Anchor swing on a Hunter 33.5
- Thread starter tgrady
- Start date
I found the riding sail didn't stop the swinging. It took a bit of the violence out of it but we swung just as far. The only thing that worked for us was the bridle described above. Unfortunately, the line became fouled with bottom paint which stained the lazarette - so I stopped that and learned to live with it. But I would wake up often at night when the boat would jerk to a stop. We had to upgrade the anchor too.
Stearn anchor the boat is sailn up on anchor I add a plow anchor at stern keep it in port locker drop it 300 ' or all my stern line out then run up and drop bow anchor then pull stern line till I have tightened both then lock rudder in center position kinda strange to all the other boats when tide changes and I don't swing around but some times when wind changes I get nice breezes in the hatch
I read a great article that postured modern sailing boats are built in such a way that they are directionally unstable when not under way. It gives them good speed and handling but at anchor against the wind and current is akin to shooting an arrow feathers first. It went onto say that a boat that wandered at anchor from the bow would be very stable if anchored from the stern. I'll let you know if it works.
Hi Uncle,
I was just postulating this very thing while eating barbecue on our 28.5. My wife and I occasionally anchor in a particular place for lunch that the wind frequently blows straight and steady. And our boat constantly "falls off center" one way then the other. It is never content to simply stay bow in the wind. So we now deploy a small stern mushroom anchor that can be drug around with major wind shifts. But it prevents the annoying fish tailing that the wind and boat design produce.
But on your thought yes, I was thinking the same thing, if you look at a NACA rudder or an airplane wing it is always fatter at the front then the back. I was suspecting that the design being backward made maneuvering easier or sharper.
Would love to read the article.
Jeff
I was just postulating this very thing while eating barbecue on our 28.5. My wife and I occasionally anchor in a particular place for lunch that the wind frequently blows straight and steady. And our boat constantly "falls off center" one way then the other. It is never content to simply stay bow in the wind. So we now deploy a small stern mushroom anchor that can be drug around with major wind shifts. But it prevents the annoying fish tailing that the wind and boat design produce.
But on your thought yes, I was thinking the same thing, if you look at a NACA rudder or an airplane wing it is always fatter at the front then the back. I was suspecting that the design being backward made maneuvering easier or sharper.
Would love to read the article.
Jeff
Jeff if you do a search on SBO for anchor swing you will find another discussion where some one puts up a link to Jordan Series Drogue which is probably where I saw it. I bought a Jordan as I like the whole theory behind it and thank God have not had reason to deploy it yet, but I'm confident it will be a life saver if I ever need it. This explains the dynamics of modern sailboat.
http://www.jordanseriesdrogue.com/D_14.htm
http://www.jordanseriesdrogue.com/D_14.htm
I am going to buy a Mantus this week actually. I have an mostly chain rode, 216 feet (36 fathoms), with an additional 150 feet (25 fathoms) of rope. I'm going to pick up one of the Mantus chain hooks and an additional 60 feet of line to hook the rode and run to my aft winch. This should allow me to adjust the angle at which the boat sits to the wind and current so that it is not nose on. I hope to find a suitable angle, with out being broad side, that inhibits the non stop merry go round ride. Hopefully it will be a shallow angle. I might also experiment with a bridle from the stern so that I'm stern to. Stern to will make swimming a bit odd as we usually throw out 60 feet of line from both port and starboard stern cleats and serve drinks in Tervis tumblers with sippy lids. This has come to be a time honored tradition that everyone loves. I would rather swing around then ruin that.
I purchased the 65 lb. with the swivel, and the anchor mate. The anchor does not sit well on the bow without the anchor mate. I also grabbed a Mantus chain hook and 80 feet of line but have not anchored out yet this season to check any part of this new setup. The boat seems unphased by this roughly 25 lb. difference on the nose. As with all things, time will tell.
Well I finally anchored yesterday in "sand city" Northport, Long Island. I let out a bit more anchor rode than needed, attached the Mantus chain hook with 80 feet of line and brought it back to the windward side winch and took up the slack. The swing went from 180 degrees down to 20 degrees. I let out a few more feet of rode and tightened up on the winch line a bit and got the swing down to 5 degrees which is how we stayed for three hours. I'm very happy with the outcome! It has been one of the biggest annoyances on my Hunter and I'm ecstatic that I can now eliminate it. As with all things, it will probably get easier and more of a second nature to figure the lengths and angles of the two lines. It was a wonderfully simple setup and worked perfectly the first use with less than 10 minutes of fussing.
Brilliant, uncledom.
I have used the Mantus chain hook for several years now and love it . . . in settled weather. My concern lies in trying to remove it in an emergency situation in unsettled (windy, wavy, rainy, cold, dark) weather. It can be a bit of a bear to take off at the best of times.
Uncledom, when you were able to reduce the swing to 5 degrees, where did the chain hook lie with respect to the bow and waterline?
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The hook was about twenty feet under water and I'm going to guess five feet aft of the bow roller.
I have to tell you I one hand that Mantus chain hook both on and off and it's less than 15 seconds either ways. I set the hook first which stabilizes the chain, hook it right in front of the roller and do the reverse to disconnect.
I have to tell you I one hand that Mantus chain hook both on and off and it's less than 15 seconds either ways. I set the hook first which stabilizes the chain, hook it right in front of the roller and do the reverse to disconnect.
[Just thinking out loud]... What if you bought TWO of these dock line snubbers, formed a bridle, each connected to the opposite forward mooring cleats (it now forms a "V"), and connect the apex of the "V" to the anchor rode/chain. As the boat starts to swing in either direction, the opposite snubber would gently absorb the shock and (theoretically) slow down the swing?
It's that one handed part that gets me. I will have to work on opening the plastic gate with one hand tied behind my back.
Thanks uncledom for the info. I am looking forward to trying a similar setup next time out.
Thanks uncledom for the info. I am looking forward to trying a similar setup next time out.
A quick update after having anchored a few more times. You need some thing near the boats length of chain between the boat and the Mantus chain hook. Then crank the winch untill you see the chain hook line coming off the winch and heading to about the beam, roughly a 45 degree angle. Works perfectly and adds only about two minutes to anchoring. ZERO swing.