lost anchor!!!

captainforbes

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Weighed anchor today and found the by the time the anchor came up.................. it wasn't there! My boat was lying to her anchor for 48 hours in windy conditions. The wind/tide combination was such that we were swing around the anchor many times. The anchor swivel undid itself after the anchor left the seabed. how lucky was that? On close examination of the chain end of the swivel (that's all we,ve got) the swivel axle was attached by a threaded SS central rod which was threaded onto the other side of the swivel, and hammered to stop it unscrewing. It think it was an XM YAchting swivel. Anyoune else had this problem? Could have been disastrous.
 

alienzdive

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Usually with a heavy enough chain the anchor will have no holding effect whatsoever, it really is there as an expensive backup.
 

hylass

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I had exactly the same problem.. and I know other boats who did..

This is why there is a special section in my book "Tout savoir sur le mouillage" which warn sailors about the danger of some "accessories" such anchor swivel or connectors, "C" links and others..

I suggest to attach your next anchor with a "Toogle".. the same used for the rigging.. very simple and very effective..
 

webcraft

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[ QUOTE ]
Usually with a heavy enough chain the anchor will have no holding effect whatsoever, it really is there as an expensive backup.

[/ QUOTE ]

What a strange idea. If all an anchor and rode was was a dead weight no-one would bother talking about the merits of various anchor designs, they would all just be big lumps of metal.

Apart from anything else the weight of chain a small boat would need to carry to match the holding power of a well set anchor would be prohibitive in terms of weight distribution and stowage space for most yachts.

I presume you are one of these characters who does not bother setting or testing their anchor before heading off to the pub, secure in the knowledge that having dropped something over the side you will be OK.

And . . . how on earth can the anchor be a backup for the chain? If the chain fails the anchor won't do a lot of good, will it?

Why does your anchor have no holding power? Is it because you drop all your chain in a heap on top of it?

Either you have never anchored in a decent blow or you have been very lucky.

Not wishing to be rude, but this sort of ill thought out post could be dangerous if taken as gospel by someone new to the black art.

- Nick
 

hylass

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In fact, with little wind or nearly no wind at all.. the weight of the chain alone is enough to hold a boat..

(when the weight of the chain lying on the sea flor is bigger than the pulling effort exerted by the wind)


But, I fully agree with you Webcraft, with strong winds, the weight of the chain has nearly NO effect on the holding , this is the anchor, and the anchor only, which hold the boat...
 

hylass

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[ QUOTE ]
Excuse my ignorance, Hylas, mais c'est quoi un 'toogle'?

[/ QUOTE ]

Metabarca

No, I aplologize.. YOU have to excuse a poor Frenchman who doesn't speak a good English.. I was meaning "TOGGLE"

Perhaps I didn't use the right English term to describe the stainless steel plate "U" shaped, which is usually used to connect
the end of your rigging.. to the boat..

If you take the right size: I.E. 12 mm Toggle, for a 10 mm chain, it will perfectly do the job, it is strong and relatively inexpensive..

As a full time living abord sailor, sailing in far away countries without marinas.. this is what I use to connect my anchor to my chain and I'm very satisfied with it..
 
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