Freefall or power down anchoring?

[diver dave]

I used to anchor in 200 ft of water to dive wrecks. 90 ft of chain and up to 300 ft of nylon. Free fall only way especially to hit/snag the wreck in a current. Sometimes was quite shocked at the current speed. Arm over arm climb down to release anchor from wreck.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Are there any members here that anchor single handed .. by hand?

I envision that I would do it by paying out the rode until the anchor is on the bottom. Wait a bit (30 sec to a min) for a little drift back to occur. Pick up the anchor breifly and lower it back down. Then very soon one should be clear of the anchor and can lower all the rode needed. The rode should all be “downwind” of the anchor and the shank oriented toward the boat. Then return to the helmand back down slowly and set.

Anybody do that?

 

[O C Diver]

I used to anchor in 200 ft of water to dive wrecks. 90 ft of chain and up to 300 ft of nylon. Free fall only way especially to hit/snag the wreck in a current. Sometimes was quite shocked at the current speed. Arm over arm climb down to release anchor from wreck.

I run dive charters out of Ocean City, MD and Hatteras, NC. I use a grapnel with 50' of chain and then 3 strand nylon rope. Usually the scope is 1.25:1. On the higher profile wrecks, the rhode can often be shorter than the depth of the water. 250' is about as deep as we get.

Ted

 

[Pack Mule]

Free falling and muscle up.

 

[caltexflanc]

power down is the only way to go with chain. If the water is deep enough the weight of suspended chain already out will pull it all out

Once again, simply not true with an adjustable clutch windlass.

 

[Wxx3]

How many windlasses don't hsve a free fall option?

Till you do it with one that does it nicely...hard to say that freefall is bad, or something you wouldn't do some of the time.

Mine, an Ideal vertical. To free-fall I have to pull the chain out of the wildcat (and make sure it doesn't snag it).

I've done it occasionally to practice emergency anchoring.

Richard

 

[Jay N]

Eric asks: "Are there any members here that anchor single handed .. by hand?"

Well, if you mean the anchor is deployed by a single handler with an anchor winch and brake controlled free-fall, then yes.

It's worth noting that WESTERLY has it's anchor rode on the winch drum, all winch controls are on the bow, and it's about 6 steps from the conning position in the pilothouse to the winch.

What I do is approach the anchoring position with some headway, place the engine in reverse, go to the bow and wait for sternway. Then let-go the anchor with a soft brake that makes sure the anchor and rode do not bunch or foul. When the anchor is on the bottom and the sternway is stretching out the rode, I return to the pilothouse and put the engine in neutral.

At this point, there is usually around 1 knot of sternway. I return to the bow and adjust the winch brake so that there is sufficient momentum to deploy the rode to the desired length and then set the anchor.

Done, engine off.

In settled conditions, usually set at 4:1, and can retrieve to 3:1 if space requires and weather permits.

I've done this a lot for many years. I sleep well.

 

[caltexflanc]

Mine, an Ideal vertical. To free-fall I have to pull the chain out of the wildcat (and make sure it doesn't snag it).

I've done it occasionally to practice emergency anchoring.

Richard

Some Ideal verticals, like the one I had on the Hatteras, have an adjustable clutch that allow controlled freefall. You might check with them.

I should note, if you are a very frequent anchorer, as we are, this method will wear out the clutch plate faster, I had to replace mine but it was very easy to do.

 

[Nomad Willy]

JayN,
That sounds about right. Years of experience would help w the timing of it all. I assume you have a reel winch like most of the fishboats and probably hydraulic power. And your anchor is of such a design that the rode dosn’t snag it on the reversal.

If I was to do that the propwalk would pull my stern over and the bow would quickly catch up to the stern and I’d be broadside to the anchor.

Interesting about going into reverse w fwd way on and waiting to stop and then moving aft. You must have the timing down well to have much control over nailing the position of your drop spot. Stuff happends so you must have some OMG stories. Care to share?

 

[Jay N]

Eric, my comments in blue.

JayN,
That sounds about right. Years of experience would help w the timing of it all. I assume you have a reel winch like most of the fishboats and probably hydraulic power. And your anchor is of such a design that the rode dosn’t snag it on the reversal.

Sorry, don't have a pic available, but yes, 300' of SS 1/4" cable with 40' 5/16" HT on a drum, 12VDC powered (up only). Having years of experience with laying out rode with a Danforth where it was easy to foul on the way down, most of the time the anchor (Rocna) gets to the bottom first and the rode lays out nicely in the clear.

If I was to do that the propwalk would pull my stern over and the bow would quickly catch up to the stern and I’d be broadside to the anchor.

I see your point on having a boat with significant prop walk. WESTERLY has very little prop walk. However, when deploying the anchor/rode during times of high winds, it can be very difficult to keep the boat from turning sideways. In these cases, I just let the boat fall off until the rode is deployed and the bow is turned into the wind, then set the anchor. Takes a little longer.

Interesting about going into reverse w fwd way on and waiting to stop and then moving aft. You must have the timing down well to have much control over nailing the position of your drop spot. Stuff happends so you must have some OMG stories. Care to share?

Going pretty slow up to the desired spot, just kicking ahead every now and then. So, not much headway on, often the headway is stopped by the time I get to the winch. When stemming a strong current, no engine reverse is necessary.

Can't recall any juicy stories about times when things didn't go right, but occasionally I think about being on the bow with the engine still in reverse, and I get a severe leg muscle cramp and unable to get back to the pilothouse in a timely manner. If the situation allows, sometimes, I just get sternway on the boat and put the engine in neutral before going to the bow. Just need to make an positioning adjustment relative to the desired spot.

As others have posted in this thread, being at the bow and watching/feeling the rode deploy and the anchor set provides tremendous feedback on bottom conditions and the quality of the set.

 

[Steve Bedford]

Eric asked about single handed anchoring and I will answer that question after my comments about not “free-fall” verses controlled drop of the anchor. Pros and cons with each method and each Captain has to weigh the benefits of each method. As is the case with most anchoring topics, there are opinions on both sides.

Some would say that free falling an anchor allows the anchor to hit the seabed with significanly more force and impact that the anchor buries in the seabed. Perhaps that is necessary for some anchors. I know that is not a requirement for all anchors to get a or start a good “set.” If the idea that free fall does indeed help some anchors bury in the seabed, great but the challenge as stated so well earlier is how to prohibit the chain from piling up on the anchor and perhaps making a problem? Some say they tighten the clutch after seabed contact. I have to confess that “I am not that good” in being quick enough to tighten the clutch at the proper time! Therefore, I don’t free fall. However...

I have a MUIR vertical windlass (primarily only use the 200’ of chain but I do have 150’ of nylon line attached to the chain to complete the rise) that does have a clutch. After my Super MAX hits the bottom, powered down under control, we begin to drift backward or bump the boat in reverse for a second to start the motion. When that happens, I release the clutch enough to have the chain play out easily until we get close to the initial set scope. I tighten the clutch and we set the anchor. I then release the clutch and we continue to drift back until at the desired scope, tighten clutch, power back to complete the set, and complete the chain shock absorbing system (many different opinion on ways to do this from rolling hitched to chain hooks).

Back to Eric’s question about single handed. Generally there are two use and although we have Windlass control from the helm, we rarely use that with both of us in the boat. I generally go to the foredeck and operate windlass from there. When single-handed, I generally do the same process as stated above but I am back and forth from helm to foredeck. I sometimes am able to only go back and forth two times. If I would allow my Windlass to take the strain of firmly setting the anchor (rather than snubbing the rode to take the strain) I might be able complete the process with fewer trips. I don’t. I protect the windlass.

Retrieving the anchor single handed is more of a challenge because of washing the mud off the chain. I do use the windless to pull me forward when single handed unless there is strain in the rode. Then it is back to the helm to power forward to release the tension. Then back to the foredeck. If I did not care about washing the chain, I could do it from the helm. I have done that once in challenging weather conditions and allowed the muddy chain to go into the chsin locker. Fortunately, it was raining enough that the muddy decks got washed off naturally!

Hope this all makes sense. I enjoy reading the opinions and experiences of others in this list. I learn a lot. Hope others donas well.

Steve

 

[caltexflanc]

Some say they tighten the clutch after seabed contact. I have to confess that “I am not that good” in being quick enough to tighten the clutch at the proper time! Therefore, I don’t free fall.

Once again, it isn't an all or nothing proposition... adjust the clutch before you drop the anchor, just enough so the anchor falls on it's own, adjust accordingly if needed as it falls. You really don't have to tighten again it until it is time to pull it back up.

 

[bayview]

OK cal why would that be better than simply powering down with control all the the way????

The weight of the added chain as it drops will overcome the clutch setting at start.

 

[Coastal Cruiser]

"OK Cal why would that be better than simply powering down with control all the the way????

The weight of the added chain as it drops will overcome the clutch setting at start. "

As Cal states "...adjust accordingly as needed as it falls."

When my rode and anchor are " free falling" I am modulating the rate using the clutch. It is easy-peasy. I would estimate the fall rate to be 2-3 time faster than powering down.

At this rate the anchor doesn't smash into the bottom. And it is very easy to tell when the anchor reaches the bottom - it is automatic. Without the weight of the anchor the clutch grabs and the free fall slows dramatically, or stops. So the idea of "piling chain on top of the anchor" is not a factor.

Free falling, like any other boating skill, takes a little practice. Done right it is easy, a little faster and completely safe. Done poorly can result in some of the problems mentioned in previous posts like flying metal on the deck, run away rode deployment, piling chain on top of the anchor, etc.

Again, to each his own. In my opinion it is a nice skill to have in all anchoring situations and a must have if more rapid deployment of ground tackle is needed in an emergency.

 

[ghost]

I single hand pretty much exclusively. I rely on my Plath to get my anchor down quickly in a perfectly controlled manner using the clutch. This is easily ten times faster than the power down. Mine powers down at the same speed as up. When I'm forced to use that, I'm going to drift. Using the controlled free fall, i can go straight to the bottom and have the finesse to stop before any chain piles up. The anchor does not hit the bottom in some wild uncontrolled way and I don't have a huge pyramid of fouled chain. Quite the opposite. This is the way to set my anchor with precision, fast, where I want it with the least chance of having to reset.

If I have the least bit wind or current, I let the weight of the boat do most of my setting. In fact, If I'm on my game I'll leave just the slightest way on when I got to the bow, so when the anchor is where I want it, the boat has enough drift to still gently pull the chain out. When I get my full scope out, I let it gently set. Only then do I back down at all if I don't feel the set on the chain is sufficient by itself.

Most of the time I can set first time, quickly and not have to second guess it. Helps to develop the art of knowing when to leave the helm and where I'm going to actually drop. If I had to wait out the long drop, I don't think I'd develop as much of the artful knack of getting the drop right where you want it. At least this is what I've worked out. Getting a good quick set in the right place is very important to my single handing. In crowded anchorages, I loathe the idea of the slow drop. Too much to go wrong. YMMV.

 

[caltexflanc]

Miss Rachel and Ghost, thanks for putting it more eloquently than I could.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Miss Rachel and Ghost, thanks for putting it more eloquently than I could.

Good post. I free wheel all the time and it is all about control by applying and releasing the clutch. Just be carful not to get clothing or fingers in the way.