Jack the Lad

A 5 gallon water container (full of water) will give you 50lb of moveable boat ballast. Jack

The correct seamans knot for this is a 'rolling hitch'. No tight knots/loops to undo or clips. A ROLLING HITCH The end of the anchor warp should also be attached to the boat and easily accessible. I would like to emphasize that it is unsafe and bad seamanship to use an anchor without being able to release or cut the anchor line. Cheers Jack

This guy is stranded on a desert island, all alone for ten years. One day, he sees a speck in the horizon. He thinks to himself, "It's not a ship." The speck gets a little closer and he thinks, "It's not a boat." The speck gets even closer and he thinks, "It's not a raft." Then, out of the surf comes this gorgeous blonde woman, wearing a wet suit and scuba gear. She comes up to the guy and she says, "How long has it been since you've had a cigarette?" "Ten years!" he says. She reaches over, unzips this waterproof pocket on her left sleeve and pulls out a pack of fresh cigarettes. He takes one, lights it, takes a long drag and says, "Man , oh man! Is that good!" Then she asked, "How long has it been since you've had a drink of whiskey? "He replies, "Ten years!" She reaches over, unzips her waterproof pocket on the right, pulls out a flask and gives it to him. He takes a long swig and says, "Wow, that's fantastic!" Then she starts unzipping this long zipper that runs down the front of her wet suit and she says to him, "And how long has it been since you've had some REAL fun?" And the mans replies, "My God! Don't tell me that you've got a fishing rod in there!"

Thanks Maverick, Been in touch with Piplers - they actually have the HH in stock, also included is a 12V lead to plug it direct to ships power. So, not having to totally rely on it's own battery for comms makes it a very good buy; I think. Cheers - Jack

A local friend with an Alaska 500 has had 2 extra wheels attached to his trailer. He say's 'you can always get home on 3 wheels'. Also he can always raise the flat off the ground for replacement by driving trailer up a plank & brick etc. Sounds like a good idea but I don't know what it would cost to do? Cheers Jack

The lower the stern the easier to CUT the rope! But they really shouldn't have got themselves into that situation. There should always be immediately available a sharp knife for such an emergency - it has been proven a serrated knife will cut thru rope most efficiently. A good knife shouldn't be a prob on an angling boat Jack

In the last issue of BFM there was a story of how anchor rope warping the prop causing the boat to be swamped in swells, and sank before they had time to send out a sos. You get the rest right and the fish will come...... (I'm still waiting ) Unfortunate to see that the proof of my comments are out there ! If they had been good sailors they wouldn't have used polyprop. If they had been aware of the polyprop risk they could have prevented the 'prop wrap' situation and having got it caught around the prop it should not have sunk the boat - if they knew what they were doing !!! I'm sure nobody in the club is that stupid . It's becoming more and more obvious that people should take training and become qualified before becoming a boat skipper. TIP: If you must use polyprop to anchor attach a short length of chain (or any weight) with a rolling hitch to the anchor line and let out another half a boat length of line before the tide turns. Like I recommended use 'nylon' for anchoring attached to at least a the boat length of chain. - let's go fishing and anchor safely Just thought - perhaps is best to just go drift fishing Jack

Hi Alan, I'm sure some of your m8's will explain length does matter !!!! So you want to be contradicted? Perhaps the bouancy of polyprop reduces the actual weight of anchor and chain thereby making the anchor less effective ????? That's a possible bar room theory discussion. In the practical world if your polyprop anchor rode is slack floating and your anchor is well set in the bottom - don't worry, you're not going anywhere apart from possibly tying your propeller to the anchor as the tide turns; you're ok! Nylon rope has 2 main advantages I believe. Nylon doesn't float - so when swinging on the tide turn you stand less chance of reanchoring the boat from the prop. Also if you need to pull out quick or the anchors 'stuck' and you tie a fender to the end of the polyprop and cast it off, to return later to retrieve - you've created a hazard to all other boats! Nylon does stretch - an anchor can be 'snatched' out by a swell or yaw if the line doesn't stretch. Therefore with nylon the anchor is more likely to 'hold on' and the stretch is kinder to the deck fittings etc. There are other nylon advantages including better wear and tear. Poly's ok as a temporary measure which is initially cheap but could be expensive in the long run. Totally agree with everybody - 12mm better than 10mm for ease of handling; especially when it's cold. These anchor comments are only my personal experience and I actually only want to learn 'how to fish'. please, Jack

Duncan - I hope you appreciate this comment I made in one of previous postings on this thread was not directed at you but meant as a general comment for anybody following the thread. "Please don't hang your boat and perhaps your life on a cheap anchor and ancilliary connections! " Cheers - Jack

Although I've always preferred a CQR I'm starting to think I should get a Bruce for self stowing simplicity and when set they do hold well. Perhaps these points is why I see a lot of Bruces on power boats etc.. Just be careful of clay! I saw a yacht in Fortelaza that was anchored on a Bruce and after a few days of holding no prob - the boat went walk about. The Bruce had scooped out a ball of clay ( acting like an ice cream scoop, when swinging) and when the wind increased pulled out the ball and just rolled around - proving your point that 'balls' don't make good anchors. Fortunately not too many sea beds are clay. We recovered the boat for the guy ( he was not on board) and re-anchored it; so no probs. Jack

Great we agree now Thought I was suffering a 'senior moment' But it's just a bit of a communication problem. I couldn't agree more about a ball v an anchor. Have you seen the new light weight plastic anchors - they are light to handle then, you fill them with water to make them heavy; that should give good holding - think they're available April 1st Here's my personal views on anchor types for you to knock about - what do you all use (should that be a different thread?) Plough - genuine CQR ( balanced with weight at tip) best overall. Stock can move slightly if swinging a bit and re-sets ok when tide swings. Will set and hold well in most bottoms. Danforth - extremely good in mud but obstruction across flukes can stop the anchor resetting on tidal swing. Bruce - when set holds well. Initially designed for North sea oil rigs and the Bruce was placed and buried by divers. Can be a problem getting it to set. Real advantage, no moving parts to trap fingers. Fisherman - good as a rock pick. Rig with a trip! Needs to be heavy for sand/mud. Lots more - mostly designed on and improved or cheaper? versions of the above - so the sellers say. Get the correct weight anchor for your boat as recommended by the anchor manufacturer. Please don't hang your boat and perhaps your life on a cheap anchor and ancilliary connections! Jack

Hi Duncan, The read 'here' is a bit technical and like I said I'm being practical. I'm glad to see that you normally add in your deck height above the water line - you should. That's if you're giving an exam result answer. If you normally do a rough calc for max depth then add a few feet more it'll work - if the anchor is dragging either pull it up and check the anchor or let out some more rode! The poorer the holding - the longer the rode needed! I only mentioned a 'pig' as it's demonstrates the invalidity of your statement "increasing the size (not length) of the chain will help - but will not add to the ultimate holding power of your anchor tackle one bit! " You state also "Catenerary effects are the primary reason that you can 'get away with' a lower scope in deeper water ".Actually the deeper the water the greater the length of rode needed to reduce the pull on the anchor. 1M extra rode in 10M of water increases the catenery far more than that 1M in 20M of water. It seems to me you are trying to discuss theory rather than practical anchoring guidance. I reiterate - More weight and longer rode increases an anchors holding power. Lets hope peeps are learning something from this Duncan Cheers - Jack

I agree it doesn't need to get to force 10 to straighten anchor rode - but obviously increasing the weight and length of the rode needs a greater wind and swell to straighten it. Which is exactly what I am saying. There must be a point when insufficient pull can be generated on the boat to straighten the rode weight. But here I'm not trying to discuss drawing board theory I'm trying to be clear what people should do when anchoring in difficult circumstances. Whilst you say increasing above 6:1 only gives you a minute improvement - when the chips are down please take any improvement. Nylon is also better than polyprop as an anchor rope; lessens the jerk. A tested galvanised shackle is better than the modern connectors which have had 'break off' ears; s/s connectors/shackles can suffer galvanic action. We could discuss the attributes of various anchors and how to use etc. etc etc But I thought you were trying to give a general overview. Which I still believe is:- More weight and longer rode increases an anchors holding power. Jack

I totally understand and concur for normal circumstances when doing a bit of dangling - but if Sod or Murphy came aboard, or perhaps people are out there when they should have run for home ( because the fish were biting) or are awaiting the RNLI, due to mechanical failure; I would like to be sure they have the correct knowledge and facts in anchoring techniques. My experience and therefore lack of understanding and is with the following statements: increasing the size (not length) of the chain will help - but will not add to the ultimate holding power of your anchor tackle one bit! 6x is the scope beyond which there is no (realistic) mechanical advantage in increasing the scope further (there may be an advantage in shallow water with a large swell but that's a completely different issue). In shallower water you ay need more scope and in deeper you may get away with less. Jack

I always understood that the 'catenery'; the angle of the rode, affected the holding power of the anchor. Therefore more weight - chain( increased size or length) or adding weight on the rode does increase the holding power. Hence chain= 3:1 and rope 5:1 of max depth is the normal guide scopes. The more the pull is along the sea bed the better the anchor holds. That is why some boats carry 'pigs' - a heavy weight to slide down the anchor rode to increase the holding power of the anchor. That's why the longer the rode the better the holding power; reducing again the angle of the rode to the sea bed. Increasing the rode beyond 1:6 will also have a beneficial effect in a good blow/squall line. How ultimate are we talking about? I've anchored in storm 10. When, I believe it's best to tandem anchor, but that's a seperate anchoring discussion! I understood these principles applied to any size vessel anchoring - except perhaps a 'rib'; which I reckon would be flying in a 10 or even less, if anchored. But, by that time, I highly recommend that you are not anchored but well tucked up ashore enjoying a pint! I would appreciate your response as these are important facts concerning people's safety. As a qualified professioal skipper have I been doing it wrong for last 40 years OR have I misunderstood your statements Duncan and therefore some clarification is needed? Jack

We were always taught to 'flake' anchor warp. Never had any probs with 3 strand or the many different plaits if 'flaked' - that's having anchored 1,000's of times. If twists were starting to appear we'd remove the anchor and then tow the warp astern to remove twists before re-attaching the anchor. Also, we would always have the end made off so we couldn't lose the lot. Cheers - Jack

I once converted a windscreen wiper motor with blade arm into an 'automatic jigger' . I connected into 12V, with an in-line fuse and all worked well - including catching the bait fish. Cheers - Jack

Hi Hoggy, Wow - you certainly know about these reels. Thanks for the very informative post. Cheers - Jack

Did anybody buy either of these mentioned hand-helds ? If so, which did you buy and is it any good? Cheers - Jack

Hi Duncan, Not sure - see below access usa web site. Seems set up for private individuals and then see Declared Value sub heading under main heading of Save on Shipping AccessUSA It would seem that if the supplier was prepared to give a 'commercial value' invoice it would be totally legal for a private person - what do you think? Friends actually send me 'gifts' so not looking to use this company but just checking 'ins and outs' of the importing situation. Cheers Jack

This could be of interest for anybody thinking of getting anything sent from USA. Quoted to me by a professional importer/exporter in the USA. "Declared Value By declaring the wholesale value of your purchases, you will save significant amounts in duty and taxes when importing your items through Access USA. By law, we are only required to declare the wholesale value of your purchases. The wholesale value is a "reasonable cost to manufacture the product" and is usually 50-60% below the retail value (the amount you paid for the mechandise)." cheers - Jack

Great to know such a good bunch of guys. Well done to y'all !!!! Jack

Hi Paul Is your example realistic nowadays due to improving technology? 2W gives 10 miles?? I hear the theory. However I only know the practical side. Every installed VHF transceiver I have used ( there

Hi Adam, Used to be 1 watt = 1mile approx. Perhaps all this new technology stuff has changed that? Can the H/H take an external antennae ? If so it sometimes will increase range on H/H's but probably need more power first. Mobile phones pretty good as emergency back-up ? I'll be interested in other replies as well - before I purchase. Cheers - Jack

Hi Dan This might make interesting reading - a