So I have my 2011 26M with a full water ballast on a 12" mooring ball (in Pensacola Bay) with 8 feet of 3/8th galvanized chain in average 3 foot water depth in a 4 foot single helix, why does she swing around the wind so wildly?
I have anchor line (15 feet divided by 2) attached to an anchor shakle about 6 " below the mooring ball which is equally attached to the bow cleats on my 26M.
I am considering adding a 5 pound danforth on a 15" line to anchor off of one of my stern cleats.
Storm sail.. Highlander will answer in time here .. Yep they clock around a bit.. My question is for you? Do you really want to fore and aft tie it.. The wind can clock and often does over night .. do you want 15 to 30 mph winds hitting you full force amidships for 1 to several hours as it clocks back and forth..
I keep Shoal on a three anchor mooring system. She still roams but now she's got a pretty short leash so to speak. I envision dual rigid wing masts in the back that could just stay up all the time. Those would fix the problem and probably look pretty cool and help the sailing also. I promised myself I would keep my paws off the boat modification wise, but the thought of chine rails and those wing masts have me dreaming of divinycel foam and vinylster resin.
This topic has been extensively discussed. Try doing a search for some version of this topic. I did it for "swinging at anchor" and saw a variety of post. Some of which may be of assistance.
The two solutions which have been talked about the most are either a bridle for your anchor, or a storm sail. I use the storm sail, others much prefer the bridle approach.
So I have my 2011 26M with a full water ballast on a 12" mooring ball (in Pensacola Bay) with 8 feet of 3/8th galvanized chain in average 3 foot water depth in a 4 foot single helix, why does she swing around the wind so wildly?
I have anchor line (15 feet divided by 2) attached to an anchor shakle about 6 " below the mooring ball which is equally attached to the bow cleats on my 26M.
I am considering adding a 5 pound danforth on a 15" line to anchor off of one of my stern cleats.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks!
BADDOG
The high windage of a Mac is the issue here. If you have to have the boat stationary because it may hit something else, a fore & aft anchor is the only option. If she's not going to hit anything, just learn to ignore it!
If you were to "Fix" the position of your Mac by using an additional anchor, or a storm sail, and the nearby boats were able to swing freely, your boat might be hit by another. ( This will usually happen in the middle of the night.) The best solution, in my opinion, is to do whatever the other nearby boats are doing: If they tie up fore and aft, you should too. However, if they use only the mooring point at the bow, that's what you should do as well. An entire group of boats that swing in unison are safe. That's why, whenever we anchor, we always ask the nearby boats what their anchoring status is before we set our position.
Usually, a boat that is closely tied to a mooring ball will not drift very far. However, a boat at anchor might swing in a radius of more than a hundred feet if the wind or tide shifts.
If you were to "Fix" the position of your Mac by using an additional anchor, or a storm sail, and the nearby boats were able to swing freely, your boat might be hit by another. ( This will usually happen in the middle of the night.) The best solution, in my opinion, is to do whatever the other nearby boats are doing: If they tie up fore and aft, you should too. However, if they use only the mooring point at the bow, that's what you should do as well. An entire group of boats that swing in unison are safe. That's why, whenever we anchor, we always ask the nearby boats what their anchoring status is before we set our position.
Usually, a boat that is closely tied to a mooring ball will not drift very far. However, a boat at anchor might swing in a radius of more than a hundred feet if the wind or tide shifts.
I minimize the swinging on my M by leaving the rudders down [if you've got enough water under you], and having the board down at least half way. She still moves around a bit, but isn't on the move all the time, about the same as the catamarans [with little draft] around me, and will move with the wind more than the tide.
The downside is that the rudders will end up encrusted with barnacles and weed, this year I have put a coat of antifouling paint on them, so it will be interesting to see if it works.
K9Kampers wrote:How about an anchor riding sail?...
The anchor riding sail will nicely turn a craft into the wind, when the wind changes she will continue to clock around and that is normal. BTW, with her high freeboard, do you actually need an anchor riding sail ?
I don't have one, but last year at Cuttyhunk I saw a boat that did, and it seemed to be working OK.
Link: Banner Bay Marine click on the video "SEE HOW RIDING SAILS WORK"
That is what I use, and I did get it from Banner Bay. Please excuse the nomenclature of me posting storm sail.
At anchor, or at mooring, the Mac does not react to the wind as the other boats around you. The Mac is much more sensitive, and will start swinging before the others. The key to using such a sail is placing it as far aft as possible. The farther astern, the more effective. I also have all boards down.
BTW, with her high freeboard, do you actually need an anchor riding sail ?
Yes, or a bridle.
Ray
Last edited by NiceAft on Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
