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1. An anchoring blueprint for modern times in modern boats

2. The How, Why, When and Where of Equipment and Technique.

Introduction

ANCHORING: The Shallow Draft, Light Displacement Advantage.

3. WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW, AND WHY!!!

I will endeavor to keep within the bounds of NEED TO KNOW rather than NICE TO KNOW and how it relates to cruising catamarans, trimarans, shallow draft craft and fin-keel-spade rudder monohull sailboats and many powerboats. The following is a "work-in-progress" based upon my own authorized testing experiences and a critical view of the written experiences of others, tempered by the actual authorities in the field such as the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) and others.

The Catamaran Advantage, a quick introduction to this chapter and tabular summary of procedure for keeping the "pleasure" in "pleasure boating."

A SHORT COURSE IN ANCHORING PROTOCOL AND A SMART COURSE IN ANCHORAGE EVALUATION

Protocol is really simple: First come, first served. The late comers are obliged to keep clear of the early birds. That means if you anchor near some novice with too much scope and when the tide shifts he swings into you, YOU are obligated to move.

EVALUATE YOUR ANCHORAGE FOR SAFETY AND SATISFACTION

. Being to windward of the entire fleet allows you the widest safety margin and the least noise.

. When you enter an anchorage, carefully observe the anchored boats. Motorboats, (if any) usually run generators, as do mega-yachts It is not unusual at all to find boats that start their generators around cocktail hour and run them all night long. (I am baffled by the psychology of this, but that is the way it is) If quite ambience and pure air are important to you, stay as far away as possible. On the other hand, if you too are going to run a generator, by all means stay as close to them as practical and give the rest of us a break.

. Next, observe how the boats are anchored. Try not to "mix & match. If all the boats are anchored with two anchors and you are going to anchor with one, or vice versa, note the different swinging circles you will cover. Remember your protocol.

. Different parts of the anchorage will often have different currents. You can generally get a good idea of the strength and direction of these currents, if any, by observing the actions of the anchored boats. Current has far more effect than wind, unless it is an unusually unprotected anchorage. Many times, you will find eddy currents in corners of an anchorage that do not reverse direction when the tide changes. These make good places to anchor because they do not over complicate your life with multiple anchors, etc.

Occasionally, you will read that "different types of boats will swing differently in an anchorage. Power boats will swing differently than sailboats.  This is partly true but vastly overstated, just check your grade school physics. The dominant reason  different boats swing differently in the same anchorage is almost invariably eddy currents within the anchorage area. Water is 22 times as dense as air. Unless the water is still, and the wind blowing, will there be a difference.

 ANCHOR SAILING: The BASIC Anchoring dilemma;

Just what is Anchor sailing and what are its symptoms and consequences:

1. Symptoms:

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There are several techniques and procedures that will help alleviate this problem:

1. Multiple anchors

Kellets, Angels, Bouncers, same technique

Proper scope

A SHORT COURSE in anchor pattern differences:

1. The old-fashion CQR simply is a poor choice by almost any standard. Even back in the

 1920's when it was introduced, the critique went like this: "Mankind spent thousands of years working on a shape that would move through the ground easily, and these guys turned it into an anchor!" However, at that time in history is was a major advance hat coincided with the end of the era of bow sprits, boomkins and other deck lengthening objects to handle extended rigging, mostly for gaff-rigged vessels. These extensions led to adequate anchor storage areas foe the klutsiest thing ever invented, the old fashion kedge anchor with the stock in the head. Two decades later, the invention of the Danforth, changed anchoring history. The pattern, technically classified as "pivoting fluke-lightweight" is today hands down our most popular anchor ever. However, as we shall see, there are different patterns for different purposes.

Actually, the two major problems are obvious from this diagram, the direction of pull is out of line with the needs of the resultant force. The second problem is that a major amount of the weight  is in the large flat shank resisting being pulled under the surface. Note, the DELTA upgrade (Same manufacturer, Simpson Lawrence) has eliminated the hinge problem, properly aligned the direction of force with pull, turned the shank so it will bury when pulled, added considerably to the palm area, rebalanced the weight with a ballasted tip section and actually got twice the holding power for the weight in addition to the self-launching feature. The CQR always depended on an overweight all-chain rode to work at all, the DELTA recommends a minimum of six (6) feet of chain lead. (this does not preclude all-chain rodes but does alter the launching technique)

Essential Nomenclature and type characteristics:

THIS THREAD UNDER CONSTRUCTION, Check back regularly, full book will eventually be published.

One immediate concern I have is the practice of putting the launching and retrieval of the anchoring system of a catamaran through the upper portion of the underdeck (bottom portion of the bridgedeck) this has all negative attributes and the only positive attribute might be construed as a marketing ploy to inform novice buyers that the "icky" anchor and disgusting dirty chain is off the foredeck so you can lie on a towel with being annoyed by it. It must be noted that this system has been tried and unequivocally failed in the past and to see it resurrected now is heartbreaking. The annotated diagrams below tell the complete story.

FP Anchor locker Note: 1, very poor connector, already rusting. 2, Bridle, to be attached to chain after proper scope out. 3, Safety line for bridle or small tackle to take up slack in chain. 4, Tails of lines from mast into “spaghetti” box

    ·        Constant strain required against windlass to keep anchor in position, when bulkhead flexes from pounding, shock transferred to windlass and grossly inadequate connector. Leverage from twisting and moving anchor must eventually damage bulkhead and/or fittings. Waves smashing against anchor and/or natural vessel motion will play havoc with FRP lay-up which always has a certain amount of flexure. When an anchor is properly fitted in a bow roller, gravity holds it in place and there is little possibility of damaging feedback to other equipment such as the windlass, chain, chain stop, cleats, etc.

·    Sea water will enter compartment under bad conditions. If the drains are plugged with misc. gear, locker can fill with water.

● Chain will drag on the boat bottom during both setting and retrieving in blustery conditions when the boat falls-off the wind, damaging bottom paint, gel-coat and possibly the underdeck itself if the boat lurches fully forward.

·    In order to adjust scope you must HAUL BACK the anchor to a point from which you can unclip the bridle, certainly not a good idea in an emergency.

·   Clear and present danger working with dangerous machinery in a confined space below decks under stressful conditions.

·   Potential for tails of lines to become entangled with anchoring gear.

● How on earth would you ever get the anchor up in an gear failure emergency? Normally, you would hook an auxiliary line over a snatch-block or a jib halyard and haul it in over the the bow roller.

● How would you clear a common snag? Plastic bag? Shopping Cart? Tree limb? Someone else's anchor rode?

● How do you wash your anchor chain as it is being cranked up? Do you store all the slimy mud in the locker? Normally done over the bow, in this case through the trampoline? Not at all?

FP Anchor through the bridgedeck.

● 5, Heavy anchor poised through the structure can only cause  damage and create handling hazard since the anchor is both set and RETRIEVED between the hulls UNDER the trampoline, thus inaccessible for normal cleaning or observation..

● 6, The underside view of the absolutely necessary part of the anchor system, the BRIDLE, which must be clipped to the chain from INSIDE the anchor well (see above) If the bridle is not used, the vessel will lie on the windlass (definitely a no-no) and drag under the hulls as the the boat falls off. This is a real problem. I have surveyed several boat severely damaged because the operators did not use the bridle or allowed the boat to wander excessively whilst the anchor was being hauled.

● An aside, but note the humps, or chines, that are added to increase interior room. This unquestionably creates A-symmetry of the hulls and fosters the build up of waves between the hulls. In addition the depression of the escape hatch will also create turbulence and noise during sailing..

Anchors belong on the bow on cruising boats sold to the rank and file of people who buy them to actually go cruising. The main anchor is the MOST IMPORTANT SAFETY ITEM on any cruising vessel. That anchor must be easily and safely available for use by the weakest and least committed member of the crew! The above, in my opinion, is an unmitigated safety and security hazard. It has been tried previously by other manufacturers, considered a failure and discontinued. Why it has been resurrected baffles me.

Anchors●●

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