Sea Anchors

C

C-Bill

New member
Just A Thought!

In the cold waters of the Northwest, a life jacket is required equipment and a sea anchor is not. Would you rather be in the water with a life jacket on OR warm and dry inside your boat while you wait for assistance?

Currently, I'm reading "Storm Tactics Handbook" by Lin and Larry Pardey. The author has many years of experience on the ocean under sail and has safely encountered many storms. Their experience undersail is very applicable to the safety our boats.

I've had a sea anchor for nearly as long as I have had my boat. The primary use has been for fishing. My sea anchor is a rugged commercial type which has served me well. There are more benefits other than just fishing and weathering out some rough seas.

Just recently, on the weather channel, was some film footage covering the ultimate loss of a beautiful very large sportfishing boat caught in a storm off of Baja. The end of that film footage shows a freighter taking the crew off the SportFishing boat and departing the sinking boat. Had they had a sea anchor and the knowledge to use it, it would not have been lost.

Many lives have been lost for the lack of a sea anchor. A few years back, two experienced fishermen and their golden retriever were lost at Lake Pyramid north of Reno. A sea anchor could have easly prevented that loss.

http://www.para-anchor.com/

http://www.seaanchor.com/

The January/February issue of Pacific Coast Sportfishing has a good article "Sea Anchor Basics"

My sea anchor came from Shewmon, Inc., 1000 Harbor Lake Drive, Safety Harbor, FL 34695-2310. They also have a very handy handbook "The Sea Anchor & Drogue." I list this address as a source to obtain their handbook.
 
Another book that is interesting (the emphasis is on sailing, but bigger weather than we would typically see in a C-Dory), is "Surviving the Storm-Coastal and Offshore Tactics" by Steve and Linda Dashew.

A piece of additional safety equipment that my wife Margaret and I carry are neoprene survival suits (the bright orange ones). They are a carry over from my fishing days off Kodiak Island when I was commercial salmon fishing on a 42' seiner during my college days. With practice you can don the suits out or in the water if you don't have time. We cross the Straits of San Juan de Fuca sometimes at night and it's comforting to know if you ever needed it, that suit is within arms' reach. I don't remeber what we paid for them but it seems like it was less than $300.

Rhys
 
Initially, I was hesitant to buy a sea anchor. Until they ban 2 strokes from Lake Tahoe, I fished the lake all through the winter. There were times when the weather and water conditions got very bad. A sea anchor will stabilize the boat and make conditions more comfortable while saving fuel to get home.

Not to say anything about the benefits of mooching for salmon or fishing deep for rockfish or just enjoying lunch while you get the engine running again.

When I bought mine from Shewmon Inc., I talked to the owner for some time as he was very helpful in explaining what I should consider for my boat size and it's shallow draft. I end up with a 106" drogue with a trip line. Yes, it is designed as a drogue, but works very well as a sea anchor. Again, I was uncomfortable buying a drogue, but that is what the expert recommended. He could have easily sold me something more expensive and I would not have known the difference (cost $170 and worth every bit of it). I was totally surprised at how ruggedly made this drogue really was. Certainly not a Cabalas unit.

A very important piece of safety equipment. The media will always tell you how many people drown when the boat sunk in bad weather, but you will never hear about the crew that put out a sea anchor and survived.

Bill
 
C-Bill":89xxwfby said:
When I bought mine from Shewmon Inc., I talked to the owner for some time as he was very helpful in explaining what I should consider for my boat size and it's shallow draft. I end up with a 106" drogue with a trip line. Yes, it is designed as a drogue, but works very well as a sea anchor. Bill
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Can you give us some more details on that drogue, Bill? Like where you got it? Ordering info? A search on Shewmon, Inc comes up lacking.
 
Don,

I've been glancing through "The Sea Anchor & Drogue Handbook" written by Daniel C Shewmon. I don't believe you'll find this publication on bookstore shelves. It is very informative and in the event you were to call Shewmon, Inc. and for some reason you were unable to speak with Daniel Shewmon (born in 1922), order the handbook. His sons should also be very versed in this topic.

I did buy my 106 inch drogue from Shewmon after talking to Daniel for close to an hour. Technically a drogue is pulled behind the boat to stabilize speed and control. A boat or barge under tow will often but out a drogue. Basically, the sea anchor is put out from the bow so as to stabilize the boat and keep the bow into the wind and waves. When properly deployed, the sea anchor will break down waves coming toward the bow. Besides the handbook by Shewmon, "Storm Tactics Handbook" by Lin and Larry Pardey gives specific details regarding the use of the sea Anchor.

My 106" drogue has a pull equal to a hypothetical Shewmon hybrid sea anchor with a diameter of 5.3 ft. (if not deployed properly, you'll find yourself in the water attached to a sea anchor.) This is very adequate for my 22ft CD. With the wind and current you will move very little. When used in salt water, it is very important to put the wet sea anchor into a plastic bucket with water until you can wash it with fresh water. Otherwise the salt crystals will destroy the fabric.

The address is:

Shewmon, Inc.
1000 Harbor Lake Drive
Safety Harbor, FL 33572 (I also show a zip code of 34695-2310)
Telephone #813-447-0091

They also show a 24-hour Fax (813) 797-5708

Hope all is going well with that new boat. I think this fishing season you'll find some interesting species as a result of the tsunami. I suspect the beached squid are just the beginning. It is likely that the tsunami pushed some warm water your way. Let me know if there are any unusual happenings.

Thanks,

Bill
 
Hope all is going well with that new boat. I think this fishing season you'll find some interesting species as a result of the tsunami. I suspect the beached squid are just the beginning. It is likely that the tsunami pushed some warm water your way. Let me know if there are any unusual happenings.
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Thanks for the info, I'll give them a call.

Boat is just fine, albeit languishing on the trailer right now. Missed the show in Seattle too, and that set cranky ON big time. Right now we're getting a lot of "stuff" the Washingtonians are used to, but we aren't, like loads of "junk" floating around just waiting to ding a prop. With luck, I'll be out there Thursday and/or Friday again. Cabin fever don'tchaknow.

Frankly, I'd be happy with a duplicate of last year's great fishing, Bill. Albies well within range and Yellowtail everywhere! But my fantasy is to hook up a Marlin from a C-Dory AND have the spousal unit (or anybody) along to take photos. It's not uncommon, even as near as 8 miles off Oceanside, though I've never come close to experienced it. Closest was going out on a 3/4 day Oceanside boat and watching one of the other guys hooked up --- briefly! Odds are poor though. About as likely as hitting a five figure jackpot in Reno. But what the hey, I can dream anyway.
 
Don,

I've been to alot of those boat shows. If Seattle is like the rest, I don't mine staying home. They just get you cranked up. Fish that boat for a while and get used to it. I figure by the time I'm 70 (4 more years) I'll have to sell the whole works. Then I'll wish I could've bought a boat that well equipped 14 years ago.

Go for that Marlin and hang on!! Hope you have a reel with alot of line on it!!!!

Bill
 
First off, Bill, I'm a year your senior on the way to full blown geezerhood, and if you think I'm gonna sell off everything without replacing it just 'cause I'm 70, don't hold yer breath! I figure by then I'll finally be at the top of the list for a slip at Oceanside/Pendelton marina and then I can confortably upgrade...

As for the show, I probably wouldn't have taken that in anyway. My real interest was in meeting the Bald Eaglets and the rest of the Brat Bunch at the C-Dory factory get together and maybe scoring a C-Dory jacket. Plus I have an old friend in Mukilteo who's due a visit.

It'll happen. Just not as soon as we hoped.

Don
 
I wonder if California or Nevada will be the first to seize old geezers drivers license? I guess we could get one of those three wheel bikes to tow our trailers with.

Wow! Those down hill rides are going to eat the tennis shoes right off your feet. :shock: :shock: :shock:

Bill
 
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