Anchor DIY

[Mr B]

After testing my new small anchor over the last week in real ocean conditions,
Bass Strait, Victoria, Where else,

I can conclude its a proven boat stopping anchor now and I have full confidence in it,

The first couple of nights were a scary worry, and I didnt sleep well,
Up a few times to check if I had moved at all from where I was, Going on the GPS,
As It wasnt a proven boat stopper, And I didnt know if it would work as planned,

My first night with it, I dropped the anchor in 38 feet of water in the dark as I had run aground just before and I didnt know where the shallow water was,
It was all trial and error,
I also found out my GPS maps dont cover the area I was sailing in, So It was very vague on the chart,

20 knot winds and fully exposed to all conditions in a very large inlet and other bays down the eastern side of Wilsons Promotory,

Lowering it down to between 14 to 30 feet, Then an extra 10 feet of slack chain, So the chain is laying flat on the bottom,
Backing down at 2 knots, It digs in immediately and goes bang as the chain pays out and then stops abruptly, and stands my boat on its nose,

The bow sinks about 2 feet and then comes up again as the boat moves towards the chain,

Two or three tide changes later, Im still in the same spot, Verified on the GPS,

Only problem I have with it, It takes quite a bit of effort to get it out of the ground to retrieve it after it digs in,
,
Thats a good problem I can live with,

I did do a few design changes before I was happy with it, Dragging it across my yard with the car,
I widened the hoop, Put some ears on it, To make it dig in and put extra weight on the point,
2/3rds of the weight is on the point, It now weighs 23 Kgs,

My first test of it was unsuccessfull as the slider bar went back too far and the chain stayed on the rear near the hoop and would not let the anchor do its job,
It made the anchor drag backwards and not set,
But I bolted a spacer in the slide and that cured that problem,
It now digs in first time every time, and doesnt get tangled on the hoop,

I also made a chain stopper for it on the Bow Spit, and that works perfectly,
Some one on here mentioned the chain stopper and I copied that as well,
How dare I copy some one elses idea, Hahahahaha

I can now have a rest as I pull it up by hand as it grabs the chain when I let it off a bit,
Its just a plate with a slot in it that fits between the chain links, To release, I just flip it over forwards and the chain slides out unobstructed under it, ,
The anchor hangs in the water some where between the floor of the sea and the boat, As I have a rest,

I still carry my proven 40 Kg anchor as well, Just in case of serious windage problems if they arise in the future if the small one dont work in extreme winds,

Cheers, Brian,

[downunder]

MrB

certainly looks like you have been getting more than your share of blows lately.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by downunder

MrB

certainly looks like you have been getting more than your share of blows lately.

Winter in Victoria, Its cold, wet and very windy, Hahahahaha

Im still doing shake down cruises in it, And I need the high winds for that,
Its an ocean going Cat, Not a Marina barnacle grower,

If Im 3 hours out into Bass Strait, I take it as it comes, Good or Bad,
Even the BOM cant predict the weather here,

3 years ago, It didnt have Hulls, Wiring or Plumbing, Its come a long way since then,
But it did have two Dud anchors that are now garden ornaments,
A Bruce, Hahahahaha and a Danforth that dragged constantly, ,

I sleep well at night now knowing I have two proven anchors on board That grab the bottom of the ocean like grim death and dont let go,
A 23 Kg one and a 40 Kg one,

Thats three weeks growth in the Marina when I couldnt lift the drive leg out due to a broken Hydraulic line,

Cheers, Brian,