Modifications/items for overnighting

[doehunter]

Sun block, hats and sun glasses for all. I like water babies it does not sting the eyes.

I have pillows stuffed with sweats because it always seems to get colder than you think..

The water bottles may be marked with names.

The first time on a three dayer we had 2 cases of beer, 2 cases of soda and 2 cases of water. When we returned we had used 1 six pack of soda and beer and all the water was gone, 4 adults.

Anyone like washing dishes??

We do not cook!

A trip to the deli for sliced ham, roat beef, turkey, a couple of different cheeses. Lettuce and other fixing preped and stored in plastic zip locks. Fresh bread sliced at the deli will last. Paper plates inserted into wiker bottoms keeps things stable.

Rain gear for two, got mine at wallmart for about 20 dollars a set. A couple of cheap ponchoos are handy for kids.

Extra chemicals for the porta pottie.

A log book to enter the things you did right and wrong and to keep track of where you stored the rain gear etc..

Let the kids do all the work once in open water and be sure they have life vests on, and pratice mob drills so if you fall overboard they can come and get you.

4 adults over 3 days, and only drank 1 six pack?
Must not have been your poker buddies!
Cooking on the boat is one of my favorite things.
Bacon and eggs in the morning, sandwiches at lunch unless there's fresh fish. Maybe a steak or something in the evening.
It just don't get any better.
Oh, and I second the letting the crew do everything. It would get pretty boring watching someone else have all the fun.
Take care,
Jim

 

[MrBill_FLL]

not sure if it was mentioned but plastic bin's (rubbermaid/sterilite) under the seats keeps everything dry and easy to find. the plastic shoe boxes go all the way back to the aft area and hold spares.

and TB is right, you never want to run out of water... I always carry a few spare gallons.

 

[prishi]

I use them and like them. Make sure to use a good weight on the bottom. Many folks use a small mushroom anchor. I sometime use an old motorcycle starter battery in a mesh bag as it is smaller on each side.

Jeff

No offence, but these look silly! If the wind and current are against each other and your boat is in the middle of it all, you are promissed a rocky night! Just pay out more cable and it may make things better for you! These Made-in-China Sea Anchors are something that just may not work and I'd be careful throwing money into this! Shallow drafted boats like the Mac 26 will always rock more than deeper-drafted boats.

 

[prishi]

This year we plan on making overnight trips on our macgregor and I was wondering what mods/items you think have really made overnighting much better.

If you want to sleep easy, use your GPS to put in your Anchor Position and put in your drift circle; set your Alarm so that you may be woken up when the anchor drags, and may avoid a mishap.

Also, pay out more cable than what you'd normally do for that depth of water and the type of bottom.

Additionally, two anchors may be used for "Mooring" the vessel, but if you have changing tide/wind, keep an eye on the anchor rode getting fouled.

Taking toddlers on the sailboat - daring, I'd say, stay in enclosed waters.

Any other creature comforts are always welcome on any boat.:dance:

 

[BrokeNotBroken]

It seems that the first and probably most important thing that I need to do is get better ground tackle. After reading through the suggestions here and doing some reading, I think that I have decided on a plan:

Anchor 1: 14lb Delta Fast Set
Anchor 2: 7lb Fortress FX-11
Anchor 3: 14lb Claw (Bruce)

2 anchor lines consisting of:
25 feet of 1/4", G40 Galvanized Chain (2600lb SWL, 7750lb Breaking)
175 feet of 7/16", 3-strand nylon (6000lb tensile strength)

Thoughts?

And BTW, the suggestions so far are great. I plan to implement most of them so many thanks to those who contributed.

-david

 

[Kordie]

Put an anode on your anchor chain. You will be surprised at the difference it makes

Cheers

 

[MrBill_FLL]

nice! You won't be going anywhere with those! Thats better ground tackle than most here. (certainly mine)

but do practice setting the anchor(s). lower it down while backing up. it helps if you can see the anchor as practice.

but only 2 rodes for 3 anchors? I'd have 'some' chain and line for the fortress. even if its in the laz.

not sure you'll need an anode if you only anchor occasionally. if it was a mooring, sure.

I think the rule of thumb for anchoring is 7:1, ie 7' of line for each foot of water. and 10 or 15:1 in a storm.
But remember its measured from the bow cleat (+3') not the depth of the water. sometimes you just can't put that much down, so that where the chain helps. heavier chain lets you cheat on your scope.

my guess is you'll be in the bay most of the time. are there oyster bars in there? or just sand/mud?

 

[Kestle]

No offence, but these look silly! If the wind and current are against each other and your boat is in the middle of it all, you are promissed a rocky night! Just pay out more cable and it may make things better for you! These Made-in-China Sea Anchors are something that just may not work and I'd be careful throwing money into this! Shallow drafted boats like the Mac 26 will always rock more than deeper-drafted boats.

Yes, they look silly, and they don't eliminate rocking but the do reduce it...especially when you put the boom out and use it for one side.

Jeff

 

[MrBill_FLL]

if you're talking about a battery in the water...sealed or not, Don't let any environmental police see that! R U would have some 'spaning to do!

 

[BrokeNotBroken]

...but only 2 rodes for 3 anchors? I'd have 'some' chain and line for the fortress. even if its in the laz.

...I think the rule of thumb for anchoring is 7:1, ie 7' of line for each foot of water. and 10 or 15:1 in a storm.
But remember its measured from the bow cleat (+3') not the depth of the water. sometimes you just can't put that much down, so that where the chain helps. heavier chain lets you cheat on your scope.

my guess is you'll be in the bay most of the time. are there oyster bars in there? or just sand/mud?

I think I will go ahead and make up another rode having 25' chain, 175' line set up for the third anchor as well. I'm going to put thimbles on each end of all of the lines so that I can attach 2 together in case I need the extra 175' of rode. So, worse case I can get 50' of chain down and 350' of line and still have another rode setup in case I need to drop a second anchor.

Yep, I'll be in the bay. No real desire to go into the gulf, not on my boat anyway. I did do a Panama City to Tampa crossing once on another boat and loved it. Dead calm and super flat--we were lucky. And yes, there are some oyster clusters in the bay but not many. I figure/hope that having 25' of chain will give me some security from oysters. The bay is mainly sand but it gets mucky close towards the bayous. You should come up here for the BEER or Florida 120, I plan on attending one of those this year.

BTW, I don't understand why most have their fortress anchors as their "backup" anchor. I plan on using mine as the primary anchor, the delta as the #2 anchor in case the weather picks up, and the claw in case I have to anchor in mud or start dragging. From the tests that I have read the fortress dominates in holding power over the Bruce/claw. However, the claw is great in almost always setting on the first drop whereas the others can have some difficulty setting. Of course, what do I know. Maybe by this time next year I'll be singing a much different tune.

 

[Sumner]

....BTW, I don't understand why most have their fortress anchors as their "backup" anchor. I plan on using mine as the primary anchor, the delta as the #2 anchor in case the weather picks up, and the claw in case I have to anchor in mud or start dragging....

See my reply on the other board for why we don't use the Fortress as a primary. Also unless you dive on the anchor you don't always know what the bottom is until you pull the anchor up and see it on the anchor. I don't have a Delta, but from what I've read I'd trust the claw over it for unknow bottoms.

Down in the Keys we could see the bottom, on the west coast we couldn't,

Sum

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[MrBill_FLL]

probably not going to see the bottom in the bay. not sure about the panhandle water offshore clarity but would think its clear.

The fortress breaks down and fits in a bag with hand tools. (but most don't store it that way).

the delta and claw fit better on a roller danforth not as well, but its a more versatile all around anchor.

near university dock at elliot key (miami) there is about 1' of sand over smooth limestone. (and other places in the keys). very deceptive.
You think you have a bite, until it picks up. other places even less sand. the problem is my reverse is not enough to test the anchor set...so I try to dive on it, when ever possible. (*after 30 years, I know the good spots and where to check)

One thing I've done for my backup/ lunch anchors (in the past) is use thick heavy chain, but less of it. it doesn't help as much with line chafe, but does help keep the rode flat. we have a lot of marine surplus stores and it was available cheap.

on the 25' chain, you may want to go with shorter sections and link them together if needed. once you get to around 40#, it gets pretty heavy. (again, all depends on the bottom, and your anchorage.)

 

[timebandit]

A small light anchor with 150 ft of 1/4 inch line is good for a lunch hook and is easy to deploy.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

^really what I was thinking...

its nice to have a light anchor that's quick to deploy... ALL your anchors are pretty big. that fortress is $$. I'd cry if I lost that... same for the delta and claw, but not as $$$.

-maybe get a smaller #8 danforth type, with 6' of chain, and 150' of 1/4" for your lunch hook.

for a guy w/ 'broke not broken' handle, just trying save your cash...

 

[Sumner]

....-maybe get a smaller #8 danforth type, with 6' of chain, and 150' of 1/4" for your lunch hook....

I think from one of his earlier posts he has a smaller danforth. Not sure what the weight is,

Sum

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[MrBill_FLL]

OK, 4 anchors! Winner!!!! LOL!

 

[Hollyweirdos]

Holy Smokes!

 

[Sumner]

OK, 4 anchors! Winner!!!! LOL!

We have 4 also counting the original danforth, but we leave it and its rode back in the Suburban. The claw and Manson are on the bow and the Fortress is below broke down. All of these have their own rodes.

I think the Endeavour came with 6 anchors if I remember right and over 1000 feet of rode. We would sell two of the danforths that came with it and if I remember right we have two 25 CQR's that we would sell real cheap if someone wanted those.

We are keeping one danforth for the stern for a 'lunch anchor' and the 35 lb. CQR on the bow with the 35 lb. Manson on a second bow roller we bought (didn't make this one) and like I said we might buy a Fortress FX-23 and either use it or keep it below.

If we had to start giving things up on the boat the anchors would be the last to go ,

Sum

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[MrBill_FLL]

LOL, too funny! and I thought I was prepared with my 3... haha.

the real CQR's are valuable! 25# seems maybe a little small for the E37.
35# sounds right.

not sure why, but reading the cruising sites some swear by them. not sure they are even made anymore.... but not looking either.


Sailorman takes consignment... if you bring them to FLL.. but think you'd do better on ebay. mby save one for the mac.

next you'll need a big old fisherman. (the 16th century type)
Do you get crusing world? ($13/yr) one of the regulars(capt fatty) has one, and talked about when he used it... breaks down, and really sets. but might take a week to get it unstuck... lol.

http://www.blueoceantackle.com/KEDGE_ANCHOR__ILLUSTRATION.JPG

 

[Sumner]

....the real CQR's are valuable! 25# seems maybe a little small for the E37.
35# sounds right. ........................

.....................Do you get crusing world? ($13/yr) one of the regulars(capt fatty) has one, and talked about when he used it... breaks down, and really sets. but might take a week to get it unstuck... lol.

http://www.blueoceantackle.com/KEDGE_ANCHOR__ILLUSTRATION.JPG

Yep, I don't know why they had the 25's on the Endeavour and I'm not interested in using them on the Mac. Like you said, tons of them out there and people swear by them, but they don't do to well on anchor reviews/tests against the newer generation of anchors.

Yep, we get Cruising World and I usually read fatty's articles, but I don't remember seeing that one,

Sum

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