Conference unifix::sailing

The way your boat lies to the anchor is going to be effected by both wind and
water currents. When you find yourself not sitting directly to windward it may
be because of tidal currents. Another possibility is that your boat is acting
just as it might be expected to act. Our Pearson 26 had a similar underwater
configuration and almost always sailed back and forth across the rode if there
was any kind of wind. I wouldn't worry about it and I also wouldn't reduce the
scope. If you're in a tight anchorage you might put out two anchors which will
cut the sailing down. You do want to fasten your rudder down to reduce wear
and tear there. 

Ed

More from ET... 

Your boat is going to react primarily to the wind. As your bow falls off the
wind, the wind will blow it further off and you'll go out to the end of the rode
and probably stretch that rode (nylon rubber band) a bit. The rode will pull the
bow back the other way, exposing the other (leeward) side of the boat, and will
knock the bow back to windward. The leeward side is now the windward side and
you get blown back to the other end of the rode's arc. The process will continue
as long as the wind blows. 

When you traded off the full keel for the fin and spade rudder you traded off
directional stability for speed and responsiveness. It's easier for the wind to
push your boat sideways through the water than it is to push a full keel boat
sideways through the water. You're going to move more than the full keel
boat. The increased freeboard (that 5'10" headroom) is going to give the
wind a bigger surface to work with as well.

My suggestion is that when you anchor you do the following:

o Set your anchor well. Back down as hard as you can on the bugger.

o Get a cool drink and relax in the cockpit while watching how you swing for a
while. When you go below for a second drink watch aft for a while to find out
what the view is like from the cabin. Then when you look out during dinner
you'll know what to expect. What you've done here is to establish visual
ranges for yourself.

o If you think you're too close to some other boat or rock or mudflat then
shorten your scope (but not less than 6-7!) and put out another anchor 90
degrees from the first. The two won't stop you, they'll just reduce the size
of the arc you're travelling in.

You're going to swing. Accept it along with the fact that you'll surf a long
time before that guy in the full keel boat will surf.

Didn't mean to run on but I went throught the same process you're going through
now.

Ed                        

	Have you considered setting a small sail along the backstay? It
wouldn't have to be very fancy (you could make it yourself) and should
keep you pointed into the wind in weathervane fashion.

Ed, Thanks for your replies.  You described perfectly the motion of the
boat at anchorage ... so you obviously know from experience from which you
write.

I ignored the sailing at anchorage until I went to Block Island over the
4th of July and found myself sharing a large harbor with an estimated 1000
boats (This is peace and tranquility?).  I set the hook and for three days
watch my boat drifting back and forth at anchorage while most of the other
boats dutifully faced into the wind.  With the anchor holding well, we
explored the island and night life ... but in the process, we had an strange
experience: the launch had the hardest time imaginable picking us up and
dropping us off (the winds were steady at 20 knots).  The launch approached
us several times as my boat drifted away from the launch.  The launch
repeated the process several more times until the CAL literally blew into
her.

... it could certainly be worse!  I also noticed while at Block Island,
that some boats sported a small sail on their backstays, presumably for
windward stability at anchorage.  Does anyone know anything about this?

-RPR-

Actually, your boat is behaving rather normally. Reducing your anchor 
scope to less than 7:1 increases the chances of dragging or breaking out 
the anchor substantially. 

CQR anchors are reputed to be the only anchors that reset themselves if
accidentally broken loose. (If you decide to buy a plow, get a CQR. The
various imitations, eg Danforth, aren't nearly as good.) Danforth
anchors tend to fly (due to their broad, flat flukes) if dropped while
the boat is moving or if there is much current -- a knot or two is all
it takes I gather. 

I can think of perhaps three ways to reduce wandering around the anchor. 
First, use a small, flat riding sail hanked onto the backstay and 
sheeted amidships. This only works if there is some wind. Riding sails 
are highly recommended by some experienced circumnavigators (eg, 
Dashew). The sail should be of storm jib weight cloth, have full length 
battens, be cut absolutely flat, and have hollow leech, luff, and foot. 
The area should be about the same as a storm jib or perhaps 8% of the 
total measured sail area. The battens are to keep the sail from flogging 
as the boat tacks.

Second, use an all chain rode. Not practical in your case, I suspect.

Third, try tying a second, small anchor to your main rode and let it 
rest on the bottom. It should provide some drag to slow movement, and it 
will also keep your nylon rode from floating into the propeller or 
rudder.

You might also consider a longer rode. With only 150' you are limited to 
anchoring in 25' or so. This may well be the usual anchoring depth 
around Cape Cod and Narragensett Bay (I've no real experience there). In 
Maine and Nova Scotia we've anchored in over 60' several times. With a 
longer rode you can also anchor further from shore, which reduces the 
chances of going ashore if you do drag.

I know that 6' or so of chain is almost universally recommended. 
However, judging by the muck on our main nylon rode, our 25 lb CQR, 21' 
of chain, and another several feet of nylon all bury into the mud. This 
rather worries me, since mud without some rocks isn't the usual 
situation. Sand without rocks is also unusual. A better recommendation I 
have heard is have the chain length equal to the length of the boat.

Legally, I believe, later anchoring boats are required to keep clear of 
all previously anchored boats. If someone anchors too close to you (your 
opinion) and he/she refuses to move when politely requested to, your 
only recourse is to move yourself. The one time we asked the skipper of 
another boat to move, he did. 

Laying out a second anchor requires rather a lot of effort and either a 
very long rode (anchors fore and aft) or a dinghy (other cases). Getting 
everything back can be fun and there is always the problem of the two 
rodes wrapping themselves around each other. Picking up two anchors 
under sail would be a real challenge.

If one believes Roth, Street, Griffith, et al, nearly everyone uses too 
little scope on too light anchors. True, most of the time there is no 
problem. Still, we are firm believers in using heavy ground tackle, and 
having a lot of it. Our working anchor is now a 35 lb CQR plow. We also 
carry a 45 lb CQR, a 20H Danforth, 3 300' nylon rodes, and 400' of 5/16
high test chain with a windlass to handle it. Maybe too much for summer 
cruising, but we sleep well. 

Enough. This is a subject that could go on forever.

Alan

As ususual Alan has come out with some good stuff. Let me add a few comments
(Again?!?!)

The riding sail might work but if you have a split backstay it could be a
bit difficult hanking it on without having to climb up on the stern rail
(assuming you have one). I've seen a lot of small fishermen using them on
windy days and they're a pretty good endorsement for a concept. But remember,
they're configured differently than you are under water so it might not work
for you.

Increasing your chain strikes me as a pretty good way of slowing the motion
down and possibly preventing it in light breezes because you're dragging
all that chain along the bottom. You'll also hold a lot better!! If you can
stand the weight this seems like a pretty good way to go. 

Two anchors seems to represent the best security and the least amount of motion
but also the most work. I've done both bow and stern and two off the bow (90
degrees apart) and see little difference in the amount of work involved. Bow and
stern anchoring would seem to present a lesser opportunity to get the rodes
wrapped around each other. 

                                
Isn't owning a boat wonderful!!


Ed

Great advice from all of the above.

I would not suggest a second anchor off the stern as the wind may shift over
night and cause other boats to swing into you. (You'll also lose the affect
of that gentle breeze flowing from the forward hatch if the wind changes).

I'm always looking for simple, effective, and creative solutions. To me, it
sounds like you need a sea anchor. Try this - a bucket tied off the stern
with about 10 - 15 ft of line. This should allow you to swing but at a reduced
rate. It should also take into account both wind and current.

I haven't tried it myself (though now I'll have to), but it just might do the 
trick!

Good luck!

Bill C.

	I have similar problems with a Columbia 26. I have used a sea anchor
and have even gone so far as to try to rig it to the tiller so that it
heads the boat into the wind. It's not worth the trouble.

	If there is enough current to put a significant drag on it, you
probably don't need it. Otherwise, when you are sailing at anchor, your
velocity is really so neglible that the thing practically hangs straight
down off the stern.

	I have used double bow anchors when things were really tight
but I wouldn't recommend a stern anchor unless you were expecting
really consistent winds. People tend to get a little upset when they
see them in crowded anchorages since they are such space hogs because
they make the boat using them a fixed obstruction.

	I, too, get a little nervous sometimes; however, I've only
had to move a very few times in sixteen years and have never dragged
an anchor out if it was set well originally.

-cjc-

re .6

Actually, a split backstay is ideal for riding sails. Hank a small
sail onto each of the lower wires, sheet into a V with the point 
forward, and you have a very effective weathervane holding you into the 
wind. A number of self-steering windvanes use a V shaped wind vane that 
is made from sailcloth.

Alan

I had the dubious pleasure of skippering a Tartan 46 with fin keel/
spade rudder.  The boat was all over anchorages whenever wind and 
current were different.  A small riding sail on the backstay helped
tremendously.

I also strongly recommend an anchor buoy (3/8" polyprop as long as
maximum depth you expect to anchor in plus small float with your 
name on it and a note that it is NOT a mooring pennant).  As your
boat sails back and forth at anchor, the nylon rode stretches and
contracts.  A few hours in a brisk breeze and you can cut right thru
the rode.  Several feet of chafing gear (at least a foot either side 
of the chock) is definitely in order.  Should the rode part (and you
realize it before running aground), the anchor buoy will help you
retrieve your investment.  Sometime I'll relate the tale of awaking
at 0300 to find we were on the seaward side of the Duck Island Roads
breakwater sans anchor.  Enough for now...

Steve

Some good points in these replies.  My further observations:

1) Many boat designs contain inherent dynamic instabilities.  Ocean racers
that 'porpoise' at speed in even calm seas are a commonly-seen example, and
yachts 'sailing' on their moorings are another.  It can be very disconcerting,
as a charter week on a Freedom 40 proved to me, and it can also be rather
difficult to dampen in some cases -- each boat will have it's own degree
of obstinance.  The riding sail is effective, if far enough aft and large
enough.  I've seen a plywood one rigged, which didn't flap and was able to
extend further aft than the backstay...design for one would take some experi-
menting.  I also like the sea anchor idea, which would at least slow the
oscillation, and in *some* boats thereby kill it.  Clearly, something
substantially larger than a storm sea anchor would be needed, and probably
a way for it to remain deployed at minimum drag through the water.  How about
something suspended from the stern quarter cleats, thus remaining open at
least to the boats transom width?

2) Primarily because you sail on your ground tackle, I'd suggest anything
is better than a Danforth-type anchor.  They are the most directionally 
sensitive of the common anchor types, and even when buried can work the 
mud/sand they are in into a softer consistency than the surrounding stuff 
-- then under stress they break out wrapped in a huge clump of bottom and 
cloud of silt.  I used a Bruce (also directionally sensitive) in Florida 
extensively, and under similar conditions had serious holding problems at 
times.  Ploughs are better.  None are perfect, except maybe a yachtsman-type 
anchor >= your boat's displacement!  

For the sake of your anchorage mates, work on helping her follow the wind.
Good luck,
	   John.

I have a Freedom 32 which loves to sail at anchor the advantage of which is
that I get to see the entire harbor without turning my head!  My solution to
the problem was to purchase a riding sail.  The Freedom 32 does not have a
backstay so I attach the main halyard to the head of the sail, the tack is
attached to about 5' of line which snaps onto an eyebolt on the transom, and
the clew has two "sheets" led forward to winches on either side of the
companionway.  It is very effective!  I have a 35lb CQR which is large for
my boat but without the riding sail set I still do not sleep well on a 
windy night.  I strongly recommend the sail, it is not terribly expensive
(mine was $137), and is very effective if it is wind that is causing the
problem.  Laying 90 degrees to a breeze can also be current which will
change along with the tide.  A larger anchor with more chain will help
there as many others have already recommended.  Chafing gear is
definitely required.  Two weeks ago even with the riding sail a noreaster
left me with a sliced rubber chafe guard (I was very glad I had put it
on the mooring line in cuttyhunk, most don't have chafe gear).

I've read many articles on anchoring and most recommend larger than required
anchors, chain, and lots of scope.  It's really nice to be able to sleep
at night, I don't think I'd even relax with a 13 lb Danforth.  I have a
20H as a backup.

Good luck,
Pam

    Since I never read this one the first time and Alan Berens suggested
    it as reading in an anchor recommendation note, I thought I would
    toss something in that I find works to steady a boat out at anchor.
    
    It is a fairly common practice to create a bridle for pointing a
    boat into waves which run beam to wind to reduce rolling while on
    the hook.  This same parctice can be used to reduce sailing at
    anchor.  Basically you are pulling the bow out of the wind with
    the bridle.  If the line run aft is set correctly the boat will
    never tack thru the wind and quickly settle into one spot. I use
    a 50' springer tied around the anchor rode about 30' outboard. The
    bitter end of the spring line is led aft to a stern cleat and tied
    at about the 40' point (this point is approximate and only tried
    on our boat). If the springer is set too long the boat will tack.
    
    Walt

My boat is configured as in .0  Tried a riding sail with excellent results.
I used a storm jib hanked on the backstay, hoisted with the main halyard
and sheeted to both rails.  The boat, which used to sail wildly and widely,
steadied out completly.  The storm jib is cut quite flat and has no
battens.  There was no flogging at all but max wind speed was only about 
5 knots.  Maybe sheeting the clew in two directions helps.

Read the idea here almost two years ago but never tried it til this month.
Should have tried it sooner.

Thanks.
Al