Solo Anchoring w/ No Windlass Tips?

T

thechadmiller

New member
I'm probably going out next week for my first solo overnight trip and have yet to try and anchor by myself.

For those of you with solo anchoring experience... run down your steps for me pretty please. It will be in the Columbia or Multnomah Channel near Portland.

Thanks in advance.
 
I've done a lot of anchoring by myself, but not in any kind of current. Only recommendation I would have, is wear your PFD if walking the gunnels or while on the bow. I just drop the anchor overboard, and let the wind (or current) blow the boat back while letting out the appropriate amount of rode. Tie the line off, then go to the helm and back down on the anchor to be sure it's set. Colby
 
Yup that sums it up very well. In a current you won’t need to back down to know if it’s set. Take into account how fast and how deep the water is. Adjust accordingly for length of rope, better to have too much out than not enough. Life jacket a must, grab rope tied off not a bad idea, just in case.
 
I’m forseeing more trouble bringing in the anchor than setting it. Also hoping to be able to do most of it standing on the berth through the hatch and it being a slow safe process.
 
I suppose one could stand in the berth for the anchoring process, if they have long arms! :mrgreen: But to bring it in, I think you'll need to be up on the bow to have more pulling power. If you are in wind or current, you'll be pulling against that. Before my C-Dory, I had a Searay 268 Sundancer. Bigger/heavier boat, and I did not have a windless on it. Very happy (& spoiled) to have one on the C-Dory. I only anchored the Searay in shallow water. Unless you have a great pulley system, your best leverage will be pulling the line up as you haul it and the anchor in. Be sure to leave room to drift as you are working the anchor. Colby
 
I once chartered a Camano 31 in the PNW, a 10,000 lb trawler with no windlass. We anchored every night for a week. It had 1/2 rode with about 20' of 1/4 chain with a 30 lb Delta anchor.

Deploying the anchor was straightforward- drop it off the bow roller and let the wind back you down until enough rode is out.

We never had any current and the wind was light when pulling it up. I pulled it up by hand against the light wind until it was almost vertical. Then my wife would pull forward to break it out. If I were single handed I would have tied off and gone back to the helm to do that.

The last 20' was a bit tough with about 50 lbs to pull up. I did it from the bow, the v-berth hatch would have been tough. Gloves would have helped for the last 20' of chain.

With a C-Dory you will probably have half the anchor/chain weight so it should be much easier to pull up by hand.

David
 
When the anchor has set very well, the portion close to the anchor may be difficult
to retrieve by hand as you anticipated.

The key to do this, as mentioned, after all rode has been retrieved, as possible,
cleat it off properly. Then let the mass of the boat help the un-set by putting it
in forward gear imagining you are driving directly over your anchor slightly. Be
nimble and know your footing as you may be dashing from bow to helm and back.

If lucky, one time at this may do it. If you're snagged on a sunken branch or rock,
it may take repeating and more effort.

Aye.
 
Chad, you’re best option for retrieving is from the deck. I recommend you find a slough with a minimum amount of current. The slough at Martin Island is an excellent choice.

I’m sure you know to be very careful to not let the rode wrap around the lower unit whe you’re in a current. A lot of boats have been pulled to the bottom of the Columbia because of that.
 
If you must anchor alone, especially on the Columbia where the current should not be taken lightly, use a PFD with a safety ring. Have your swim step ladder ready to deploy and attach a safety line to your harness while you are moving about on the deck. Nobody plans to fall overboard but remember you will be alone and you need to stay with your boat if the unexpected happens.
 
To expand on the excellent advice of Foggy, let the boat break the anchor out--that is the key, both with and without a windlass. You can drive the boat up to, or even a little beyond where the anchor was dropped, and then you are just brining up line, and not pulling the boat as you bring the anchor rode in. You can do this several times if necessary. Be sure you don't foul the prop!!


When working without a windlass, you may be best served by putting the anchor rode in either a milk type plastic crate, or a tub. Trying to feed the line thru the deck pipe when pulling can be very time consuming. The tub or crate cane be secured to the foredeck. Another option is to just coil the line on the deck, secure it and let it dry before feeding thru the deck pipe to the anchor locker.

I first fitted a windlass to a boat in 1980. For over 30 years, I had raced sailboats up to 45 feet in length without a windlass--only "arm strong"--great for the arms, and very bad for the back!!!! Please be very careful about posture, and how you apply forces to bring the anchor rode up. There is actually a very good reason to stand on the berth and pull the anchor up--you can stand with a straight back! If you pull from the foredeck, use your legs. Advice not only as a physician, but as a patient!

For the last 38 years every boat I have owned had a windlass--the $700 for a windless is pennies in comparison to the tens of thousands in medical bills!!!
 
When retrieving the anchor, you may not need to "drive the boat". Once the boat bow is over the anchor, and if you are retrieving by hand, the rode or chain will be vertical, as you are standing on the bow, snub the line on a cleat.and work you way to the stern. The change in bow height from the water will pull vertically on the line and work to break the anchor free. This might take 2 or 3 tries, but it does work, and save your back.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP6713.thumb.jpg
 
When letting the anchor down in a current (or even the wind) you need to anticipate where you want the boat to sit once the rode is out and based on the amount of rode drop the anchor upstream (or upwind) the necessary distance to get the boat in the right place. You may need to be even further upstream to have time to get to the bow to let the anchor out at the right spot as the boat drifts down with the current/wind.

When pulling the rode up, I let it pile on the front deck and leave it there till it dries before putting it back in the anchor locker.

If the anchor is stuck I find that bouncing the bow of the boat and pulling up the rode slack when the bow is down and holding it tight when the bow goes up (sort of like landing a fish) will always (so far) get the anchor free, although it may take a few bounces. The buoyancy of the boat does the lifting, not your back.

Once the anchor breaks loose, the boat will move with the current. You may need to tie off the anchor at some point before fully retrieved in order to move the boat to a place where you have time to can completely stow the anchor without drifting into anything.

It may depend on your agility and the weather conditions, but I find that it is quicker for me to go round the outside of the boat to the bow vs. through the v-berth hatch (lot less contortions). I also have the motor running and everything squared away for travel before raising the anchor.
 
I've solo anchored several times on the Columbia and never even thought about current. Every place that I've thought was a good anchorage for the night didn't have enough current to worry about. I'm more concerned in the salt, where I know that the current will reverse during the night and my anchor may need to reset.

I never motor to release an anchor. It seems like a bad idea on a C Dory where getting back and forth to the helm is the most dangerous part of solo anchor work. Dashing back to the bow to make sure that the anchor doesn't drift into something on the bottom after releasing wouldn't be fun. Pull the rode straight up and wait a little. Cleat it off, take a look around, stretch your back, wait a little. The primary bottom on the Columbia is clean sand with fine sand in the sloughs.

If it really is fouled, I might try motoring, but if that's the case, even motoring might not work. I'd probably bring the rode back to a cockpit cleat so that I could do everything from there.

Mark
 
We all have different ideas about how to retrieve the anchor. In my experience, cleating a fouled anchor to an aft cleat can be a recipe for disaster. I know of a number of swampings, and including loss of lives and boats which occurred doing this. The only case I know of involving swamping of a C Dory (except being caught in the breaking surf) occurred with a boat trying to power the anchor out by cleating it aft. (Maybe there is something in the 16 which makes that a better choice?). I personally feel it is better to use the buoyancy of the bow to power the anchor out if that is necessary. Of course what works best depends on many factors! No one can say that "this is the best" for all cases. Keep an open mind, and try the various techniques. (Just don't get a person's leg tangled in the line, as you use the float to power the anchor out--I am aware of one boater who accidentally killed his father doing this.) I try and avoid high power or fast maneuvers when attached to an anchor line!
 
Wise advice there, Bob, and well put.

I'm a bit surprised you didn't add, as Grandpa would,

"The devil is in the details."

Aye.
 
I keep the anchor rode in a secured box on the lower deck of the bow. I can handle the line and anchor while standing in the vbirth. I have ½ inch line and 20 ft of 1/4 inch chain with 13 lb delta. I replaced a danforth anchor after a stormy night bent a 90 deg curve in the shaft.
 
I've done this lots of times and Bob's mention of a milk crate is a good one. Once the anchor is loose from the bottom, the boat is moving with the current so it saves valuable time to not have to feed it back into the anchor locker. I secure the milk crate with a bungie to the deck cleat. I have the boat running and in neutral for this if solo and in the current of a river.

I like to have the leverage of being out on the bow. Its been suggested to pull through the front hatch before to reduce the dangers of falling in, but in practice is doesn't give me the leverage I need.

I gently pull on the anchor rode until the boat is directly over the set anchor. I don't want to try to break it loose until I'm directly over or Ill drag too much silt and potentially hurt myself. Once its broken loose I make a few jerking motions up and down to hopefully dislodge the mud that's inevitably caked to the anchor. Its lighter to pull up that way. Trying to stand up right and use your arm strength and not your back. Once up I quickly put the anchor in the milk crate with the rest of the rode and race to the helm to put it in gear and regain control of the boat. Wear a pfd, things can go south quickly in the current.
 
Thanks for all the great advice. I think I may try it solo, but with somebody else on board, a few times before going full solo. I reckon I'll just dock somewhere tonight and keep it stress-free. Maybe. Unless I’m feeling extra frisky tonight.
 
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