raising a 14kg Brittany anchor manually

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sthurley

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Can't afford to fit a windless yet. Tried anchoring for the first time in this boat, dufour 30 classic, she comes with a 14kg Britany anchor which is a nightmare to lift out of the anchor locker and put over the side without hurting me or the gel coat. Need less to say hauling in by hand and recovering was a task. Has anyone any guidance/tricks to make this easier? If I had to do this in anything other than flat water something would get broken!! (Likely me!!)lol
 
i have a Simpson-Lawrence Anchorman vertical manual windlass, check ebay or boats & outboards

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Short of fitting a manual windlass (which I use with a 16kg Kobra and 10mm chain) you could use warp instead of chain but you need to use at least 5 to 1 or get a Fortress aluminium anchor or anchor in shallow water only. Both the first two options are expensive and not ideal so probably the best idea. Best to bit the bullet and get a manual windlass when you can, just use moorings or marinas until then.
 
sthurley said:
Can't afford to fit a windless yet. Tried anchoring for the first time in this boat, dufour 30 classic, she comes with a 14kg Britany anchor which is a nightmare to lift out of the anchor locker and put over the side without hurting me or the gel coat. Need less to say hauling in by hand and recovering was a task. Has anyone any guidance/tricks to make this easier? If I had to do this in anything other than flat water something would get broken!! (Likely me!!)lol
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Yes. Buy yourself an aluminium anchor. I have two anchors. A Manson which has just the same issues you mention. And a Bulldog ally anchor ( imitation Fortress but not as good) which is fine for a lunch hook and is so easy to lift out of the locker that its the one that gets used.
 
You don't say your age or state of health. I am 68 & not that fit but handle a 15 Kg CQR. Not that easy I'll grant, but not impossible.

Waves can help, pull in as the bow dips & hold firm as it rises. Keep your back straight & use your thigh muscles to heave, your legs are your strongest limbs. Wind can be more of a problem, motor slowly towards the anchor to reduce the load. Pull the anchor home into the bow roller & tie it off there while you leave, or until you are in a calmer place & need the roller for a warp or mooring strop.

I have when solo left the anchor dangling but clear of the sea bed while I have got out a crowded mooring into clear water to sort it out. Just make sure you don't hook up on another's chain as you pass.

Figure out a way of storing the anchor that is secure but easy to move it to the roller.
 
Searush said:
Figure out a way of storing the anchor that is secure but easy to move it to the roller.
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But thats the point Searush as in " which is a nightmare to lift out of the anchor locker and put over the side without hurting me or the gel coat". Its not the hauling in he is having problems with but the putting the anchor at arms length through the pullpit onto the bow roiller. I have just the same problem and there is no easy solution. I have to hold the 35 lbs of iron out at full arm stretch whilst bending round the forestay and balancing on top of the windlass. . Cant leave the anchor in the roller because it then fould the mooring penant. The only answer I have found is an aluminium anchor and believe me I have tried.
 
birdseye said:
But thats the point Searush as in " which is a nightmare to lift out of the anchor locker and put over the side without hurting me or the gel coat". Its not the hauling in he is having problems with but the putting the anchor at arms length through the pullpit onto the bow roiller. I have just the same problem and there is no easy solution. I have to hold the 35 lbs of iron out at full arm stretch whilst bending round the forestay and balancing on top of the windlass. . Cant leave the anchor in the roller because it then fould the mooring penant. The only answer I have found is an aluminium anchor and believe me I have tried.
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So stow it on the roller or pulpit when off the mooring & only put it in the locker when in harbour. Set a strop & loop on the heavy end to give leverage to move it, figure out a different way of doing it that works. Use a spare halliard to take the weight, I don't know what might work for you, I can only suggest a few ideas blind. If what you do is hard, do it differently.
 
birdseye said:
But thats the point Searush as in " which is a nightmare to lift out of the anchor locker and put over the side without hurting me or the gel coat". Its not the hauling in he is having problems with but the putting the anchor at arms length through the pullpit onto the bow roiller. I have just the same problem and there is no easy solution. I have to hold the 35 lbs of iron out at full arm stretch whilst bending round the forestay and balancing on top of the windlass. . Cant leave the anchor in the roller because it then fould the mooring penant. The only answer I have found is an aluminium anchor and believe me I have tried.
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Why not carry the anchor in the bow roller as all normal sailors (in the Med do). My 25lb CQR, is easy enough to handle with an Anchorman winch.
Unfortunately most of the "new-age" anchors demand a heavier model than the CQR or Delta. The latter self-stows and launches well and works reasonably.
As to our boastful 68-year old youth - just wait for 10 years and try and anchor 200 days a year with your current set-up.
 
birdseye said:
But thats the point Searush as in " which is a nightmare to lift out of the anchor locker and put over the side without hurting me or the gel coat". Its not the hauling in he is having problems with but the putting the anchor at arms length through the pullpit onto the bow roiller. I have just the same problem and there is no easy solution. I have to hold the 35 lbs of iron out at full arm stretch whilst bending round the forestay and balancing on top of the windlass. . Cant leave the anchor in the roller because it then fould the mooring penant. The only answer I have found is an aluminium anchor and believe me I have tried.
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I have not tried this but I have read about someone who simply attached a small tackle to the pulpit above the bow roller and used that to lift the anchor. Unless the pulpit is so weak that it couldn't take the weight of the anchor (in which case it's going to collapse when someone leans on it!), I reckon this would be a simple, cheap aid to anchor handling. In principle, its not much different from the davit that sailing ships used to have on the forecastle for swinging the anchor in/out at the start/end of a voyage.

It's an idea I intend to adopt when I become too enfeebled to lift my 35lb CQR around.
 
It doesn't address the problem of threading the anchor under the pulpit, I know, but when I used to move the Danforth around, I found it best to hug it to my chest as it had less effect on my balance and didn't smack into everything - unless I did too! Unless you're sailing single handed, a spare halyard with a snap shackle can often be used to hold the weight at the bows while you thread it through, but you need a partner to ease it as you push it out. Once on the roller, you can unhitch the halyard and launch.

Rob.
 
I anchor most of the time single-handed, with a Bruce (cant remember weight). It is a bit of a faf to squeeze under the pushpit in a hurry so I tend to hold it half way through resting on boat, thread chain onto roller and then lob anchor away from bow, stopping chain in locker with my foot. This works well.
To retrieve I simply haul anchor up onto roller and tie off chain on main cleat. When picking up my swinging mooring strop I use a large closing hook thing on floating line through a fairlead back to a winch. Secure mooring and then go and sort out anchor, which admittedly involves leaning for'ard and wriggling anchor under pushpit.
Don't forget that you can motor forward onto anchor to help take some weight off it, not too much or you can make things worse.
 
charles_reed said:
Why not carry the anchor in the bow roller as all normal sailors (in the Med do). My 25lb CQR, is easy enough to handle with an Anchorman winch.
Unfortunately most of the "new-age" anchors demand a heavier model than the CQR or Delta. The latter self-stows and launches well and works reasonably.
As to our boastful 68-year old youth - just wait for 10 years and try and anchor 200 days a year with your current set-up.
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I don't think he was boasting.Mereley stating a fact!
 
30boat said:
I don't think he was boasting.Mereley stating a fact!
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Thanks, I was trying to put things in perspective, it makes a big difference if you are 30, 50, 68 or 78 as CR says. Without knowing the OP's set up, we can only offer ideas blind, it is up to him if he wants to try them or not. Sniping at me for trying to help is neither helpful or polite.

I note that most of the ideas I suggested are also expressed by others, so not so daft after all perhaps?
 
Despite having twin bow rollers we prefer to stow our anchor on deck when using a mooring (hence we will always anchor even if moorings are available !) Similar to the o/p our problem is getting the anchor off and in our case lifting it over the flappy self launching part and then threading the anchor (20kg Rocna) through the pulpit.

Have you tried to use the spinnaker halyard to take the weight of the anchor whilst you manoeuvre it ? Ideally it is a two man job with one at the mast operating the winch. It is not an ideal solution but in our case it does help. (Edit: just read the other replies properly and see others have suggested this also !) As with any job that requires a lot of manual effort it will get easier with practice and a technique will develop (hopefully :)).

If it were me I would not fit a cheap s/h manual windlass. These may be available at low cost but you would be better off waiting for a powered one so as not to have unwanted bolt holes in the foredeck not to mention the hole for the hawse pipe.

This is extremely unhelpful but if it were me I would beg, borrow, no, not steal ! the money somehow to get an electric one. Cannot speak for all the manufacturers but Lewmar does not change all it's windlass models frequently so you may be able to get a faulty or tatty electric one which you could install and use on manual until you could afford a new one of the same model then you will just be able to switch over using the same holes.

Somehow I would avoid manual lifting if at all possible. 15kg is doable and you do see people occasionally lifting them manually but there may be situations where you want your anchor up quickly and the stress and exhaustion is not really safe.

Maybe the best solution (as others have said) is to get a Fortress type/copy to use temporarily and then sell it when you can afford the windlass.
 
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A pity that OP has not provided some more info on type of boat etc, but interesting to hear everyone's ideas as on some boats it is indeed a very real problem.

I am wondering if OP can actually stow his anchor safely in the existing bow-roller? On my Sadler29 as supplied it was impossible to stow (the then ubiquitous) 25lb CQR on the roller. I made (an ugly but effective) extension. When I changed to a 16kg Kobra I had to modify again.

I still dislike leaving the anchor on the roller when on a mooring for any length of time and manouvering it on/off is indeed a pain even in quiet conditions on a mooring. I guess the initial purchasers of new AWBs mostly keep the boats in marinas.......so such detail practical considerations are well down on the manufacturer's priority list :(
 
Why don't you have a look at using a buoy and an Alderney ring, I know this would not work in a bow or stern to anchorage, but if you are anchoring overnight or for a lunchstop, it works very well, charter fishing boats have used this method for years, bringing a heavy anchor up from over 300 ft. simply bring your anchor up from the stern without any heaving or risk of back injury.
 
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