Bobc
Well-known member
Get most of the scope in, and then drive over the anchor to break it out.
Raising the anchor in waves
- Thread starter Supertramp
- Start date
NormanS
Well-known member
Well, that'll certainly break something.
Poignard
Well-known member
I suppose if conditions were really bad I would consider staying where I was and letting out a lot more chain; and rigging a snubber.
If that was not feasible for any reason (eg the proximity of other craft), and there was a serious risk of damaging the boat, or injuring myself by staying or trying to recover the anchor, I would buoy the chain, cut the line attaching it to the boat (which should be long enough to allow of cutting it on the foredeck) and let it all go.
The loss of a few hundred poundsworth of chain and an anchor would be preferable to serious injury or damaging the boat so that it needed exensive repairs.
With any luck you could come back later and recover the gear. Otherwise go in somewhere and buy some more.
If that was not feasible for any reason (eg the proximity of other craft), and there was a serious risk of damaging the boat, or injuring myself by staying or trying to recover the anchor, I would buoy the chain, cut the line attaching it to the boat (which should be long enough to allow of cutting it on the foredeck) and let it all go.
The loss of a few hundred poundsworth of chain and an anchor would be preferable to serious injury or damaging the boat so that it needed exensive repairs.
With any luck you could come back later and recover the gear. Otherwise go in somewhere and buy some more.
zoidberg
Well-known member
That's a rather distant anchorage that the well-polished 'Sumara of Weymouth' has found....
vyv_cox
Well-known member
A word of warning from experience. The line should not be able to pass through the windlass. In the event that all the chain runs out, including the rope, it is an extremely difficult task to recover it, especially in deep water. This happened to me when the windlass clutch decided to loosen and let go. All 65 metres of chain plus the anchor hung straight down, in quite choppy conditions. It took us more than an hour to recover it using the genoa winches.
My bitter end line is now short, finishing inside the anchor locker
Roberto
Well-known member
Yes that specific one has had a lot of abuse and worked well, did not deform itself nor deformed the chain link (actually the chain deformed elsewhere).
I have several other types, the type below is probably the sturdiest but it is not as quick to hook/unhook as the simple one of the previous image. The Kong screw-on anchor shackle is for more permanent use. Can't comment about ''tests'' but real life has shown all these to be perfectly fine.
Rhylsailer99
Active member
I an usually solo so when I raise the anchor I wait for the boat to dip then heave quickly. You have to be careful as almost trapped my fingers once. It can be tricky.
NormanS
Well-known member
I've always assumed that that was standard practice.
Bobc
Well-known member
I don't mean to pull all the chain up until it starts snatching, just most of it, so when it breaks out it doesn't reset. If worried about the load on the bow roller, put a hook snubber onto a cleat or something. Driving round in circles usually works too.Well, that'll certainly break something.
zoidberg
Well-known member
Running around in circles usually doesn't....
Neeves
Well-known member
This is a limited cross section of hooks available from chandlers and retail lifting outlets.
The pale blue hook is an 'old fashioned' hook from the lifting industry, an 'eye hook' to which one can add a rope. It is a better design than the stainless hook in that the link held in the hook sits on that long saddle. The stainless hook lends itself to a bit of modification in that you can add a gate, to retain the hook on a slack snubber and you can make a similar modification to the centre hook, also a saddle hook where I have tapped the hole for the clevis pin and attached a little fibre glass 'film' to retain the hook as a security gate.
I have not really found a way to add a security gate to an eye hook
The dark blue hook is current 'hook' state of the art. Claws are sometimes seen on yachts but they can be a bit of a liability in that the link held in the claw can only be retrieved from the chain by aligning the chain almost perfectly - and perfection is difficult to achieve in chop (but its easy to get you fingers in the wrong place when fiddling with a hook in chop).
The picture below, the left hand hook is an old fashioned hook from the lifting industry. The retained chain, yellow, is held in the hook sitting on the saddle, damage to the retained link is unlikely. But the lifting industry has moved on and the right hand hook is current state of the art. The near link, in the right hand hook, takes some tension and the crown of that link is retained by 2 dimples, the other link (the one 'behind' the near link) sits on a sloping saddle - so the chain shares the tension over 2 links.
Most components from the lifting industry are not galvanised - they are invariably sold - powder coated. The powder coating is pretty tenacious and will last (but eventually fail). Buy 2 hooks and when the first gets grotty retire the first one (maybe re-paint). I strip the paint off and have a friendly galvanised coat for me. In the picture of the string of hooks the centre hook and the right hand hook (the claw) are galvanised.
We used the claw hook to secure the anchor on passage (taking the tension off the windlass) and as back up in case of snubber faIlure. The claw was attached to a very short strop one end attached to the hook the other end to a strong point (not the windlass)
I'm not wildly enthusiastic of copying but will encourage a copy if it increases safety. Most chandler hooks would be laughed at in the lifting industry but copying an 'old fashioned' saddle hook, or the current state of the art hook would make hooks for yachts so much more effective - and thus safer. The leisure marine industry have copied claws - why not copy something that is vastly superior? The lifting industry clearly state that current hooks can be used and will not detract chain strength nor sacrifice strength of the chain - find a hook in the leisure marine industry that says anything remotely similar.
Jonathan
The pale blue hook is an 'old fashioned' hook from the lifting industry, an 'eye hook' to which one can add a rope. It is a better design than the stainless hook in that the link held in the hook sits on that long saddle. The stainless hook lends itself to a bit of modification in that you can add a gate, to retain the hook on a slack snubber and you can make a similar modification to the centre hook, also a saddle hook where I have tapped the hole for the clevis pin and attached a little fibre glass 'film' to retain the hook as a security gate.
I have not really found a way to add a security gate to an eye hook
The dark blue hook is current 'hook' state of the art. Claws are sometimes seen on yachts but they can be a bit of a liability in that the link held in the claw can only be retrieved from the chain by aligning the chain almost perfectly - and perfection is difficult to achieve in chop (but its easy to get you fingers in the wrong place when fiddling with a hook in chop).
The picture below, the left hand hook is an old fashioned hook from the lifting industry. The retained chain, yellow, is held in the hook sitting on the saddle, damage to the retained link is unlikely. But the lifting industry has moved on and the right hand hook is current state of the art. The near link, in the right hand hook, takes some tension and the crown of that link is retained by 2 dimples, the other link (the one 'behind' the near link) sits on a sloping saddle - so the chain shares the tension over 2 links.
Most components from the lifting industry are not galvanised - they are invariably sold - powder coated. The powder coating is pretty tenacious and will last (but eventually fail). Buy 2 hooks and when the first gets grotty retire the first one (maybe re-paint). I strip the paint off and have a friendly galvanised coat for me. In the picture of the string of hooks the centre hook and the right hand hook (the claw) are galvanised.
We used the claw hook to secure the anchor on passage (taking the tension off the windlass) and as back up in case of snubber faIlure. The claw was attached to a very short strop one end attached to the hook the other end to a strong point (not the windlass)
I'm not wildly enthusiastic of copying but will encourage a copy if it increases safety. Most chandler hooks would be laughed at in the lifting industry but copying an 'old fashioned' saddle hook, or the current state of the art hook would make hooks for yachts so much more effective - and thus safer. The leisure marine industry have copied claws - why not copy something that is vastly superior? The lifting industry clearly state that current hooks can be used and will not detract chain strength nor sacrifice strength of the chain - find a hook in the leisure marine industry that says anything remotely similar.
Jonathan
Poignard
Well-known member
The naval officer's motto :
"When in trouble, when in doubt,
run in circles, scream and shout."
vyv_cox
Well-known member
I am not aware of any standard on the subject although it may be in some books. My post was to advise those who have not had the benefit of years of experience.
Poignard
Well-known member
Yes, that could be awkward.
I had things arranged so that the join between the end of the rope and the chain came about a foot ahead of the windlass gypsy..
If ever it had all run out accidentally I would only have had to get about 18 inches in before the there was enough chain around the gypsy for it to be able to haul the rest in. (Which would have been a bloody slow job as I had 65m of chain and the windlass was a hand-cranked Lofrans Royale!
)What I should have done, had I though about it sufficiently, was to have the rope/chain join between the top of the navel pipe and the gypsy.
Sumara of Weymouth
Active member
Do you recognize it!
thinwater
Well-known member
A nylon rope, hook, and some caution. The forces should never get out of hand if the nylon has some length. I don't enjoy this, and I try hard to avoid it with planning, but the times I have had to do this, like every singlehander task, the cure is good planning. Have the nylon laid out before you start.
If it is bad enough, there is nothing wrong with leaving it (bouyed) and coming back later. Better than breaking gear or hurting someone. Of course, you have a spare rode and anchor.
I've never had forces great enough to worry me. I have used as much as 50 feet of nylon.
If it is bad enough, there is nothing wrong with leaving it (bouyed) and coming back later. Better than breaking gear or hurting someone. Of course, you have a spare rode and anchor.
I've never had forces great enough to worry me. I have used as much as 50 feet of nylon.
Poignard
Well-known member
Yes, better to leave an anchor and chain behind than a few fingers!
Daydream believer
Well-known member
Is there not a technique for sailing an anchor out of a mooring by tacking ( or letting the boat tack itself) & just recovering slack rode as required? The side pull of the craft working the anchor in the process so that the problems above are reduced.
Or am I on a different tack?
Or am I on a different tack?
Poignard
Well-known member
That works.
zoidberg
Well-known member
That suggests you were into 'bouldering' and not 'big wall' ascents.
Me, I was always worrying about the force of gravity.