Anchor Savor device query

H

hardee

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Oct 30, 2006
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C Dory Year
2005
C Dory Model
22 Cruiser
Hull Identification Number
Brat # 2202
Vessel Name
Sleepy-C
Has anyone tried this device:

http://www.anchorsaver.com/Anchor_Saver/Home.html

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It is called "anchor savor" and it looks like it makes sense to me, but I don't know if it is warrented in the PNW waters, or if it works or is worth the $99 for the size recommended for a CD 22. If is saved on anchor, one time It might be worth the price, but only if it works.

Opinions please.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Sorry I could not get both photos to come up. Not sure why after several tries. The web site has good photos and a couple of videos of the system.

Again, I'm interested in feedback. Is it worth it? Is it practical?

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
page with video

It looks like it would work. I have done the same before with just a chain and heavy bailing wire. use a u bolt to connect the chain to the forward or base end of the anchor. then run the chain along the shank and connect the chain to the hole in the shank end with the bailing wire. about 5 wraps should do it . works the same way just not as cool looking.
 
Same technique is used on the Columbia with those sand anchors. Connect chain to the crown, then use plastic zip ties to connect the chain to the eye. It saved me an anchor once when I got caught up on a rock near the Trojan stack while sturgeon fishing.
 
one on a tug its on a tug so may be if you post over at the tug nuts you can find someone that use it.
 
This looks like a good idea,my only concern is that it may cause problems in launching and retrieving your anchor with the small anchor rollers on a 22 C-Dory.It might get jammed up in the roller but i would buy one if they worked.Tug
 
Harvey-

We've heard of this type of set up before, though it was done with several nylon wire ties or wraps of nylon twine.

RedFox used it up in Prince William Sound, as I remember.

It would be fine with an an anchoring set up for daytime fishing or light duty overnight anchoring in a protected area, but I don't think you'd want to use it in a storm anchoring situation or when you could expect big shifts in strong currents or winds, as it could release too easily at exactly the wrong time!

Most homemade set ups just continue the chain down to the crown, where it is shackled, then lash the chain to the anchor shaft with the wire ties or twine wraps.

That cable, while pretty strong (remembering all the data for strength vs diameter from sailing days), and depending on its exact size and construction, is nowhere near as strong as 1/4" G4 High Test chain or the 1/2" three-strand nylon anchor rope usually used on our boats (~7500 lbs tensile strength).

By the time I put enough ties or wraps on it to feel secure in a dangerous situation, it would be impossible to break free anyway.

But like I said above, as a fishing situation day anchor, lunch hook, or light duty anchoring situation in a protected area, it would be OK, but in that case, I'd make my own anyway.

It's a lucrative idea, but one with real limitations, and I'm not going to get hung-up over it right now, so to speak.......

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
When I'm Boating in an area I don't know I redo the anchor and use nylon wrap ties this will free the anchor so it can pivot and free itself .The only problem is ,it somtimes will free itself prematurely .I thought about getting this device but nylon wraps cost a few dollars vs $100 and they have many other uses . BTW I do keep an extra anchor on board if I lose one .
 
Sea Wolf Joe said:

"It would be fine with an an anchoring set up for daytime fishing or light duty overnight anchoring in a protected area, but I don't think you'd want to use it in a storm anchoring situation or when you could expect big shifts in strong currents or winds, as it could release too easily at exactly the wrong time!

That cable, while pretty strong (remembering all the data for strength vs diameter from sailing days), and depending on its exact size and construction, is nowhere near as strong as 1/4" G4 High Test chain or the 1/2" three-strand nylon anchor rope usually used on our boats (~7500 lbs tensile strength).

By the time I put enough ties or wraps on it to feel secure in a dangerous situation, it would be impossible to break free anyway."
Click to expand...

Joe, That was kind of my feeling too. If it will shear with enough pressure, whats to keep it from doing that under heavy load when you really need it to hold.

I have seen the chain loop sent down like a messenger, and pulled a anchor out that way. Think I'll stay with that if needed.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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I am with the group who feels that at night or any time that a secure mooring is necessary, any break away device is not wise. After many thousands of nights at anchor. I have never lost an anchor. I have had to use loops of chain to free one, and on two occasions had to dive on the anchor--but always got it free.

If I had to do this, I would either put a line directly to the crown (which I have done in several occasions), or use one of the systems using electrical ties only on a anchor where I was awake or standing anchor watch.

5/16" cable has a yield strength of 8,000 to 9,000 lbs--so it is plenty strong--the swage may be a weak point. I would be worried about the calibration of the shear bolt in the system pictured.
 
Good advice above! The question I would have to ask: How much pull does it take to break the bolt? How well will it go in and out of the bow roller (and under the bow) typical for C-Dory? Seems a bit awkward to me, but trapping the anchor is a legitimate concern, especially in remote coves that once were home to logging ops. Had to dive into some pretty cold water to get mine out.
Take a look at the Manson Supreme (New Zealand). New style, related to Rocna (New Zealand) and the German Buegelanker. The Manson has Lloyd's type approval for fast setting & holding and solves the problem of being able to pull on it in the opposite direction via a full length slot in the shank that allows the shackle to reverse. Put a 15 lbs on our Cape Cruiser 23 this winter (around 170 bucks), so no experience with it yet, but expect it to work very well, based on research.
Al Baensch
 
hardee":231jsqnb said:
I have seen the chain loop sent down like a messenger, and pulled a anchor out that way.
Click to expand...

Can someone please explain how this is done, what you need, etc.?

Thanks,
Warren
 
Warren, I'll give it a shot. It's an old trick. You take a short piece of stout chain, place it around your anchor line (which leads down to an anchor that is stuck under something and you can't get it free), and fasten the ends of the chain together with a shackle. Then you knot a line to the shackle and let the chain loop down toward your anchor. (If no shackle, tie the ends together with the line.) Like a messenger, around your rode, as the guy said. Presumably, your boat's bow is pretty much right over the anchor, since you've been trying to get the beast up. Make sure your rode is snug and wiggle the chain over the shank of the anchor. Now slacken both lines and back the boat away a piece in the direction opposite from the one in which you set the anchor, paying out both lines. The idea is to get the chain around the anchor shank and get an angle on it that is opposite from the way the anchor was set. When you feel you have a good angle, pull on the messenger line with the chain loop on it. You might have to jerk it around a bit to get the shackle into the right place, and pay out more line to get a flat enough angle to get the anchor out from under whatever is holding it, while keeping the rode slack. If too hard, cleat it off and yank with the boat. This trick is good one and usually works. But you do need to have a piece of chain handy. One can also do that with a line, looped and weighed down with some fishing weights, but a piece of chain works best. Does that help? Al
 
Al beat me to it. But here's a web site that gives similar info with some pictures. Scroll down to the section on fouled anchors. The other material on the site is also quite useful.

Also, an alternative way to do this is to rig a separate trip line to crown of the anchor and to float the line with a small buoy while setting the anchor with the main line As long as the trip line is fairly short (e.g. depth of the anchor + possible tide change it won't foul the bottom and it can be used to retrieve it if needed.
 
Yeah, if unsure about the bottom, a trip line is an excellent idea. We've used yellow poliprop - it floats and is easy to see. Just don't back into it and wrap it around your prop. We bought the Manson because of great reviews and the slot that eliminates the need for the trip line.
 
I've noticed the slot on the Manson Supreme. they also offer a standard hole with which to attach the rode shackle.

Does anyone know if there are any problems if one uses the slot for the rode shackle? Will the anchor turn and set when the boat swings in the tyde?

Boris
 
Again, no practical experience with that anchor yet - new to us.
Directional change in pull on an anchor usually does not come 180 degr all at once. They may get yanked around, but usually stay buried. We have used Danforth, Bruce, Delta, CQR. Any of them may come out, but will also reset. We had a 35#CQR completely fouled with weeds and mud a couple of times in Maine - it would not reset but just drag on that ball of mess. If you are concerned about the shackle traveling up to the head in the slot of the Manson and pulling it out, I think, yes, that can happen. However, the anchor will then turn and reset - unless, of course, it is heavily fouled, which can happen with any of them. You can always use the hole if you like. We learned not to set in weeds, which are usually in shallower water. Go deeper, no weeds, better securiy. But, no, I don't think there is any hook that will give you 100% assurance of never dragging under any condition. That's what makes boating interesting!
 
I never used the "slot" in the Manson Supreme I owned. I would look at this as any of the other "temporary" anchorage situations--and feel that it would not be wise to use this unless you are standing an anchor watch.

Yes, boats can reverse 180 degrees, and pull out an anchor--and I have seen it happen, even with all chain rode.

As for the loop of chain--pretty well described, except I have found that it is better to use the dinghy to drop the loop of chain down, and then you can pull the chain over the shank by going 180 degrees from the way that the boat is/was pulling. Dropping it from the boat directly over the anchor will be much less likely to be successful.

Another trick, with any cable or object, is to put a line or graple under the cable--take up the slack of the cable which the anchor is caught under with the boat/windlass, and then suddenly drop the anchor. Usually this will free the anchor from the cable. In Rhodes (Med) we hooked into a battleship chain which was a storm mooring down the middle of the med moors. We pulled the anchor up as far as we could with the windlass (2 speed= 3500 lbs of pull, and were depressing the bow of our 62 foot vessel. Then we dropped a line under the chain, took the load on the line,and rapidly dropped the 70 lb CQR, freeing it--then dropped the line/and chain. There are lots of harbors with chains, cables and even electrical or phone cables under the bottom ("Do not anchor...signs)--where anchors get hung up.
 
I have a Manson Supreme but I have always used the hole, not the slot, to attach the shackle to. I think I went through this with Bob when I first got the Manson.

Thanks to all who explained the messenger chain process. I have seen the other device mentioned, with the ring or tube that slides down the rode, and which is attached to a small round fender from which a line runs back to the boat. I've heard that these were primarily for fisherfolk who hook into a big one while anchored and unhook themselves from the anchor and rode to follow the fish and then come back to the fender to retrieve the anchor. Not too practical with our typical C-Dory anchor arrangements.

Warren
 
Ah, now that we have a couple of captains with Manson Supreme anchors and losts of experience, may I please ask how well they works?

Al
 
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