The half and half solution is the one I use – I raise the anchor with the hatch open so I can use my foot to push the chain pile away. It's crude, but it works. I haven't done it in a blow, but in 20 – 30 knots, there's a great deal of running back and forth from the bow to the wheel.
I guess I'll have to figure that out, too. Thanks for the ideas!
Bob
PS. I sail almost exclusively alone.
On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 9:07 PM, Rich Carter < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Robert and Tor
I cut a hole in the bottom of the anchor well directly below the fairlead
from the windlass so that the chain falls into the lower locker. Many have
done this, and I see that Robert has done this too. Unfortunately, the
chain forms castles under the pipe, so it tends to bind in the pipe after a
few dozen feet. If I don't feed it below, it does the same thing in the
anchor well under the windlass after about 20 feet. Many of us have done
something similar, so there's nothing uncommon in my installation. I've
been searching for some way to force the chain to fall into the lower locker
without jamming, but I've come up blank. Most of my anchoring needs are
satisfied with less than 100 feet of chain, so I leave half of it below and
lay the other half in the anchor well. The disadvantage with this
arrangement is that it makes retrieving the anchor in a blow a two-person
job. One person at the wheel to run the engine and a second person to
retrieve the chain and pull it back in the chain-locker so that it doesn't
bind up. I have five weeks vacation planned on the boat this summer; much
of it alone since my wife doesn't have as much vacation. I'll have to watch
the weather when anchoring because I may not be able to pull anchor alone if
weather deteriorates. Too bad, since there's a windlass switch at the
wheel.I don't know what your experience is, so please pardon the comment if this
is obvious. My experience offshore is limited to a single passage to
Bermuda many years ago, so I don't consider myself seasoned. Still, there's
a lot to be said for having been offshore in the boat. While I've seen big
waves near shore, there's something entirely different about being battered
for a few hours vs a few days. We got the snot beat out of us on the way
out, but that's another story. I had a chance to see what the 424 can take
and where its weaknesses are. While the boat is generally well-built, the
anchor locker is a weak point. A $6 spray-can of foam insulation squirted
under the toe-rail above the forward bulkhead is all that is needed to keep
water out of the forward cabin should the anchor locker fill, and fill it
will if you head into rough seas. This means that if you have a fairlead
cut in the bottom of the locker to feed chain below, you'll need to secure
it before heading offshore. Clay or even spray-foam insulation would work.
If you have a vertical windlass mounted in that locker, you should expect
the motor to be under water if you get into a rough headsea. Glassing over
the locker hatch is an obvious solution and far superior to just stuffing
foam under the toe-rail; assuming that you've done something to keep the
water from running down the hawser and into your bilge.The other weak points IMHO are:
Flat forward sections of the hull.
Huge cockpit.
Transom chainplate (for sloop and cutter rigs).Rich
BlackSheep #47
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Bob Fine
Fine Software LLC
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