dragging technically at anchor? Or perhaps NUC?

(The Colregs define "under way" as "not at anchor, or made fast to the shore, or aground", but "at anchor" is not defined.)
 
tcm said:
Colregs rule defines that a ball shall be exhibited where it can be seen, and Annex 6 defines a ball as being black and 600mm + diameter....and altho annex 6 also alows smaller balls commensurate with the length of the boat if under 20m i have almost NEVER seen an actual anchor BALL on a boat. I have def not seen one for sale. Those Plastimo ones - aren't balls. oh no they aren't. Balls are spheres. Is there case law about this?
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If the Colregs wanted a sphere I guess they would say so.

Ball = sphere is just the OP's opinion. What of a Rugby ball?

The Plastimo things are a ball when hoisted generally upright to be viewed from another boat.
 
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