Hiring a sea anchor

[Chestj50]

We are about to take our narrowboat down the tidal section of the River Severn and then up the Avon to her new mooring. We have a pilot booked from Sharpness but we need to hire (or buy at a push) a sea anchor with 10m of chain.

 

Can anyone tell me where we can do this?

 

JC

[bizzard]

10 minutes ago, Chestj50 said:

We are about to take our narrowboat down the tidal section of the River Severn and then up the Avon to her new mooring. We have a pilot booked from Sharpness but we need to hire (or buy at a push) a sea anchor with 10m of chain.

 

Can anyone tell me where we can do this?

 

JC

Sea anchor? Do you mean a drogue that you stream from the stern to keep the boat head to wind when heaved to in a blow or an anchor that digs into the sea or river bed.

Edited July 13, 2020 by bizzard

[LadyG]

I think what you need is anchoring {ground} tackle: an anchor, chain, and warp.

I think you will find it difficult to hire, could you buy them .

I have 6m of 10mm chain and 30m of anchorplait which will double for occasional use in deep locks. I suggest you don't buy off Ebay, try Jimmy Greene or other chandlers.

There is a thread on anchoring, lots of ideas. I would also want to be confident of engine reliability and fuel cleanliness ?

Edited July 13, 2020 by LadyG

[Chestj50]

Thanks for your replies. We do need one which can anchor us,  which is why we need 10m of chain the pilot tells us.  It was a vain hope that you might be able to hire one. Good to know they are useful in deep locks

[Tony Brooks]

2 minutes ago, Chestj50 said:

Thanks for your replies. We do need one which can anchor us,  which is why we need 10m of chain the pilot tells us.  It was a vain hope that you might be able to hire one. Good to know they are useful in deep locks

Clarify with the pilot.

 

An anchor and a sea anchor are two different things. My guess is that its an anchor and chain - just an ordinary anchor. Now wait for endless discussions about the best type so ask the Pilot if he has a preference if you are going to buy one. Then there are questions about the size/weight, again this depends upon the type and what bottom you will be passing over so the pilot should advise.

[Chestj50]

Thanks. We will call him back

[LadyG]

16 minutes ago, Chestj50 said:

Thanks for your replies. We do need one which can anchor us,  which is why we need 10m of chain the pilot tells us.  It was a vain hope that you might be able to hire one. Good to know they are useful in deep locks

Only the warp [the rope], so you need strong shackles to connect rope to chain and chain to anchor [this is a bow[ed] shackle not a D shaped shackle.

[Chestj50]

Thanks for the advice

[Chewbacka]

6 hours ago, Chestj50 said:

Thanks for the advice

Not forgetting the need to a have a ‘strong point’ on the boat to fix the anchor to - should you need to deploy the anchor in an emergency........

[Tony Brooks]

5 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

Not forgetting the need to a have a ‘strong point’ on the boat to fix the anchor to - should you need to deploy the anchor in an emergency........

i.e. Not the T stud because the welded on ones can and do pull off.

[LadyG]

22 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

i.e. Not the T stud because the welded on ones can and do pull off.

How do I determine that?

Jo

[Tony Brooks]

Just now, LadyG said:

How do I determine that?

Jo

look at where it meets the deck. if its a clean right angle then its a bolt through T stud, look under the deck and make sure there is a largeish heavy duty  load spreading plate between nut and  deck.

 

If the joint has a fillet all around it then its probably welded on.

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

58 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

i.e. Not the T stud because the welded on ones can and do pull off.

 

35 minutes ago, LadyG said:

How do I determine that?

Jo

Because several people have had it happen to them.

[Detling]

Use the search facility there are dozens of threads on anchors, it will provide bedtime reading for weeks.

 

[howardang]

36 minutes ago, Detling said:

Use the search facility there are dozens of threads on anchors, it will provide bedtime reading for weeks.

 

And will act even quicker than a cup of Horlicks; sleep well!

 

Howard

[Theo]

On 13/07/2020 at 14:12, bizzard said:

Sea anchor? Do you mean a drogue that you stream from the stern to keep the boat head to wind when heaved to in a blow or an anchor that digs into the sea or river bed.

Nah.

 

You stream it from the bow.

 

N

[bizzard]

15 minutes ago, Theo said:

Nah.

 

You stream it from the bow.

 

N

Yes, of course you normally would, but there are the odd reasons for streaming from the stern. Like if your boat has a nice counter stern which can be more sea kindly than sharp bows. An old Arthur Ransome trick.

[Theo]

And who am I to argue with Arthur Ransome?

 

Have you read his biography?  It's really good.

 

N

[bizzard]

11 minutes ago, Theo said:

And who am I to argue with Arthur Ransome?

 

Have you read his biography?  It's really good.

 

N

No I haven't but I've heard its quite incredible. I have read his ''First cruise of the Recundra, about his exploits sailing around the Baltic in 1923 I think it was.

[Scholar Gypsy]

I've just bought a sea anchor, as part of my plans for summer hols trip to Horseway lock, which will involve lots of reversing single handed.  I will see if it works...

 

[Alan de Enfield]

I think you might need a bit bigger one than that for a long, heavy boat.

 

It is a drogue - you have it on the stern, It is a Sea Anchor if you have it on the bow.

 

How to use :

 

https://www.boatingmag.com/how-to-use-drogues-and-sea-anchors/#:~:text=A drogue is deployed off,has lost its steering system.

 

You don’t simply throw one of these overboard. There are procedures and guidelines, including, but not limited to, sizing the drogue or sea anchor correctly, using a trace of chain for weight or chafe protection, rigging a bridle, and making sure the cleats or bitts aboard your boat are installed with bolts and a backing plate. The manufacturer can supply much of that information — and the rest you should know, or will come to know, by your existing experience and by running drills.

Now, the drag created by a sea anchor can keep a drifting boat in more or less one place — or at least prevent it from drifting too far too fast. If you break down in water too deep to deploy your regular anchor, or if you lose your anchor, you could deploy a sea anchor to buy time for the towboat to come before you wash up on the beach.

 

 

 

[Scholar Gypsy]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I think you might need a bit bigger one than that for a long, heavy boat.

 

It is a drogue - you have it on the stern, It is a Sea Anchor if you have it on the bow.

 

How to use :

 

https://www.boatingmag.com/how-to-use-drogues-and-sea-anchors/#:~:text=A drogue is deployed off,has lost its steering system.

 

You don’t simply throw one of these overboard. There are procedures and guidelines, including, but not limited to, sizing the drogue or sea anchor correctly, using a trace of chain for weight or chafe protection, rigging a bridle, and making sure the cleats or bitts aboard your boat are installed with bolts and a backing plate. The manufacturer can supply much of that information — and the rest you should know, or will come to know, by your existing experience and by running drills.

Now, the drag created by a sea anchor can keep a drifting boat in more or less one place — or at least prevent it from drifting too far too fast. If you break down in water too deep to deploy your regular anchor, or if you lose your anchor, you could deploy a sea anchor to buy time for the towboat to come before you wash up on the beach.

 

 

 

Yes, I will have it on the bows, while reversing single handed. I was just testing it by chucking it off the stern, it was a pretty effective brake! The website did indeed suggest a much  bigger size for my length of boat, bigger than the cross section of the canal I have in mind.  I have read some comments from people who use a bucket on a line when reversing, this is a more sophisticated version.

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Scholar Gypsy said:

Yes, I will have it on the bows, while reversing single handed. I was just testing it by chucking it off the stern, it was a pretty effective brake! The website did indeed suggest a much  bigger size for my length of boat, bigger than the cross section of the canal I have in mind.  I have read some comments from people who use a bucket on a line when reversing, this is a more sophisticated version.

It will certainly have some effect but it may not be as much as you hope, good luck with the trials.

[jenevers]

11 hours ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

I've just bought a sea anchor, as part of my plans for summer hols trip to Horseway lock, which will involve lots of reversing single handed.  I will see if it works...

 

Would dragging a long chain along the canal bed, off the bow, keep the bow under control?

[Scholar Gypsy]

12 minutes ago, jenevers said:

Would dragging a long chain along the canal bed, off the bow, keep the bow under control?

It might do, though there is a risk of snagging electricity cables, and possibly damaging the puddling (if there is any). On the waterway concerned, I suspect weed will be a bigger problem than whether I can reverse half a mile!