Anchor Riding Sail

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Webone

Webone

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Apr 30, 2010
50
Jeanneau 45.2 Saugatuck, MI
After one of those frantic "at dusk" (boat rode all day without incident) #@$% the ^%$# anchor broke loose in a 35 knot blow, I knew it was time to look at the anchor riding sail concept. My boat "jack-knifed" on the anchor that night due the high bow free board which put me broadside to the wind. It has a tendency to swing about 120 deg. total in a good breeze anyway, but once the bow got "hooked" by the wind it just would not come back into the wind, the force heeled me about 8 deg. before she broke loose.
So this year I bought the ARS from Sailrite and am amazed at the difference, boat only swings about 50 deg. total in a heavy wind and about 30 deg. in a light breeze. Will never anchor without one again, much more comfortable ride and I sleep a lot better.

I experimented a little because they suggest it be secured off to one side, I found it to be much more effective for me to have it on the centerline.
Thought you ought to know.
 
Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
ARS = Anchor Riding Sail

We use one....



...most nights with the MacGregor and it does help a lot. More on it here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-5.html

The Endeavour so far doesn't seem to sail around on anchor very much at all, so we probably won't sew one up for her.

We mounted ours off center as per Sailrite's instructions and it seems to work well like that. At first we had it higher on the backstay and then moved it as low as the solar panels would allow and that also helped.

I have two youtube videos with the sail up....

Aft Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkLbyBld1lY

Bow Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKjU842c9Zo


...but none not using it. The boat does sail around much more without it though,

Sum

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Our Endeavour 37

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NYSail

NYSail

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Jan 6, 2006
3,107
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
Have been using mine for many years and love it. I fly mine on center.... run up back stay then bring line forward and anchor to bottom of mast. I pull my boom over to opposite side as not to chaffe.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,893
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Anchor riding sail proponents are legion. It's a great idea. Often, however, many chime in with an old idea from Lin & Larry Pardey: a bridle. Run a line from your anchor rode back to your jib sheet winch and crank away. It sets the boat at an angle and reduces "hunting" considerably.

Your boat, your choice. :)
 
Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Stu Jackson said:
Anchor riding sail proponents are legion. It's a great idea. Often, however, many chime in with an old idea from Lin & Larry Pardey: a bridle. Run a line from your anchor rode back to your jib sheet winch and crank away. It sets the boat at an angle and reduces "hunting" considerably.

Your boat, your choice. :)
Click to expand
Yep, if we do have a problem with the Endeavour I think I'll try that first. It does seem to sit on anchor like that now with no bridle for some reason.

Of interest or not is that we got so use to sailing around on anchor with the Mac that we became oblivious to it :redface:. Sometimes at night I'd see lights go by outside and think someone was going by near us and then just realize that the lights were stationary and that we were the ones sailing along and pretty soon the lights would go by again.

Sailrite recommends tying the bottom front of the sail off-center to a stanchion or something on the rail so that the boat does tend to sail off in one direction and pretty much stay there, similar to what you are talking about with the bridle. I've never tried it tied to the mast so haven't compared one to the other. I'll have to do that as it would just take a minute to do.

I think the reason we use it now is mostly to just keep me busy doing something else once we are anchored. If the winds get over 25 mph I take it down as it is a sail and I just don't like it up in those conditions,

Sum

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Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links
 
M

McZube

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Apr 5, 2012
119
Hunter 31 Chesapeake Bay, MD
I assumed that the weather forecast was accurate and reliable, but no. The H31 swung back and forth all night. I will buy a riding sail before I anchor our overnight again.

BTW, Sumner, I guess I assumed that the riding sail mounted to the boom. Do I need an education before I buy/use one?
 
Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
McZube said:
..BTW, Sumner, I guess I assumed that the riding sail mounted to the boom. Do I need an education before I buy/use one?
Click to expand
We bought the smaller one for the Mac and it is for boats up to 35 feet. We bought the kit...



....and Ruth sewed it up.

You can also buy them finished for not to much more...

http://search.sailrite.com/?freeText=anchor sail

Here you can click on the video showing them in use or how to sew them up....

http://www.sailrite.com/Anchor-Riding-Sail-Kit-12-5-Sq-Feet


It .....




...hanks-on to the backstay and ties off to the side if you do it like they suggest. I use an uphaul to take it up the backstay. I have another line at the bottom that clips on the boat to keep if from riding up the backstay. I can have it up in just a minute or so. Not sure what someone does that has split backstay, but that might be covered in the video above,

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links
 
zeehag

zeehag

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Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
fin keeled sloops YAW at anchor--you guys call that yawing sailing at anchor. they DO that. a steadying sail off the backstay will do the job, as will a bridle set up. my ericson doesnot yaw on her mooring when she has bridle. also helps to tie tiller midships, or wheel centerline.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,893
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
May I humbly suggest that folks with riding sails begin to include neat (but tasteful :eek: ) graphics on their sails, like spinnakers? :)
 
Dave602

Dave602

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Jan 22, 2008
319
Hunter 29.5 Gloucester, VA
The wife made ours from a Sailrite kit. It worked wonders. Ours hooks on the back of the boom at the topping lift and we use the main halyard to raise it. I swing the boom to one side and tie it off. Also if anchored in one of the rivers around here with a current you can play with the rudder to help keep it swung to one side.
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
Stu Jackson said:
May I humbly suggest that folks with riding sails begin to include neat (but tasteful :eek: ) graphics on their sails, like spinnakers? :)
Click to expand
What a great idea Stu.....I've got all winter to think of something
but on the subject this anchor sail works great cause my boat is always hunting or swinging back and forth even in a light wind
 

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NYSail

NYSail

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Jan 6, 2006
3,107
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
I have been in sustained 50 knot winds out on Block Island and had my achor sail up.... boat stayed nice into wind with minimal swing. I was worried about all the boats around me though that were swinging 180 degrees.
 
T

Terry411

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Jan 2, 2009
93
Gulfstar 50 ketch holland
I bought a anchor sail off ebay. A sail loft was making them out of scrap sail cloth.
 
sinnettc

sinnettc

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May 23, 2007
1,306
Catalina Capri 22 Albany, Oregon
Being a cheap bastard I made one out of a corner of an old pentex genoa. The boom tent is a $10 painter's tarp cut down to size.



The only problem we had was when the wind and current were opposing. That put us at 90 degrees to the waves at about 1AM. Second night it happened around 2AM and I figured out what was happening. The next morning we moved to a different mooring out of the current. :)
 
Webone

Webone

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Apr 30, 2010
50
Jeanneau 45.2 Saugatuck, MI
Stu Jackson said:
May I humbly suggest that folks with riding sails begin to include neat (but tasteful :eek: ) graphics on their sails, like spinnakers? :)
Click to expand
I like it. What do you suggest? The martini glass is already taken.
 
N

NC-C320

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Mar 28, 2010
91
Catalina C320 Washington, NC
Hurricane Conditions

NYSail said:
I have been in sustained 50 knot winds out on Block Island and had my achor sail up.... boat stayed nice into wind with minimal swing. I was worried about all the boats around me though that were swinging 180 degrees.
Click to expand

Has anyone used a riding sail in hurricane type conditions? If so, any advice on size, fabric weight etc.? It seems to me that if you have to anchor out and need to check sailing on the anchor, that need becomes most critical in extreme storm conditions. I know that boats at sea in extreme conditions use storm jibs and trysails, but I've never seen pictures of anchored boats in severe storms with a riding sail.

Which would be better, a briddle or riding sail in extreme conditions? If using a bridle, what angle should the boat lie off from the wind?
 
RichH

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Stu Jackson said:
Anchor riding sail proponents are legion. It's a great idea. Often, however, many chime in with an old idea from Lin & Larry Pardey: a bridle. Run a line from your anchor rode back to your jib sheet winch and crank away. It sets the boat at an angle and reduces "hunting" considerably.

Your boat, your choice. :)
Click to expand
Anchor rode bridle + ARS .... will make a boat sit like a duck in a rainstorm. The bridle is great if the wave are hitting the bow at a different angle than the wind.
 
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