I cannot comment on the quality--you should take a look at each one, ask the
questions of the manufacture and then decide.

An excellent publication is Earl Hinz's "Heavy Weather Tactics using Sea
Anchors and Drogues"

This will give some insight into what is necessary and when.

I have never used a sea anchor or drogue.  I had material to rig a drogue,
but even in hurricane force winds did not feel the need.  Had conditions
detiorrated or gear broken I migh have well deployed the material.  However,
just as important as the material, is the method of depolyment, rigging,
chafe protection and retrievel.  I have a friend who had a 100 ton 65
footer, who deployed a drogue mid Atlantic during a hurricane.  Eventually
the line fouled his 5' diameter prop, and the boat was totally disabled.  In
retrospect, he would have not deployed the drogue--but the newer series
drogue are far superior to the early single drogue.

Also where you are going would have a lot to do with preparation:  If just
to Mexico, the Panama Canal and Caribbean I would not get a drogue or
Para-anchor.  If I was just doing the trade wind route around the world, I
might also not get one.  But if I was going to high lattitudes, including
New Zealand and the North Atlantic, I would have both a drogue and
para-anchor.
Bob Austin

Bob (and the gang),

Good post.  We do have both a 30-foot sea anchor and a drogue (both from
Para Anchors of Australia), and have never used either.  However, we are
glad to have them aboard.

We often see posts from people who say that they would deploy their sea
anchor before the need to, kind of like the old saw about reefing...the
time to do it is when you are wondering whether you need to.  However,
with respect to those who have posted such sentiments, we doubt that in
reality it would happen.  When running nicely, or even in rough
conditions, we have never been even tempted to deploy either the drogue
or the sea anchor.  I'm sure that 99% of the people who have them would
only deploy them as a last resort, which leads us to method of
deployment.

We have seen posts talking about deploying sea anchors off the bow.
We've talked this through with many other boaties and have seen many sea
anchors set up.  And we've thought long and hard about ours.  We
conclude that the last place we want to be wrestling with a 90# sea
anchor in a raging gale is on the bow.  So, here is what we do before
making a passage of more than a few days.

The rode for the drogue is in the port anchor locker.  It comprises a
400 foot nylon rope with about 150 feet of chain spliced onto the
"wrong" end of it (i.e., it is backwards to what you do for anchoring
and, indeed, this is our secondary anchor rode turned backwards).  The
bitter end of the chain is fastened to the boat with a cut-away.  We
pull the rode out of the hawse hole until we have about six feet of
chain exposed, and lead it over the port bow roller and along the port
side of the boat to the aft cockpit, where the rode is coiled Flemish
style (figure of eights).  The chain runs over the bow roller for about
a foot and the rest is rope; this should minimise any chafe. Along the
side of the boat, we attach the rode with very light cable ties.  Back
in the boat, we extract the sea anchor from the lazarette and attach it
to the rode, winding an extra coil of rope through the eye of the sea
anchor ring to minimise chafe.  We tie a triple bowline and seize the
end.

To deploy (which we have never done), we would turn port bow to the wind
and throw the sea anchor off the port side of the cockpit, letting the
boat fall off in the wind while we pay out the rode.  Once the rode
becomes taught, it will easily rip the cable ties away without damaging
the boat.  Voila!  We are "anchored".  To retrieve, we have the standard
half-trip line (i.e., a trip line on a buoy, NOT one brought back to the
boat.  However, we think that there is at least a 50% chance that we
might have to cut away the sea anchor, as we have heard that retrieval
is a bear.

For what it is worth, the plan to retrieve is to grab the retrieval buoy
from the side of the aft cockpit with a boat hook, being careful to keep
the retrieval line out of the prop (it is poly and floats).  We would
swing the derrick boom out to the port side of the boat and put the line
through the carbineer on the end of the hoist line, and from there
manhandle it over to a winch at the base of the derrick mast.  We would
then winch the sea anchor up until we could grab it and manhandle it
onto the boat deck and pull in the rode.  All of this happens amidships,
so the chance of a foul in the prop should be minimal.

We know we should practice this deployment/retrieval manoeuvre at least
once in moderate seas, but probably won't.  With any luck at all we will
never have to deploy.

Oh yes, the drogue...we have no idea why we bought it but if the time
comes a little ingenuity will perhaps put it to good use.  We keep an 80
foot line in the lazarette specifically for it.

Best to you and the others on the list,
Maurice & Louise-Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Austin [mailto:thataway4@cox.net]
Sent: Thursday, 01 December 2005 09:30
To: John Pounder; Passage under power
Subject: [PUP] Sea Anchors

I cannot comment on the quality--you should take a look at each one, ask
the
questions of the manufacture and then decide.

An excellent publication is Earl Hinz's "Heavy Weather Tactics using Sea

Anchors and Drogues"

This will give some insight into what is necessary and when.

I have never used a sea anchor or drogue.  I had material to rig a
drogue,
but even in hurricane force winds did not feel the need.  Had conditions

detiorrated or gear broken I migh have well deployed the material.
However,
just as important as the material, is the method of depolyment, rigging,

chafe protection and retrievel.  I have a friend who had a 100 ton 65
footer, who deployed a drogue mid Atlantic during a hurricane.
Eventually
the line fouled his 5' diameter prop, and the boat was totally disabled.
In
retrospect, he would have not deployed the drogue--but the newer series
drogue are far superior to the early single drogue.

Also where you are going would have a lot to do with preparation:  If
just
to Mexico, the Panama Canal and Caribbean I would not get a drogue or
Para-anchor.  If I was just doing the trade wind route around the world,
I
might also not get one.  But if I was going to high lattitudes,
including
New Zealand and the North Atlantic, I would have both a drogue and
para-anchor.
Bob Austin

Passagemaking-Under-Power Mailing List

I stumbled upon this website which has loads of interesting stuff on power,
propane and cell phone service.  The authors are sailors, but much is of
general interest to readers of this list:

     http://www.svsarah.com/Whoosh/Whoosh%20Main%20Page.htm

Steve

Steve Dubnoff
1966 Willard Pilothouse
www.mvnereid.com
sdubnoff@circlesys.com