Tomcat anchor

M

matt_unique

New member
What do other Tomcat owners use for an anchor? I was thinking about the 22 pound Delta Fast-Set anchor. I anchor in mostly rocks or sand.

Thanks
 
Matt, That's exactly what we use for the mostly mud bottoms in the PNW. 50' of chain, 250' of 1/2" rode. You'll need to remove the top roller from the factory installed anchor bracket. I drilled out the bracket and use a 1/2" Pit pin to secure the anchor. The factory pin bent and was hard to remove. The anchor has never failed to set or hold.
 
Dreamer":1xw8xyre said:
... You'll need to remove the top roller from the factory installed anchor bracket. I drilled out the bracket and use a 1/2" Pit pin to secure the anchor. The factory pin bent and was hard to remove. The anchor has never failed to set or hold.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
I did not follow the part about removing the top roller. Did you replace it with another roller?

--Matt
 
Matt: We're using a 25-lb, galvanized, Manson Supreme on Thumper. So far , after one season, I like it. It sets well and has good holding power. I ordered it from Azure Marine.

However, (and fortunately) we haven't been on the hook under real windy conditions.
 
Matt,

I have the Delta, recommended by C-Dory ppl at the time of my purchase. It came with the top "keeper" roller pin removed to allow the Delta to auto release. That led to problems anchoring in rough seas since the anchor line would jump up an out from between the anchor roller side guides. We would repeatedly have to climb out there in rough weather to replace the anchor line between the guide sides.

I finally got a "U" shaped, Stainless Steel fitting from West Marine. I think it is a 3 inch, but maybe 2.5 inch "boom vang" fitting, designed to be mounted on the underside of a sailboat boom. I had to spring compress it to fit between the side rollers and installed with , I think, 5/16 inch bolts and locking nuts.

Now the "elbow" of the Delta can flip up as the anchor deploys, but the line is always within the anchor roller control system. There is a picture on Tom-a-Hawk's TeraMiranda photo album, page 2, near the end. Here is a link:

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php
 
Matt,

You can see in the photo where the top roller used to be.(empty holes) We have no problem with the rode coming out of place. If need be, you could reinstall the pin to hold the rode in place.
P6090013.sized.jpg
 
Hmm.... amazing that your rode stays between those guides in rough seas...

Anyway, we also keep a bunch of those nylon zip tie straps and tie the anchor down for trailering or long voyages with little need for anchoring seen.

John
 
Thanks for the info.

What length rode do you guys use? Do you think 275' of 1/2" line and 25' of 1/4" chain will fit and stow OK in the anchor locker?

--Matt
 
I think someone from up in your area already said they use 50 ft chain and 250 foot rope. We are much shallower here, but out 30 foot chain and 200 rope worked well on our San Juans cruise. I just bought a factory pre-made chain and rode to be sure the junction would ride over the Gypsy OK.

John
 
I also have the 22 lb Delta--an excellent all around anchor as the primary. I do almost exactly as "Dreamer" does, except I use a smaller pin. The anchor never jumps out of the roller--rode stays in place and all works well. I suspect that the initial roller was set up for a Bruce--but I prefer the Delta.

For most of us 200 to 250 feet of line is plenty. The windlass will take either 7/16 or 1/2". I use about 50 feet of chain, since I prefer to have the change engaged as I hoist the anchor off the bottom. You should be able to get 300 feet of 7/16" line in the locker and still have plenty of fall. If you want to anchor in deeper water occasionally, I would have a second line to tie on the end of the main rode. I secure the bitter end of the line with several passes of 1/4" line which can be fairly easily be undone. You have to make a tight splice (basically a back splice) onto the bitter end to secure this lighter line--and use a bowline so it can be detatched from the deck. You could splice in a 1/4" link or two of chain to pass the 1/4" line back and forth
 
Personally, I'd not secure it to the hull in any way. I'd put markers in my line so I'd know how much line I had out and not go past a certain point. If you're uncomfortable with not securing it, put some sort of a breakable link in there in case it all runs out. I'd rather lose an anchor than pull out a bulkhead, boat bottom or the deck.

Charlie
 
I recall there is a SS loop in the anchor locker to secure the end of the line. I was curious if most just used a knot (i.e. bowline) or something else. I would want the end secured in case I ran all the line out accidentally. If you ran to the end without securing it you would loose your anchor and rode of course. I would not purposely use the anchor locker loop to secure an anchor set of course.

I agree the length markers are a great idea as well.

Thanks for the replies.
 
A different anchor that works well is the Bruce. We have one on the C-25, and it hasn't let us down yet, in winds up to 25 mph.

The Delta is a plow type anchor, and it plows in soft sand and mud. We found this out with a CQR. The Bruce digs in. Since we have mud in San Diego Bay and a sandy bottom around So Cal, we picked the Bruce. Haven't been disappointed. The Bruce also resets easily when the boat swings as the tide turns. Launches and retrieves well with the C-Dory bow roller.

The rode is 75" of chain, 200' of rope.

Nothing against the Delta, just a different view.

Boris
 
What to do with the bitter end of the rode? Although anything is a compromise, I ended up back splicing the bitter end to about 20 feet of chain, which sits loose in the bottom of the anchor locker. So, my ground tackle consists of the anchor, a shackle, a swivel, 20 feet of chain, 200 feet of three strand line, and, finally, another 20 feet of chain.

My concern was that I didn't want the bitter end attached to the boat, for fear that I would get carried away with the windlass, and end up either pulling the rode loose from the boat, and passing it right down into the drink, or damage the windlass with shock loading if the line somehow managed to hold fast to the boat.

Likewise, I didn't want leave the bitter end just loose, waiting for me to miss my count, feed everything through the windlass, and wonder why I wasn't getting much of a set.

Although I use markers in the line, they're tough to see at night. But, you can always tell whether you're passing chain, or line, over the windlass, since line sounds like a blender, but chain sounds like a freight train. So, if I'm deploying lots of rode, and hear that old train start coming at me, I still have time to take my finger off the switch. And, if I ever need to attach some extra line to the rode, ditch the ground tackle with a fender attached and recover it later, or just plain get free fast and worry about finding the tackle later, I can do so either from the deck, without having to climb back and forth between the deck and the v-berth, or from the helm station, depending.

Works for me.
 
I do not understand the concept of not securing the bitter end of the anchor rode for fear it will damage the boat! It is standard practice to secure the bitter end--to a strong point. Never heard of a boat being damaged by a properly secured bitter end of an anchor rode. You really don't want to allow all of the anchor rode to run out accidently--and 200 feet is not a lot of rode. With the lighter line, with several passes, you can undo this on the deck, and secure more line if necessary. The windlass never should be used as a point to secure a line or even as the "safety".
 
I am finishing the specs on a TomCat order. On my present boat I use an E-Z Anchor Puller winch and it works very well. There is never a need to go forward to tend to it at all which looks like a major advantage on a TC.

Has anyone used this product or have an opinion?
 
McDipple":afzkc7ee said:
I am finishing the specs on a TomCat order. On my present boat I use an E-Z Anchor Puller winch and it works very well. There is never a need to go forward to tend to it at all which looks like a major advantage on a TC.

Has anyone used this product or have an opinion?
Click to expand...

McDipple-

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had seen these E-Z Anchor Pullers on boats in photos taken in Alaska.

Someone then said they had a friend that had one on a 32 foot or so boat, and provided a photo of one.

IMHO, they are a great solution to not only the windlass problem, but also the rode storage problem. No more wet rode below in the bow of the boat. They also probably have a lesser tendency to foul the rode than a regular windlass with a locker below. However, these are only guesses, I have no personal experience with this product. The website says that there is no need to tie off the anchor rode while anchoring or while underway, that the puller will handle all loads without cleats or tying off. This is the only windlass system I've ever heard make this claim, and a real advantage (no going onto the bow, period)!

The cost is a bit higher than a regular windlass, the smallest model starting at $1700 plus rode, etc., but may be well worth it, especially for safety reasons if operating in dangerous waters.

They might be a bit large for some of our boats, but if any of the C-Dories could handle one, the TomCat 255 would be it.

Here's a LINK for anyone interested to follow up on.

photo2.jpg


Joe. :teeth :thup
 
McDipple":8ilye3q0 said:
I am finishing the specs on a TomCat order. On my present boat I use an E-Z Anchor Puller winch and it works very well. There is never a need to go forward to tend to it at all which looks like a major advantage on a TC.

Has anyone used this product or have an opinion?
Click to expand...

If you do install one on your TC255, I would be very interested in a field report and photos, because it sounds like something that would work well for me also.

Warren
 
Nice looking anchor rig! As with other Tomcat owners I removed the top roller and it works like a charm. I have a 300' rode that stows in my anchor locker.

Also - when I first got the boat there was some water in the port forward sponson. I suspected it came in through the hawsepipe and somehow made it's way down. I applied epoxy paste at the intersection of the anchor locker wall to port inside the drain hole and it has not leaked a drop since. While I was there I did the same to all the anchor drain holes inside and out.
 
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