toocoys
Scraping Paint
On Friday night we took the boat out to watch fireworks. Winds were 5 to 10 knots our of the N/NE. We had a Danforth anchor that was about 22lbs maybe? It was connected with about 10 foot of chain and the rest was rope.
I drove the boat around, pointed it into the wind and dropped the anchor. We were in about 8-10 feet of water and I probably let out about 50 foot of rope. Everything held and we stayed put through all the wind. We got blown around a bit because of the amount of windage on the top side of our boat.
When it came time to pull the anchor up, I put the boat into gear and the boat inched toward the anchor. I'd get the windlass to pull in a little rope and then it would get stuck. I think the rope was too thin, and it would get caught in the windlass, and prevent the motor from spinning.
Additionally the Danforth anchor must have buried itself down to China because I couldn't get it out with the boat, the windlass, or attempting to pull it by hand. It was dark and we couldn't see where the line was going, and the boat was basically doing 360's around the anchor. We went forward, we went backward, sometimes even up to 2000rpms and it wasn't budging.
For fear of getting the ropes tangled in the props, after an hour of fighting it with everything I had and could think of, I decided to pull in as much rope as I could, and then cut the anchor free.
The bottom in Galveston bay is silty, clay mud. It's like a thick mix of pudding and quick sand.
My questions are:
1. Should my windlass be strong enough to pull in an anchor without moving the boat? (wondering if my windlass is too small for my boat)
2. How do you maneuver the boat over the anchor and prevent the rope from getting tangled in the prop?
3. Should I replace the rope with all chain? (we don't do much anchoring)
I drove the boat around, pointed it into the wind and dropped the anchor. We were in about 8-10 feet of water and I probably let out about 50 foot of rope. Everything held and we stayed put through all the wind. We got blown around a bit because of the amount of windage on the top side of our boat.
When it came time to pull the anchor up, I put the boat into gear and the boat inched toward the anchor. I'd get the windlass to pull in a little rope and then it would get stuck. I think the rope was too thin, and it would get caught in the windlass, and prevent the motor from spinning.
Additionally the Danforth anchor must have buried itself down to China because I couldn't get it out with the boat, the windlass, or attempting to pull it by hand. It was dark and we couldn't see where the line was going, and the boat was basically doing 360's around the anchor. We went forward, we went backward, sometimes even up to 2000rpms and it wasn't budging.
For fear of getting the ropes tangled in the props, after an hour of fighting it with everything I had and could think of, I decided to pull in as much rope as I could, and then cut the anchor free.
The bottom in Galveston bay is silty, clay mud. It's like a thick mix of pudding and quick sand.
My questions are:
1. Should my windlass be strong enough to pull in an anchor without moving the boat? (wondering if my windlass is too small for my boat)
2. How do you maneuver the boat over the anchor and prevent the rope from getting tangled in the prop?
3. Should I replace the rope with all chain? (we don't do much anchoring)