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Old 06-06-2017, 01:29 PM   #5
dhays
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City: Gig Harbor
Vessel Name: Kinship
Vessel Model: North Pacific 43
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9,046
Poach,

It isn't that hard but takes a couple times to get comfortable with it. While I have a windlass control at the helm, I hardly ever use it. When I anchor single handed, this is what I do.
-Pick the spot as you would normally and get the anchor free to lower.
- drive upwind/current to where you want to drop the anchor and end up at a dead stop. Then I just kick in a little reverse power for a moment to get the boat thinking about starting its drift back. If there isn't enough wind/current to move you back, then give yourself enough sternway and then back into neutral.
- quickly go to the bow and start lowering the anchor as the boat is drifting back.
- deploy the chain slowly enough that you aren't just creating a pile on the bottom.
- The boat likely will slew around a bit if the wind causes the bow to fall off. Not usually a problem for me.
- When you have the scope you want to use for setting the anchor (I usually use 3-1) then use your snubber or chain stopper to secure the chain and go back to the helm. Then set your anchor as you would normally.

Occasionally, I have had to go back to the helm to change the angle of the boat etc... but not usually.

Raising the anchor is actually a bit more difficult. Normally, in the PNW during the summer in a decent anchorage, there isn't a lot of wind. In that case you can simply use your windless to take up the catenary in the chain and let its weight start to move the boat forward. You don't want to pull the boat with the windless but I have felt comfortable with using it to take up the catenary. If there is too much wind/current to do that, then you have to put the boat in gear at idle (set the autopilot to hold a heading) and go forward to take in some chain, then back to the helm to put it in idle, back to the bow, back to the helm etc... This works but is a bit of a pain. Make sure you are wearing your PFD.

Having a remote for the windlass or a control at the helm is nice, but unnecessary. You never want to set the anchor with the windlass anyway which means you will need to be at the bow to set a stopper or snubber anyway.
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Regards,

Dave
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