Anchor & rode stowage

[Win and Jack]

Anybody have any suggestions on stowing the anchor and rode on a 1984 O'Day 222? We bought the boat recently and the anchor is just in a plastic storage box and is difficult to manage when you are making your way to the bow. Almost lost it this weekend. I'm thinking about cutting a hole in the bow, just aft of the chain plate and then installing a rope deck pipe. I notice there is stowage at the very tip of the v-berth but I don't know if I want to stow wet anchor rode in there. The anchor can be hung on a rack on the bow pulpit.

Thoughts? Suggestions? What have other 222 owners done?

 

[Barnacle Bill]

You can buy an anchor holder which attaches to the bow rail (if you have one) and the anchor rides in that. And, like you said, you'd have to install a deck pipe to feed the rode and chain below to that locker beneath. The one problem you have is where any water down the deck pipe would go. If that locker is sealed from the rest of the boat at the bottom, then you need to figure in a drain hole for any accumulating water. If any water would drain into the bilge, then you need a bilge pump to ship it out. Too bad O'Day didn't put in an anchor well like Precisions do in their 21 and 23 footers. That would solve your problem. Years ago there was a company who made an anchor well to be installed in the bow, but I haven't seen it for years, so I assume it was discontinued or they went out of business.

 

[Brian S]

I use a 4.4 pound Lewmar Claw anchor with my 192, and about 6' of chain. I store the anchor and rode in a bucket in the lazarette, with the rode laid in the bucket, chain on top, and anchor on that. I deploy the anchor from the cockpit and get it set, then walk forward and cleat it off. I keep the bucket and remaining rode on the foredeck, clipped to the lifeline with a carabiner.

It's generally very calm when I pull up the anchor, so I just do it there on the foredeck. I suppose I could walk the anchor line back to the cockpit to retrieve the anchor, but in wind and waves, this would probably be more difficult to do from the cockpit...

This setup works really well for me, and the claw anchor is so much less bulky than the Danforth style anchors I grew up with.

If I were anchoring in higher winds on larger bodies of water than my lake, and for more than just lunch and swims (say, overnight), I would consider a Mantus, Manson Supreme, or Rocna (in that order) using the same bucket system. Unless I determined that my Claw was doing just fine...

Hope this helps,
Brian

 

[Win and Jack]

Thank you Bill and Brian. Good suggestions. I think I'll stay away from the deck pipe because of the water situation. More work and trouble than it's worth. I'll go with Brian's suggestion, and the truth is, it's usually pretty calm where we anchor.

Thanks to you both. Wow, this is a great site for new (and old) O'Day owners! I'm learning a lot about my boat and sailing in general.

 

[peterbud]

I have the 84 222 and I installed the suncor dwck pipe with a cover. I have had no issues with the setup
I hang a danforth off the bow and stoee a Bruce 22 as a storm anchor where the old water jug was.

 

[Joe11688]

http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/album.php?albumid=372 I mounted a Bruce anchor roller on the bow of my boat and I'm using a Fortress Aluminum anchor. A cut down milk crate with rope handles works great for containing my anchor rode. This is the best anchor set up I've ever used on my boat. The bitter end of the anchor line is tied off to my bow rail just in case.
Whatever way you choose to stow your anchor is a matter of preference. The import thing is being able to get that anchor down in a hurry when the need arises.

Years ago when I was starting out, I wanted to do things in a shipshape and Bristol fashion. Every time I stowed my anchor, I'd do up my line in nice coils and lay it on the deck. When I went to drop my anchor, the line would get tangles and knots and I had to free it up. This gets old after a while. After that, I decided to just drop the line in a pile on deck and the next time I needed to get my anchor out the line ran right out with no problem. I use braid line and that helps. With that said though, it's a good idea to have some kind of a container for the anchor rode that you can just drop the line into.
I put rope handles on my anchor box so I can bring the box to the cockpit and raise my anchor with the aid of two snatch blocks connected to my lifeline bases. If you're by yourself and you need to raise your anchor from the cockpit while manning the outboard, this trick comes in handy if you need to get out of a tight spot without losing ground. There are times when the wind changes over night and you find that the stern of your boat is pretty close to some rocks or a shallow shore.