Anchor Straps

[Tug]

Today i installed my 16 # Claw on my BRM-4...the bow roller has a captive pin that locks the anchor in place...The anchor is secure in the North/South position but the anchor does swing right to left. I am concerned that while running it may cause some damage...is there a way to secure this. I was considering using some kind of anchor strap if there is such a thing....or even installing another captive pin half way up the bow roller but i am not sure if that would work.........also for those who use a hawsp pipe how do you secure your anchor line in your locker when you are away from your boat...i mean what would stop anyone from pulling the anchor rope through the hawsp pipe. Thanks Tug

[thataway]

How about someone stealing the anchor? I did sell one boat, and the next week someone stole a 45 CQR right off the bow.

I would not worry about someone stealing the anchor rode. Just pull the anchor tight up against the roller, if tight enough it will stay in the roller. If the roller is properly installed, the anchor should not hit the boat. The BRM 4 is specifically designed for the Bruce 22 lb anchor, and it should be secure.l

If you are really worried, then put the chain through the hause pipe and padlock a piece of SS "L" bar to it. Incidently, normally I do not keep the anchor in place with the chain or rode--I use a separate length of line--or snubber to keep the anchor in place.

[Tug]

I will try using a snubber line to keep the anchor in place instead of hooking the anchor chain to the bow cleat. If you do not have a windless .. how do you secure the anchor rope to the bow cleat when you have the anchor out. I have tried knotts before but they have a tendency to be difficult to remove. Thanks Tug

[JamesTXSD]

Tie a cleat hitch on the cleat...

http://sailing.about.com/od/learntosail/ss/cleathitch.htm

Easy and fast to tie/untie. If one is using a windlass, you should be depending on the windlass to hold the rode... we tie off to the cleat or put a snubber line on the chain, depending on how much we have out.

Hope that helps.

[timflan]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I'm pretty happy with the "Perfect Bungy" solution, which I just wrote about at Navagear.



And yes, that white plastic thing is a patch covering the hole where my windlass used to be. At Friday Harbor, you can me to pontificate at length on the following topic: "It's virtually impossible to avoid misusing a windlass unless you're willing to make MORE trips to the foredeck and back than you would if you were deploying and retrieving by hand!"

[Tug]

Pat and Tim.... That's what l was looking for...the correct way to tie the anchor line to the cleat that was easy to tie and release......and a description .( picture )..of securing the anchor/anchor chain to the cleat . Thanks Tug

[toyman]

Course if you're not like Capt. Jim and can't tie a knot (like me), tie a LOT ! This over under around and through always threw me - I did get the rabbit out of the hole - around the tree - and back in the hole down pat.

[Tug]

Funny you should mention that ..not being able to tie a knot....was just on the boat trying that ...cleat hitch on the bow cleat.....what i want to know ..can you tie a cleat hitch if you are using the middle of the rope..not having a end to work with....ha!ha! Tug

[timflan]

Absolutely! I do it all the time. My primary forward dockline is fifty feet long, and the middle of this line is secured to the bow cleat. One tail runs down the starboard side of the boat, and the other runs down the port side. When I come to a dock, I step off the boat with a stern line and a bow line in hand. Since the bow line is so long, I generally run it to a dock cleat, about perpendicular to the dock, and cleat it there as a bow line. This leaves a long tail of leftover rope, which I run back to the boat's midship cleat, acting as a spring line.

Anyhoo, properly tied cleat hitches require slack to tie, but they don't require access to the bitter end of the rope.

[Pacificcoast101]

I have a line tied to the deck cleat aft of the windlass. I made a costly mistake with my last boat by relying on the mechanical latch only. While a friend was driving the boat, we hit a swell hard and the latch broke. The anchor and forty feet of chain rolled off the deck, under the boat and fouled the duoprops. It shredded the gears in the outdrive and cracked the stern of my aluminum boat. My insurance company wrote me a check for $5000 and hauled away my now useless boat.

[JamesTXSD]

[thataway]

Glad to see that not. One important item on cleating a line, is to take a turn of the line around each of the posts before crossing over the horns. As for locking--if you lock it-the illustration shows the proper way--so that the line comes under itself, not the opposite which can jam.

On sailboats we rarely jamed the last turn--so that a line could be quickly and easily released. When anchoring, it is acceptable to jam the last turn. However, if you are going to use the cleat in the center of a line (for example I often use a bow lline and foreward spring line with the same rope. I do not jam the line on the cleat--and after two turns around the horns, then take another turn around the post to go back to the second point where this long line is secured.

The anchor always has to have a second line to secure it--never depend on the windlass when at anchor, or when running. I cannot comment on Tim's experiences--but I did anchor from 1946 until 1980 without a windlass--and I do believe that one of the reasons I have a bad back is that I pulled up a lot of anchors, with my back and legs. The windlass is there to pull the anchor up from the bottom. Drive the boat to the point where it is over the anchor--taking up the slack with the windlass. Drive the boat over the anchor, with the bow line tight (do not use the windless motor to pull the anchor out)--then after the anchor is broken out, retrieve it with the windlass. If you don't have a windlass, you can just secure the anchor rode, when the boat is right over the anchor, and power it out--and/or you can use an anchor ball to pull the anchor up.

I have anchored thousands of nights--and a windlass makes it much easier--and I have yet to ruin a windlass by abusing it.

[Chester]

Timothy, I've seen too many bungys-tarp straps of every sort, including yours, break. We use a snubber with a hook on one end.