[Rhodes22-list] Swinging at anchor?

[Scott Andrews]

I help set moorings for a small club and the float to anchor chain will fail if not inspected, there is often a swivel link near the middle that will go first.

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> On Apr 24, 2020, at 11:47 AM, Hank <hnw555 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> You also need to ensure that the chain between the float and the anchor is
> inspected.  I used to have an Islander 36 and kept it on a mooring at the
> Naval Academy.  I got a call one day that my boat was missing.  It turned
> out that the chain had broken near the anchor and the marina had not
> inspected it sufficiently.  Fortunately, the weather was pretty calm and it
> had gently floated across the river and had very little damage. The marina
> was able to go over and bring it back that same morning.
> 
> Hank
> 
>> On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 11:37 AM Graham Stewart <gstewart8 at cogeco.ca> wrote:
>> 
>> It is fascinating to me how what seemed like a simple question of whether
>> to
>> use the bow eye or the bow cleat has become so technical - and interesting.
>> What an amazing list this is.
>> 
>> Roger makes a distinction between tying up to a mooring or an anchor that I
>> think is very important. In my earlier post I thought we were talking about
>> moorings only but clearly that assumption was unwarranted.
>> 
>> I think I should explain more carefully the risk of using chain with a
>> mooring. Most moorings use chain between the float and the weight. That
>> greatly increases the holding power and minimizes the scope that is
>> required. However, the connection between the float and the boat - whether
>> to the bow eye or cleat - should be nylon line. The case I mentioned where
>> a
>> neighbor had his boat break free and washed ashore occurred because he
>> connected his mooring chain directly to his bow eye. With little to absorb
>> the shock the chain snapped within a few hours of rough weather.
>> 
>> Graham Stewart
>> Agile 1976 Rhodes 22
>> Kingston Ontario
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf
>> Of
>> ROGER PIHLAJA
>> Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 9:29 AM
>> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
>> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Swinging at anchor?
>> 
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> By the time I put up the pop top + enclosure and the cockpit boom room
>> enclosure, S/V Dynamic Equilibrium has so much windage aft of the center of
>> buoyancy; that, the bow always points strongly into the wind, like a big
>> weather vane.  This weather vane tendency is so strong it overwhelms any
>> effect that the off center pull from using the bow chock/bow cleat vs. the
>> bow eye might cause.  Yes, in theory, the off center pull does generate a
>> torque that might cause the boat to sail around its anchor.  But, the
>> weather vane effect from the excess windage aft completely dominates the
>> boat's response to a wind shift.
>> 
>> We don't have tidal current shifts here on the great lakes and rivers
>> always
>> tend to flow in the same direction.  I'd be interested in hearing from
>> ocean
>> sailing Rhodies regarding whether anchoring from the bow eye vs. bow
>> chock/bow cleat makes any difference in the way the boat lies to a current
>> vs. the way it lies to the wind.  My expectation is that there is very
>> little difference; but, I'd like to hear from people that have actual
>> experience.
>> 
>> Regarding the question about using the bow eye vs. the bow chock/bow cleat
>> when tied up to a mooring - Commercial moorings usually have a huge
>> mushroom
>> anchor or engine block buried in the mud and all chain rode up to the
>> mooring ball.  This setup has little, if any, shock absorbing properties.
>> But, isn't the pennant from the mooring ball up to the boat usually nylon?
>> Isn't that where the shock absorbing is supposed to occur?  If so, you
>> definitely wouldn't want to use chain here.  Given the huge size of the
>> mooring anchor and all steel chain rode, I don't think it makes much
>> difference whether you use the bow eye or the bow chock/bow cleat when
>> tying
>> up to a mooring.  That huge, deeply set, mooring anchor is not going to
>> move
>> no matter how much or how little scope you let out.
>> 
>> Roger Pihlaja
>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>> 
>> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows
>> 10
>> 
>> From: Peter Nyberg<mailto:peter at sunnybeeches.com>
>> Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2020 9:40 PM
>> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Bow Eye vs. Bow Cleat?
>> 
>> I am in total agreement with Roger on the benefits of anchoring from the
>> bow
>> eye rather than the bow cleat.
>> 
>> My approach to doing so is a little different.  I have 10' of 3/8" line
>> with
>> a thimble in one end permanently attached to the bow eye with a shackle.  I
>> refer to this line as my 'painter'.  When I'm not anchored, the painter is
>> looped over and tied off to the pulpit.  After I've anchored, I attach the
>> painter to the rode, and let out more scope so that the painter takes the
>> load.
>> 
>> In addition to effectively increasing your scope, this approach eliminates
>> any chafing that might occur where the rode comes over the toe-rail.
>> 
>> I originally tried this approach because someone way back in the archives
>> suggested that it would reduce the tendency of R22 to swing on its anchor.
>> Unfortunately I did not find this to be true to any significant extent.
>> 
>> Peter Nyberg
>> Coventry, CT
>> s/v Silverheels (1988/2016)
>> 
>> 
>>> On Apr 23, 2020, at 5:51 PM, ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi All,
>>> 
>>> There is a real advantage to rigging the anchor line thru the bow eye vs.
>> directly to the bow cleat.  The choice of the bow eye vs. the bow cleat has
>> a significant effect on the anchor scope.  This is because the bow eye is
>> ~1.5 ft closer to the water vs the bow cleat.  For example, suppose we are
>> anchoring in 7 feet of water.  The bow eye is ~2 feet above the water and
>> the bow cleat is ~3.5 feet above the water.  Suppose we let out 65 feet of
>> anchor rode.  The scope using the bow eye is 65 / (7 + 2) = 7.2  The scope
>> using the bow cleat is 65 / (7 + 3.5) = 6.2  A scope of 7.2 is sufficient
>> for decent overnight holding with a minimum 65 foot radius swing circle.  A
>> scope of 6.2 is marginal for an overnight night stay.  Sometimes, there
>> isn't sufficient swing room to let out more anchor rode, say if you are the
>> last boat to drop the hook in a crowded anchorage.  In addition, it's
>> considered bad anchoring etiquette to use up all the swing room in an
>> anchorage even if you are the first one there.
>>> 
>>> Fortunately, you don't have to tie off to the bow eye in order to get the
>> scope advantage of using it.  Simply run the anchor rode thru the bow eye
>> first, then up to the bow cleat, and cleat it off.  This will give you all
>> the scope advantage of using the bow eye and all the ease of tying off to
>> the bow cleat.  When departing, reach down and hook the anchor rode with a
>> boat hook below the bow eye.  Pull the anchor rode on board, hang on to it,
>> and then uncleat the rode from the bow cleat.  Easy peasy and no stress on
>> the knees!
>>> 
>>> I always use the bow eye in the manner described above.  There is just no
>> reason not to, the extra safety margin on scope helps me sleep better, and
>> I
>> don't annoy my fellow boaters.
>>> 
>>> Roger Pihlaja
>>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>>