E27 Anchor Ground Tackle after retrieval

[ail-say oat-bay]

1977 Ericson 27.

Having just returned from our first multi-day test trip of overnight camping at anchor: I need to come up with a system to expediently retrieve and store the anchor chain and rode.

I don’t know if any of the 27’s have a foredeck anchor locker, I doubt it. Mine certainly doesn’t. There is a small chain locker interior, accessible on deck through a small hawse pipe, but it is open to the V-berth through a hole in the forward wooden bulkhead.

Knowing that if I just started cramming rode and chain down through the hawse pipe it would likely spill out into the V-berth (or at least the smell would) I did not know what to do with all this wet, muddy, baywater-gunked chain and rode. I possibly could have gotten my wife to lay up in the V berth and try to reach in and hand-coil it into place as I fed, but with sleeping bags, pillows, luggage, and other bags of gear necessary for overnighting packed up there that would have been difficult. Besides, I didn’t want to introduce that stuff into the interior when it was all still wet, muddy, and probably stinky!

I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I just piled it all on the foredeck, to deal with it later. This of course would not do if wanting to sail home, we motored. Once back I dropped the anchor, chain, and rode onto the dock and washed it all off with fresh water. It is sitting there now drying in rare NW sunshine. Once it is dry I will figure out how to get it neatly down the hawse pipe.


Have any E27 owners come up with a system for this?
Thanks,
tom

 

[Jeff Asbury]

major design flaw on E-27's

I basically do the same thing except: when I retrieve the chain and rode I keep a plastic bucket on deck to put the chain in so it does not mar up the deck. Then when I get under weigh after hauling anchor, I take my time stuffing it all back in the hawse pipe. Then pull the whole thing back out at the dock when I get back and clean with fresh water, dry it off and stuff it all back down the hawse pipe again. Most of the time the mud / silt will come off while hauling the anchor up. I can imagine it's not easy to dry out up there in the PNW. I did find a plastic 6" deck plate to cover the round opening for the anchor locker in the V berth, so the wet rode does not get on the bunks. (see pics).

The lack of a anchor lockers on our E-27's is one major design flaw. My way around it. Anchor in less muddy areas, use docks and moorings when you can.

 

[ail-say oat-bay]

Thank you Jeff, you have given me a couple of good ideas.


After thinking some more about what you had to say, and thinking about my own situation, I have come up with a new plan to try for next time.
I like the idea of the bucket that you gave, I am going to use that in a slightly modified way.

The existing setup now that it is clean and dry I will patiently feed back through the hawse pipe and leave in place as my backup system, only to be messed with again in an emergency.

I have extra anchor/chain/rode which I will rig up as my new main. I am going to use a large bucket to hold all the chain and rode, with anchor attached aside, as a complete and separate portable unit stored in the cockpit lazarette. At anchor time I will walk the bucket and anchor up to the bow and deploy. At retrieval I will coil the rode and chain into the bucket and take the whole magilla along with anchor back to the cockpit lazarrete, where it will be out of the way and ready for the next anchorage. This gets me back sailing more quickly, keeps the deck clean, keeps the forepeak clean, and keeps an emergency backup system at the ready. I can then wash out the ground tackle in the bucket periodically at my leisure.

We will be heading out for an extended 4[SUP]th[/SUP] of July weekend cruise which will involve a couple of different anchorings, so I can test this out.
I will also measure the bulkhead hole for a beckson plate.

Thanks again,
tom

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Sounds like a good idea! "magilla" I like that!

 

[Schoolboyheart]

just did this project a few months ago

I bought a wind line br-2 bow roller new led bow light and a hawse pipe from white industries i believe it was. the worst was running the wire through the pulpit but i'm glad i did because the old bow lights were leaking pretty bad and a couple more seasons and there may have been serious core rot. luckily nothing major at this time! i used to use a bag on the bow but i hated the site of it and wanted something easier to use. ever since i did this we have anchored so much more. I did have a custom backing plate made for $50 at a local machine shop but this was a weekend job. the access plate that Jeff showed is exactly what i used to cover the hole in the v birth/anchor locker divider.

I anchored for a week in the gulf islands over the 4th and just rinsed the line by pulling it up and letting it out as i was retrieving, before cramming it all back down the pipe. no smells, no problem!

 

[tpcorrigan]

We have a 1976 E27 and we took the easy way out and use a mess bag, I think it was an old laundry type bag but it is really heavy duty, and we keep it lashed to the deck by the bow. I'm hoping to get a few more years out of it. Unless we were in a grassy area we can rinse it back at home dock without taking it out of the bag . kind of matches our other blue canvas too. the way it is placed in the bag it plays out nicely when needed and it makes a great foot rest when sunning on the fore deck! it has never gotten in our way but we don't currently have a spinnaker so no real reason to be up there during normal operations. I like keeping it simple.



1977 Ericson 27.

Having just returned from our first multi-day test trip of overnight camping at anchor: I need to come up with a system to expediently retrieve and store the anchor chain and rode.
I don’t know if any of the 27’s have a foredeck anchor locker, I doubt it. Mine certainly doesn’t. There is a small chain locker interior, accessible on deck through a small hawse pipe, but it is open to the V-berth through a hole in the forward wooden bulkhead.

Knowing that if I just started cramming rode and chain down through the hawse pipe it would likely spill out into the V-berth (or at least the smell would) I did not know what to do with all this wet, muddy, baywater-gunked chain and rode. I possibly could have gotten my wife to lay up in the V berth and try to reach in and hand-coil it into place as I fed, but with sleeping bags, pillows, luggage, and other bags of gear necessary for overnighting packed up there that would have been difficult. Besides, I didn’t want to introduce that stuff into the interior when it was all still wet, muddy, and probably stinky!

I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I just piled it all on the foredeck, to deal with it later. This of course would not do if wanting to sail home, we motored. Once back I dropped the anchor, chain, and rode onto the dock and washed it all off with fresh water. It is sitting there now drying in rare NW sunshine. Once it is dry I will figure out how to get it neatly down the hawse pipe.


Have any E27 owners come up with a system for this?
Thanks,
tom[/QUOTE]