Colin, with great sadness I had to let go with the last boat that beautiful carbon/ stainless ensign staff with internal cord mechanism.
The new boat has just an “ordinary” thing with a little cleat for the rope. Might have to draw something that you can re-engineer properly!
No the courtesy flag auto putter upperer problem hasn’t been cracked yet
Morning bjb.Hi jfm - might I ask a few questions about anchoring this big beast?
Obvs: what type of anchor?and are there any choices or are the pockets designed for a specific type?
Will you have sufficient chain to make anchoring in deep water practicable if you have to deploy outside the 20m contour? Does this mean in practice ~200m (x2) of s/s chain? Or perhaps you will have extra scope on one anchor?
Will you deploy/retrieve purely on camera or have a deckie at the bow as well?
Guessing that in your home berth you will be able to use bow lines, but what sort of split do you expect between harbours where you will be able to do that and ones where you will have to deploy an anchor?
Do you expect ever to deploy both anchors at the same time or would such conditions be more likely to persuade you to start the engines and go somewhere else?
Thanks Bajansailor - that's great info.
Thanks - years since I've been in that marina.
Thanks Bajansailor - that's great info.
I don't think I'll even ask about the cost of upgrading to s/steel - possibly a drop in the ocean of the cost of this project, but it's still going to be a lot of €€€€
Stainless steel anchors do look much nicer though than galvanised jobs - go on, ask them for a quote for an upgrade. You might be pleasantly surprised!
Thanks, jfm, for the detailed explanations. All makes complete sense and that capstan looks utterly fabulous.Morning bjb.
Anchoring - everyone has their own opinions
First the hardware: There are two 125kg anchors, "dreadnought" style (not sure if that's the correct term...). They have to fit into pockets, so the anchors themselves are non-negotiable and all the stuff that gets debated on here and similar places (Rocna vs Ultra vs Delta etc) simply doesn't apply or exist at 100kg upwards.
Chain is 137.5m of 14mm chain each side, upgraded to polished stainless. The anchors are galv not stainless and I'm not sure stainless is even available - I didn't ask. There are chain washing pumps, and also chain counters becuase paint doesn't stick well to polished stainless chain. Each anchor has a camera and a light in the pocket - this was a tick box option not a custom request by the way, so the AnCamTM (invented here) seems to be catching on
Windlasses are 400v AC 3ph, 4kw with brakes that you operate with those "steering wheel" handles. As a custom request they are adding 2 additional capstans to the foredeck area - see picture below which is the standard spec with the extra capstan photoshopped on. These are also 400vAC 3ph, 2.5kw iirc, and their purpose is to make Med ground line handling much quicker: the crew can haul up the ground line and wind straight onto this capstan and start pulling, without needing to operate the clutch on the main anchor windlasses (which is a faff) - this is going to be a very significant convenience imho. The ground lines will be left on these capstans typically - I don't buy that salty seadog "never leave winches loaded" thing, which I think is based on "it'll damage them" , and anyway they are not mission critical and can be replaced at the drop of a hat.
These additional capstans also provide a second method to retrieve the anchors if the main anchor windlasses ever fail (hopefully never) - you can't haul up 125kg plus chain without something like this obvs.
One can debate pros/cons of electric versus hydraulic motors in anchor winches. I wouldn't want DC at this size but with 3x230v phases, electric motors make sense. Perhaps a 50/50 comparison with hydraulic, except that when you have 4 motors suddenly electric seems better because it avoids 12x hydraulic hoses running all the way to the bow. Also I'm looking forward to being able to switch off main engines sooner on arrival in port, instead of having to keep at least one engine idling till all mooring adjustments are finished.
My expectation on use is that a deckie on the bow will release the devil's claw as we enter the anchorage then can clear off if needed elsewhere. I will then operate the anchors from the flybridge helm, if the water is shallow enough to walk the anchor out. If it has to be let go in freefall then a deckie must do that, but that operation carries some risk of breaking stuff when you get to this weight of anchor so walking out will be the norm. Remember also that I have a direct walkway forwards from flybridge to bow in this boat, and remote throttles and thrusters at the bow, so I may do freefall-ery myself, but it will depend on the skill/experience of the deckie of the day.
Each to their own but I'm not a fan of deploying two anchors together. Main reason is that in good weather you don't need it, and in bad weather you don't want it - I'm more interested in getting out of an anchorage than staying in, eg when an upwind boat drags anchor (has happened to me a couple of times). Two anchors in a storm = increased risk of a problem or a tangle, extra workload in a stressful situ, and certainly will slow down an exit.
There are only a few Med ports that I use plenty and that still require an anchor in port for a 30m. Monaco used to, but seems to be 100% ground lines now. Ajaccio in Corsica is the only one that I can think of. Maybe Azzurra in Elba still - not sure. Normally one anchor is enough in summer but it's not too hard to deploy two, about 10m apart. To assist when berthing the boat from the aft cockpit I have a Garmin screen there (as well as ipads) to see the anchors and windlass up/down switches there too.
Pictures below show the stbd anchor in its pocket, and a mock up of my custom arrangement with an extra capstan each side.
Morning bjb.
Anchoring - everyone has their own opinions
First the hardware: There are two 125kg anchors, "dreadnought" style (not sure if that's the correct term...). They have to fit into pockets, so the anchors themselves are non-negotiable and all the stuff that gets debated on here and similar places (Rocna vs Ultra vs Delta etc) simply doesn't apply or exist at 100kg upwards.
Chain is 137.5m of 14mm chain each side, upgraded to polished stainless. The anchors are galv not stainless and I'm not sure stainless is even available - I didn't ask. There are chain washing pumps, and also chain counters becuase paint doesn't stick well to polished stainless chain. Each anchor has a camera and a light in the pocket - this was a tick box option not a custom request by the way, so the AnCamTM (invented here) seems to be catching on
Windlasses are 400v AC 3ph, 4kw with brakes that you operate with those "steering wheel" handles. As a custom request they are adding 2 additional capstans to the foredeck area - see picture below which is the standard spec with the extra capstan photoshopped on. These are also 400vAC 3ph, 2.5kw iirc, and their purpose is to make Med ground line handling much quicker: the crew can haul up the ground line and wind straight onto this capstan and start pulling, without needing to operate the clutch on the main anchor windlasses (which is a faff) - this is going to be a very significant convenience imho. The ground lines will be left on these capstans typically - I don't buy that salty seadog "never leave winches loaded" thing, which I think is based on "it'll damage them" , and anyway they are not mission critical and can be replaced at the drop of a hat.
These additional capstans also provide a second method to retrieve the anchors if the main anchor windlasses ever fail (hopefully never) - you can't haul up 125kg plus chain without something like this obvs.
One can debate pros/cons of electric versus hydraulic motors in anchor winches. I wouldn't want DC at this size but with 3x230v phases, electric motors make sense. Perhaps a 50/50 comparison with hydraulic, except that when you have 4 motors suddenly electric seems better because it avoids 12x hydraulic hoses running all the way to the bow. Also I'm looking forward to being able to switch off main engines sooner on arrival in port, instead of having to keep at least one engine idling till all mooring adjustments are finished.
My expectation on use is that a deckie on the bow will release the devil's claw as we enter the anchorage then can clear off if needed elsewhere. I will then operate the anchors from the flybridge helm, if the water is shallow enough to walk the anchor out. If it has to be let go in freefall then a deckie must do that, but that operation carries some risk of breaking stuff when you get to this weight of anchor so walking out will be the norm. Remember also that I have a direct walkway forwards from flybridge to bow in this boat, and remote throttles and thrusters at the bow, so I may do freefall-ery myself, but it will depend on the skill/experience of the deckie of the day.
Each to their own but I'm not a fan of deploying two anchors together. Main reason is that in good weather you don't need it, and in bad weather you don't want it - I'm more interested in getting out of an anchorage than staying in, eg when an upwind boat drags anchor (has happened to me a couple of times). Two anchors in a storm = increased risk of a problem or a tangle, extra workload in a stressful situ, and certainly will slow down an exit.
There are only a few Med ports that I use plenty and that still require an anchor in port for a 30m. Monaco used to, but seems to be 100% ground lines now. Ajaccio in Corsica is the only one that I can think of. Maybe Azzurra in Elba still - not sure. Normally one anchor is enough in summer but it's not too hard to deploy two, about 10m apart. To assist when berthing the boat from the aft cockpit I have a Garmin screen there (as well as ipads) to see the anchors and windlass up/down switches there too.
Pictures below show the stbd anchor in its pocket, and a mock up of my custom arrangement with an extra capstan each side.
These things definitely evolve as time passes - more and more places fit ground lines. I was in Portovenere last summer and they now have ground lines for 30m boats. Only the 50m stuff still needs to anchor. One of my all time favourite little harbours in the Med.
Need to work it out. The port side has an abseiling track and also the boat will have a spot zero reverse osmosis thing, meaning that in theory you only need to hose the windows not squeegey or chamois them. We'll see how it all works out...Cleaning - I'm assuming all you owners grab a bucket on Sunday mornings and wash down the boat, have a bit of a natter with each other before popping into town for a full English roast dinner at an Irish themed bar. Being asymmetric cleaning the port side is obviously going to be a bit trickier than the starboard side. I know you and SL have already devised a cunning plan with carbon poles, filtered rose water and angel's tears but what is the plan ?
Having inherited quite a lot of window area recently myself I've decided to invest in some water filtering equipment for Gosport's finest - which is of course available free of charge along the pontoon. Just saying.....
I loved the hydraulic winch on my last boat in that I knew it would never overheat like a DC motor can, but keeping the engines idling for too long when in harbour was a significant downside. Probably contributed 50+ hours of the 1,000 hours I had on the last boat when I sold it. I like to switch off the main engines asap when I get into port.
I’m hoping you can get away with poles rather than people. A lot of window cleaners use filtered water and don’t have to chamois or blade the windows off. The resin filter systems aren’t expensive, maybe £250-300 for a 25 litre kit and if you run a pair in series you can make the secondary filter the primary then replenish the resin in the secondary to extend the life and really reduce minerals in the water.Need to work it out. The port side has an abseiling track and also the boat will have a spot zero reverse osmosis thing, meaning that in theory you only need to hose the windows not squeegey or chamois them. We'll see how it all works out...