a couple of years ago I asked for suggestions to improve my anchoring
skills and this group came though. I now anchhor much more and with
much more confidence. but I have a question. When I am at anchor with
my 25 foot power boat (four winns) with not a deep Vee, I tend to swing
at anchor more than anyone else around me. This weekend for example, I
was anchored in Cuttyhunk and as some of you may know, there is not a
lot of room. I thought about a second anchor in the stern but decided
(thankfully) not as the wind did change 180 degrees in the night and I
would have been the only one not moving. Does anyone have any
suggestions how to keep a boat like mine from swinging to much? Someone
suggested a bucket on a roap behind the boat( a sea anchor, I
believe)Any other thoughts
again thanks as always.
By the way, we left Boston on Thursday after work and spent the night
in Scituate, on Friday we went though the Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards
bay, lunched in New Bedford and spent the night in Cuttyhunk. Saturday,
we went to Vineyard sound, Woods Hole, Red Brook Harbor and Pocaset,
spend the night in Onset (where I worked as a drummer in a blues
band)Sunday we went back though the Canal and stayed in Duxbury. Monday
we got up early to go home to Boston only to find that the weather was
too rough for us. We headed back to Plymouth, thinking that if we get
straned there, there is busses and trains to Boston. went to an
internet cafe and check out several weather sites and decided to
continue home late evening when the wather was better. It was a
bueatiful ride home. thank godness for electronics and back ups and
general smarts and good luck. we made it home very safely.

Turn the boat around.

richard wrote:
a couple of years ago I asked for suggestions to improve my anchoring
skills and this group came though. I now anchhor much more and with
much more confidence. but I have a question. When I am at anchor with
my 25 foot power boat (four winns) with not a deep Vee, I tend to swing
at anchor more than anyone else around me. This weekend for example, I
was anchored in Cuttyhunk and as some of you may know, there is not a
lot of room. I thought about a second anchor in the stern but decided
(thankfully) not as the wind did change 180 degrees in the night and I
would have been the only one not moving. Does anyone have any
suggestions how to keep a boat like mine from swinging to much? Someone
suggested a bucket on a roap behind the boat( a sea anchor, I
believe)Any other thoughts
again thanks as always.
By the way, we left Boston on Thursday after work and spent the night
in Scituate, on Friday we went though the Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards
bay, lunched in New Bedford and spent the night in Cuttyhunk. Saturday,
we went to Vineyard sound, Woods Hole, Red Brook Harbor and Pocaset,
spend the night in Onset (where I worked as a drummer in a blues
band)Sunday we went back though the Canal and stayed in Duxbury. Monday
we got up early to go home to Boston only to find that the weather was
too rough for us. We headed back to Plymouth, thinking that if we get
straned there, there is busses and trains to Boston. went to an
internet cafe and check out several weather sites and decided to
continue home late evening when the wather was better. It was a
bueatiful ride home. thank godness for electronics and back ups and
general smarts and good luck. we made it home very safely.

In article . com,
"richard" wrote:

I have a question. When I am at anchor with my 25 foot power boat
(four winns) with not a deep Vee, I tend to swing at anchor more than
anyone else around me. This weekend for example, I was anchored in
Cuttyhunk and as some of you may know, there is not a lot of room. I
thought about a second anchor in the stern but decided (thankfully)
not as the wind did change 180 degrees in the night and I would have
been the only one not moving. Does anyone have any suggestions how to
keep a boat like mine from swinging to much? Someone suggested a
bucket on a roap behind the boat( a sea anchor, I believe) Any other
thoughts

Try cocking the boat to the side a little. I tie a dock line to the rode
with a rolling hitch, let out about 10' of rode and tie the line to a
mid cleat or the stern. After a little experimentation, it'll keep the
bow off to one side instead of swinging back and forth.

Same technique is handy when wind is from one direction and the waves
(or wakes) are from another.

As another said, anchoring from the stern can work. Added benefit for
some boats is increased ventilation. Downside is when it rains.

Bucket never worked for me with our big rudder. Might work better for
you.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

There are several approaches I use to reduce swinging at anchor. In
tight quarters, such as Vineyard Haven, I raise a "riding sail," which
in my case is mounted backwards on the topping lift. Its only a few
square feet, but its enough to greatly reduce swing. I know that in
your case you can't do this, but there might be some way the you can
add windage at the stern of the boat.

Some boats swing because there is too much windage forward. Freedom
and Nonsuch sailboats have the mast well forward and perform a
spirited dance at anchor. If you have canvas or gear forward you
might try removing it. Turning the boat around sometimes works for
small powerboats.

There are also solutions with two anchors. Placing a second anchor
forward, so that the two anchor rodes are at a 45 degree angle will
reduce swing and provide security. This is also my standard approach
for heavy air and soft bottoms. Its a bit daunting at first, but the
second anchor can be a small fast setting type, I use a Fortress with
only a small amount of chain, so it only takes a few minutes.

Another interesting approach is to set a "hammerlock." This is a
small anchor, it can simple be a bundle of chain, that is lowered on
very short scope off the bow. If you're in 10 feet of water, you
might use a 12 foot anchor line. This will drag on the bottom and
dampen the energy of the system. In light air you'll find that the
boat will sit mainly to the hammerlock.


It sounds like you had a great trip - you visited a lot of my favorite
spots.

"richard" wrote:

a couple of years ago I asked for suggestions to improve my anchoring
skills and this group came though. I now anchhor much more and with
much more confidence. but I have a question. When I am at anchor with
my 25 foot power boat (four winns) with not a deep Vee, I tend to swing
at anchor more than anyone else around me. This weekend for example, I

Different types of boats - even different types of sailboats - swing
differently. This is a function of current and wind. Boats with a
bigger keel will be affected by the current more than boats with
little or no keel like (I presume) your boat. Boats with a lot of
topsides tend to react more to the wind. Heavier boats may react more
slowly than lighter boats, especially if they have a heavier (chain)
rode, and the other boats have mostly rope.

We've been in an anchorage next to a little sailboat with a lot of
line out, and they swung a lot more widely and more quickly than we
did.

was anchored in Cuttyhunk and as some of you may know, there is not a
lot of room. I thought about a second anchor in the stern but decided
(thankfully) not as the wind did change 180 degrees in the night and I
would have been the only one not moving. Does anyone have any
suggestions how to keep a boat like mine from swinging to much? Someone
suggested a bucket on a roap behind the boat( a sea anchor, I
believe)Any other thoughts
again thanks as always.

Or maybe a kellet although I think those are more often used with two
anchors. That will decrease the swing range IIRC.

By the way, we left Boston on Thursday after work and spent the night
in Scituate, on Friday we went though the Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards
bay, lunched in New Bedford and spent the night in Cuttyhunk. Saturday,
we went to Vineyard sound, Woods Hole, Red Brook Harbor and Pocaset,
spend the night in Onset (where I worked as a drummer in a blues
band)Sunday we went back though the Canal and stayed in Duxbury. Monday
we got up early to go home to Boston only to find that the weather was
too rough for us. We headed back to Plymouth, thinking that if we get
straned there, there is busses and trains to Boston. went to an
internet cafe and check out several weather sites and decided to
continue home late evening when the wather was better. It was a
bueatiful ride home. thank godness for electronics and back ups and
general smarts and good luck. we made it home very safely.

Good for you.

grandma Rosalie

Can't improve on what's been said already, but you're one hellofa creative
speller, Richard!


"richard" wrote in message
ups.com...
a couple of years ago I asked for suggestions to improve my anchoring
skills and this group came though. I now anchhor much more and with
much more confidence. but I have a question. When I am at anchor with
my 25 foot power boat (four winns) with not a deep Vee, I tend to swing
at anchor more than anyone else around me. This weekend for example, I
was anchored in Cuttyhunk and as some of you may know, there is not a
lot of room. I thought about a second anchor in the stern but decided
(thankfully) not as the wind did change 180 degrees in the night and I
would have been the only one not moving. Does anyone have any
suggestions how to keep a boat like mine from swinging to much? Someone
suggested a bucket on a roap behind the boat( a sea anchor, I
believe)Any other thoughts
again thanks as always.
By the way, we left Boston on Thursday after work and spent the night
in Scituate, on Friday we went though the Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards
bay, lunched in New Bedford and spent the night in Cuttyhunk. Saturday,
we went to Vineyard sound, Woods Hole, Red Brook Harbor and Pocaset,
spend the night in Onset (where I worked as a drummer in a blues
band)Sunday we went back though the Canal and stayed in Duxbury. Monday
we got up early to go home to Boston only to find that the weather was
too rough for us. We headed back to Plymouth, thinking that if we get
straned there, there is busses and trains to Boston. went to an
internet cafe and check out several weather sites and decided to
continue home late evening when the wather was better. It was a
bueatiful ride home. thank godness for electronics and back ups and
general smarts and good luck. we made it home very safely.

padeen wrote:
Can't improve on what's been said already, but you're one hellofa creative
speller, Richard!

I did this late at night and was shocked to see my speeling, I mean spelling the next day
thanks for noticing

your a ****ing pussy.

I'm a little late getting to this.

A side-issue is that of anchoring etiquette. Although not always practised
properly, many boaters do adhere to the policy of first in getting priority.
So, if you anchor somehow, with lots of swing or little, or with a stern
anchor or not, then boats arriving after you have to give you room. But you
have to accommodate boats which were there before you.

Now - I went and had a friendly talk once with a guy who was there ahead of
me but not anchored according to that little bay's "convention" (Central
Grenadier, Thousand Islands, bow and stern anchors in close to the beach,
single anchors out in deeper water), so making it difficult for the rest of
us, and he was reasonable, so there's no harm in trying to work things out.

I disagree, BTW, with anchoring by the stern. This will probably reduce
swing, but is only good in a boat such as yours for very calm conditions.
Waves slapping against a big flat transom are not nice. A displacement hull
will handle this much better.

I also disagree with using two anchors. That will reduce swing considerably,
but can leave you (so I am told) with quite a mess when you wake up and find
yourself facing the other way.

Read Hinz's book, The Complete Book of Anchoring and Mooring. It covers all
these points and much more in considerable detail.

====

Charles T. Low
www.boatdocking.com

====

"richard" wrote in message
ups.com...
a couple of years ago I asked for suggestions to improve my anchoring
skills and this group came though. I now anchhor much more and with
much more confidence. but I have a question. When I am at anchor with
my 25 foot power boat (four winns) with not a deep Vee, I tend to swing
at anchor more than anyone else around me. This weekend for example, I
was anchored in Cuttyhunk and as some of you may know, there is not a
lot of room. I thought about a second anchor in the stern but decided
(thankfully) not as the wind did change 180 degrees in the night and I
would have been the only one not moving. Does anyone have any
suggestions how to keep a boat like mine from swinging to much? Someone
suggested a bucket on a roap behind the boat( a sea anchor, I
believe)Any other thoughts
again thanks as always.
By the way, we left Boston on Thursday after work and spent the night
in Scituate, on Friday we went though the Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards
bay, lunched in New Bedford and spent the night in Cuttyhunk. Saturday,
we went to Vineyard sound, Woods Hole, Red Brook Harbor and Pocaset,
spend the night in Onset (where I worked as a drummer in a blues
band)Sunday we went back though the Canal and stayed in Duxbury. Monday
we got up early to go home to Boston only to find that the weather was
too rough for us. We headed back to Plymouth, thinking that if we get
straned there, there is busses and trains to Boston. went to an
internet cafe and check out several weather sites and decided to
continue home late evening when the wather was better. It was a
bueatiful ride home. thank godness for electronics and back ups and
general smarts and good luck. we made it home very safely.

"Charles T. Low" [withoutUN] wrote in message
wsgroups.com...
I'm a little late getting to this.

A side-issue is that of anchoring etiquette. Although not always practised
properly, many boaters do adhere to the policy of first in getting
priority. So, if you anchor somehow, with lots of swing or little, or with
a stern anchor or not, then boats arriving after you have to give you
room. But you have to accommodate boats which were there before you.

Now - I went and had a friendly talk once with a guy who was there ahead
of me but not anchored according to that little bay's "convention"
(Central Grenadier, Thousand Islands, bow and stern anchors in close to
the beach, single anchors out in deeper water), so making it difficult for
the rest of us, and he was reasonable, so there's no harm in trying to
work things out.

I disagree, BTW, with anchoring by the stern. This will probably reduce
swing, but is only good in a boat such as yours for very calm conditions.
Waves slapping against a big flat transom are not nice. A displacement
hull will handle this much better.

I also disagree with using two anchors. That will reduce swing
considerably, but can leave you (so I am told) with quite a mess when you
wake up and find yourself facing the other way.

Read Hinz's book, The Complete Book of Anchoring and Mooring. It covers
all these points and much more in considerable detail.

====

Charles T. Low
www.boatdocking.com


Many years ago, I watched a guy down in the BVI anchor his Mooring 405 by
the stern. He ended up with the mooring line caught between the rudder and
the keel. He was obviously having a problem, so my friend and I dinghied
over to help. His explanation was that he wanted to watch the sunset
(whatever). Clearly, this guy didn't have a clue. It took us about 1/2 hour
to free it up. The upside was that he gave us about five bottles of liquor
for our help, and his girlfriend was damn cute. Turned out he was a power
boater who thought sailing would be cool... never raised the sails during
the entire week apparently.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com