Jordan Series Drogue experience

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

... The total weight [of Acera] is just 7.3kg. This should make the drogue easy to store and deploy.

Wow, that's quite a saving in weight! I just purchased a nylon (polyester) series drogue and it's quite heavy to lift on deck - I estimate over 30kg of rope and drogues all up.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by NevisDog

Wow, that's quite a saving in weight! I just purchased a nylon (polyester) series drogue and it's quite heavy to lift on deck - I estimate over 30kg of rope and drogues all up.

As a matter of interest I looked up the weight of double braid polyester. These are the figures averaged from a couple of manufacturers:
½" (13 mm) 8.5 lbs/100ft = 0.126 kg/m
¾" (19 mm) 18 lbs/100ft = 0.268 kg/m
1" (25 mm) 35 lbs/100ft = 0.521 kg/m

So the weight of double braid polyester for our boat would be:
40m + 40m + 60m = 5 + 10.7 + 31.3 kg = 47 kg

The volume would also be substantially more, making both storage and handling more difficult.

Considering these drogues are deployed only in atrocious conditions, I think hauling an extra 40kg out of a locker and dragging it to the rear of the boat while trying to hang on becomes a safety issue.

SWL

[Fliegerfahrer]

Hello,

does anybody now if Oceanbrake is still in business? I am interested to by on drogue system of them but till now have not been able to contact them via their website or emailadress.

Thanks for your help

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by Fliegerfahrer

...does anybody now if Oceanbrake is still in business?...

They were a month ago, though it took a few days for them to reply. Try:
Ocean Brake website,
englishseadog on eBay,
Neptune's Locker,
all the same people - try them all and they'll reply in a day or two.

[Fliegerfahrer]

Thank you,

tried ocean brake homepage and as well as via email.

I will give them a few more days than I will try the other option.

[kmacdonald]

Originally Posted by Fliegerfahrer

Thank you,

tried ocean brake homepage and as well as via email.

I will give them a few more days than I will try the other option.

They have the best cones IMHO. Good price also.

[Fliegerfahrer]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

They have the best cones IMHO. Good price also.

I think so as well, just a bit difficult to get in touch with them to actually buy them ;-)

[Lantau]

Yes. Bear in mind that they aren't a big company. It's not unlikely that the drogues are made in a shed in the back garden. No kidding.

Originally Posted by Fliegerfahrer

Hello,

does anybody now if Oceanbrake is still in business? I am interested to by on drogue system of them but till now have not been able to contact them via their website or emailadress.

Thanks for your help

[Andante II]

Hiya

I need to build one of these and have been trawling through stuff online. I see the attraction of Dyneema and will likely go that way as long as I can afford it.

Has anyone considered or done any calculations around reducing the line diameter when using dyneema? This drop in diameter will result in a drop in drag, whether this is significant I have no idea - I may just add in a couple of cones to each section just to make me feel better. Any more considered thoughts would be grateful received!

Thanks

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Andante II

Hiya

I need to build one of these and have been trawling through stuff online. I see the attraction of Dyneema and will likely go that way as long as I can afford it.

Has anyone considered or done any calculations around reducing the line diameter when using dyneema? This drop in diameter will result in a drop in drag, whether this is significant I have no idea - I may just add in a couple of cones to each section just to make me feel better. Any more considered thoughts would be grateful received!

Thanks

It's an interesting question. I haven't thought of this, but it stands to reason that a Dyneema drogue with smaller diameter cordage may not perform exactly to spec. Whether it's enough to matter or not, I don't know.


A lot of them have been made; I would think that if the difference is material we would be hearing about it, no?

[CarinaPDX]

If the Dyneema is the same or greater strength it should be fine. I agree that a cone or two would probably be enough to counter the loss of friction, but keep in mind that these have always been sized to the nearest 5 or 10 cones; precision is not required. I was considering using a braided nylon line, and Donald Jordan said it should be OK but the extra stretch would result in somewhat higher maximum loads. I suspect that the elongation of Dyneema at max load would be less than polyester but it would be a good idea to check.

Greg

[Lost Horizons]

Isn’t there a reliance on line stretching with the JSD?

[CarinaPDX]

No, it is the other way around. More stretch allows the stern to be pulled off to the side more, resulting in a greater load due to the greater cross section. I don't know all of the considerations, or certainly the formulae, behind the design but I'm pretty certain that the difference in stretch is not going to be a major issue.

Greg

[Lost Horizons]

A potential issue I can think of is with the shock loads on attachment points (cleats) similar to normal anchoring.

[CarinaPDX]

Inadequate attachment points are a big risk - it is too easy to ignore that aspect. IIRC DJ called for a 14,000# breaking strength for my rope and drogues (which I never completed). That is for a heavy 31' boat. A 14,000# max load cleat would be pretty large for that size vessel.

Greg