SHETLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Ok my head is full of questions sorry about that.
Looking at anchor rollers for the front of the boat how do I work out what length I need so many different ones. Was thinking the anchor is stored on it when moving does this sound about right or does it depend on type of anchor

As you will be using your boat on inland waters I would suggest that you don't need anything fancy, just a simple roller bolted on the bow and inline with the bollard or cleat, do make sure there is a strengthening block of wood under the deck when bolting the roller down for added strength.

I always avoid climing out of the cockpit when anchoring on the grounds of safety, so I keep the anchor and warp in a flexible builders bucket in the cockpit, I have what is called a lazy line attached the the front bollard/cleat with this fixed length rope coming back into the cockpit with a carabina at the end and secured to some point in the cockpit, note that this rope must NOT be so long as to get caught in the prop should it drop into the water!
You then put the anchor over the side of the cockpit and when nearly at the required point you make a loop in the anchor rope and clip on the lazy line and let it out from the side of the boat. As this is a fixed length the boat will hold on the anchor rope and the lazy line which is attached too the front of the boat. The other end of the anchor rope is still in the bucket in the cockpit so when you are ready to move you can pull up the anchor rope using the excess rope in the cockpit and lift the anchor back up.
I know all this sounds complecated but in fact it is very simple and safe and I am sure someone would show you if you need help, just need to practice in a quiet stretch of water a few times.

Regards

Dave

Dave, I have just stumbled across this post from 2013! The method you use is very interesting but I'm struggling to get my head around it. Could you, or anyone else, possibly draw a sketch? I want to be able to single hand my Blackhawk but have concern over deploying the mud weight from the bow.

Any advice welcome!

Hi,

As Dave says, it is the safest way to handle your anchor from the cockpit.
You keep your anchor, chain and rope rode in a container in the cockpit. You need a 5.5m approx. rope (called a painter or lazy line) tied to your towing eye at the bow with a carabiner clip at the loose end, which you keep secure in the cockpit (I keep mine clipped to a small loop of line i have fastened to my starboard stern cleat). This painter should not be long enough to reach the prop should you accidentally drop it overboard.
When you drop your anchor over the cockpit side, you let out enough chain and rode minus 5.5m, you tie an overhand loop in the rode, clip on your painter to this loop, let out more rode until the painter picks up the strain, and fasten off your rode with a bit of slack to a stern cleat.
When you recover your anchor from the cockpit you pull it in, storing the rode in your container until you get back to the painter, which you unclip from the rode loop and put back in it's safe place in the cockpit, untie the loop then pull the rest of the rode, chain and anchor in, without leaving the safety of the cockpit. It's the method I always use, I never go onto my bow at sea, especially when alone, even through the cabin hatch.
Chris