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Yesterday me & the Bride went for a cruise with out camp neighbors across the lake to a boat bash with a band on a barge, about 200 boats milling around, etc. We anchored in about 8' of water and the wind came up pretty good and when I went to pull the anochor it was dug in pretty good. Anyway, I have scome of the big orange balls I use for fenders and want to rig one of them with the stainless ring to use as an anchor float - you snap it on the anchor line, back around and it runs down the line, over the chain, and floats the anchor. Anyone know where I can get one?

UV

UV,

Here ya' go... AnchorLift Anchor Retrieving System ...Along with destructions....

Br,

Patrick

UV,
West Marine has them.

I use them all the time ot at Montauk in pretty deep water and they work great! Walter

Vicroy wrote:.... Anyway, I have scome of the big orange balls ....

UV

So why ya need help picking up the anchor? ;)

i may have a exra one, let me check

The anchor float. What's makes it work? Who cares ... it works good.

When you think about it, this is the way it should be set up. The idea of the thing is that no one has to go to the bow to bring in the anchor. For a lot of reasons.

Figure out before hand how much line you want to put out. Tie the rode off on the bow. Bring the line and anchor back to the cockpit. When you get to your destination, throw the anchor over so as not to get the rode caught in the wheels. Set the anchor in the bottom. have a drink, catch a fish. Clip the anchor ball on to rode at the bow ( this could have be done as the anchor went over). Now the fun starts.As you motor ahead at maybe five knts, keep in mind that the line is becoming slack. I like to keep the line to stbd off the bow 'cause my helm is on the stbd side. So when the line is slack, I'm moving a little to port away from the line. The boat moves ahead of where the anchor is set and at this point it becomes critical that you turn to stbd so the line does NOT get caught in the stbd wheel. Turning maybe 20 degrees to stbd and you see the line moving away from the stern. The float goes under the surface, going to the anchor. Keep going in a large circle to stbd and the anchor comes to the surface. Wow! this is amazing. Now turn the boat to port and see the line coming to the stbd side. Grab the line with a boat hook, come
to a stop and pull the line in by hand.

I can't help thinking now of what went on eactly five yrs ago. It's cool and sunny in New York .....

Had I known this maybe I wouldn't have bought an anchor windlass.

Instead of tying off at the bow, allow the rope to run through the bow chock down the starboard side and cleat it off at the starboard side midships cleat with your excess rope stored in a basket in the starboard side cockpit. Should you want to let out more scope or shorten it, just uncleat the line and take in or let out as needed. Also, if you connect the ball and ring on your line and drop it overboard towards the end of your drop, you'll never have to go up on your bow. I usually start up, ready a boat hook, run slowly foward heading a bit to port until the loose rope can be picked up on the starboard side of the cockpit. Cleat it down in the stern and run foward. The ball runs down the line, takes a short dump when it's right over the anchor, pops up with the anchor hanging from it. If you've been anchored in a strong current, pull quickly to avoid drifting back over the line. I usually stay at the helm controlling the boat while my crew it hauls in. Walter

Me thinks Walter's advice nails it. The trick is to catch the rope from the bow as you motor up at an angle to the anchor just as the ball goes by the side - yep, we all agree the stb - and tie it off at the stern so there is little chance you can get the line under the boat and in the wheels - everything is astern of you. Now having an inexperienced hand catch the line alongside with the boathook and tie it off to a stern cleat is a problem since our B31s have hawspipes and inboard cleats. So my idea is to make up a short line with a loop on one end around the stb stern cleat and a big Witchard clip on the other end and have the deckhand wrap about 3 or 4 times around the anchor line and clip back to the short line. Doubt it will slip, or at least give me time to come properly cleat it off.

Following Andre's advice, went to Worst Marine today and they wanted 33.95 for just the ring. All over the internet for 17.95. I complained and the bewildered employees said they would "price match" if I could bring them an ad for the lower price. Now that just chapped my ass. "We are screwing you by 100%, but if you prove it to us we will relent". Bad business attitude, won't see my skinny ass in that place again. Everything grossly overpriced and help that knows nothing about boats. 16 oz. aerosol of CX still 22 buxks. I'll sell it to you for 10.69.

Anyway, ordered a fully rigged ring (spliced rope, the s.s. clips, etc) from a guy named Ron in P'cola for short money, and he was nice on the phone.

UV