Sea Anchor
We have an 18ft parachute type sea anchor on Rosie. As yet we have never had to deploy it but we have done a lot of reading on the subject and believe we have come up with the best solution in terms of attaching it, length/composition of the rode and deploying it. Having said that we will leave the "Drag Device Database" book on the boat for you to read and come up with your own conclusions.
The books talk about a 'Pardey Bridle' holding the boat at 45 degrees to the waves makes for a more comfortable ride. My ready to deploy solution makes this hard to achieve and at the point of using the sea anchor I am in survival mode and comfort is low on my list of priorities!
Attaching to the boat:
According to all our reading, one of the biggest problems with a sea anchor is keeping on top of the chafe issue. There are many reports of people who deployed the anchor and enjoyed it for a few hours before its line chafed through and was lost. All indicate they would use chain over the bow roller in the future. To that end I have a permanent chain bridle set up at the bow of the boat shackled to the tow rail (I believe this to be stronger than the cleats). A snubber would not be required due to all the elastic offered by the rode
Length/Composition Rode:
Length is important in two ways, one to offer enough stretch to avoid deck hardware failure and secondly to place the boat in the breaking wave at the same time as the parachute is firmly embedded in a wave 3 waves to windward. We have, from the bow, 10ft Chain over the bow roller, 250ft nylon rode, 50ft of chain (weight helps with catenary), 230ft of 1inch braided nylon rode then the sea anchor. I firmly believe we have enough stretch however having chain at the bow makes adjusting the length impossible. This is the best solution I can come up with that keeps me off the bow in an un-imaginable storm.
Deployment:
The first 250ft of nylon rode is stored in the rear anchor locker in the lazarette, this would need to be pulled out and flaked on the cockpit sole. The remaining rode and parachute are all stored in the quarter berth. Next the chain, the remaining rode and the parachute would be shackled to this and wired closed. A fender would be tied to one end of the black and white floating line and the other end to the trip line (top of the parachute). The parachute in its deployment bag would be fed out of the windward side of the boat, idea being the wind will blow the boat away from it. After a certain distance snub the rode to inflate the parachute then continue to feed out the rode and trip line (If you do the trip line too early the fender may blow round and snag on Ian, the wind vane). If you snag anything at this stage, i.e. a line on the wrong side of a winch, I fear all may be lost as the forces will be unimaginable and the line will probably have to be cut. Once all the line is paid out the force exerted by the parachute should snap the ties that hold the rode to the toe rail and slowly Rosie should swing into the waves.
The books talk about a 'Pardey Bridle' holding the boat at 45 degrees to the waves makes for a more comfortable ride. My ready to deploy solution makes this hard to achieve and at the point of using the sea anchor I am in survival mode and comfort is low on my list of priorities!
Attaching to the boat:
According to all our reading, one of the biggest problems with a sea anchor is keeping on top of the chafe issue. There are many reports of people who deployed the anchor and enjoyed it for a few hours before its line chafed through and was lost. All indicate they would use chain over the bow roller in the future. To that end I have a permanent chain bridle set up at the bow of the boat shackled to the tow rail (I believe this to be stronger than the cleats). A snubber would not be required due to all the elastic offered by the rode
Length/Composition Rode:
Length is important in two ways, one to offer enough stretch to avoid deck hardware failure and secondly to place the boat in the breaking wave at the same time as the parachute is firmly embedded in a wave 3 waves to windward. We have, from the bow, 10ft Chain over the bow roller, 250ft nylon rode, 50ft of chain (weight helps with catenary), 230ft of 1inch braided nylon rode then the sea anchor. I firmly believe we have enough stretch however having chain at the bow makes adjusting the length impossible. This is the best solution I can come up with that keeps me off the bow in an un-imaginable storm.
Deployment:
The first 250ft of nylon rode is stored in the rear anchor locker in the lazarette, this would need to be pulled out and flaked on the cockpit sole. The remaining rode and parachute are all stored in the quarter berth. Next the chain, the remaining rode and the parachute would be shackled to this and wired closed. A fender would be tied to one end of the black and white floating line and the other end to the trip line (top of the parachute). The parachute in its deployment bag would be fed out of the windward side of the boat, idea being the wind will blow the boat away from it. After a certain distance snub the rode to inflate the parachute then continue to feed out the rode and trip line (If you do the trip line too early the fender may blow round and snag on Ian, the wind vane). If you snag anything at this stage, i.e. a line on the wrong side of a winch, I fear all may be lost as the forces will be unimaginable and the line will probably have to be cut. Once all the line is paid out the force exerted by the parachute should snap the ties that hold the rode to the toe rail and slowly Rosie should swing into the waves.
Have you read Sailing to Jessica?
"Most books are enjoyable to read but only a few leave you inspired and wanting to read more. Whether you are a sailor or not you go through the roller coaster of emotions Kelly and Paul experienced along their amazing life-changing journey. I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this book and respect the passion and courage that these 2 people took to give up their conventional lives and pursue their dream of sailing around the world." - Media Eldridge
Buy at Amazon (USA)
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Buy at Amazon (USA)
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