Question about anchoring

[psneeld]

The manual on my Maxwell says to never pull the boat with the windlass, bur to always use the engines to drive up on the chain. Makes since to me.

Gordon

This method is not really using the windlass to pull the boat.....all it is doing is lifting chain, the boat starts creeping forward every time the chain lifts a bit from the vertical.

Never let the chain get anywhere near tight and the strain on the windlass is very little.... as you can do the same easily by hand.

Often when using the engine, you aren't driving straight up the rode so the effect is essentially the same.

 

[rslifkin]

And just about everyone I see doing it overshoots the anchor because the windlass can't retrieve fast enough

I see a lot of people do that too. Usually the same types that are fun to watch docking (as long as they're not next to you!). They fail to understand that boats have momentum. So powering the boat up to the anchor doesn't mean put it in gear and leave it there. No windlass is that fast. It just means bump it forward towards the anchor and then leave it out of gear until the rode is starting to get tight or the boat needs to be turned to keep it lined up to the rode. And at that point, it just gets another bump, nothing more.

 

[FF]

"And just about everyone I see doing it overshoots the anchor because the windlass can't retrieve fast enough"

This works well as reversing the direction on the set anchor, while pulling up ,with the momentum of the boat can usually brake out the anchor .

The only hassle is with chain, unless there is a properly installed chain stopper the loads on the windlass can be high.

 

[ProMaritime]

No matter how you approach it you need a secure, strong chain lock between the windless and the rest of your ground tackle to isolate it from the break-out stress. If you have a rope rode you need a secure, strong cleat to tie off to for the same purpose.

 

[RossWilson]

We typically stay at marinas or town and lock docks whilst voyaging. Thus, I'm a novice anchorer (is there such a word?). Would anyone mind explaining a few of the terms used in this string? Snubber, pawl and riding chain stopper are a mystery to me. I must sign up for another squadron course. Thanks.

 

[MYTraveler]

I just get the boat somewhat close to directly above and let the windlass do its job.

 

[BruceK]

I just get the boat somewhat close to directly above and let the windlass do its job.

 

[Gordon J]

Its quite simple

And just about everyone I see doing it overshoots the anchor because the windlass can't retrieve fast enough

To bump the engines and coast while pulling up the chain. No one said to leave the boat in gear during the entire procedure...

 

[rgano]

Saw a trawler pull into the marina in San Diego with a broken off anchor pulpit. I bet he wished he had used a snubber from the bow chocks instead of anchoring with chain in those rocks. After that, I always used a nylon snubber when anchoring and when approaching the breakout point with a probably deeply set anchor, I reattach the snubber directly to the chain from the deck rather than over the pulpit.

 

[jhance]

I just get the boat somewhat close to directly above and let the windlass do its job.

To me, this seems like a good strategy. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see a need to do any fancy maneuvers or use a snubber so long as I am vertical over the anchor and I don't hear any undue strain on the windlass.

I do wonder how much downward pressure the pulpit can take before that becomes a breaking issue. But from my limited experience, I should be able to gauge the amount of strain overall by the sounds of the windlass? I should be able to tell if I am stuck or if the anchor is deeply set. In that case, break out the fancy maneuvers and snubber!

 

[psneeld]

It strikes me funny that so many discussions on TF seem to come to all or nothing, on or off, safe or unsafe, good or bad......


Doesn't anyone ever see things in shades of gray, maybe, possibly, sometimes, rarely...etc...etc...?????


Most of my anchoring techniques are based on what is going on....good, mild or bad weather..anchor buried or laying to chain, hung up, etc....


If I come up on the anchor and the windlass starts to bog and my bow dips more than fractions of an inch...then sure...I stop and see if motion breaks things loose.... if not....I put on a snubber....


But like I posted before, most of the time...there is enough momentum, wave action, etc...that the anchor just starts coming right up and I don't even notice it till I feel it break the surface and the non water displaced weight is signaled through the chain to me fairly obviously.


I guess through experience.... boating seems a lot more fluid to me than the on or off situations many describe here.

 

[Conrad]

All depends on wind, current, etc. as far as how much load that'll put on the windlass. On a calm day, I'll typically bump the boat forward in gear to get it moving the right direction and then start pulling up with the windlass. Usually that's adequate to keep the windlass from sounding strained until I'm pretty much over the anchor, as it just has to keep the boat slowly moving forward. With more wind, I end up helping with the engines more.

Pretty much what I do, although often the wind and/or current during the night has meant that the chain is behind me so the slight forward motion is actually working against helping the windlass. Primarily I listen to what the windlass is telling me; if it starts to sound strained at all I either stop hauling while the boat turns toward where the chain is laying or give a quick shot forward or backward depending on the direction the chain is pointing.
Rarely do I even notice when the anchor has broken free.
BC coast with usually gooey mud.
All 5/16 chain and a 73# Rocna.

 

[RCook]

Me too. No windlass problems operating this way over the last 20 summers on the Inside Passage.