Stowing anchor rode and chain the the forecastle

Am I strange, or does it seem to anyone else that stowing wet chain and rode that reek of bottom mud inside the cabin is a bad idea?

That smell by the way is mostly hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas created by anaerobic bacteria. It not only stinks and dribbles into inaccessible parts of the bilge to smell up the boat for weeks, but it is also toxic. At about 700 parts per million, you die much the same from it as from cyanide gas, and it causes cellular damage at much lower concentrations. Besides, it just stinks!

I stow my chain and rode in a laundry basket in the aft engine compartment, which is isolated from the cabin. I drop my anchor off the windward side at the cockpit, and then haul the rode with a snatch block to the bow. The point of tension is at the bow. I reverse the process to take in anchor, and can use the jibsheet winch to assist with unsetting the anchor. That method works fine, it's safer because I don't have to leave the cockpit, and the water, mud and stink stay isolated from my cabin. Unlike other boats I've been in, mine doesn't smell like Ode à la Sewer after anchoring.

But maybe I'm just strange.

Sounds very intertesting for the singlehander!

Have you any photos of the process?

Do you anchor off a snatchblock?
Still have to go forward to put the rode in a chock and set up a snubber?
What's your drill when hauling up a particularly yucky hydrgen-sulfated hook and chain into the cockpit?:eek:
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Nothing on what other skippers do with smelly anchor gear....
Most Brits have smaller sailers and cruisers.
Yachting Monthly's Scuttlebutt forums http://www.ybw.com/
(probably the largest and one of the best managed boat forum sites in the world...ABSOLUTELY HUGE!)
....Try googling:
Lifting the anchor single handed - Yachting and Boating World

Lots of tips, experiences for A/C owners on this dicey subject!

Hello Ebb,

Always good to hear from you.

Attached is a schematic of the setup. I had to use a generic deck plan drawing, and the Ariel is a little less beamy than the deck plan shown.

The snatch block (green) is tied in a looping pendant (blue) which is used to adjust it from abeam the cockpit to the bow. I have two blocks (red) at the forward shroud chainplate and the bow. * Two blocks, including this one, are attached to the padeye. The other block is for my boom preventer.

So the pendant runs in a loop: 1) starboard jib sheet cleat, 2) block at the forward shroud chainplate, 3) bow block, 4) bow skein chock, 5) along side the starboard hull back to the jib sheet cleat.

The snatch block pendant is always set up on the boat, going on the assumption that the times I will really need my anchor in a hurry are the times I can't anticipate needing it. The snatch block is normally stowed in a space under the starboard jibsheet winch.

To anchor, I pull the laundry basket out of the aft locker (engine compartment). The anchor rode is in a random heap in the basket. The anchor and 25 feet of chain rest beneath the basket on the bottom of the locker. I place the basket on the cockpit seat, reach in and remove the anchor and chain, and drop the anchor off the starboard side (I always drop anchor while hove-to on a starboard tack - so the starboard side is to windward). In an emergency that prevents heaving to while I am underway, I'd just cast the anchor off the starboard stern. Once all the chain has gone overboard, I clip the anchor rode (brown) through the snatch block gate. I then haul the snatch block to the bow using the pendant loop and tie off the rode and pendant to the cleat. The only snubber I use is on the anchor rode just above the thimble that attaches the rode to the chain. It's submerged, rubber, and doesn't mind seawater exposure.

One advantage of using a snatch block and pendant is it allows me some adjustment range of the bow's angle to oncoming swells. They are often not perfectly aligned with the wind, and also when the swells are really high and sharp, I can trade off pitching and rolling motion to get a better ride - which also places less strain on the rode, making the anchor less likely to come unset.

To haul in the anchor, I use the jibsheet winch, if necessary, to haul the boat to the anchor. Once the anchor breaks free, I haul in the line until the chain emerges from the surface, and then I haul the snatch block back to the cockpit using the pendant, unsnap the rode from the snatch block, and haul the chain and anchor aboard.

If there's bottom mud in the chain and anchor, I let them dangle over the side for a while until most of the mud is removed. Sometimes I dip them up and down a bit - teabag style. Since I am storing the anchor in a "wet" locker, when I get back to the dock, I just hose off the entire aft locker and let my little bilge pump in the locker empty it out.

I should note that this method isn't my invention, it is an application of what has been called: "the Pardey method of bridle on a sea anchor." After using this method of deploying sea anchors on my Ariel and other boats, I realized that it could be just as easily adopted to anchors attached to the bottom.

I'll try to post a video or pictures as soon as I can.


*I have long since removed the bow horn cleat after it continually snagged my doused jib, after falling on it and nearly giving myself a pneumothorax, and after tripping over it and nearly breaking a few toes -- and replaced it with a really robust SS padeye and backing plate rated at 6,000 pounds (breaking load). The original Japanesium (aluminum) horn cleat fell to pieces when I removed it from the deck. The stainless screws were bonded to the aluminum cleat, and all I had to do was give it a gentle whack with a hammer and it shattered like a ceramic pot. It's a good thing I never used it for anchoring.

Patrick,
One of these days before LittleGull splashes, I will go into the archives
and copy all your threads, posts and tips (YouTubes also)
to make up a manual for sailing the Ariel.
Which I will study thoroughly....
I've kindof lost my sailing rhythm and will need constant guidance.....
all the new ideas and help I can get.....!
ONE OF THESE DAYS

Wonderful blow by blow on your method.
As you may have guessed, ebbster really appreciates this level of exact.
Besides, you are great at explaining stuff....turns on the MeTube in the head....
making it easy to see and understand.
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Couple notes: Pardy reference can be found in their book: Storm Tactics.
They also have a great DVD showing how they heave-to with parachute and bridle
at an optimum bow angle offwind adjusted by sheet winches.

(Read on a forum somewhere that when rounding the Horn the Pardy's
forereached under trisail....rather than using their patent method.
Hearsay. But obviously, whatever fits the conditions - deploying and retreiving
a parachute from troubled water is a BIG DEAL!)
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Tor Pinney http://www.tor.cc/articles/rode.htm
has an article "Springing the Rode", describing a method of re-positioning the boat
while at anchor.... when surge and wind cause uncomfortable rolling. Similar cockpit control,
in that the sheet winch and a line to the rode are used to turn the boat.

Thanks Ebb.

Here is the block I use on the pedant: http://www.suncorstainless.com/seine-block-w-eye. It's important that the sheave be large to avoid chafing and weakening the rode by a small diameter turn. I use the 4 inch diameter sheave (S0427-0100-R). Be sure to use a good quality marine grease on the bearings.

Here is my bow padeye: http://www.suncorstainless.com/heavy...square-pad-eye and the backing plate: http://www.suncorstainless.com/heavy...are-back-plate.

Attached are some photos. The blue line on the starboard side is my anchor pendant. I removed my vent hood on the foredeck for a better view.

A few other things you'll see in the photos:

• I have LED lights on the bow rail. These have taken a beating (including a few whacks by pilings while docking) and continued to work for three years. The paint on the mounts is pealing, but the lights work fine. I suppose you don't see too many crab pots in the Bay, but they are strewn about everywhere like mines where I sail. The lights are also good for night entries into tight harbors like Santa Cruz -- and for making my boat recognizable to the many tourist kayakers we have during the day - would wouldn't otherwise know the difference between how the "front" and the "back" of a boat looks ("most things have bright white lights only in front, right Mable?"). They're brighter than my headlights on my car. Current consumption: 3 amps.
• I have chain attached to my dock line on my port side. That dockline is just a few inches short of being long enough to reach the propeller, and it stays on my boat at all times. The reason for the hefty chain and cast stainless thimble is that I use that line for my sea anchor - which I've used often to take a rest offshore - and a chain won't chafe. With a sea anchor deployed, an Ariel is a formidably stable boat even in wicked swells. The white cloth covering is to keep the chain from abrading the deck paint.
• The white line with stripes having a Lineman's Loop (Alpine Butterfly Loop) is my jackline. The line glows green even in full daylight because it is photo-luminescent. Easy to see in the dark! The line has the outer sheath steam-sealed to the inner core, so the sheath doesn't "milk" (slide over the core) which is important with a jackline. I opted for round line instead of flat webbing because it is never in an area where I step (where it could roll) and it does less harm to my hands when I have to cling to it.
• I have LED navigation lights at the bow, and a little black masking where the lights would otherwise reflect off the white paint, then bounce off the bow railing and destroy my night vision. They are "2 mile" lights. Also, the thin red line going through a block at the stem is my jib downhaul.