Looking for opinions on a way forward on our anchor situation. I am fairly certain we are sailing with the original Bruce plough anchor that the boat was sold with. We have used it for two seasons, and in Maine where most of the anchorages are mud, it has held us well.
Most of the issues have been by the bow, where it has been unclear as to what a good method is for leading our anchor line in a fair and non-chafing way. we have 60’ of chain that is then shackled to 250’ of 5/8 three strand. So far our method has been to always deploy all of the chain (no matter the depth) plus 10-15’ of line and cleat it off. This is good except that the line wraps badly around the bow pulpit, so I use a dock line to pull it away and I figure this distributes the load to both cleats as well as making for a fair lead over the bow roller.
I recently remember reading another thread here where I believe it was being said that using the bow roller was now acceptable, and a bridle would be preferred from both cleats leading forward from the bow and then connecting to the line there. So here are the questions I am hoping to create a discussion around:
1. If you have a line rhode and not chain, how are people connecting or tying the bridle to the line? I am concerned if I have a bridle on it then I can’t cleat off the actual rhode as well, which feels like a safety issue.
2. It seems like the bow roller assembly is fairly robust, our only issue is the roller itself moving back and forth on its axel can be annoying at night. Have people had issues with Ericson bow rollers failing when used as part of the anchoring situation?
3. Have people found more modern anchors that fit our legacy roller situations? My research is leading to a Rocna but I am also happy with our current anchor and wonder if I am messing with “good enough”
4. When stowed on the bow, the anchor rocking back and forth is chewing the gel coat. The current method of repair is I simply put more down, and then let it remove it. Have people put some kind of wear plate there? Trying to see if others have solved the problem before I apply random solutions to the problem.
Thanks!
Most of the issues have been by the bow, where it has been unclear as to what a good method is for leading our anchor line in a fair and non-chafing way. we have 60’ of chain that is then shackled to 250’ of 5/8 three strand. So far our method has been to always deploy all of the chain (no matter the depth) plus 10-15’ of line and cleat it off. This is good except that the line wraps badly around the bow pulpit, so I use a dock line to pull it away and I figure this distributes the load to both cleats as well as making for a fair lead over the bow roller.
I recently remember reading another thread here where I believe it was being said that using the bow roller was now acceptable, and a bridle would be preferred from both cleats leading forward from the bow and then connecting to the line there. So here are the questions I am hoping to create a discussion around:
1. If you have a line rhode and not chain, how are people connecting or tying the bridle to the line? I am concerned if I have a bridle on it then I can’t cleat off the actual rhode as well, which feels like a safety issue.
2. It seems like the bow roller assembly is fairly robust, our only issue is the roller itself moving back and forth on its axel can be annoying at night. Have people had issues with Ericson bow rollers failing when used as part of the anchoring situation?
3. Have people found more modern anchors that fit our legacy roller situations? My research is leading to a Rocna but I am also happy with our current anchor and wonder if I am messing with “good enough”
4. When stowed on the bow, the anchor rocking back and forth is chewing the gel coat. The current method of repair is I simply put more down, and then let it remove it. Have people put some kind of wear plate there? Trying to see if others have solved the problem before I apply random solutions to the problem.
Thanks!