Random thoughts and rants on boat design, boat building, and other boat bits for those in the 99%...
Bernie makes a point, why you might want to rethink the six-foot/fifteen minute rule, and in the "Since it's Groundhog Day" department...
Steve of SV Panope (AKA That anchor test guy) has an interesting mod for those with Mantus anchors that you might want to check out.
Listening to a playlist for our times
So it goes...
Something from the "Just plain stupid or is it a Death cult" files, EBM making an excellent point, and an American heroine in Portland...
So, new cases of Corvid 19 keep popping up down here in most southern tRumpistan with the ever-present knowledge that peak "H" season is going to get going any day now.
Yeah, you might color me somewhat nervous these days. This means that a whole lot of my thought process gets sidetracked by my pondering what I need to do now to prepare for a storm, where we're going to go when it's coming, and how to prepare for the aftermath of a storm if/when we get hit.
Having been through this sort of thing before you'd think that it would actually be easy but the added factor of being in the middle of a worldwide pandemic is something of a wild card I'd prefer not to be a part of the mix.
For instance, there are a lot more cruising boats here in Southern tRumpistan than usual due to the virus. It's just about the only place an American flagged boat is welcome in the Caribbean. The problem is that hurricane holes are too few for the normal population of the islands plus, I expect, that for a lot of the newbies here for the duration don't have much in their how-to-prepare-for-a-real-storm skill set. Those things combined could make things get real ugly real fast.
The fact is, a real storm, even if you're prepared and knowing what to do, is still a very dangerous enterprise as the tons of well-anchored and prepared boats stacked up like so much cordwood in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria attest to.
This also has me stocking up for an extra couple of months of provisions and fuel because it's not just the storm but the aftermath we have to worry about and given the current situation we'd be stupid to expect any help from the powers that be stateside this time around judging from their piss poor and less than proactive response to the virus.
Like I said, got a lot to think about.
Listening to a few Bananarama covers
So it goes...
Some thoughts on Bob Dylan/Jimmy Buffet, a King George moment, and some depressing predictions...
I've been thinking of anchors, chain, and rodes for the last couple of days. It's "H" season and all so not exactly surprising.
Apparently, the Lewmar "we copy anchors" folks have a new cost attractive anchor called the PGX that looks like it's a copy of the Danforth HT.
Selling what should be ours, somewhat worrisome, and in the "tRump couldn't organize a pissup in a brewery" department...
This is actually a pretty good idea for your dinghy.
I notice Duckworks is selling the Anchor Buddy for not-a-lot of money.
Listening to Third World
So it goes...
A somewhat troubling read, doing a good thing, and some photos from the NASA Juno probe...
Apparently some folks require rules.
For some odd reason, every once in awhile, folks write me and ask for a rule because, apparently, some misguided readers think that where boats are concerned...
A new low in incarceration for profit hijinks, flat earthers, and in the "moral stain that America should be desperately trying to make right" department...
This Snubber Pendant from Mantus is really a pretty good idea.
Seriously what's not to like? It's handy, simple, and way better than a chain hook.
That said, a couple of things do come to mind...
First there's the shackle which is sorta/kinda nervous making and by its very nature becomes the weak link in the mix. I've seen countless stainless shackle failures over the years and putting my trust in a 6mm shackle really does not make me happy.
Second is the price. Face it, we're talking not a lot of material (some dyneema, a bit of anti-chafe cover, a kiss of shrink-to-fit tubing and a shackle) with a couple of easy eye splices so, with a retail of $55-$103, it might put some people off. Especially if they can splice and already have a bag of dyneema short ends leftover from various rigging jobs/projects because reverse engineering this particularly simple good idea is child's play.
Of course, you already knew that.
Listening to a variety of Hey Joe covers
So it goes...
Something that smells to high heaven, a bit of an understatement, and a glimmer of hope...
Just a quick note to answer the hot question in my mailbag. I had four anchors out for Maria, a Brittany 15KG (with 35 feet of chain + rode), Brittany 20KG (with 100 feet of chain + rode), a Mantus 45 pounder ( with 120 feet of chain + rode), and a Northill stainless folding aviation anchor (with 15 feet of chain +rode).
All held.
None dragged.
I'll have some more thoughts on the subject later.
Listening to some cool stuff to get in that Halloween groove
So it goes...
Some interesting reading, how 25% is a very scary number, and in the "Nope, global warming is not a real thing" department...
So, we're now in the peak of "H" season and I'd be lying if the idea of buying another anchor has not crossed my mind from time to time.
Of course, the big question is what anchor? On the other hand, do I really want to subject myself to the hypemeisters or anchor fanboys who have been telling me for years that my anchor quiver is akin to running with a chainsaw and it's only dumb luck I'm not sitting on a beach, a reef, or worse. That said, I really should add that in spite of this I have somehow managed to sit out more tropical storms and hurricanes than I can keep track of. The only time I did have issues was in Hurricane Omar when a French boat dragged over my anchor chain, snagged it, winched his anchor (a Rocna) in with mine attached, then unceremoniously dumped my anchor and chain back in as a fouled mess. Hardly surprising that it did not reset. This may partly account for my knee jerk reaction when the word Rocna gets mentioned...
For those who don't keep track of such things, my current anchor quiver consists of a 20KG Brittany, a 15KG Brittany, a 15KG folding fisherman, and a Northill stainless folding aviation anchor. For storms that have names, I use the 20KG Brittany in tandem with the folding fisherman with a fifteen foot length of chain between the two as my main anchor and deploy the other two at 120 degrees as well because they aren't doing me any good sitting on my deck now are they?
Which brings me back to the idea of adding another anchor (or anchors) to the mix which, I suspect, I may bore you with in the next couple of installments.
Listening to Tahoma
So it goes...
Some seriously scary shit, Deepwater Horizon the gift that just keeps on giving, and since we were speaking of oil spills...
I need some new chain as our 5/16" high test is getting way past its sell by date. There, I've said it and I'd be lying if I told you I had not been avoiding the subject of new chain for "So It Goes" because it is an expense I never relish thinking about much less going to a purveyor of chain and forking out an obscene amount of money for a 150-foot length of the stuff.
So, Friday we trundled over to the local purveyor of chain to get a quote for 8mm or 5/16" BBB chain (both fit my gypsy). They did not have any 8mm but did have 5/16" BBB for $6.50 a foot... Doing the math that comes to the hellacious amount of $975.
Ouch!
Of course, the chain size I'd prefer is 8mm which costs in the neighborhood of $3 a foot and the total on that, while still pain-inducing, is a whole lot better than $975 and all I have to do to get it is sail to a different island...
I can live with that.
The thing is, 8mm and 5/16" BBB are nearly identical in strength/weight/size and 8mm fits most 5/16" BBB gypsies finest kind. Fact of the matter is, 8mm and other metric chains are calibrated for use in gypsies as the norm so it's pretty much perfect for use on a boat and, if you factor in the fact that it's generally less than half the cost of BBB chain, choosing it is something of a slam dunk.
A quick side note on the high test chain we're replacing is that while stronger than standard chain, it has about half to two-thirds the life cycle. The added strength of high test is at the cost of using an alloy more susceptible to corrosion. Something you might want to factor in next time you're buying chain.
Listening to Valley Queen
So it goes...
L,G,&M asks a couple of questions, in the “It’s all about the experience, and less about the fluff,” department, and the phrase "harrowing future" sorta/kinda makes me nervous...
OK, so here's a question I find myself asking just about every week...
A couple good points, something to keep in mind, and about those makers and takers...
Pretty much everything on my boat works. Now, I mention this because people keep writing in asking my opinion on products because they want to find the better or best stuff. The problem is that I don't think better or best actually works around sailboats. I'm more a whether stuff works or doesn't work kind of guy.
Anchors are a good example... I have four anchors aboard "So It Goes" two Brittany anchors (20KG & 15KG) and a couple of fisherman folding stock sort. I use them because they work and can't actually see how they can work "better" because they do everything an anchor is supposed to do and if they did not I wouldn't be using them.
Fact is, I can't actually see how another anchor could be better unless maybe it made water, washed the dishes, did laundry, or took out the trash when needful and I expect I'd be the first guy in line to buy a new Spade/Manson/Rocna when they have such features... But, until they do, I'll keep using what has worked and continues to work for us without issues.
Actually, the whole better, best, and bestest thing has very little to do with being better but it's just a simple tool of folks trying to sell you stuff. Not unlike the fact that all of the cat food we buy Willow and Buffy seems to come with a "Now with new better flavor" or somesuch variant emblazoned on the package and judging from our rather gourmand cats reaction to such things...
 |
| "Dude, it's just the same old same..." |
Well, at least he didn't say preferred, this is really good, and, I expect, this is going to be something of a game changer...
Want to know something?
I really like the anchors on "So It Goes"...
I like them because they always seem to work. Of course, they're not trendy, hip, or super-expensive but they fill me with a certain warm fuzzy feeling because I can sleep nights when all hell is breaking loose knowing my anchors won't.
The thing is, an old 35-pound fisherman, a Northill stainless folder (designed for seaplanes), and a couple of Brittany anchors (33 & 44 pounds) cover just about anything we've ever been in or plan to... Including the odd worst nightmare scenario.
Though, to be honest, I've been giving a lot of thought to buying another anchor to add to the quiver of ground tackle aboard "So It Goes" as I keep noting that the much underrated and oft-slandered Lewmar Claws (a Bruce clone) are being sold so cheaply of late, that adding another 44-pound anchor "just in case" is making a lot of sense...
A quick note about how things compare, why you might want to avoid the sunshine state, and here I thought we had a problem with Lion Fish...
I don't know why I continue to be surprised when someone comes into an anchorage and drops their anchor without any apparent thought to where other folk's anchors might be or the consequences of such an act.
For those who don't quite get the problem, take a look at this picture taken aboard Mandolin (a sister ship to our CAL 34 "So It Goes") and note the location of the anchor...
Why you might want to think twice before eating that shrimp cocktail, Bob Perry talks rudder, and, apparently, Hart over at "his vorpal sword" wants the same thing I do for Christmas...
Truth be told, I'm not very good at anchoring in tight places because 99.9% of the time there is simply no need to. On those rare occasions when I do, the operative word is C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y.
As I have mentioned before, if a boat has any kind of decent scope out the chances are that they are pivoting on their chain rather than their anchor and that makes it very difficult to ascertain exactly where someone's anchor happens to be...
For instance, yesterday in the anchorage we were all pointing in very different directions as it was a current/swell/wind nightmare. Later as the swell died down and all the boats were pointing (more or less) into the wind I realized that for a boat just coming in to the anchorage it was the anchorage from hell but did not look like it was. Our anchor was about thirty feet behind us while the boat behind us was sitting dead on top of theirs and for the rest the only thing I could say for sure was nobody's anchor was anywhere near where you'd expect them to be.
Which is why that inviting hole in the midst of a bunch of boats can be anything but inviting.
So, the prudent and simple thing to do is to anchor at the back of the pack... Fact is, we never ever anchor in front of boats and, as many years as we have been doing this, we have never found ourselves in a situation where we could not anchor aft of the pack.
On the other hand, most times when we come into an anchorage where lots of boats are sardined in a section we'll find there is plenty of room because the "anchorage" is often much larger than the area actually being used by boats and we do ourselves a disservice when we assume otherwise simply because boats are bumper to bumper in a particular corner.
Listening to Dirty Heads
So it goes...
Tell me again why idiots are driving the bus, some interesting notes on weather, and a rising tide is no bad thing...
I noticed the other day that "Claw" anchors seem to be out there for seriously cheap money these days...
The "Claw" anchor, as you all know, is a much maligned anchor and happens to be a dead on copy of the "Bruce"... The Bruce is also a much maligned anchor but used to be the Next-Gen flavor of the month and was considered by most to be the best anchor around for a couple of decades or so.
For those who need visual aids the Bruce looked like this...
How to win young hearts and minds the NYPD way, TechDirt makes a comment of import, and Kunstler makes an excellent point on what Obama's job should be (the money quote is "His job was to lead an epochal re-set of the economy to a very different disposition of things, smaller, finer, more local.")...
My mention yesterday that I thought that electric windlasses were a bad idea apparently shocked a couple of people but I'll stand by my feelings that if your ground tackle is too big/heavy for you to deal with using a manual windlass, it's just your body saying you should be looking for a smaller boat (or maybe some exercise with a personal trainer).
Brian Toss has an excellent little article on the subject of lazy jacks over at Three Sheets Northwest and he touches on the whole electric winch thing...
"An increasingly common consequence of people failing to do this is that they come to rely more and more on electrics and hydraulics, and then find themselves unable to make things work when the machinery fails. Machinery also tends to isolate us from events, so that we can become both less appreciative of the beautiful things that are happening and similarly, less likely to notice when things are going wrong. In the latter connection, I could just about fill a book with (often horrific) stories about interesting side effects of electric winch use."One of the reasons I like a manual windlass is the fact that when I am using it the chain tells me stuff... Chain talks to you and it vibrates a certain way when the anchor has set, vibrates in a different way when it does not, and tells you what sort of bottom you're in but all of that is lost when you have a motor in the mix.
Lab rats with empathy (I wonder how Wall Street brokers/bankers would fare in this experiment?), this is interesting, and L,G,&M pretty much sum it all up...
So, you've come into an anchorage, found a place as far as humanly possible from others, and you are saying to yourself "How would "So It Goes" drop their anchor?
Well, to that question the operative word would be slow!
For a start, since we don't have a powered windlass (a really bad invention in my point of view), doing things slowly is no bad thing. Our usual method of dropping the hook is to come to a complete stop then let out just enough rode so the anchor hits bottom and as the boat drifts back we let out chain s-l-o-w-l-y... The idea is to avoid piles or clumps of chain on the bottom and let the force of the boat and its windage slowly dig in the anchor and lay out your chain on the bottom...
The main reason I do it this way is simply because after watching many anchors dig in (or not, in a lot of cases) underwater, I've noticed that they tend to dig in and set a lot better when pulled very slowly on the bottom and that the faster an anchor is pulled the harder it is to set.
The other reason I do it slowly is slow equals less sweat and I'm a sorta/kinda lazy guy. I should also point out it is quite pleasant to sit at the bow and let a few feet of chain out every once in awhile while getting a feel for the new anchorage and its denizens.
Now, astute readers may have noticed that I'm not actually using a motor as part of the process and they would be right.
Once I've got about a 4/1 scope out it's time to make a pot of coffee... The anchor will continue to dig in and the time spent making coffee, and then sitting in the cockpit drinking coffee allows the anchor to do its thing and for me to relax...
When the coffee is finished and providing my little coffee and biscuits session has not been interrupted by the scenery changing more than I'm comfortable with, I amble back to the bow and let out a bit more chain so I have about a 6/1 scope.
The next step is to jump overboard and take a look at the anchor... What I expect to find is the anchor chain laid out at a mostly straight line to the anchor which will be oriented the correct direction and will be set... That seems to be the case 95% of the time. The other 5% I may find that the anchor is sitting on something I'd prefer it not to or that the anchor may in fact be not oriented in the proper direction. For those rare occurrences I simply manhandle the anchor by hand because I'm too lazy to do it with the boat/manual windlass.
Back on the boat, if happy with the anchor, I then continue to let out rode till I have out enough that I will sleep secure knowing I'm not going to go walkabout at 3AM... Right now I'm sitting on a 10/1 scope which is certainly more than needful but it does let me sleep without worry and what's the point of having all that chain in the locker if you're not letting it earn its keep?
My mantra for anchoring is "Too much is just enough" and it always seems to work for me.
Next Monday more about anchoring where room is in short supply....
Listening to Dobie Gray (sadly no longer with us)
So it goes...
Where words matter, an apocalypse of a different sort, and someone making some sense...
I actually put a lot of effort into avoiding talking about anchors and anchoring... Face it, it's not really a sexy subject, folks have seriously crazy deep seated opinions on anchor stuff, and discussions can get heated enough to inspire mild mannered owners of Bendytoys to go all Berserker on your ass (something of a nautical tradition as it happens).
Most of my education involving anchors and anchoring has really been from the fact that I spend a lot of time underwater diving various anchorages and seeing how anchors behave where fluke meets the bottom which can be very instructive and I highly recommend you do it as well, if for no other reason to see up close and personal how real world anchoring seldom looks anything like the hype folks who make anchors throw around.
So, I won't go into actual anchors but simply the methodology of putting your anchor down with the best chance of avoiding those embarrassing inadvertent changes of scenery of the dragging kind...
When coming into an anchorage my first thoughts are simply to put my boat and its anchor as far away as possible from every other boat. I'll be the first to admit that part of this is simply because I'm not a real sociable fellow but the main reasons are it gives me the ability to put out more scope and not have to worry about having to worry about going bump in the night, with the added bonus of not having to listen to some boat playing Barry Manilow.
In the real world of anchoring, scope is your best friend and beats next-gen super expensive anchors all to hell in the holding sweepstakes. If that scope is all chain it's even more effective though there is nothing wrong with rope and chain rodes if the chain part is at least the length of the boat (or better yet round up to the next significant number... In our case with our 34-foot boat I'd think 50 feet is the next significant number) and more is always better. Think of chain as being a lot like money, more is ALWAYS better...
Going back to being the underwater observer, most folks in an anchorage are mostly pivoting on their chain and not pulling on their anchor at all... For instance, where we are anchored at the moment, we have about 100 feet of chain out and for the last week or so we've been pivoting on the anchor chain about one third of the chain length or about 30 feet off our bow...
Which actually brings up an important point... Since most folks pivot on their rode instead of their anchors the actual location of the anchor can be quite surprising and right now our anchor is maybe 30 feet off to our side by nearly a boat length. This, of course, means anyone trying to anchor parallel to us might be in for something of a surprise, yet another reason to anchor as far as physically possible from other boats other than the avoidance of my rather intense collection of Captain Beefheart played at ear numbing volume at 3:00 AM...
Next Monday we'll talk about getting the anchor wet!
Listening to Sons of Bill
So it goes...
This makes my head hurt, this guy really is an idiot, and something of interest for Warren Zevon fans...
Just for the record, I had every intention to do another "Simple Monday" post today on anchoring but last night was some kind of squally with the swell from hell and a nervous making big cat on a too small mooring upwind of us. As a result, I am not quite fully operational and certainly not firing on all cylinders... So, something to look forward to next Monday.
In the meantime, you might want to check out Attainable Adventure Cruising who have some points about the Rocna/Spade that makes some sense though I do have a couple of issues with one or two of their statements... But, more about that next week.
Listening to Jay Brannan
So it goes...
Why hurricanes and earthquakes happen (not), Crooks and Liars tallies up the cost of the only growth industry left in the US of A, and Lefsetz riffs on Brian Wilson...
Over on the SSCA forum there has been an ongoing discussion on the merits/foibles of using a tandem anchor rig (two anchors on the same rode) and, like all things anchor related, there is no shortage of opinion.
With all this talk of hurricanes recently, we have had a lot of folks asking about the ground tackle we use on "So It Goes" for storm situations. Since yet another storm is wending its way towards us, it might actually be a good time to do so.
Our normal working anchor on "So It Goes" (a CAL 34) is a 20-kilo (44#) Brittany with 200 feet of 5/16" high test and a heck of a lot of 5/8" warp behind the chain...
Yep, a lot of anchor for a small boat...
We also have a Northill folding aviation anchor with 40' of chain, a 15-kilo Brittany with 100' of chain + warp, and another 15-kilo folding fisherman with 40' of chain. Truth is, I'd really like to add a 44-pound Bruce to the quiver as well and I am keeping my eye out for one at various nautical flea markets.
Since "So It Goes" does not have room for a 100-pound dedicated "super storm" anchor we have to make do with an alternative system and this is where the tandem anchor thing really works out...
Most folks adverse to the idea of tandem anchors cite the fact that they are hard to deploy, easily fouled, and don't really work as reasons to simply get a really, really big honking anchor, or worse, put your faith in one of those next-gen anchors.
Since we actually use a tandem anchor for storms, I can say with some hands-on experience that while they can be a pain to deploy, they are not really problematic in this regard. They also are no more prone to fouling than any other anchor setup if deployed correctly and work as well as a really big honking anchor (again, if deployed correctly).
For our tandem set up we use our 20-kilo Brittany with an additional 30' of chain and then our folding fisherman anchor. Since this is a storm-only setup the hassle of deployment/retrieval is no biggie however you do it, but since I'm a lazy kind of guy I've found a trauma-free method you might be interested in...
Since I ALWAYS dive on my anchors (and my neighbors' anchors more often than not) and since I'm going to get wet in the overall anchoring process, I simply put the second anchor together underwater. We deploy and set the Brittany as usual and then before I dive on the anchor to check it I put the fisherman anchor and its chain in the dinghy and, once I'm happy with the Brittany, dive the chain down and shackle it (don't forget to mouse the shackle!) to the tail of the the anchor then drop the fisherman anchor where I want it... Taking up the slack and making sure that the anchor is engaged with the bottom is done while diving on it again. It may sound a little complicated, but the whole operation takes less than ten minutes and while this method may not be for everybody it works finestkind for us.
If we decide to put out more anchors, we deploy them with the dinghy and place them at 120 degrees (more or less) from our main/tandem anchor to allow for wind shifts. That said multiple rodes out from a boat in any condition are a recipe for much mayhem, consternation and headbanging. The extra anchors should be able to be dropped at a moment's notice (have a fender ready to buoy it) if they should become problematic.
Listening to The Dustbowl Revival
So it goes...
