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Not trying to change the subject or anything (it is fascinating), but the temperature here on Cape Cod is topping out at a balmy 34 degrees today.
Over the past week it has only made it into the teens during the day and single digits at night. We usually have mild winters here on the Cape (about 40 degrees and rain when the rest of New England is 30 degrees with snow), so this is unusual.
That said, I grew up in Maine, so I'm actually enjoying the cold; I prefer four seasons to three.
Well, that is not the worst of it. When I got back inside the house, I was shaking and trembling violently. I quickly sat down in front of the roaring hearth and wrapped myself in buffalo robes. My wife prepared hot chicken soup to revive me. I was going back and forth between being semi-conscious and conscious.
When semi-conscious, I envisioned the picture the vice commander had posted previously of a lovely thing on the foredeck, clad only in the three blue fabric samples, bending over to raise the heavy anchor while I cautioned her to take her time and hopefully take the whole day.
When I became conscious again, two things happened. The first was that the weight figures regarding anchors and line could have been gotten from the West catalog, and the second was that I wanted to slip back into the semi conscious state.
There are some offsets to being in the bitter cold north.
This will have to do
This photo more clearly shows the proper technique your crew should employ in retrieving the anchor.
[WARNING: Racy photo attached]
http://extremeboatsmag.com/photos/da...entshappen.jpg
To be fair, I should post something for the ladies
That first one was more as I recalled the way it was when I went into semi consciousness and told the lady to take her time, but I don't recall the details.
This has allowed me to drift away from reality...My snowblower won't start but we have a day's warning here on Cape Ann. More snow and sub zero temps early this coming week
I am reminded of anchoring in the BVI. It is better entertainment than you find at Foxy's. The best way is to nose into a convenient cove, and when the boat stops moving, gun it for 5 minutes and then throw the anchor over, and tie it to the pulpit so it easily accessible...Must be time to light barbie anyway.
I have also seen similar techniques at Isle of Shoals. There is some sand in the Harbor at Star, but finding it is the issue.
More coffee! the water looks cold fom here.
Reluctantly, I am bringing this back to the technical/sailing subject matter (as opposed to the technical/halucinating) :
I just rebuilt my "lunch anchor", an old #9 or #10 Danforth (I haven't found the exact same size in the catalogs). I added 4 feet of chain, and 230' of 3/8" line (replacing 75' 3/8" line) in a canvas tote bag. The new setup is a nice combination, and medium to lightweight. It is a very substantial contrast to my larger anchor, what I think is now called a #13, with 150' or 1/2" line, and 6' of chain. The latter is a a bear (heavy and bulky, but it does work) It is possible that the reason I have had trouble with the lunch anchor holding on occasion, even for lunch, was that the line simply was not long enough coupled with the lack of a chain. A bit too lightweight and too casual.
One thing, for those that replace old anchor line and are trying to match line sizes, is that the old line is bigger than the new replacement. Apparently anchor line expands as it gets older, contrary to what I would believe conventional wisdom would hold, that it would be compressed from usage and stretching.
Is it the line expanding or the mfg reducing?
Interesting question. I braved the cold morning air, in my stocking feet and pajamas, and went the quarter mile to get my micrometer and measure the lines (hoping I would go back to semi-consciousness to clarify those blurred images I had had earlier. But it didn't work). The new line is right on the button: .375 (3/8"). The old line is .390. I could be that the old line (40 years) was built a bit oversized, but I don't think so. And the old line is very dry. However, the old line is very stiff in the sense that when I try to separate the strands to pull out the depth markers, it is almost impossible and requires a spike. Perhaps whatever reaction it is that causes nylon line to stiffen as it ages apparently also causes it to expand 3% or 4%.
Incidentally, as I was revelling in the light weight of the new anchor line, a "daah" occurred to me. The 3/8" line has almost a quarter of the cross-sectional area as the 1/2", so obviously the same amount of line would take up one quarter the space and weight 1/4 as much (Of course, it is only 1/4 as strong as well, which is irrelevant for a lunch anchor, and perhaps any anchor for the Ariel with its low to the water profile (which lowers the wind and wave forces on it while at anchor).
In this video clip, professional mariners demonstrate how to deploy an anchor.
http://www.dockwalk.com/videos/letgo/letgofwd.mpeg
commanderpete,
I do not know how you got a picture of my ex-girl friend, but since we are split up I'll let it slide
Quote:
Originally posted by commanderpete
This photo more clearly shows the proper technique your crew should employ in retrieving the anchor.
[WARNING: Racy photo attached]
http://extremeboatsmag.com/photos/da...entshappen.jpg
So I am reading the magazine that Boat US publishes every month to detail the errors that it's claimaints have made and educate the rest of us so we are less likely to grace the pages of future issues and I see a familure name.....
Peter Theis!
They passed along some wisdom related to scope calculation with changing winds and steep bottoms like one sees in the Great Lakes.
Congrats on being cited by BOAT US in their mag. I wonder if you might be able to share here more of what they were talking about in the article?
Boat US published an article about the anchors that held in the hurricanes last year and those that didn't, and about proper anchoring technique. I questioned some of their wisdom and sent them the article I had written about anchoring. They selected the part that relates to anchoring on a sloping bottom for inclusion in their letters (space being limited). I have been guilty of anchoring with a 10:1 scope on a sloping bottom, and the anchor not holding - so I don't make that mistake any more - but I have seen others do that when they anchor offshore on a sloping beach, for example. The article may have been published in the A/C Newsletter. However, I fyou want a copy, let me have your email address and I'll email the whole thing to you.
Are there any tricks to coiling and storing anchor line so it doesn't get tangled up when you pay it out?