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Anchoring Setup and Ground Tackle (Page 4)

This page was last updated on June 14, 2002

After the original anchor platform was destroyed while the boat rode out a storm in May 2002--which damage also caused one anchor roller to be lost and some unsightly damage to the hull--I was forced to think about the causes of the problem, and to come up with a way to more or less ensure that the same thing would not happen again.

The new anchor platform nearly duplicates the original in shape, size, and overall function.  However, it is significantly stronger thanks to the integral addition of a 3/8" thick stainless steel plate to reinforce the part that hangs over the bow.  This should prevent breakage of the platform as happened before.  But what about the overhanging anchors?  Did the mooring line really hook itself over the CQR anchor, which in turn caused the platform to break?  Was it a complete against-all-odds event, or might the same thing tend to happen again someday under similar circumstances?

My informal research and observation of other boats seemed to indicate that my platform was not unusual, or the way the anchors hung off unorthodox in the slightest.  In fact, it seems that many boats are even more susceptible to this sort of problem than I would have said Glissando is.  

Two things were different about my anchor setup for 2002 vs. 2001.

1.  The CQR roller, and its anchor, were protruding farther out, away from the platform, than last year.  This was necessary because of the conflict with the new Bruce anchor roller and anchor that I installed in the spring of 2002.  Perhaps this placed the fluke of the CQR out in an area more susceptible to grabbing that mooring line when the boat pitched in heavy seas.

2.  The mooring line chocks were closer to the stem in spring 2002 than 2001; I had moved them during spring commissioning because I thought the lead would be better if they were farther forward.  The net effect of this was to narrow the opening between the dual mooring lines--could this slight narrowing have caused the lined to be more susceptible to hooking that anchor?

Did these two seemingly insignificant changes have anything to do with what occurred?  I will never know for sure.  However, one of the first things I did during my reconstruction of the anchor platform and repair of the deck was move the chocks back to their original location from last year.  I was also able, during the construction of the new platform, to move the CQR roller back to its position from 2001, despite the 2nd anchor and the interference thereunto.  Mocking up the two rollers and anchors during construction made this placement easy.  I'm not sure why it was a problem back in the spring, but it definitely was.  

With the new platform complete, I installed the CQR with some trepidation.  How could I arrange the thing so that the fluke would not be in the way?  I have seen some of these anchors stored on their side, with the flukes tied up to the pulpit or something.  That's OK, but kind of awkward, and it still seemed, on my  boat, that things were in the way.  

At first, I ran the anchor shank down to deck level, off to the side.  This seemed to work well from a storage standpoint, and I could easily tie the end of the shank to the nearby pulpit to secure it.  However, this tended to cause the point of the anchor to extend farther downward--just what I really didn't want.  However, for general storage purposes--such as during our upcoming cruising--this seems like a very good storage method, and it also keeps the shank out of the way of the furling drum and the mooring line.  

But I wanted something that I felt a little better about for when the boat is swinging on our exposed mooring.  The sideways thing didn't work for me, and it was tough to secure the anchor in this way.  

I ended up bringing the shank of the anchor up to the level of the lower rail on the bow pulpit, and securing it there.  This not only keeps the shank out of the way, but also has the effect of pulling the plow part of the anchor (the tip end) up closer to the bottom of the anchor platform, minimizing the chances that anything, especially the mooring line, could get stuck there.  The bottom of the anchor is now more or less parallel to the anchor platform, with only a small gap there.  In the photo, things look closer together and some how more tenuous than they actually are.

anchorandchaintied.JPG (171375 bytes)The end of the shank is tied to the rail, and the chain is brought down to deck level and tied with a piece of small stuff to the rail base to secure it.  This leaves a nice clear lead for the mooring line, too.  Whatever happened before will probably never happen again, but the complacency is gone and I will always take extra precautions from now on.

 


Glissando, Pearson  Triton #381
www.triton381.com 

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