Hurricane
Well-Known Member
Upgrades for 2016 - Anchoring
Following my thread on our Sardinian cruise this summer, we learned a lot of new things. We met lots of new faces and discovered how people run their boats differently to us and each other.
As a result, it opened up a whole new aspect of boating and at the same time highlighted deficiencies in the way that we do things at the moment.
In fact, during the season, we were able to make some subtle improvements to our equipment that meant we could push our skills a little further.
Next season, we want to be prepared and there need to be some changes. The main concept is to make our boating, in general, "more robust". So, a few "Upgrades" are now in the pipeline. We have a few other small things planned, but our upgrades for 2016 fall into two main categories. Anchoring and The Tender
This thread is about our Anchor Tackle.
Follow this link for the Tender Upgrade thread:-
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?441555-JW-s-Upgrades-for-2016-Tender&p=5463681#post5463681
JW was factory fitted with a 40Kg Delta anchor, connected to a 10mm chain and driven by a V4 Lewmar Windlass.
This combination has worked well for us apart from once stripping the gears in the Windlass' gearbox. We have only dragged once but we have also not been 100% confident when settling down for the night at anchor.
So, this year, we took advantage of the good pound/euro rates and replaced our 10mm chain and gipsy with 12mm. Although tempted to use stainless steel, I couldn't justify the huge difference in price. It is one thing having to dump your chain if it were to get stuck - it is an entirely different matter dumping an expensive stainless steel one.
Having said that, on one occasion in Sardinia this summer (with some encouragement and advice from MYAG), we tied back to the rocks and it all worked very nicely but in doing so, we had to deploy all of our 70m of chain.
So we bought 150m of 12mm chain to replace the 70m of 10mm.
On the way back from Sardinia ro Sant Carles in Spain, we spent about 3 weeks (mostly at anchor) in Menorca and Mallorca. The new chain has made a huge difference. In most cases, our rode now falls directly to the sea bed - it only took a few knots of wind to lift the old 10mm chain and start pulling directly on the anchor.
Here are a couple of pics of our tackle so far:-
So, with new chain, we have started looking at other areas of our anchor tackle.
The Windlass
During August, we anchored a lot - sometimes just repositioning a few metres after the day trip boats had left. Throughout this, our "old faithful" V4 Windlass worked flawlessly. When recovering the anchor, we always "chase the rode" using the engines so that the windlass doesn't strain too much - it even says to do that in the Lewmar manuals. Having said that, I have always thought that we should carry a spare motor and gearbox for our V4.
Looking at the Lewmar catalogue, it indicates that a V4 is right at the top end for our size of boat. Apparently, the V5 is more suitable to our boat size. Lewmar's V5 is exactly the same size and should fit into the same holes on JW's foredeck. So at SIBS this year, I asked Lewmar the direct question. The answer is that the V4 and the V5 are exactly the same but the V5 has a bigger motor/gearbox combination. In an ideal world, a V6 would be a much better solution but it is a completely different design. I've looked at the holes that would be required in the deck and they don't line up with the ones already there. The deck would require more strengthening if a V6 were to be fitted. So, we have decided to simply fit a new V5 gearbox/motor combo and keep the old one as a spare.
To help the Windlass
If the anchor or chain were to get stuck, it makes sense to pull at it carefully with the engines. So we are going to install a chain lock that should enable us to quickly "lock off" the chain thus removing any strain from the windlass.
For example - this happened in Sardinia:-
To free the chain, we left our anchor bridle attached and simply pulled sideways from the rock using the engines. We had someone in the water to watch - the chain just popped out.
Thanks to a friend on here pointing it out, I bought the chain lock from the "For Sale" forum on these forums. It is a beautiful piece of engineering that will fit just forward of the windlass.
AnCam
I spent 5 months on the boat this year.
Enjoyed every minute of it.
During the times when SWMBO was away and the weather too windy, I fitted an anchor camera and we used it a lot in the Baldricks on the way home.
These are some pics from AnCam
AnCam even catches the Dolphins - this pic also shows some work in progress - A winter project to integrate a chain counter into the AnCam video stream.
And here are a couple of video clip views from AnCam - working - anchor recovery.
The Anchor itself.
I have done a lot of research this summer. Diving and snorkelling round the various anchorages and searching the internet. Anchors and types of anchors are a very emotive subject. Every anchor has its supporters and opponents. Weight seems to be the only common factor that people agree on. The heavier the better. So, considering our success with our "mid range windlass" upgrading to a much heavier anchor will put increased stress on its motor/gearbox. So, a more technical approach to upgrade the anchor is necessary.
From my research, anchors fall into two categories - those that "plough" and those that "dig" - my words.
Most of our boats are fitted with Delta anchors. It seems to me that these anchors are good "middle of the road" solutions but they are essentially "plough" type anchors. Virtually every time that our anchor has set, it has taken 3 or 4 metres before it has "held". I say "held" but, in fact, it goes on ploughing even after it has set. In fact, it is my view that Delta anchors never actually set - they just plough less and less until they reach an equilibrium. The other forms of anchor tend to be more modern designs which "dig themselves in" rather than ploughing.
During August, we met up with a number of yachtie friends who use these new technical anchors and I was able to snorkel/dive and see how well each one worked. And, at the same time see how much our Delta had "ploughed" given the same seabed. Each owner, of course, thought his was the best but one modern type kept coming up in the conversations - The Rocna.
Have a look at this video - I know it has been produced by Rocna but I think you will find their tests interesting.
The interesting tests start at 2min50secs in
To cut a long story short, we've ordered a 55kg Rocna which will arrive here in Devon sometime this week. They say that you can upgrade your anchor by simply changing from a Delta to a Rocna of the same weight but we have chosen to go back to the design charts and select the correct recommended weight of Rocna. So 15kg heavier but a Rocna rather than a Delta.
I've done all the measurements and it should fit!!!
I'll post some pics when it arrives on it's pallet.
Following my thread on our Sardinian cruise this summer, we learned a lot of new things. We met lots of new faces and discovered how people run their boats differently to us and each other.
As a result, it opened up a whole new aspect of boating and at the same time highlighted deficiencies in the way that we do things at the moment.
In fact, during the season, we were able to make some subtle improvements to our equipment that meant we could push our skills a little further.
Next season, we want to be prepared and there need to be some changes. The main concept is to make our boating, in general, "more robust". So, a few "Upgrades" are now in the pipeline. We have a few other small things planned, but our upgrades for 2016 fall into two main categories. Anchoring and The Tender
This thread is about our Anchor Tackle.
Follow this link for the Tender Upgrade thread:-
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?441555-JW-s-Upgrades-for-2016-Tender&p=5463681#post5463681
JW was factory fitted with a 40Kg Delta anchor, connected to a 10mm chain and driven by a V4 Lewmar Windlass.
This combination has worked well for us apart from once stripping the gears in the Windlass' gearbox. We have only dragged once but we have also not been 100% confident when settling down for the night at anchor.
So, this year, we took advantage of the good pound/euro rates and replaced our 10mm chain and gipsy with 12mm. Although tempted to use stainless steel, I couldn't justify the huge difference in price. It is one thing having to dump your chain if it were to get stuck - it is an entirely different matter dumping an expensive stainless steel one.
Having said that, on one occasion in Sardinia this summer (with some encouragement and advice from MYAG), we tied back to the rocks and it all worked very nicely but in doing so, we had to deploy all of our 70m of chain.
So we bought 150m of 12mm chain to replace the 70m of 10mm.
On the way back from Sardinia ro Sant Carles in Spain, we spent about 3 weeks (mostly at anchor) in Menorca and Mallorca. The new chain has made a huge difference. In most cases, our rode now falls directly to the sea bed - it only took a few knots of wind to lift the old 10mm chain and start pulling directly on the anchor.
Here are a couple of pics of our tackle so far:-
So, with new chain, we have started looking at other areas of our anchor tackle.
The Windlass
During August, we anchored a lot - sometimes just repositioning a few metres after the day trip boats had left. Throughout this, our "old faithful" V4 Windlass worked flawlessly. When recovering the anchor, we always "chase the rode" using the engines so that the windlass doesn't strain too much - it even says to do that in the Lewmar manuals. Having said that, I have always thought that we should carry a spare motor and gearbox for our V4.
Looking at the Lewmar catalogue, it indicates that a V4 is right at the top end for our size of boat. Apparently, the V5 is more suitable to our boat size. Lewmar's V5 is exactly the same size and should fit into the same holes on JW's foredeck. So at SIBS this year, I asked Lewmar the direct question. The answer is that the V4 and the V5 are exactly the same but the V5 has a bigger motor/gearbox combination. In an ideal world, a V6 would be a much better solution but it is a completely different design. I've looked at the holes that would be required in the deck and they don't line up with the ones already there. The deck would require more strengthening if a V6 were to be fitted. So, we have decided to simply fit a new V5 gearbox/motor combo and keep the old one as a spare.
To help the Windlass
If the anchor or chain were to get stuck, it makes sense to pull at it carefully with the engines. So we are going to install a chain lock that should enable us to quickly "lock off" the chain thus removing any strain from the windlass.
For example - this happened in Sardinia:-
To free the chain, we left our anchor bridle attached and simply pulled sideways from the rock using the engines. We had someone in the water to watch - the chain just popped out.
Thanks to a friend on here pointing it out, I bought the chain lock from the "For Sale" forum on these forums. It is a beautiful piece of engineering that will fit just forward of the windlass.
AnCam
I spent 5 months on the boat this year.
Enjoyed every minute of it.
During the times when SWMBO was away and the weather too windy, I fitted an anchor camera and we used it a lot in the Baldricks on the way home.
These are some pics from AnCam
AnCam even catches the Dolphins - this pic also shows some work in progress - A winter project to integrate a chain counter into the AnCam video stream.
And here are a couple of video clip views from AnCam - working - anchor recovery.
The Anchor itself.
I have done a lot of research this summer. Diving and snorkelling round the various anchorages and searching the internet. Anchors and types of anchors are a very emotive subject. Every anchor has its supporters and opponents. Weight seems to be the only common factor that people agree on. The heavier the better. So, considering our success with our "mid range windlass" upgrading to a much heavier anchor will put increased stress on its motor/gearbox. So, a more technical approach to upgrade the anchor is necessary.
From my research, anchors fall into two categories - those that "plough" and those that "dig" - my words.
Most of our boats are fitted with Delta anchors. It seems to me that these anchors are good "middle of the road" solutions but they are essentially "plough" type anchors. Virtually every time that our anchor has set, it has taken 3 or 4 metres before it has "held". I say "held" but, in fact, it goes on ploughing even after it has set. In fact, it is my view that Delta anchors never actually set - they just plough less and less until they reach an equilibrium. The other forms of anchor tend to be more modern designs which "dig themselves in" rather than ploughing.
During August, we met up with a number of yachtie friends who use these new technical anchors and I was able to snorkel/dive and see how well each one worked. And, at the same time see how much our Delta had "ploughed" given the same seabed. Each owner, of course, thought his was the best but one modern type kept coming up in the conversations - The Rocna.
Have a look at this video - I know it has been produced by Rocna but I think you will find their tests interesting.
The interesting tests start at 2min50secs in
To cut a long story short, we've ordered a 55kg Rocna which will arrive here in Devon sometime this week. They say that you can upgrade your anchor by simply changing from a Delta to a Rocna of the same weight but we have chosen to go back to the design charts and select the correct recommended weight of Rocna. So 15kg heavier but a Rocna rather than a Delta.
I've done all the measurements and it should fit!!!
I'll post some pics when it arrives on it's pallet.
Last edited:
:encouragement:
Very few SWMBOs know what a fairlead is so 'line up the tape with the fairlead, dear' would be met with blank looks on most boats and the conversation would probably end with 'do it yourself then!'