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  1. #1
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    Jan 2010
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    Default Anchoring and Its Discontents

    Looking ahead to the March Cruise-Out for the Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race boats (wow, that's a mouthful!) I'm wondering what you all plan to do about anchoring in Hanalei Bay? Because you WILL have to anchor in Hanalei Bay, since there is no marina there, no usable pier, and very few mooring balls, most taken by local boats.

    When we have the cruise-out in March you will have the opportunity to participate in a little race out into the bay using your emergency rudder. That was fun to watch last time, to almost everyone's chagrin.

    Sailors will also be encouraged to practice anchoring. Joe Balderrama might be asked to exhibit his Hail Mary anchoring technique just for entertainment purposes, but is that really the way you want to end a beautiful Pacific experience? Chances are good that you will have assistance with anchoring and sail take-down when you arrive in Kauai, but just in case you arrive at 3 am and only Brian arrives on a surfboard, maybe you want to think about details of anchoring ahead of time.

    Bow roller? What's a bow roller? Racers tend not to have bow rollers. Danforth? Spade? Delta? Huh? Now is the time for you to make friends with a cruising sailor on your dock.
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    Last edited by Philpott; 01-08-2018 at 11:36 PM.

  2. #2
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    How about a 35-lb (?) Bruce on a windlass with 250' of chain? Plus a lighter fluke on 300' of rode as a backup? I think I got this one covered...

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gamayun View Post
    How about a 35-lb (?) Bruce on a windlass with 250' of chain? Plus a lighter fluke on 300' of rode as a backup? I think I got this one covered...
    Yes, Kynntana has a beautiful set up. Doesn't that mean that you could comfortably anchor in a depth of 34'? With the touch of a switch? hahaha. DM doesn't even have a bow roller. Yet. I'm hoping for photographs and suggestions.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    . . . I'm hoping for photographs and suggestions.
    I'm not familiar with the Cal 2-27, so I'm not sure if this will help, but here goes:

    My previous boat was a 28’ racer/cruiser made by S-2 Yachts (Model 8.6; a little bigger and cruisier than AlanH’s 7.9), and I gave her a bow roller sort of like this:

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    I could use two existing bolts on the bow plate on the starboard side of the stem piece on the boat, and the two bolt holes at the aft end of the bow roller. But I had to drill one new hole in the bow roller and one new hole in the bow plate to have three bolts holding the roller in place. In the next picture, the dimple in the bow plate, outboard of the second Phillips-head bolt, was my first attempt to drill the plate with a regular 3/8” drill and half a dozen drill bits:

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    I was able to finish drilling the bow plate with a much bigger drill from a buddy’s machine shop, tungsten drill bits, and cutting oil. I put a backing plate under the new bolt, matching the existing two. I was happy with the result, and it held steady in many anchoring adventures, some in high-stress conditions.

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    Well worth the effort if you intend to anchor out more than once every few years.

    What the bow roller did not accomplish, however, was any dampening of the swinging on the wind the boat would do at anchor. That problem was caused by the boat's inherent windage: wind on the nose would blow the bow off to one side or the other, and the boat would saw back and forth all night. Not fun, not safe, and bad in a crowded anchorage where you want all boats swinging together as the wind shifts. Adding an anchor-riding sail was the 100% cure for that problem. The harder the wind would blow, the more arrow-straight the boat would hold nose to wind.

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    Many boats behave well at anchor without a riding sail, but if you find yours does not, the riding sail is well worth the cost and effort.

    Good luck. Being able to get some sleep while anchored out is one of the great joys of cruising.
    Last edited by AZ Sailor; 01-09-2018 at 10:44 AM.
    Lee
    s/v Morning Star
    Valiant 32

  5. #5
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    Wow, thanks, Lee! Those are really helpful photos. I stayed up late last night, and decided that the Lewmar Medium Fairlead anchor roller (the one you used) seems to be the best for Dura Mater. At 11" x 2 1/8" it will just fit between her nav light and that doohickey thing that holds her roller furler. The difference is that your boat had all that metal at the bow. I will surely need a strong backing plate down below.

    One last issue: Do you think my anchor will work with this roller? It is an A80 given to me by John Foster (thank you, John. I know you are up there having an opinion about this as I type).
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  6. #6
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    This will probably be of no help to anyone but.... my sailmaker, when I ordered my assym., insisted that the efficiency of the sail increased significantly the further forward of the forestay that the tack was located. So I looked at my bow situation and realized I had a dirty great Rochna sticking significantly forward of the bow roller. With very little trouble at all I figured out how I could secure the anchor in place with a couple of dyneema strops and then, using a soft shackle and a block on the Rochna semicircular bar I had a great lead for the assym. downhaul which was well forward. It was easier to do than to describe here and the beauty of it was that when cruising coastwise if there was an emergency and I needed the anchor toot sweet I could just cut the strops and the anchor was ready to go. I also split a hose to cover the bar on the Rochna so the soft shackle wouldn't chafe. Plus the Rochna is one of the best anchors available today which doesn't hurt.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    I will surely need a strong backing plate down below.
    Indeed. The roller is going to take some heavy loads from time to time. You might want to have someone knowledgeable look at the situation to see if other reinforcement is also in order.

    I can't tell is that anchor fits that roller. I bought anchor and roller at the same time, so I could test fit in the store.
    Lee
    s/v Morning Star
    Valiant 32

  8. #8
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    Berkeley Marina
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    DM doesn't even have a bow roller. Yet. I'm hoping for photographs and suggestions.
    Why am I always so sure I have great pictures of these things tucked away in iCloud, and it turns out I don't?

    Here's the best I can offer from Happiness. Garhauer AR-20 is the roller. I installed it while anchored in Clipper Cove, using small bits of Starboard and teak that I had aboard as spacers below the roller, and a thicker piece of teak with some huge fender washers for a backing plate belowdeck. The roller just barely squoze between the forestay fitting and the starboard light. With the Danforth yanked up in the roller, ready for deployment, a fluke usually blocks the running light -- another project (mounting a bicolor on the pulpit). I always thought I'd upgrade to an oversize Fortress or one of the new generation spade types, but the no-name little danforth that came with my boat has held through some unexpected conditions and the shank fits easily in the roller so it stays for now. I like having it ready to go. Not a pretty setup, but there are uglier things on this boat. And no spinnaker snags yet, but that's probably just a matter of time.

    I see a lot of rollers mounted as far forward as possible. I guess it works for some, but...long moment arm + big swell + yawing, pitching boat = busted roller, chafe, etc. I dun seen it on the internet. I like it mounted as far inboard as possible.

    http://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=24
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    Last edited by Lanikai; 01-10-2018 at 10:11 PM.

  9. #9
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    Very nice, Greg. Thank you! Simple, effective and inexpensive. I love it. Here's a video I found from the day before the start of the Race:

    https://vimeo.com/291326632

  10. #10
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    Dec 2007
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    San Jose
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    Howdy everyone,
    I have anchored in Hanaleii Bay on 7 ocassions since 1992. Hanaleii Bay is a serious, hard core anchorage and anyone sailing to it would be well advised to ignore people babbling about how you want to go as light as possible and to take along a sizeable main anchor, plenty of chain, and a minimum of 300 feet of good nylon rode of a minimum 1/2" diameter. Your shackles should be very high quality forged ones. World cruisers swear by Crosby 209A shackles. They are easily obtained over the web. Riggingwarehouse.com has them. A 3/8" shackle lists for $11.50. You also need to mouse the shackles with monel or stainless wire, or the pin WILL come out in use. There are a lot of shackles made of the wonder metal Chinesium out there. I use only Crosby 209A and paint them orange. Only an orange painted shackle EVER goes in one of my anchor systems. In addition a second credible anchor and rode should be carried, as well as at least 2 quality snubbers if all chain rodes are used. A Danforth is NOT APPROPRIATE as a main anchor in Hanaleii Bay. A Bruce, CQR, Rocna, or similar anchor can reset when the wind shifts. A Danforth will NOT. I almost lost 4 fingers trying to deal with the consequences of a Danforth popping out on a tide change and not resetting.

    Hanaleii Bay is a big, rough tradewinds anchorage, and is subject to violent winds over 50 knots under possible summer situations. It is also generally packed with boats, and the wind direction can easily change by 180 degrees in squalls, or if a tropical depression is passing to the north. You will typically anchor in 30 to 45 feet. The bottom is sand, but without an engine to set the anchor well, boats can and DO drag. There are several reefs nearby which can easily destroy your boat. This is NOT a nice anchorage, although it is beautiful.

    In addition, the boat will frequently be plunging and yawing. Long anchor rollers can and probably WILL seriously chafe a nylon rode. Very good chafe gear is essential. Your cleats MUST be strong. Many lighter or older boats have chrome plated Zamac (zinc) cleats. These are absolutely NOT suitable for real anchoring stresses.

    I have personally re-anchored many SSS boats with inadequate anchors, some multiple times. The most egregious was a light boat with about a 10 pound Danforth anchor, 6 feet of 1/4" chain and about 100 feet of 3/8" cheesy nylon rode. Really!!??? Please keep in mind that if your boat drags and damages another boat, you are liable for the damages, which can be considerable. In 2016 some unknown person, maybe not SSS, dragged anchor and tore the bowspirit completely off a large local boat. The culprit was not found before I left.

    A few extra pounds WILL NOT cost you a victory. Keeping the boat sailing close to its rating 24 hours a day CAN get you one. If this is your first transpac, please DO NOT think of this as casual whoopee surfing down the tradewinds swells. With luck and careful preparation it may be everything you long for. This is a big ocean crossing however, and there are no boatyards or chandleries out there. I have been in races where contestants suffered broken rudders, masts, all the halyards (!) literally chafing through, broken furlers, no working autopilots, no electricity, badly injured or sick skippers, and a whole lot more. It is all shits and giggles until the unthinkable happens and you are standing in ankle deep water in the boat or watching your mast smashing the side of the boat in. Trust me, suddenly you feel VERY SMALL, and the ocean seems REALLY BIG! You may also have to deal with being caught in a tropical depression or even a hurricane. I left Hanaleii Bay 2 weeks before Hurricane Iniki devastated Kauai. I just missed Hurricane Danielle 4 years later. In 2016 FOUR tropical depressions crossed the race course during the race, one catching the back end of the fleet in 50+ knot winds. After one race I did not do, there were 12 foot breakers coming into Hanaleii Bay after a depression passed to the north.

    I am sorry to take such a loud and strident position on these issues, but I have seen the results of taking both the seamanship aspects of the race and anchoring in Hanaleii Bay too lightly. Beefing up your cleats and anchoring system will have NO impact on your finishing position, and may save your boat. I am sure many will disagree with me, but if you drag and hit my boat, there will be consequences. If you hit one of the locals, those consequences could be really ugly. Speaking broadly, the locals are not fond of the SSS fleet. This is not just a long day race. You are crossing an ocean. If you prepare well, you will almost certainly be safe and have fun.

    If anyone wants to discuss these our other issues relating to the race, just hit me up. Better bring earplugs, and maybe a tranquilizer gun...

    All the best,
    Michael
    S/V Mouton Noir
    Last edited by MichaelJefferson; 02-05-2018 at 10:12 PM.

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