♫♪ This Old Highway's Gettin' Longer ♫♪

Chief RA · Nov 10, 2014

I use my regular fenders as a float so I carry nothing extra except for the SS ring. Chief

centerline · Nov 10, 2014

Kermit said:
The first order of business will be getting the correct roller.

and that is going to make the biggest difference over what you have now, no matter what method you use to bring the anchor to the surface.

I wanted a good sized anchor with a respectable amount of chain on it... a small, light boat doesnt need as much chain as a heavy cruising boat, and I think 16 feet is more than plenty for almost all applications where a small light boat is going to be cruising/anchoring. 8-10 is plenty, and some dont use any chain at all.

I wanted an anchor system on the bow, that I never had to touch the anchor and chain, and I wanted a way to handle it without ever a chance of marring the boat... and I wanted to be able to deploy and retrieve while close to the steering and motor.
so now everything is installed in such a way that one only has to uncleat the rode to deploy, and then recleat it after the scope runs out.... and do the opposite to pull the anchor back on the roller. the line is all that ever needs to be touched....
all or any deployment/storage/stowage is taken care of by the line/rode....

Johnb · Nov 10, 2014

For a lunch hook or just to set up for fishing for a while I use a Fortress FX37 aluminum anchor on an all rope rode. It holds very well and at 21 pounds is easy to raise and handle. I find that handling the anchor and chain once it is all up is dirtier and more difficult and more injury prone than just raising it.

Jackdaw · Nov 10, 2014

I've seen a H260 with a factory bow anchor roller. Looked like below.

Also make it easy on yourself. If you lake sail and mostly just stop for lunch or dinner, get a lighter lunch hook with a smaller sized chain. Much easier to get on board. If you want, store a bigger anchor/chain below for nights when you think you might need it.

caguy · Nov 11, 2014

centerline said:
with my setup, I have 16 feet of chain on 170ft of 1/2" rode.... and it is ran back to the cockpit.... i never have to go on deck to either deploy or retrieve. its all done from the cockpit.

with the anchor rode being worked from the cockpit, its easier for a single hander to use the motor to drift forward towards the anchor while taking in the slack in the line, and save the heavy pulling for lifting the anchor full of mud or seaweed from the bottom....
and from the cockpit its also easier for the single hander to use the motor to back down on the ride while deploying and setting the anchor.

once I get directly over the anchor and have all the slack out of the rode, I cleat it off.... within a few seconds the motion of the boat (wave action and wind drift) will break the anchor out...no hard pulling whatsoever. then I usually let it drift a few more seconds so it has a chance to scour off as much mud as possible as it drags along, before drawing it up and onto the roller....

the anchor itself isnt usually too heavy, so there isnt much effort put into drawing up the anchor, but sometimes the heavy clay, or 'specially the kelp in other areas, that doesnt wash of after the anchor breaks out, can be almost overbearing when trying to draw it up to the boat from the bottom.

i know using a winch would help with this a lot if you have a disability of any kind, and although I havent actually thought about it until now, my method would work perfect in conjunction with a cabin top winch... a self tailer. everything is in perfect alignment.

its now on my "to do" list.....

How do you keep from scratching the deck with the chain?
What winch are you using?

centerline · Nov 11, 2014

caguy said:
How do you keep from scratching the deck with the chain?
What winch are you using?

with pvc pipe... its not in the way of anything, its fully functional, and makes life while manually pulling the anchor as easy as it will ever get... the bullseyes for turning the rode after the roller and on the corner of the deck are 1 inch delrin blocks, which are very low in friction so there is little resistance in them.... "delrin is VERY strong, and can be easily worked with woodworking tools)
obviously, the chain stows in the pvc pipe, on deck.
the aft end of the pvc where the rode exits, it is not connected to the deck but free floats with the rode, so no matter where I stand while pulling, the tube is always in the lead...

the only things that are bolted to the boat are the two turning blocks.... (as well as the roller and the cleat)....
I had the turning blocks the same way on my 21 to bring the rode to the cockpit, but i didnt use chain on that boat so didnt need the tubes.

both pvc tubes free float on the rode without any other connection, other than a small wire lanyard that joins them together at the deck turning block, and this is only so the aft tube stays put and doesnt ride in with the line while im pulling it.

I dont currently have a winch, but you can see where one could be easily installed in the area of the cleat...

the anchor is a 30# home built design, kinda between a rocna and a manson, which works as well as anything ive ever used...

when deploying, i just uncleat and let it go...
when drawing it in, i just fold back the cockpit cushion and stand on the seat with one foot on the coaming.... or if the wind is blowing, i will stand at the tiller and steer with my leg and have the motor idling toward the anchor at the while I haul away.
the line falls into a small 4gal. rubbermaid garbage container that is stowed inside at the foot of the companionway..
the addition of the tiler pilot makes the whole retrieval process even easier, because you just set the course and haul in the slack. once you feel a bit of resistance, cleat it down and let the anchor break out..... then continue to draw it in while the tiller pilot does what it does best, keep you moving on course while you get things in order and wipe up any drips from the rode.

I have just taken these photos minutes ago.... we had our first frost of the year last night so its time to tarp the boat.....

caguy · Nov 11, 2014

On the C27 i have an anchor locker at the bow. I have considered putting a winch behind that. I have an extra Barlow winch and a 4" shrink sleeve to put on the winch so the chain can bite and not chew up the winch. While cranking i can lead the rode and chain into the locker.
The manual winches are a major expense and really large
Any thoughts?

centerline · Nov 11, 2014

caguy said:
On the C27 i have an anchor locker at the bow. I have considered putting a winch behind that. I have an extra Barlow winch and a 4" shrink sleeve to put on the winch so the chain can bite and not chew up the winch. While cranking i can lead the rode and chain into the locker.
The manual winches are a major expense and really large
Any thoughts?

from my varied and many uses for heat shrink tube, I can tell you that it wont stay on long at all... the chain will bite into it and stretch the shrink tube material... like hitting a tupperware lid with a hammer several times, only more, cus each link has its own bite.... the shrink tube will be chewed up and loose on the drum, and it will only foul things til it falls off completely...

and im not sure if the chain would even lead on the drum correctly... i think it would tend to climb on itself rather than slipping to the top of the drum...

♫♪ This Old Highway's Gettin' Longer ♫♪

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