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Sumner: I believe what Cat is accomplishing is......slowing down the natural clocking nature of these boats..( your boat has far less windage unless you have your full enclosure up and standing)
Mine has clocked 180 and back again on numerous overnights. That was for me at least, for a moment or two the first couple times , disorientating.
IF? That small anchor snags in mid coarse an the winds build.. and they often do .. being CAUGHT abreast of the wind, this could become a real issue..
But there we go....... Now I'm playing the IF card

You drag it on the bottom. The pattern it leaves doubles as a Rorschach Blot Test.

Andrew

I guess you'd call that the Scenic Anchoring Tech.

Very nice pic's by the way your a lucky man. I still have my boat in my shop weather was the pits earlier on & now I'm very busy this year with a special project simular to Richards ! Amazing how much crap you can collect over 23yrs in one place

J

The Bucket - good!

The Anchor sail - good!

Rear Anchors - not good in windage

Double front Anchors - small insurance

Rudders down and pidgeon toed by disconnecting linkage - probably good with one of the above

I've just finished a linkage mod that will allow me to do this (try). We've a week coming up moored in an unknow bottom bay off Massauga Provincial park, up near the North Channel, Huron, Ontario. I will try all three (first two) eventually because reducing and not eliminating the weathervaning is the object. I've tried lashing the rudder in a past boat that like to moor sail (Sandpiper) and found no difference with centre or biased positioning of the helm, other that to push the swing more to one side, depending on the prevailing wind. It occurred to me that fixing both blades in a 'toed' orientation might add some stronger sternward drag without the handedness. I suppose if the power reserves were sufficient, running an autopilot could cancel out some phases. Though you'd need an - Anchoring - macro.

Ross

Not enough flow over the rudders for an autopilot to be effective, especially in such an under-ruddered boat as the Mac. Your rudders are perpetually stalled when you are on anchor/mooring.

http://www.bannerbaymarine.com/

I made up one of these, but it only reduces the swing! I use a halyard, with one line to the foot of the mast, and two to the aft cleats. Currently making up a 'spreader' to open it out more.

Capt Roy

The Bannerbay Delta (above) could pass for a water equivalent of splayed rudder blades. When the boat swings on the mooring line it actually sails and generates a lift from the hull shape, in the water. I don't think the rudder is stalled then and when tied over hard still gets moved through the water but bias's the swing more to one side than the other.
Granted, a functioning autopilot would probably keep you up all night worrying about the battery, if not the noise, but all it would have to do is counter swing the blades opposite to the heading happening on the mooring.
The Delta design looks like a good idea to try as an add on mod. You can't use the topping lift for the boom in this case though.

Ross

Short anchor rode let out = more swing.
Lots of anchor rode let out = less swing.

I've found that the mushroom anchor works well in light winds.