Thank you very much! We now use a soft shackle instead of a rolling hitch for our snubber. It is working great ... we've been using it for a couple weeks so far.
Thank you so much! We have had years of 'learning' experiences - some good, some a bit frightening so we really enjoy sharing what we've learned along the way.
What a great video! I'm in the process of repairing and upgrading my Maxwell VCW1200 after too many years of neglect (me plus the prior owner). Given the many docking locations in San Francisco Bay, our up to 9 kt tidal currents and 35+ kt winds, I've always been leery of using the anchor with my 15,000 lb Nonsuch 354. Your video has given me the confidence to venture forth and anchor off the many nooks and crannies of our beautiful Bay and Deltas to allow the Cap'n a nice rest and cocktail along with the passengers!
Thanks so much! We've given anchoring a lot of thought over the years and we know it is one thing that is a hurdle for people new to boating so we wanted to cover a bunch of the issues and questions people have as they attempt anchoring in various conditions.
Great video, thanks for spending so much time and all the different ways of showing and explaining the steps. I'm sure it took a lot of time to do, happy sailing.
Thanks Matt! Yes indeed it does take a considerable amount of time, but it is also enjoyable and we learn a lot through the process. Appreciate the feedback. Fair winds!
Excellent instruction!!! Thank you. Is it ok to put some sort of float or buoy directly above your anchor so that someone doesn't park on top of your anchor? Or is it just accepted that you push a boat out of the way like you guys did in the video?
Hi Rich. Yes you can use an anchor buoy to mark the anchor’s position. We have a new video coming out soon on anchor buoy usage, and also more details on snubbers. A buoy can help, but they can also be snagged by other boaters particularly in a busy anchorage so you just have to be mindful of the best times to use them.
If you want to avoid putting a strain on your bow roller, connect the snubber directly from your bow cleats in a bridle configuration to the chain below the roller or bow sprit, so the snubber is not going over the roller.
Good suggestion Scott. I think playing around the dimensions of the bridle would be key. Our bow cleats are positioned in such a way on the toe rail that you'd want the bridle to have a decent length to it, to avoid chafing against the toe rail. But I can see how it would be worth comparing to possible chafe on a bow roller.
Great video, and good explanations. A snubber that short will take load off the windlass OK, but there's another good reason for it, and that's to reduce snatch loads on the anchor. To get that, you need far more length, about the length of the boat. An easy way is to run the snubber rope (must be nylon for elasticity) right back to the cockpit and make off on a cleat or winch. Nylon rope can stretch 20-40% of its length. On my 10m boat I get 1m of extension on my snubber in F4 wind, more in greater winds.
Thanks Geoff. I didn't cover it in the video at the time, but we use the short snubber as an everyday, mild weather snubber, just to take the load off the windlass. Recently, when we anticipate high winds or waves, we use a 10m long snubber, which as you have pointed out, provides a lot of stretch. We run it off the bow, as we don't have a clean lead to the cockpit without introducing the possibility of chafing, but I like your idea. Happy cruising!
Thanks for making this video. I missed detailed info on how the individual lines are connected and controlled, eg tack line, guy and is the mouth of the pole at the clew facing up or down?
Hi Ralph. I believe you are referring to one of our whisker pole videos, not this anchor video. We don't use a tack line as the headsails we use with the whisker pole are tacked to the bow. For the guy, I included that in several sections, as a foreguy, to hold the pole down and slightly forward. On the direction of the jaws at the end of the pole, people rig this both ways. We tend to like the jaws facing upward as that releases the sheet/foreguy at little easier. Good luck!
Hi I just found you😊 It was great to watch, very nicely presented, it was full of very useful information. Could you please tell me how much chain do you drop before you start reversing and the thinking behind it if you can please.
Thanks for your comment. We have additional videos covering all aspects of anchoring, including how much chain to put out. There are several videos called anchoring 101 in our how-to video playlist. Watch those and let us know if this answers your question.
Yes - quite normal. Boats swing around with both wind and currents and if your anchor is under someone’s boat, their anchor is likely way in front of them, depending on how deep the water is (and, therefore how much rode was put out)
If I am not using a windlass and I have a rope and chain anchor combo, how does one pull the anchor up once tight and the boat is directly over top? Can one yank it up or can I move the boat fwd to pull it out? Love this vid. It was very helpful. Im new to boating so my situation is a bit more specific.
Hi Michael. Yes, you can pull up as much chain/line as you can, until you are right over the anchor, and then carefully drive the boat forward, and that might release the anchor from the bottom. From there, you can pull up the remaining chain and anchor. Granted, it is hard work. Windlasses are cheaper and more reliable now adays; you might think about investing in one as it will make life a lot easier down the road.
Great video, but I have one question. Wouldn't it be better to let the anchor chain out slowly while backing away so the chain doesn't pile up on the bottom?
Thanks Dale. Yes ideally this would be the best approach. For us, sometimes when you find the right spot to anchor, you still have forward momentum when you start lowering the anchor and chain so it's hard to avoid some amount of pile up. Good luck!
I don't gush... But that was excellent. My additional thought on tidal rode. If you anchor at high tide watch out for the proximity of others as everyone's swinging circles get bigger as the tide falls. It works out fore and aft, but sometimes not when the wind and stream shift.
Good question. You can still tie the snubber to the line, using a rolling hitch. But we generally just cleat off the line itself, as it will give enough stretch alone, acting like a snubber. I would put a snubber on it if for some reason chafe was a concern. The snubber is a lot easier to replace than the anchor line. Good luck!
Hi Daren. I depends on the anchor. Some pull out and reset right away. Other designs take longer to reset, and may never set fully. The CQR anchor comes to mind in this later category. It's best to observe your boat during the tide shift and see how it performs. If it holds consistently, you are in luck. But regardless of how good your anchor is, I wouldn't rely on it, by for instance, leaving the boat during the tide shift. At a minimum, you'd want to back down hard with the engine to make sure it is set well in the new direction.
When we recorded this, we were in the mediterranean in areas with minimal tides so we barely had to think about them. However, we have sailed extensively in the waters off the coast of Maine where the tides can be 12 feet. Still potentially small for you, depending on where in the UK you sail! Most anchors reset when anything (ie the tide and/or current, wind direction changes) causes your boat to face a new direction and the force on the anchor and chain is sufficient enough to straighten it all of the way out in the new direction. When picking an anchor, one of the key factors is its ability to reset itself should conditions require that. Ideally, you wouldn't want to anchor such that you would need to manually reset the anchor on change of conditions but instead you would want to anticipate all potential condition changes and pick a spot and scope that accommodates that. Sometimes this is easier said than done.
Good explanation, though Mrs. LifeFourPointZero was more accurate with her scope calculation by including the distance from the water to the roller. It doesn't usually make a whole lot of difference and I usually just use the water depth too even though it is off a little from the textbook definition of scope. I wonder what percentage of sailors calibrate their depth sounder to read depth below keel versus actual total water depth? And is there any correlation with those who set current direction up versus north up on their chartplotter? Sunday musings....lol
Only if you don't have enough room to swing with the new wind direction. Preferably you should be picking a spot where you can safely swing in all directions so you need to worry about any wind shifts in the first place. Also, most anchors do fine resetting with a wind shift, but if you find yours dragging, it's time to look for a better anchor. CQR anchors are notorious for this issue.
Yes we go gradually up to between 1500-2000 rpms, to make sure it's going to hold in heavy weather. You want to be careful though, depending on the size of your engine, to not go too fast into high reverse, or too high rpms, as you can easily pull the anchor out of an otherwise fine set.
Thank you - we hope they are helpful to others! I think that yellow line was something my husband was using to test the length he needed a part for our code zero furling mechanism to be attached out on the bow sprit (I'll double check w/ him!). It doesn't have anything to do with anchoring, though, so we probably should have removed it for the video! Good catch.
When calculating the scope you should also take into consideration the height of the bow from the sea level. If the depth is 5m and the bow 1m then the calculation should be 4X6m.
A different colour per 10 meters of chain might be better than the same colour with one link painted = 10 metres. Then different coloured blobs in order of amount out next to windlass . I also swapped my CQR for a Rocna which sets better.
Thanks John! Yes we've seen some boats do multiple colors on their chain and I think that's a good idea. Glad to hear you've had more success with the Rocna. We are always extra cautious when someone anchors nearby us with a CQR!
You didn’t mention the necessity of raising the anchor ball, and remembering to switch on the anchor light overnight (and remembering to turn it off in the morning!).
Good video, covered lots, thank you. Like the point that you take the load off the chain by motoring up, rather than "winching" the boat against the total load, although I think I only saw that in your summary point list. I have some questions, in my head, that remain unsolved though. Firstly, I'm mostly single-handed and that is a huge complication. Not sure how to manage that one yet - but that's OK, this video isn't aimed in that direction. Secondly, though, you use hybrid rope/chain rode, which complicates things but you don't mention how to manage that part. I know it affects scope calculations, and I think I know how to adjust for that. But the "upping" and "downing" are changed too. Your windlass has a drum for rope and a gypsy for chain, as does mine. But I have no idea how to manage the transition from chain to rope. No idea if the rope even resides under a pile of wet chain, and rotting - or whether you clip it onto the chain when lowering and unclip it on the raising. With the rope rode alone, I could imagine how to use the winch drum - but I haven't seen that done either. Not criticising by any means. grateful that you publish videos like this at all. Just these parts remain fuzzy in my mind, and perhaps in others' minds as well. Perhaps, also, you're way ahead of me and intend to look at these things in later videos anyway.
Hi Ian: All good questions! First, if you are single handing a lot, you might look into a remote windlass control at the helm. This will allow you to raise and lower the anchor while at the helm, or at least get the process started while you are still maneuvering the boat. For an example of these, see the 1:58 time spot on our video “Boat Anchoring 101: Preparing Your Anchor Rode”. You are correct that we use a combination of chain and line. This is quite common with long distance cruisers, providing a longer rode without the excess weight of 100% chain. But it is a compromise. Most windlasses, even if they have a rope drum, are really setup for chain, with the hawse pipe (where it drops through to the anchor locker) located right below the chain gypsy. Once you’ve let out all of your chain, you have to be quick and agile to move the line over to the drum while the weight of the chain is trying to rip it out of your hand. Easy to lose a finger in the process! The reverse is a challenge too. As you get all of the line in, and the chain comes to the windlass, you have to keep pressure on while you careful lay the chain links into the gypsy, again being mindful that you’ve only been given 10 fingers from which to live out your life! With this in mind, we purchase enough chain so that 90% of our anchoring can be done with chain only, never reaching the line. We have 70 meters of chain, and we typically don’t anchor in water deeper than 10 meters, so that gives us a comfortable 7:1 scope. If a real bad storm hits, we’ve got another 65 meters of line to fall back on. The splice between the chain and the line is shown at the 12:47 time spot in the same ‘Anchor Rode’ video. There may be other parts of that video that may be of interest too. I hope that helps!
@@LifeFourPointZero Thanks for your response and so quickly too. Lots to think about here. Firstly, my reality is that my HR38 is equipped a she is and I can't easily re-engineer everything just for single-handed sailing. I must see how far I can go with what I have firsts. For example, even running all my lines back to the cockpit will require a new mast at least, plus engineering changes to the cockpit. I don't mind that, I accept things as they are, and I love her to bits. But it also means I have a windlass that uses a winch handle to slip the clutch to lower the anchor; big expense to totally change things. I also have 50M of good chain so I think I either have to stay shallower than 11M of water or look at hybrid rode. I also agree that the hawse feed tube is devilishly close to the gypsy which makes "catching" the start of the 3-strand too dangerous to consider. I don't want to scap 50m of chain and buy 80-90m to replace it, but that might be the only safe way to anchor in water deeper than 10m. Just thanks for you reply, you really confirmed what I was already thinking.
Hey what is the name of the teacher taking attendance on Ferris Bueller's Day Off? This guy reminds me of him. Also there is way to much of him in front of a camera.
Just one thing. You should have the chain tied off on a cleat when backing down at 2000 RPM or you may strip the gears in your windless. I did that and it cost me my windless.
Thanks for the suggestion Marc. In fact, we have started to do that on occasion, especially when we feel like the anchor is going to hold and we want to move on to enjoying the anchorage quicker! Fair winds.
Hi Edward. Not too long after making this video we switched to setting the anchor with the snubber on, and yes it works better. We had not done it before because of the possibility of having to reset the anchor if it dragged, and the time taken to remove the snubber and re-attach it each time. Fortunately it is pretty rare that our anchor drags while setting. Fair winds!
Wow look at that eelgrass destruction. Probably best video I've ever seen demonstrating how harmful anchoring on eelgrass is. Tough to watch as a boat owner. I'll be being very careful about that.
Yes, it is an unwanted side effect that we try to avoid. We do take great care when dropping our anchor to pick a spot where the impact will be as low as possible. Anchors don't set well in weeds either so picking a non-weedy spot has that benefit.
@@LifeFourPointZero I was talking to my friend who's an eelgrass researcher and she's hoping that eventually eel grass will be mapped out enough to bring in as a layer on navionics or similar, for endangered areas they're producing the data anyway to keep track of the destruction.
@@forrestallison1879 Oh - that would be amazing, hah? I know we always grab moorings at places that are trying to protect the sea grasses. Thanks for your concern ... this is a very important issue when sailing in the Mediterranean or Caribbean and other high-traffic anchoring areas.
Great video. But, if the point of the snubber is to take of load from the winch, why do you not fasten the snubber before your hard reverse? Most of the time you are anchored this will be the hardest load on the winch. And if you do this process repeatedly this will add to the total stress for the winch. Your snubber seems way too short to be maximal effective. I would also suggest to use the reverse when laying out chain and not drop a pile of chain on top of the anchor. If you only use the wind in windy conditions and in a busy anchorage the boat will fall off quickly and you will not have control. It sure is a lot of ways to doo this 😁.
Sothis sailing thanks for the comment! We used to put the snubber on before the hard reverse and we will give it some more thought. The main reason we don’t is because you can not feel the light skips along the sea floor with the snubber on - there is too much stretch in the line. We realize there is significant pull but we ease into it so hopefully very little jerking. Also, you are correct about backing down slowly as anchor is paid out. We often let the anchor hit the seabed while we have very little way on so we can guide the hopeful dig-in spot free of grasses.
LifeFourPointZero Hey LFPZ, its absolutely something to try. You could put your 🦶 on the snubber while backing to get a feel for what is happening below, and you can observe the stretch in the snubber to confirm that the anchor is set. Fair 💨.
Most electric windlasses are not strong enough to stand the force of backing down on them. At least for the long term. If you have ever had to rebuild one (I have) you will see that the bearings in them are just not adequate for this kind of pressure. To avoid this, you must have a chain stopper between the windlass and the anchor rode or use a snubber each time you back down. Backing down on a windlass or failing to use a snubber to take the load off the windlass bearings is the death of most recreational windlasses. Don't ask how I learned this. Otherwise your instructions make a lot of sense.
Thanks for the comment - you are absolutely correct and we have added this step to our process. We put a snubber on after we put out our desired length of rode then we power up slowly in reverse to set the anchor and test the set.
Well done, this is the best instructional video about anchoring on RUclips.
Thanks erents1, glad it was helpful!
Thank you from Hawaii. Great video
Aloha wnhuynhhi! Glad you enjoyed it!
the best presentation til now. Thank guys. All best
Thanks DP!
One of the best anchoring videos I have ever seen.
Thank you very much! We now use a soft shackle instead of a rolling hitch for our snubber. It is working great ... we've been using it for a couple weeks so far.
thanks so much for taking the time to share your knowledge! wishing you fair winds and following seas
You're welcome Bruce, glad you liked it!
Well done. Very well organized and presented. I really enjoy your how-to sailing videos.
Thank you so much! We have had years of 'learning' experiences - some good, some a bit frightening so we really enjoy sharing what we've learned along the way.
Best anchoring video on RUclips, great great great job.
Thank you so much - glad you liked it.
Excellent tutorial videos. Great job Captain.👍🏼🙏🏼
@@rickymarquez2468 thanks so much!
What a great video! I'm in the process of repairing and upgrading my Maxwell VCW1200 after too many years of neglect (me plus the prior owner). Given the many docking locations in San Francisco Bay, our up to 9 kt tidal currents and 35+ kt winds, I've always been leery of using the anchor with my 15,000 lb Nonsuch 354. Your video has given me the confidence to venture forth and anchor off the many nooks and crannies of our beautiful Bay and Deltas to allow the Cap'n a nice rest and cocktail along with the passengers!
Glad you got something out of it Michael. I spent several years saying in the SF Bay... great location!
Watched both of your anchoring videos this evening. Very informative and helpful 👍 👏 👌. Well done 👏✔
Glad you like them!
Best video I've ever seen on anchoring, thank you
Thanks so much! We've given anchoring a lot of thought over the years and we know it is one thing that is a hurdle for people new to boating so we wanted to cover a bunch of the issues and questions people have as they attempt anchoring in various conditions.
Probably the best series of anchoring videos I've come across. Thank you!
Thank you very much for the feedback, glad you liked it!
Watched this again while surfing today's best anchors.
What's annoying is I had to subscribe again.
I didn't unsubscribe.
@@lubberwalker interesting … RUclips is often a mystery! Thanks for both subscriptions!! 😜
Excellent video. We learned quite a bit even though we’re fairly experienced.
Great, glad you enjoyed it!
Excelente video lots of great information thank you. I stared watching sailing videos and don’t even own one yet😂. But some day.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video, thanks for spending so much time and all the different ways of showing and explaining the steps. I'm sure it took a lot of time to do, happy sailing.
Thanks Matt! Yes indeed it does take a considerable amount of time, but it is also enjoyable and we learn a lot through the process. Appreciate the feedback. Fair winds!
Really good information 👍
Thanks Dan!
Thank you for posting this---very informative and helpful!!
You are very welcome Rick!
Excellent video. Thank you.
You are welcome!
"You are both talented communicators"
Thank You, I am presently in a large learning curve!
Captain Carpman
Thanks Captain Carpman!
A trick: watch series on Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using them for watching lots of of movies recently.
@Elliott Mack definitely, I have been using Flixzone} for months myself :D
👍⭐️Wow!! This was absolutely fantastic! Very helpful. Thank you thank you thank you. 🙏🤗💝🤗
You are very welcome, glad you liked it!
Thank you, very thorough!
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent instruction!!! Thank you. Is it ok to put some sort of float or buoy directly above your anchor so that someone doesn't park on top of your anchor? Or is it just accepted that you push a boat out of the way like you guys did in the video?
Hi Rich. Yes you can use an anchor buoy to mark the anchor’s position. We have a new video coming out soon on anchor buoy usage, and also more details on snubbers. A buoy can help, but they can also be snagged by other boaters particularly in a busy anchorage so you just have to be mindful of the best times to use them.
Nice presentations!
Thank you!
Great tutorial vídeo!!! Congrats!
Thanks so much - glad you liked it!
If you want to avoid putting a strain on your bow roller, connect the snubber directly from your bow cleats in a bridle configuration to the chain below the roller or bow sprit, so the snubber is not going over the roller.
Good suggestion Scott. I think playing around the dimensions of the bridle would be key. Our bow cleats are positioned in such a way on the toe rail that you'd want the bridle to have a decent length to it, to avoid chafing against the toe rail. But I can see how it would be worth comparing to possible chafe on a bow roller.
Great video! Super informative and easy to understand. Thank you!!
You are welcome!
Great video, and good explanations. A snubber that short will take load off the windlass OK, but there's another good reason for it, and that's to reduce snatch loads on the anchor. To get that, you need far more length, about the length of the boat. An easy way is to run the snubber rope (must be nylon for elasticity) right back to the cockpit and make off on a cleat or winch. Nylon rope can stretch 20-40% of its length. On my 10m boat I get 1m of extension on my snubber in F4 wind, more in greater winds.
Thanks Geoff. I didn't cover it in the video at the time, but we use the short snubber as an everyday, mild weather snubber, just to take the load off the windlass. Recently, when we anticipate high winds or waves, we use a 10m long snubber, which as you have pointed out, provides a lot of stretch. We run it off the bow, as we don't have a clean lead to the cockpit without introducing the possibility of chafing, but I like your idea. Happy cruising!
Thanks for making this video.
I missed detailed info on how the individual lines are connected and controlled, eg tack line, guy and is the mouth of the pole at the clew facing up or down?
Hi Ralph. I believe you are referring to one of our whisker pole videos, not this anchor video. We don't use a tack line as the headsails we use with the whisker pole are tacked to the bow. For the guy, I included that in several sections, as a foreguy, to hold the pole down and slightly forward. On the direction of the jaws at the end of the pole, people rig this both ways. We tend to like the jaws facing upward as that releases the sheet/foreguy at little easier. Good luck!
Excellent video. thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you, great videos
You are welcome!
Hi
I just found you😊
It was great to watch, very nicely presented, it was full of very useful information.
Could you please tell me how much chain do you drop before you start reversing and the thinking behind it if you can please.
Thanks for your comment. We have additional videos covering all aspects of anchoring, including how much chain to put out. There are several videos called anchoring 101 in our how-to video playlist. Watch those and let us know if this answers your question.
Just checked and the playlist is called Boat Anchoring 101.
Very helpful thank you
You’re welcome!
Very good video. Is it normal to be that close to another boat when raising the anchor?
Yes - quite normal. Boats swing around with both wind and currents and if your anchor is under someone’s boat, their anchor is likely way in front of them, depending on how deep the water is (and, therefore how much rode was put out)
Very informative, TYVM!
You're very welcome, glad you enjoyed it!
If I am not using a windlass and I have a rope and chain anchor combo, how does one pull the anchor up once tight and the boat is directly over top? Can one yank it up or can I move the boat fwd to pull it out? Love this vid. It was very helpful. Im new to boating so my situation is a bit more specific.
Hi Michael. Yes, you can pull up as much chain/line as you can, until you are right over the anchor, and then carefully drive the boat forward, and that might release the anchor from the bottom. From there, you can pull up the remaining chain and anchor. Granted, it is hard work. Windlasses are cheaper and more reliable now adays; you might think about investing in one as it will make life a lot easier down the road.
Fantastic video.👏
Many thanks for sharing.
All the best,
Paul.
You're very welcome Paul, glad to have you on board.
Nicely done. I learned a lot.
Thanks, appreciate it Lew!
Great video, but I have one question. Wouldn't it be better to let the anchor chain out slowly while backing away so the chain doesn't pile up on the bottom?
Thanks Dale. Yes ideally this would be the best approach. For us, sometimes when you find the right spot to anchor, you still have forward momentum when you start lowering the anchor and chain so it's hard to avoid some amount of pile up. Good luck!
thank you!
You're welcome!
I don't gush... But that was excellent.
My additional thought on tidal rode. If you anchor at high tide watch out for the proximity of others as everyone's swinging circles get bigger as the tide falls. It works out fore and aft, but sometimes not when the wind and stream shift.
Good point, RB, especially in areas with high tidal range.
Enjoyed the video. Well Done. How do you connect the snupper if all the chain is out and you have rope anchor line?
Good question. You can still tie the snubber to the line, using a rolling hitch. But we generally just cleat off the line itself, as it will give enough stretch alone, acting like a snubber. I would put a snubber on it if for some reason chafe was a concern. The snubber is a lot easier to replace than the anchor line. Good luck!
Brilliant
Hi I’m new to anchoring ... what happens when the tide turns (UK Waters) do you reset or do they naturally reset
Daz
Hi Daren. I depends on the anchor. Some pull out and reset right away. Other designs take longer to reset, and may never set fully. The CQR anchor comes to mind in this later category. It's best to observe your boat during the tide shift and see how it performs. If it holds consistently, you are in luck. But regardless of how good your anchor is, I wouldn't rely on it, by for instance, leaving the boat during the tide shift. At a minimum, you'd want to back down hard with the engine to make sure it is set well in the new direction.
When we recorded this, we were in the mediterranean in areas with minimal tides so we barely had to think about them. However, we have sailed extensively in the waters off the coast of Maine where the tides can be 12 feet. Still potentially small for you, depending on where in the UK you sail! Most anchors reset when anything (ie the tide and/or current, wind direction changes) causes your boat to face a new direction and the force on the anchor and chain is sufficient enough to straighten it all of the way out in the new direction. When picking an anchor, one of the key factors is its ability to reset itself should conditions require that. Ideally, you wouldn't want to anchor such that you would need to manually reset the anchor on change of conditions but instead you would want to anticipate all potential condition changes and pick a spot and scope that accommodates that. Sometimes this is easier said than done.
Good explanation, though Mrs. LifeFourPointZero was more accurate with her scope calculation by including the distance from the water to the roller. It doesn't usually make a whole lot of difference and I usually just use the water depth too even though it is off a little from the textbook definition of scope.
I wonder what percentage of sailors calibrate their depth sounder to read depth below keel versus actual total water depth? And is there any correlation with those who set current direction up versus north up on their chartplotter? Sunday musings....lol
Usually Mrs. LifeFourPointZero is the more accurate of the two of us...keep the musings coming!
I, for one, often forget to add the keel let alone topside.
Great video, thank you. Would you recommend re-anchoring if winds change direction significantly?
Only if you don't have enough room to swing with the new wind direction. Preferably you should be picking a spot where you can safely swing in all directions so you need to worry about any wind shifts in the first place. Also, most anchors do fine resetting with a wind shift, but if you find yours dragging, it's time to look for a better anchor. CQR anchors are notorious for this issue.
@@LifeFourPointZero thanks!
excellent
Thanks
Are you revving up going in reverse?
Yes we go gradually up to between 1500-2000 rpms, to make sure it's going to hold in heavy weather. You want to be careful though, depending on the size of your engine, to not go too fast into high reverse, or too high rpms, as you can easily pull the anchor out of an otherwise fine set.
Love your videos well done, what is the yellow rope used for?
Thank you - we hope they are helpful to others! I think that yellow line was something my husband was using to test the length he needed a part for our code zero furling mechanism to be attached out on the bow sprit (I'll double check w/ him!). It doesn't have anything to do with anchoring, though, so we probably should have removed it for the video! Good catch.
thank you
You're welcome Antonio!
When calculating the scope you should also take into consideration the height of the bow from the sea level. If the depth is 5m and the bow 1m then the calculation should be 4X6m.
Hi Mike, an important reminder, thanks for bringing it up!
A different colour per 10 meters of chain might be better than the same colour with one link painted = 10 metres. Then different coloured blobs in order of amount out next to windlass . I also swapped my CQR for a Rocna which sets better.
Thanks John! Yes we've seen some boats do multiple colors on their chain and I think that's a good idea. Glad to hear you've had more success with the Rocna. We are always extra cautious when someone anchors nearby us with a CQR!
Looks like an outline at 16:41:1
You didn’t mention the necessity of raising the anchor ball, and remembering to switch on the anchor light overnight (and remembering to turn it off in the morning!).
Good catch, Genevieve. There are likely other details that could have been mentioned and certainly appreciate your augmentation.
Good video, covered lots, thank you. Like the point that you take the load off the chain by motoring up, rather than "winching" the boat against the total load, although I think I only saw that in your summary point list. I have some questions, in my head, that remain unsolved though.
Firstly, I'm mostly single-handed and that is a huge complication. Not sure how to manage that one yet - but that's OK, this video isn't aimed in that direction.
Secondly, though, you use hybrid rope/chain rode, which complicates things but you don't mention how to manage that part. I know it affects scope calculations, and I think I know how to adjust for that. But the "upping" and "downing" are changed too. Your windlass has a drum for rope and a gypsy for chain, as does mine. But I have no idea how to manage the transition from chain to rope. No idea if the rope even resides under a pile of wet chain, and rotting - or whether you clip it onto the chain when lowering and unclip it on the raising. With the rope rode alone, I could imagine how to use the winch drum - but I haven't seen that done either.
Not criticising by any means. grateful that you publish videos like this at all. Just these parts remain fuzzy in my mind, and perhaps in others' minds as well. Perhaps, also, you're way ahead of me and intend to look at these things in later videos anyway.
Hi Ian: All good questions! First, if you are single handing a lot, you might look into a remote windlass control at the helm. This will allow you to raise and lower the anchor while at the helm, or at least get the process started while you are still maneuvering the boat. For an example of these, see the 1:58 time spot on our video “Boat Anchoring 101: Preparing Your Anchor Rode”.
You are correct that we use a combination of chain and line. This is quite common with long distance cruisers, providing a longer rode without the excess weight of 100% chain. But it is a compromise. Most windlasses, even if they have a rope drum, are really setup for chain, with the hawse pipe (where it drops through to the anchor locker) located right below the chain gypsy. Once you’ve let out all of your chain, you have to be quick and agile to move the line over to the drum while the weight of the chain is trying to rip it out of your hand. Easy to lose a finger in the process! The reverse is a challenge too. As you get all of the line in, and the chain comes to the windlass, you have to keep pressure on while you careful lay the chain links into the gypsy, again being mindful that you’ve only been given 10 fingers from which to live out your life! With this in mind, we purchase enough chain so that 90% of our anchoring can be done with chain only, never reaching the line. We have 70 meters of chain, and we typically don’t anchor in water deeper than 10 meters, so that gives us a comfortable 7:1 scope. If a real bad storm hits, we’ve got another 65 meters of line to fall back on.
The splice between the chain and the line is shown at the 12:47 time spot in the same ‘Anchor Rode’ video. There may be other parts of that video that may be of interest too. I hope that helps!
@@LifeFourPointZero Thanks for your response and so quickly too. Lots to think about here. Firstly, my reality is that my HR38 is equipped a she is and I can't easily re-engineer everything just for single-handed sailing. I must see how far I can go with what I have firsts. For example, even running all my lines back to the cockpit will require a new mast at least, plus engineering changes to the cockpit. I don't mind that, I accept things as they are, and I love her to bits. But it also means I have a windlass that uses a winch handle to slip the clutch to lower the anchor; big expense to totally change things. I also have 50M of good chain so I think I either have to stay shallower than 11M of water or look at hybrid rode. I also agree that the hawse feed tube is devilishly close to the gypsy which makes "catching" the start of the 3-strand too dangerous to consider. I don't want to scap 50m of chain and buy 80-90m to replace it, but that might be the only safe way to anchor in water deeper than 10m. Just thanks for you reply, you really confirmed what I was already thinking.
Hey what is the name of the teacher taking attendance on Ferris Bueller's Day Off? This guy reminds me of him. Also there is way to much of him in front of a camera.
Great video thanks, whats 2000rpm for you 1/4, 1/2 power??? That would have my screaming Jimmy live up to it's name! LOL
ruclips.net/user/shorts2bSRYM_QtIs?feature=share
Thanks, yes 2000rpm is about 2/3power. I think our engine tops out at 3500.
Just one thing. You should have the chain tied off on a cleat when backing down at 2000 RPM or you may strip the gears in your windless. I did that and it cost me my windless.
Thanks for the suggestion Marc. In fact, we have started to do that on occasion, especially when we feel like the anchor is going to hold and we want to move on to enjoying the anchorage quicker! Fair winds.
'why not set the anchor with the snubber attached so anchor winch isn't taking strain at 2000rpm
Hi Edward. Not too long after making this video we switched to setting the anchor with the snubber on, and yes it works better. We had not done it before because of the possibility of having to reset the anchor if it dragged, and the time taken to remove the snubber and re-attach it each time. Fortunately it is pretty rare that our anchor drags while setting. Fair winds!
Wow look at that eelgrass destruction. Probably best video I've ever seen demonstrating how harmful anchoring on eelgrass is.
Tough to watch as a boat owner. I'll be being very careful about that.
Yes, it is an unwanted side effect that we try to avoid. We do take great care when dropping our anchor to pick a spot where the impact will be as low as possible. Anchors don't set well in weeds either so picking a non-weedy spot has that benefit.
@@LifeFourPointZero I was talking to my friend who's an eelgrass researcher and she's hoping that eventually eel grass will be mapped out enough to bring in as a layer on navionics or similar, for endangered areas they're producing the data anyway to keep track of the destruction.
@@forrestallison1879 Oh - that would be amazing, hah? I know we always grab moorings at places that are trying to protect the sea grasses. Thanks for your concern ... this is a very important issue when sailing in the Mediterranean or Caribbean and other high-traffic anchoring areas.
Great video. But, if the point of the snubber is to take of load from the winch, why do you not fasten the snubber before your hard reverse? Most of the time you are anchored this will be the hardest load on the winch. And if you do this process repeatedly this will add to the total stress for the winch. Your snubber seems way too short to be maximal effective. I would also suggest to use the reverse when laying out chain and not drop a pile of chain on top of the anchor. If you only use the wind in windy conditions and in a busy anchorage the boat will fall off quickly and you will not have control. It sure is a lot of ways to doo this 😁.
Sothis sailing thanks for the comment! We used to put the snubber on before the hard reverse and we will give it some more thought. The main reason we don’t is because you can not feel the light skips along the sea floor with the snubber on - there is too much stretch in the line. We realize there is significant pull but we ease into it so hopefully very little jerking. Also, you are correct about backing down slowly as anchor is paid out. We often let the anchor hit the seabed while we have very little way on so we can guide the hopeful dig-in spot free of grasses.
LifeFourPointZero Hey LFPZ, its absolutely something to try. You could put your 🦶 on the snubber while backing to get a feel for what is happening below, and you can observe the stretch in the snubber to confirm that the anchor is set. Fair 💨.
@@Barbaria_Sailing Thanks we'll give it a try!
New sail boat owner learning the hard way . Some captaina don't listen then blame the universe .
Most electric windlasses are not strong enough to stand the force of backing down on them. At least for the long term. If you have ever had to rebuild one (I have) you will see that the bearings in them are just not adequate for this kind of pressure. To avoid this, you must have a chain stopper between the windlass and the anchor rode or use a snubber each time you back down. Backing down on a windlass or failing to use a snubber to take the load off the windlass bearings is the death of most recreational windlasses. Don't ask how I learned this. Otherwise your instructions make a lot of sense.
Thanks for the comment - you are absolutely correct and we have added this step to our process. We put a snubber on after we put out our desired length of rode then we power up slowly in reverse to set the anchor and test the set.
Dalm
Excellent video. Thank you.
Thanks again!
Great video. Thank you.
Glad you liked it Philip!