"Sailing" at anchor

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GeorgeTina

Hi. Can anybody offer advice as to how to reduce "sailing around the anchor". My Beneteau sails around more than 90 degrees even in light winds. I have the same problem on the hook or on a prepared mooring. Other Yachts moored close by seem to have less of a problem. What am I doing wrong.
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
You need a riding

sail. They set on your back stay. do an archive search of look in a book.
 
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Ed

Ross is right!

A riding sail on the backstay usually helps alot. you dont need much, a friend uses a riding sail made from and old pram sail. works great.
 
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Ed

check out this link

This is an intesting way to do it. chck this out. http://www.boatus.com/goodoldboat/horsing.htmck the link.
 
Dec 3, 2003
2,101
Hunter Legend 37 Portsmouth, RI
George Tina. To answer your question.

There is nothing you are doing wrong. Hunters and B's are prone to "sailing" as they do. Based upon the design, and the postings that frequently end up on this site, it is a very common occurrence with Hunters and B's. My Hunter L37 is the same way.
 

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Riding sail ....

plus rolling the furled genoa as 'tight as possible'. Windage located forward of the CE position will cause most boats to sail at anchor. This is especially true of fractional rigs with the mast located quite forward of the CE line. If you dont want to use a riding sail, try to anchor 'stern to' and see if that position doesnt lessen the sailing back and forth.
 
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Peter J. Brennan

Yes, riding sail

We made one from an old Bluejay sail. Hanks on to the backstay and the end of the boom. Works very well. However, in an anchorage where everybody else is swinging and you are not, there can be a problem if boats are too close to one another. You will be out of step. There was an article in Ocean Navigator recently about a disabled yacht being towed by another yacht in the Atlantic to Ireland. The major problem with the tow was that the towed vessel swung wildly from side to side, just like an unstable boat at anchor. But the photographs show the towed vessel with the jib partially unfurled, which I should think would guarantee that it would wildly swerve. I am puzzled as to why they did not rig a riding sail of some sort. I am sure it would have towed far more sedately
 

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
Check out this link

I bought one on Ebay for my 32 ODay and it works real well
 
Jul 8, 2004
157
- - Pinedale, WY
Wanderer

My C 22 is quieter with a riding sail, but it still wanders more than I like. A couple of times it has tangled its nylon anchor rode around the swing keel. Once this was without the riding sail, and once with it up. This later time there were very light changing winds and also a changing tidal current. Next time I'll try to drop a weight down the rode to keep the rode down deeper to avoid entanglement. I wonder for larger boats if a full chain rode might also limit sailing at anchor? Dick K.
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
For boats without backstays

Just fly the sail with a loose luff, a long pendent at the tack and the halyard pulled fairly tight. and sheet to the mast.
 
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GeorgeTina

Thanks for the info

Hi. Thanks for all the help. Seems I need a small riding sail
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
With split backstays I

would hank onto just one and trim to hold what ever position worked best
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,330
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Another solution

is to hank a line onto your anchor rode and run it back to one of your winches as a bridle. It'll cock the boat off the wind, the direction is your choice. Written up by Lin and Larry Pardey. We've used it and it works. Much easier than trying to buy and fit a riding sail. Stu
 
Jun 7, 2004
944
Birch Bay Washington
Stu is right about this one

just tie the boat so it is slightly offset from the wind.
 

Liam

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Apr 5, 2005
241
Beneteau 331 Santa Cruz
Stu and Patrick

I love those kind of solutions. Makes sense/logic and easy to do. Thanks.
 

Mulf

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Dec 2, 2003
400
Hunter 410 Chester, MD (Kent Island)
I found that a Kellet worked...

To reduce the saling at anchor on our H410 I got a mushroom anchor, fit a snap shackle to the top that fits onto and easily slides along the nylon rode, and attached a light line to the top of the mushroom. Snapping it on the anchor rode and letting it slide down a ways seems to help tremendously. I believe it also reduces the length rode needed by lowering the angle of pull on the anchor.
 
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