Anchoring

I use a large stainless mooring snap like this one, with about 10 feet of 1/2 line tied in the middle to the eye. Once the anchor is set, I clip this to the chain and tie the ends to the cleats. I don't like the idea of a bridle connected to the chain below the pulpit on our style boats. If you have to pull anchor quickly in an emergency you want it to be quick and easy to disconnnect. This is.
View attachment 78503

I do something similar, but I have about a 6' length of line with a snubber on it. A stainless snap carabiner into the chain with the rope loop through the center windlass cleat. We're only on an inland lake, or I'd probably go full bridal, but the bridal would be a lot of education for the Admiral who would probably wind up getting a railing support tangled.

Even on an inland lake it's often surprising the stretch I see on the snubber.
 
I do something similar, but I have about a 6' length of line with a snubber on it. A stainless snap carabiner into the chain with the rope loop through the center windlass cleat. We're only on an inland lake, or I'd probably go full bridal, but the bridal would be a lot of education for the Admiral who would probably wind up getting a railing support tangled.

Even on an inland lake it's often surprising the stretch I see on the snubber.

Sounds like a nice simple setup.
Pictures?
 
Sounds like a nice simple setup.
Pictures?

I thought I had a picture of it, but I don't. It's just a length of dock line with the factory eye splice on one end and an eye splice I made on the other, with a stainless carabiner and a snubber close to the cleat side eye. It's short enough that it can be tucked under the anchor locker hatch.

The only real learning curve for the admiral was making sure she ran out enough slack chain after connecting it so the line bore all the load.

I've kind of been tempted to make another variant comprised of two 1/2" diameter bungee lengths, eliminating the snubber. The snubber is the one thing that can interfere with the hatch closing, and the bungee might give better shock absorption. I wouldn't consider this on real water for strength reasons, but where we boat and as an experiment I'm kind of curious how well (or poorly) it would work.
 
the easiest way is to make a bridle with 3 legs. 2 longer legs go to your bow cleats and the third shorter leg that is located midway between the two ends is attached to the rode with a rolling hitch.
I have an all chain rode but it works equally as well on a rope rode. You can improve upon it by separating the 3 strands of line on the third leg about 2’ from the end, then braid them back together in the same way a girl braids her hair. It will make the line “softer”, flatter and more flexible, increasing it’s gripping ability.View attachment 78497
I used a rolling hitch for a while until we got into a situation and couldn't get the anchor on the boat quickly. We were anchored in a little bay in Manjack Abaco on the 400DA six or seven years ago. The sea bottom was grassy and anchor holding ended up not being as good as we thought. In the middle of the night a squall came through and we started dragging; Drag Queen alarm was blazing. Had no idea where we were - it was pitch black. Getting engines started, electronics up, and that bridle off the anchor chain was paramount. There were other boats anchored in that area also. The girls were walking around the boat with spot lights to locate the land and other boats; my buddy Ed was on the bow trying to get the chain up and to that knot. Couldn't get the knot off the chain - dark wet and windy. He ended up manually pulling the chain onto the deck while I maneuvered the vessel using the Drag Queen app on my Ipad to atop the anchor; it was damn dangerous and to this day I have no idea how he managed to get that 40 pound anchor secured but he did. We radar navigated out of the little bay and motored around West of Manjack until we could collect our nerves, get the anchor chain situated and set the anchor again. That was a lesson on bridles and to have a chain connection that can be quickly released.
That's not to say that a bridle isn't required, but make sure it is manageable in the worst of situations including able to roll up through the anchor roller and chute. The Mantus arrangement is the best for chain rode in my opinion.
 
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Agree. The problem I see with the chain hooks that I would trust to stay on like the mantus is it won’t pass up through the bow roller cleanly. I have a serrated stainless knife Velcroed inside the chain locker to cut the line attaching the chain to the boat if I ever have to. I guess I hope that works to cut the rolling hitch off if necessary.
 
I'm new to dealing with a windlass so have done a little research to get the gist of the whole process. I'm in a 330DA with a chain/rope rode. What I understand is that when setting the anchor and at anchor, the rode should be cleated off to take the stress off the windlass...makes sense to me. The issue is, the 330DA only has cleats that aren't friendly to doing that. Should I add a cleat closer to the centerline of the boat or possibly a chock to route the rope rode through and use an existing bow cleat? What's your advice?View attachment 78484
Snubber
 
while I maneuvered the vessel using the Drag Queen app on my Ipad to atop the anchor;

Last summer was the first to try the Mantus hook, I liked it! Still need to work out the details to ensure we can remove it quickly in an emergency.

Curious what anchor alarms folks use? We haven't settled on anything yet and a number of them don't work with the latest Apple iOS. I did have Drag Queen but it doesn't work now that ActiveCaptain is part of Garmin. For those that anchor a lot, any go-to app(s) you count on?
 
Who knew a little question on anchoring could generate this much dialog? Seems there's lots to consider in the setup. The ability to free the anchor line from the bridle was the first thing I thought of when the rolling hitch was mentioned. Therefore I'll probably be looking at the best way to accomplish cleating the line within my set-up. Whether that's adding a cleat, a chock or just use the existing hardware, remains to be explored when I get near the boat again. No question I'd have a bridle with a clip of some type if I had a chain rode...unfortunately, that's not the case.
 
snub to line.png
 
Last summer was the first to try the Mantus hook, I liked it! Still need to work out the details to ensure we can remove it quickly in an emergency.

Curious what anchor alarms folks use? We haven't settled on anything yet and a number of them don't work with the latest Apple iOS. I did have Drag Queen but it doesn't work now that ActiveCaptain is part of Garmin. For those that anchor a lot, any go-to app(s) you count on?

I have a Vesper AIS, and their WatchMate app has an excellent anchor alarm. Prior to adding that hardware, I used an app called "Anchor" which works in the latest iOS version.
 
I use one of these hooked into my chain... I have all chain... I Hook one end on my center cleat, and the other through the chain.
bungee.jpg
 
We also use anchor. And have experienced that it works better (more accurately and no false alarms) on the I-pad vs the phone. Probably a better GPS. I can't hear the MFD/anchor watches that are up on the bridge down in the stateroom.
1 thing is for sure, nothing but nothing gets your butt up and out of that bed faster than that alarm going off in the middle of the night. Thankfully our only panic was a false alarm when I set the swing zone a little too tight.
 
We also use anchor. And have experienced that it works better (more accurately and no false alarms) on the I-pad vs the phone. Probably a better GPS. I can't hear the MFD/anchor watches that are up on the bridge down in the stateroom.
1 thing is for sure, nothing but nothing gets your butt up and out of that bed faster than that alarm going off in the middle of the night. Thankfully our only panic was a false alarm when I set the swing zone a little too tight.

Another trick I've learned is keep the hatch over the berth un-latched. That makes it easy to do the occasional gopher-pop when you're nervous, especially if the anchor alarm goes off.
 
I use one of these hooked into my chain... I have all chain... I Hook one end on my center cleat, and the other through the chain.
View attachment 78600
Being a newbie with a big boat all the info in this post is a little overwhelming.
We haven’t anchored out for the night yet since we have only had it since Sept.
I will certainly look at the set up on the 390my, kinda thought it was set up with a safety pin through a bracket.
If not I would sure like to be able to use the bungee cord solution if that works.
Is it possible this has been over engineered?
 
If you have line rode why not just take it to one or the other bow cleats. I've done that and found the boat does not swing around so much.
Yes, that's an option but it seemed to make a difference on my 300DA (without windlass) by being offset. Certainly not the end of the world, but I was looking for an improved experience. If the line runs through the pulpit then to the bow cleat, I think it will pull against a stanchion or other unfriendly surface along the side of the pulpit opening. Seems there are a few good options to explore.
 
If you have line rode why not just take it to one or the other bow cleats. I've done that and found the boat does not swing around so much.

I did that a few times with my old boat and it swung around quite a bit. So much so that I wound up installing a center cleat.
Then again, while currents aren’t a problem around here, the winds can get pretty heavy on summer afternoons so that probably caused the excessive swinging.
I’ve got an all chain rode on this boat and keep meaning to come up with something that is quick and easy to use when needed.
 

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