Hello all, I need to tap into the collective wisdom on this one. It's a bit long, so please bear with me. I have owned my '91 MK I for 10 years. She came with a 35 lb CQR, 50' of chain & 280 ft of rode (the PO cruised her in Mexico). In 10 years, I have anchored ZERO times having always gotten lucky in Catalina and otherwise just day-sailing. "Out of sight, out of mind" has led to the neglect of my anchoring equipment as a recent excursion into the anchor locker revealed a rusty, congealed tangle of which I am quite ashamed. As I inspect and wash the rode, replace the chain and clean up & re-galvanize the anchor, I am re-thinking my anchor needs. I have decided that other than Catalina trips, I would like to leave the "heavy metal" in my dock box for daysails. Instead, I am thinking of adding a 10-15 lb Fortress as an "emergency" anchor and as an extra or stern anchor when going to Catalina. My thought of an "emergency" anchor arose when I sucked something into the intake and my boat overheated coming into the marina. I made it to the slip, but it made me wonder what I would do if the engine died while singlehanding and there was no wind to power her by sail. I decided that I needed a quick, accessible way to stop the boat if necessary (ie. while waiting for Boat U.S to arrive). What do you all think of my idea? Also, what do you think of keeping this "emergency" anchor on the aft rail and deploying off the stern to avoid having to leave the cockpit in an emergency situation? I do have a stern fairlead mounted. I'm not sure of the wisdom of stern-only anchoring, even for a short time. Please give me any and all thoughts while I try to come up with the best solution.
Thanks, Mike
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA
Well, Mike, there are number of things I can say:
1. This is a good reason to put your hailing port or sailing grounds in your signature. Fortunately, I can guess you are in SoCal by your post. I have no experience there but I am guessing that it is not a place to be drifting with no propulsion or anchor.
2. My belief is that EVERY time you take a boat out, you should have good ground tackle ready to deploy. What if you lose your engine, have no ability to sail, and find yourself being swept to danger by a current?
3. If you don't have good ground tackle, then having something is better than nothing, but I would not be comfortable with just one small anchor aboard.
4. Anchoring by the stern in any significant seas can be bad. First, the waves will push with much more force on the broad stern than the fine bow, making the load on the ground tackle much higher than needed. Second, our 1999 model with the scoop transom would likely take a lot of water aboard with any wave action.
5. It could make a lot of sense to have the anchor at the stern ready to deploy at a moment's notice, as long as you have a safe way to relocate that rode to the bow cleats as soon as practical to avoid the problems discussed in 4 above.
You asked for some thoughts. Hope they help in your decision making.
Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/
Excellent points, Duane, and I've upgraded my User CP to show that I am in Marina del Rey, CA. I guess I was imagining a typical 8-12 knot day, but you are right. If you're going to prepare, then prepare for everything. Same goes for stern anchoring which, I admit, didn't sound too great to me either. It wouldn't be to bad in mild conditions for a short time until help arrived, but add big wind & seas and it would be a problem. I think what I need to do is to get my 35# CQR squared away and mounted on the bow roller ready to go. I also need to work on my skill set as far as raising/lowering the anchor goes as I have had no experience with that. In that regard, I am looking for a way to upgrade my electric windlass to accept chain. Thanks for all your good advice.
Mike
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA
Glad you found my thoughts helpful, Mike. I believe good anchoring skills (and good ground tackle) are important to have, even if you don't plan to anchor most of the time you use the boat. That one time you really need them, you will be very glad you have them.
Perhaps you know some seasoned sailors with good anchoring skills they can share. It isn't rocket science, but there are some dos and don'ts to keep in mind.
Good luck with your windlass issues.
Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/
Thanks Duane. Yeah, I mentioned to one of my dock buddies that I was going to back my boat up a bit in the slip and drop that CQR (I should say "lower" the CQR) just to get the experience of hauling it back aboard. He thought I was nuts, but then admitted that it would be a good safe way to learn about deployment/retrieval as opposed to waiting until I HAD to do it. This should be fun. LOL.
Mike
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA
Mike, you're part way there. But the trick in anchoring is not practicing pulling the anchor up, it is SETTING the anchor properly. To do that, you need to practice, as much as you did docking your boat in your own or other slips. Spend a day, a whole day, and find a place to anchor and do it a few times. You'll be glad you did, because until you do you'll never know what it feels like to "get a real bite!" See this, too, which discusses anchors, but also anchoring techniques, which you can learn from WM Advisors, no sense us repeating all that stuff here, they've written books about it.:):):) It's a long one: [url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.0.html[/url] Page 3, reply 33 is very good and 47 on page 4
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
Thanks Stu!
Mike
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA