Sea anchor question

[tomfoolery]

Drogue or Sea anchor not likely relevant to

99% of us reading this post. Drogues or sea anchors are ultimate off shore safety devices - Read Earl Hinz' attached article. Earl sailed the south pacific for decades and unlike most of us not only likely had both a sea anchor and a drogue but also may have even deployed one or the other. Notice his discussion about two deadly open ocean storms describes 35 ft + seas and 70 knots of wind. Not a 25 knot wind with a 10 swell in Georgia Strait.

 

[Dave]

Tire Problem solved

*! Drogues often require the use of a heavy weight to keep them deployed and not skipping over the top of the waves. My bet is that the tire is a cheap weight used for this purpose. It has the added benefit of large area so it adds to the drogue. I have a series drogue and I use a small 10 pound mushroom anchor and a couple of 10 pound scuba weights for this purpose. The tire is just as good and probably free. A series drogue is a long line with a bunch of little fabric cones on it that cause drag. The advantage is that with the pitch of the waves some of the cones are always active. A parachute type will keep opening and closing causing a lot of fatigue on the chute, either type needs a weight to keep it in the water and "dragging"Regards,dave