Less Conventional Approaches to Controlling Yawing

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Panope

Thinwater,

Great thread, thanks for posting.

I was unfamiliar with the term "Hammerlock Moor" so I did a quick Google search to learn more about it.

In several seamanship publications, the Hammerlock anchor is described as being dropped at the point of maximum yawing/swinging and using a short scope (not nearly vertical) forming a "V" type moor. They also mention the "nearly vertical" (anchor just touching bottom underfoot)technique separately but do not give a proper name for it.

Do you have a good source for clarifying the term "Hammerlock Moor"?

Steve

I believe this is traditional term that means slightly different things to different people, primarily because there are different ways to do it and different reasons to use it. It is a continuum. If you expect a wind shift, the short scope V makes sense, but the underlying assumption (see US Navy explanation) is that it will drag. If you just want to reduce yawing a little in a harbor, but still swing with changes in the wind along with everyone else, very, very short scope makes sense. It comes down to how easily do you want it to drag?

Just to make things more complicated, you can also transition from a hammerlock to a V by letting out more scope on both. This can make a lot of sense for a short squall; just shorten back up after to avoid tangles. Lack of tangles is one of the advantages of the method.

I've done all three.

(from US Navy manual--as good a definition as any.)

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by puffcard

Another item I had luck with, was dropping a 5 gal bucket off the stern and keep it tight. Seemed to work much better than hanging off the bow. If you have any current, it works even better.

I know this is an old debate but I found it very interesting. With my pilothouse and bimini I haven't experienced much yawing at anchor, but then again haven't anchored in more than 35-40kts. Intuitively it seems like this stern bucket idea would be a pretty effective supplement to whatever other systems are in place. Even better would be a weighted drogue off the stern with some cones or loops of webbing, the more resistance the better. I'm thinking that slowing the lateral movement of the stern would have a big benefit, without adding any windage like a riding sail does. Then again, I haven't tried any of this. Does anyone else do this?

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by thinwater

a. If you are going to be in one spot for weeks, yes, you need a swivel.

b. If only a few, up to about a dozzen 360s, a very simple and well-proven solution is to terminate the secondary rode to the main rode >30 feet before the roller. Done this way, the chain absorbs the twist without tangling. I live in a tidal area and have done this many times. If both rodes terminate in lockers, you are quite screwed.

Never had a keel of rudder wrap. Either all chain or simply enough chain generally prevents that. Also, as long as the rodes terminate >30' from the roller (depending on the size of the boat), only one rode is near the boat. Very important.

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Perfect? No. But neither is an anchorage with 180 degree swings in gusts. Not a place I would stay for very long, I think. Other than shore ties, I don't think there is a system that is.

Being a nervous sort of soul I often use two anchors off the bow in windy conditions.

The twisting is a problem and since I have a fairly long rode on the second anchor untwisting the rode from the chain can be difficult.

My latest solution is to pull enough rode out to get the requisite number of turns around the bowsprit so that I retrieve the main anchor through the loops, then throw all the loops off over the stowed main anchor and retrieve the second anchor.

I've tried a lot of the other anti yaw solutions over the years but have found the second anchor the most practicable.