Conference unifix::sailing

    Nice trick.  I once anchored up the gut
    in Nantucket.  As the tide changed the rode
    wrapped around the keel, pulled snug, and
    effectively held the boat beam to the current.
    Of course, that was 3 am and I was asleep.
    As the current increased, the boat took on
    a very odd motion that woke me up to discover
    this precarious mess.  The only method I could
    think of to clear the line was to tie a float to the
    end of the rode and cast off, then pick up the float
    like a mooring.  Unfortunately, the rode parted
    before this could be accomplished, but fortunately,
    I had started the engine just in case.
    
    So, we lost the anchor -- went diving for it the next
    day but to no avail -- and it was a pretty nice
    pickle just picking our way back out into the harbor
    proper.  At the time, I figured I'd learned
    the hard way why no one acnchors up there, but if
    if we'd used your trick, we'd have had a snug and
    private little haven.
    
    Oh well.  Those were the days before DEC.
    
    ;)

    
    Their is another advantage to this little trick as well..   This
    also increases the holding power of the anchor.  I have seen a device
    advertised in mags that are made to slide down the anchor rodes
    which gives the lower part of the rode a more horizontal pull on
    the anchor.  
    
    `Charlie'

    I used a variation of this trick as the primary anchoring technique
    during five years of knocking about the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
    We found it particularly useful when anchoring in mud or on hard
    bottoms, where the anchor was hard to get to bite.
    
    We would let out our main anchor until it was resting on the bottom.
    Then, we would let out another 15 or so feet (depending on the tides)
    of rode.  At that point, we would attach another anchor to the same
    rode.  We would then proceed to set this second anchor.  The idea here
    was that, in order for the boat to move, we would have to drag the
    anchor closest to the boat, then, while it was lifted by whatever
    forces, drag the main anchor.  
    
    De-anchoring?  No problem provided enough rode was supplied between
    anchors to ensure that at high tide, the secondary anchor would be on
    deck while the main anchor was still on the bottom.

    Once, while doing a delivery on a Shannon 38, we had occasion to anchor
    in a small river harbor south of Sheepsboro, North Carolina in the
    intercoastal waterway.  The area was clogged with tree debris and foul
    ground, though the depth was fine.  When we tried to raise the plough
    anchor the following morning it was snagged.  Fortunately, I had
    insisted to my employer, the boat's owner, that we attach a buoyed line
    to the anchor stock.  We were able to raise the anchor "backwards"
    clearing the flukes from whatever they had fouled upon. I had also
    attached a floating "anchor light" to the buoy which served to mark our
    anchor position.  This was prudent given the surprising number of boats
    which arrived after dark and sought to anchor where we had dropped our
    hook.  Along the intercoastal this is a fairly common technique.  I
    have been surprised to see it so rarely in New England.
    
    Richard

    Referring to Alan's note 69.0 on the use of an anchor sentinel.   
    Rather than tie it on or useing one of those bronze things which
    require treading a shackle pin use a simple bronze #3 snap hook.
    
    The 8 pound mushroom anchor that I use is shackled to the eye of the
    snap hook, a piece of vinal tygon tubing is fitted over the hook to
    act as a chafe guard .
    
    Tie a light piece of line to the eye of the hook and snap the hook and
    mushroom over the anchor rode after you have anchored.   Slide the
    mushroom down far enough to give the line a good catenary but not to
    the bottom.
    
    Over the years this has prevented keel wrap(in my old Triton that is
    not a problem) and cut rodes from careless folks.     Also when the
    tide/current turns the anchor will reset more often than not due to
    the narrow angle the rode makes with the bottom.
    

    I sent away for literature regarding a product known as A.L.P. Rode
    Rider and Rode Roller.  It appears to have been around awhile in that
    they also sent me an excerpt from the 9/83 edition of Cruising World
    magazine.
    
    The product is an "attachment" of sorts that is used on one's rode
    during anchoring.  It is a weight shackled to the rode.  A light line
    holds it far enough down to keep the rode clear of the boat.  It
    reduces the angle of pull on the anchor substantially.  Its design
    avoids chafing as well as provides a method for simple retrieval.
    
    There is a claim that this product reduces the working load on the
    anchor by almost 50% and inversely doubles the holding power of the
    anchor.  Since the product provides a flatter line of pull to the
    anchor an additional benefit is created i.e. keeping the anchor line
    clear of other boats' props.
    
    Has anyone had any experience with this product?  
    
    Thanks,
    
    
    Carl
    

    The product is just a way of increasing the caternary (sp?) curve of
    your anchor rode.  The an increased curve will let you anchor with less
    scope paid out.  Also, the weight on your rode will increase the angle
    of the rode closest to your bow and help prevent it from getting
    snagged by boats passing too closely.  I have trouble paying for one,
    however.  Personally, I keep an old  vinyl-coated barbel weight and
    some 1/4" line in my anchor well.  If I need to anchor in a crowded
    harbor, I simply tie a loop around the rode, attach the weight, and let
    it slip about halfway down the rode.  Easy and cheap!

re .6:

See also Note 373.0 (somewhere near the end) for a semi-quantitative 
discussion of the effects of a rode rider.