Now that the resident catamaran crazy, Jeff, has returned from his so-called
voyage perhaps it would be an opportune time to make an observation or two
about something I have seen all catamaran people do in the past couple of
years.

I call it the bridle two-step. I'm sure you have watched the show yourself
if you cruise. Here comes a catamaran into the anchorage. Of course, they've
simply GOT to get upwind of everybody and into the skinniest water possible.
With much ado and clanking and clattering of chain they let go the bower.
This might or might not involve a crew member on the foredeck undogging the
chain stop pawl. At any rate the anchor drops, the chain runs out, never
mind that the boat is still making headway, so the chain runs out toward the
stern of the boat then as the boat stops it piles up on top of itself right
under the bow roller in a heap. Then as the boat begins to make sternway the
pile of chain unravels itself and slows the boat to a stop without ever
having the anchor itself backed down upon.

If this isn't bad enough we must then witness the bridle two-step. This is
where a crew person leans over the bow roller and attaches a chain hook from
a farm or logging supply store to the chain. This chain hook is generally
eye-spliced to two nylon lines the bitter ends of which are made fast to the
bows of the hulls. Then with some shouting and more clatter extra chain is
let out until a strain is placed upon the nylon lines.

The purpose of all this is supposed to be to keep the catamaran from sailing
around so much on the anchor. But, it is a wasted effort because all one
must do is look at the physics of the situation. With the bridle one can
envision a 'Y" with the chain hook at the junction of the arms. This chain
hook allows the chain to pivot the same amount as would be the case if the
chain were simply snubbed off at the centrally located bow roller. So the
use of the bridle turns out to be just another monkey see, monkey do affair.

The other reason a bridle is used is it's supposed to keep the snatching
effect of an all chain rode from adversely wearing the bow roller or
bothering a sleeping crew with abrupt motion. But, whatever happened the
concept of cantenary? The bight of the cantenary is what's supposed to
cushion the snatching effect. But, the problem is catamaran operators
usually anchor in water that is dangerously shallow and they usually pay out
only about a boat length of chain at the most. So, of course it snatches.
This should indicate to them that they need more rode, more cantenary and
more depth in which to anchor. But, noooo. They'd rather do the bridle
two-step.
They just HAVE to anchor in too shallow water because it is one of the main
reasons they got the stupid thing in the first place - to go in shallow
water and to anchor in shallow water. But, it turns out anchoring in shallow
water has no advantages. Duh!

But, you can't teach a dufus anything.

Wilbur Hubbard

So Wilbur, do you stay up at night in your appliance box fantasizing
about catamarans? To bad you'll never get to ride one otherwise.

Frankly, you do bring up a few interesting points. My cat, and many
others of the vintage, has ground tackle on each bow, but the newer
designs generally use a center roller which is less flexible. When I
brought this up with my builder they said that's what people expect
nowadays.

Also, I use 50 feet of chain, with the rest nylon, so that I always have
the shock absorbing and don't carry too much weight. In my case I have
to bridle, with a rolling hitch from the other bow, to keep the boat
pointed straight. A very nice by-product of any bridle is that pivot
point is no long on the roller, but at the attachment point where
there's no chafe. Also, with the pivot point forward the boat doesn't
swing much at all; I consider this a major advantage over many monohulls.

As for a catenary, you can always tell when someone know nothing about
anchoring: the invoke the catenary when in reality it has little to do
with anchoring. The "buffering" that you get with chain come from
lifting chain off the bottom, not "straightening a catenary." Yes, the
chain will assume that shape, but that's not where the buffering comes
from. By the time the chain is fully lifted and straightening the curve
comes into play, there is only a few inches of extension left and the
anchor is about to be jerked free (or the bow fittings pulled out).
This is why a bridle is needed with any all-chain rode.

Wilbur, neither monohull nor multihull sailors have a monopoly on either
good or bad anchoring practices. However, to claim that all catamaran
sailors anchor as you describe is absurd.

But your lack of knowledge of the effectiveness of a bridle on a multihull
really shows that you will speak to something you know nothing about. A
multihull lying on a bridle just doesn't sail about the anchor. As Jeff
says, with a bridle the pivot point may be 15 feet in front of the bows. The
roller you suggest may be one to two feet back from the bows. Big
difference.

The first time I moored --as opposed to anchored--our cat, I did so as you
recommend. This was suggested by the fellow I had just bought the boat from,
strangely because he recommended a bridle at anchor. Regardless, when the
wind piped up, I thought the boat was going to yank out the mooring before I
could rig a bridle. Once the bridle was rigged, she rode steady as a rock.

"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message
news:48b1c72b$0$33696, ...
Now that the resident catamaran crazy, Jeff, has returned from his
so-called voyage perhaps it would be an opportune time to make an
observation or two about something I have seen all catamaran people do in
the past couple of years.

I call it the bridle two-step. I'm sure you have watched the show yourself
if you cruise. Here comes a catamaran into the anchorage. Of course,
they've simply GOT to get upwind of everybody and into the skinniest water
possible. With much ado and clanking and clattering of chain they let go
the bower. This might or might not involve a crew member on the foredeck
undogging the chain stop pawl. At any rate the anchor drops, the chain
runs out, never mind that the boat is still making headway, so the chain
runs out toward the stern of the boat then as the boat stops it piles up
on top of itself right under the bow roller in a heap. Then as the boat
begins to make sternway the pile of chain unravels itself and slows the
boat to a stop without ever having the anchor itself backed down upon.

If this isn't bad enough we must then witness the bridle two-step. This is
where a crew person leans over the bow roller and attaches a chain hook
from a farm or logging supply store to the chain. This chain hook is
generally eye-spliced to two nylon lines the bitter ends of which are made
fast to the bows of the hulls. Then with some shouting and more clatter
extra chain is let out until a strain is placed upon the nylon lines.

The purpose of all this is supposed to be to keep the catamaran from
sailing around so much on the anchor. But, it is a wasted effort because
all one must do is look at the physics of the situation. With the bridle
one can envision a 'Y" with the chain hook at the junction of the arms.
This chain hook allows the chain to pivot the same amount as would be the
case if the chain were simply snubbed off at the centrally located bow
roller. So the use of the bridle turns out to be just another monkey see,
monkey do affair.

The other reason a bridle is used is it's supposed to keep the snatching
effect of an all chain rode from adversely wearing the bow roller or
bothering a sleeping crew with abrupt motion. But, whatever happened the
concept of cantenary? The bight of the cantenary is what's supposed to
cushion the snatching effect. But, the problem is catamaran operators
usually anchor in water that is dangerously shallow and they usually pay
out only about a boat length of chain at the most. So, of course it
snatches. This should indicate to them that they need more rode, more
cantenary and more depth in which to anchor. But, noooo. They'd rather do
the bridle two-step.
They just HAVE to anchor in too shallow water because it is one of the
main reasons they got the stupid thing in the first place - to go in
shallow water and to anchor in shallow water. But, it turns out anchoring
in shallow water has no advantages. Duh!

But, you can't teach a dufus anything.

Wilbur Hubbard

On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:40:10 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

They just HAVE to anchor in too shallow water because it is one of the main
reasons they got the stupid thing in the first place - to go in shallow
water and to anchor in shallow water. But, it turns out anchoring in shallow
water has no advantages. Duh!

When I was a kid fifty years ago, I used the same 20 lb Danforth for
both the 12 foot duckboat, 5 HP, and the runabout. I always used the
engine to bury the thing , in the mud, in the twenty foot of depth
found everywhere in that lake. Still have the anchor.