Drift Socks for Anchoring.

P

Peter & Judy

New member
We are just back from spending 10 weeks of the last four months on and around Vancouver Island. All in all a successful summer with a great deal of learning from our first summer of Salt Water Cruising. On fresh water we usually beach tie so that we can get on and off the boat at will. Only once did we swing on the anchor at night. With the effect of the tides this is not possible on the ocean and most often we anchored and then added a shore tie rope. One of the problems with the C-Dory is that the flat bottom and the high windage, especially with the camper top on, you get a lot of movement on anchor with even the slightest breeze. This was especially noticeable on a few occasions in small coves where winds were often confused. I spent one afternoon in the cockpit enjoying the sun and trying to read, but with the winds I was constantly moving. Meanwhile the deep hulled boats and the sailboats hardly moved. After an hour or two I was feeling quite seasick. We ended up moving to where we could shore tie. There was one or two other cases where we could not shore tie and when the wind came up we moved a lot.

My question is, If I were to hang a drift sock off the stern of the boat, would it reduce the amount of movement in the boat while at anchor? If you have tried this or have other solutions I would be interested in hearing from you.
 
There have been all sorts of ways tried to keep the boats from sailing (it can be a problem even with deep keeled sailboats, where current or wind, keeps the boat sideways to the waves. High superstructure trawlers are just about as susceptible as the C-Dory. On the open anchorages of the West Coast, most boats anchor fore and aft--one bow and one stern anchor to keep the bow into the waves.

Buckets, sea anchors, a second anchor, bridles, "Mexican Hats", etc all have been tried--and although they may slow down the swing, the boats still swing.

Another option is the "Flopper stopper" There are several kinds--and basically are a metal frame, and flaps which open on the way down, close when the boat rolls back, and damps the roll. I carried those on my sailboats--not a lot of room on a C Dory, so I didn't carry them.
 
If you can't shore tie, what about a stern anchor? Probably doesn't even need to be set properly. Just dragging on the bottom will dampen swings.
 
Different boats do different things, at anchor and otherwise.

When you purchase a pilothouse boat, like a C-Dory, you must
understand you are subject to windage at anchor, docking, etc.
Remedies, as mentioned and more will follow, abound.

The basic principle is understanding a superstructure pilothouse
is a sail. Unlike a sailing vessel that can lower it's sail and reduce
windage somewhat, a fixed powerboat w/pilothouse cannot.

Therefore, choose carefully. Know your options and remedies.

And, no sniveling please.

Aye.
 
And, no sniveling please.
Click to expand...

I won't snivel about a C-Dory. Just learning how to deal with it's characteristics. We love the boat. It is amazing how many people, especially from big cruisers, that row over or come to talk to us at the dock and want to know more about the boat, come to compliment us and express their desire to trade 'down' to a C-Dory. C-Dory is a great 'adventure boat' rather than a huge RV. I think many of the 40 foot crowd get bored on their big boats and lament the high cost of cruising on such a behemoth.

I have considered dropping a second anchor, but never did as our rear anchor a Bruce was buried in the front of the v-berth and I was too lazy to dig it out. I drop it with a stretchy anchor buddy from the stern when we shore tie bow in on fresh water. The drift sock was just an idea I had in Squirrel Cove as is spun around like a slow carnival ride. I am still interested in hearing more thoughts before I consider whether to buy a drift sock or not.
 
The stern anchor is often a light anchor. It does not have to be big. We carry ours in the splash well. We use a FX7 Fortress: 4# weight. The HT 5# Danforth might be a better choice for the PNW, where there is more likely to be rocks. It is about the same size as the Fortress. However it does not break down easily as the Fortress does. Probably even a grapel type of anchor would work for a C Dory.--at least with some chain, show down the sailing--a lot more than a drift sox.

Also when you use a sea anchor type of device, you become subject to the current much more than a conventional anchor--and it could actually worsen the situation.
 
Swinging on the hook is part of a C-Dorys charm but the "side-to-side" motion caused by allowing the bow to freely cross the wind can feel barfy after a while. To lessen its effects, we often attach a spring line from the anchor rode to an aft cleat, so the boat lies at an angle to its rode. Adjust the length of the spring line and its position on the rode to find the best angle for the conditions. Once balanced with the wind, the boat still swings along its anchor radius but keeping the wind on the same of the boat makes it feel more like sailing. Also helps keep the bow into the waves and reduces the rolling motion.
Jim
 
I wouldn't put out a stern anchor that wasn't set well and far aft. Sooner or later, a stern anchor with a short rode that slows down the swing by setting and resetting would pick up something on the bottom (sooner rather than later in the PNW.) Here, every pocket suitable for an anchorage has had tugs, log rafts, etc. If you comb the bottom with your stern anchor, you will find cables, appliances, and who knows what. Even a trip line on the anchor might not get it back. I would find sailing around on one anchor more relaxing than thinking about my second anchor conducting a salvage search of the bottom.

It might be a good use for the mini-sea anchor I referred to in the sea anchor thread.

Mark
 
I don't remember who but pretty sure it was another C-BRAT that was using a window sash weight, about 5 pounds, and just a cylinder 2" x 12" let off the stern to the bottom, just, so that it created some drag, but no hooks or anything to catch up on the bottom.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
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