Rode Advice

[Kushtaka]

I have your standard lewmar delta, 8 plait rode and G4 chain. I occasionally anchor to sleep, camp, or go to shore, however most of my anchoring happens in the pursuit of halibut. With our big tides and fast currents, anchoring is important when fishing the bottom anywhere near home. I can drift when I'm out in the big water, but 95% of the time, I need to toss the pick.

Halibut fishing is done deep, for the most part, and I have managed to get about 500' of rode into my locker. I have 450' of line and 50' of chain, and I have used it all. HOWEVER, I usually use only about 250-350'.

I'm looking for advice. I think I'd like to reduce this a bit because my windlass doesn't handle it very well, I believe because once I get 400' or so in there, there isn't much room below, and it needs a foot or so clearance.

Be that as it may, I just want to simplify the process, as I've never managed to pull my anchor easily.

For now, I use a clip to turn on my windlass and keep it on, and then I go into the berth and pull and arrange my rode into the locker. This sometimes takes some time, and it won't work well without me in there.

So, I've considered a few fixes, but the most reasonable seems to be to take some rode out. should I just cut the line off at say 300', then keep the rest as a spare/extender? Is there a decent means of coupling one rode to another that will feed through my windlass (not critical)?

Do I have waaaay too much chain on? It's more than I've had before. I never seem to budge though. I often anchor in 150' of water with 250' of rode. I don't mind doing this because I'm on the boat, mostly awake, and able to fix it if I drag. I wouldn't spend the night like that.

SO, advice please. How much rode/chain is perfect for me?

Thanks!

[hardee]

Note: NOT from an Expert here.

I would not shorten the chain. That chain and its weight helps to keep the anchor down on the bottom.

I have about 300 feet of rode and 70 feet of chain. The rope to chain splice does sometimes hang up going through the windlass ( a Sprint 600) that I use with the engines running anytime I am running the windlass. (Thanks Blake) I like the 70 feet of chain because it allows me to anchor in 10 to 20 feet of water and, depending on the time, tide and purpose, the ability to not put out more than chain. I can usually get the splice, though occasionally hanging up at the windlass, to go through with a few backup and retry times.

When bringing in the anchor, I use my boat hook. The Windlass switch is a momentary one, and positioned under the helm wheel, so I run the rode in and watch into the v-birth then stop retrieving, and adjust the rode, usually only after I get the chain piling on top of the 3 strand nylon line. I adjust that pile of chain about every 15 feet, to keep it from stacking up and falling over the divider towards the bunk.

Anchoring in as deep as you do, i think I would be looking at expanding the anchor locker size rather than shortening the rode length.

Harvey
SleepyC

[Kushtaka]

Anyone out there expanded their lockers??

I've considered this, but am pushing 6' tall and sleep with my feet against the locker pretty snugly already. I don't want to bring it farther astern. I did thing about hollowing out some of the space under the berth, but I can't really take it lower (remove the "floor" of the locker without making a bathtub, and/or putting a locker drain too close to the waterline.

Anyone tackle this?

[rogerbum]

Most of the guys I know who anchor for halibut, use a separate setup than their primary ground tackle because the halibut anchoring setup that is safest is often a lot different than what one would do to sleep overnight in a nice fairly shallow bay. With a few 100ft of rode out, you're often in areas with large current and with a current swing, it's pretty easy to get rode hung up on the props and get into trouble really fast. I assume you know this already but some might not.

Most use 1/2" anchor rode and many have a few sections so that they can join them (often with ez-link chain links) to add addition for different depths. They typically have an anchor, 25-50' of chain, 300-400' of rode attached to a 4" ring, a scotchman buoy with a another 4" ring attached to it, and another 50' of rode with two bullet floats in the middle and another close to the bow. One end the 50' of rode connects to the bow of the boat, on the other end it is tied to the 4" ring which is connected to the long piece of rode. The long piece of rode feeds through the 4" ring that is connected to the buoy. The scotchman serves as a deployable mooring buoy. If you feed the shorter piece of rode over the bow rollers (or similar) and have some fairleads to route it along side the cabin, you can cleat it off at the stern but still have it pulling on the bow. This allows you to release from the anchor if you need to go in a hurry or chase down a fish.

To retrieve the anchor, you motor back up current at an angle and pull the long rode through the 4" ring. The scotchman buoy provides resistance. With a 4" ring and the right amount of chain, the chain will pass through the ring and when you stop, it will hang down and support the weight of the anchor. Then you just manually retrieve and stuff all the line into a large bucket or clothes basket.

[Marco Flamingo]

There is a commercial crab pot line that has lead in it. It's not the light-weight gray polypro stuff for recreational crabbing. I bought a roll of it for a project and found out that it was way heavier than I needed. 330 feet was about 65 pounds, so it's not as heavy as chain, but it certainly won't drift around in a current like most 1/2" line. The lead in it is more like pencil lead than the little lead thread used in the recreational line. That much lead basically has the same effect as attaching a down rigger cannon ball every 50 feet on a rope rode. You wouldn't want to pull it by hand (as I found out).

It's also not as expensive as chain. I think it was about $240 for the roll at a local commercial fishing supply house. It's in my shed. Local pick up only.

Mark

[Kushtaka]

I've never once needed to come off anchor to land a 'but, however I've been advised that it happens. I have used a setup similar to what you describe (although somewhat different in how the rode/float/boat all work together. I would run my normal rode through a 4" split loop (buoy attached) to pull and had second smaller loop with a second buoy attached that I clipped a shorter rode to the fixed loop/buoy to secure my boat.

Then I could get off the pick and go in a heartbeat.

Sometimes I think about the slow pace of my current setup as a major liability if someone were to fall overboard while anchored deep for halibut. I'd simply have to cut my rode and lose by ground tackle. That alone may be reason enough to switch things up and make getting off the pick a little easier.

I played the rougher sports as a young man, and so I have a bad back, bad neck, bad knees, and tennis elbow. Until recently I just hauled it up by hand. The windlass was supposed to make me able to sit at my helm and push a button. I now feel more involved than ever! I'm about to install a line hauler (I still pull my longline by hand!) and that may just be the way I pull an anchor from there on.

[KickerDRB]

I seem to have a hard time getting more than 250ft of 8 plaite in the anchor locker, without a few too many trips up front to spread it all out. The V700 seems to like some drop to keep it running smooth. How about keeping a few hundred feet in a cloth grocery bag in the front of the berth? Bitter end tied off, run to the bag, a few hundred feet, and back into the locker. Then you have it if you need it. If you use it, fight it into the locker, let it dry. Next time you have the usual amount out, put the bottom of the pile back in the bag...

regards,
Dave

[Kushtaka]

How would one couple one rode to another so as to work through the windlass? Any ideas?

[breausaw]

[Sea Wolf]

Are you asking about rope to chain splices, or chain to chain, or rope to rope?

In my experience, for small windlasses like those used on C-Dorys, chain to rope splices must be done very carefully and be very smooth in transition from the rope to the chain. They need to be flexible as well. Stiff, lumpy splices jam in the windlass very easily.

Such splicing requires some practice and learning. It has been discussed here before.

Chain to Chain splicing requires a metal link, but the link must not be much different than the regular links for it to pass through the chain gypsy on the windlass. The two halves of a repair link must be slipped together and their connecting pins peened over well with a hammer. Some have reported using JB Weld to help strengthen the joint and tighten the pin fit. Such a splice is more or less permanent, and not a temporary splice to add length for short term. Must be done very carefully to retain full strength in the whole rode. Any rode is only as strong as its weakest link.

Splicing ropes of similar types (3-strand to 3-strand) is doable, just time consuming and takes learning and practice. Tapering is important to get a smooth and flexible joint that will pass through the windlass.

I imagine 8-plait can be spliced, but I'm not familiar with it. Would be more complicated, and could be difficult, like splicing rope to wire cable (!) (Tried that on sailboat rigging, too!)

Joe.

[rogerbum]

[Kushtaka]