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Made a homemade anchor sail with leftover RF jib that had a lot of deterioration on the luff. Put in some brass grommets. Just tested today and watching the anchor alarm shows a lot less swinging.

I reinforced each corner with 3 layers of dacron and used v69 bonded polyester thread in a singer heavy duty 4423 sewing machine.

Inspired by https://www.sailrite.com/Anchor-Riding- ... ming-Video

What a great idea! You did a nice job on it, too.

Noice! I have a storm jib I plan to use for this purpose. Think I need to try that out some time.

(EDIT) - Actually, no. Much too big!

Congratulations on a great concept and bringing it to completion. Did you place it the MODS section

pitchpolehobie wrote: ↑Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:43 pm Made a homemade anchor sail with leftover RF jib that had a lot of deterioration on the luff. Put in some brass grommets. Just tested today and watching the anchor alarm shows a lot less swinging.

I reinforced each corner with 3 layers of dacron and used v69 bonded polyester thread in a singer heavy duty 4423 sewing machine.

Inspired by https://www.sailrite.com/Anchor-Riding- ... ming-Video

I have a section of canvas from a jeep top that I saved for the same reason. Did you have a pattern or just "wing it"?

Be Free wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 11:49 am

pitchpolehobie wrote: ↑Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:43 pm Made a homemade anchor sail with leftover RF jib that had a lot of deterioration on the luff. Put in some brass grommets. Just tested today and watching the anchor alarm shows a lot less swinging.

I reinforced each corner with 3 layers of dacron and used v69 bonded polyester thread in a singer heavy duty 4423 sewing machine.

Inspired by https://www.sailrite.com/Anchor-Riding- ... ming-Video

I have a section of canvas from a jeep top that I saved for the same reason. Did you have a pattern or just "wing it"?

It was about 11pm a few Fridays ago and I had my machine set up and thought...why not give it a shot and just winged it. Took me about 3hours total. I didnt have a template.

My sail shape is like a downsized jib-right triangle. The sailrite template seems to be more of an equilateral triangle (havent used that word in 2 decades). I know they used straps instead of grommets but your machine might need to be stronger for that many layers. I was pretty happy with how it stabilized the swing really well but havent used it in any big wind yet. I bet canvas would work well. The dimensions are roughly 3x6ft DIVIDE By 2 for sq ft so about 9sqft of sail area.

Thanks for the reply. So far my sewing projects have involved repairing canvas. The anchor sail will be the first to create something new.

I think it would work better if it was tied diagonally across the cockpit. I tie mine to the stanchion at the forward end of the cockpit where the portside lifeline attaches. In a big blow there would be a lot of strain on the anchor with the sail tied straight across the transom. Tied diagonally, the sail catches a lot less wind but still stabilizes the boat.

wakataka wrote: ↑Thu Sep 22, 2022 12:46 pm I think it would work better if it was tied diagonally across the cockpit. I tie mine to the stanchion at the forward end of the cockpit where the portside lifeline attaches. In a big blow there would be a lot of strain on the anchor with the sail tied straight across the transom. Tied diagonally, the sail catches a lot less wind but still stabilizes the boat.

Can you post some photos of your setup

Is there a particular size/scale to decide what size to use?
Is there a preferred location commonly utilized?

I don't have any photos of my boat, but I use the Sailrite sail, rigged as shown in this video.


Because the backstay is on the starboard side on the 26x, the sail really only works if the front of it is tied off to the port side. For boats with the backstay is in the center, it can tie to either side.

I moved the sail to different points on the boat & trimmed it in those spots as well. For the light wind I had that day, the setup in the picture worked the best. Will definitely try it in different configurations with varying conditions. It did give a significant momentum that counteracted the desire of the freeboard to catch wind and move.

Thanks Wakataka!
Excellent video!

Wish someone would come up with a way to put one of these on a 26M. Since we have no backstay, I'm not creative enough to come up with a way to rig something that would act as an anchor sail.

JeffJuneau wrote: ↑Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:52 am Wish someone would come up with a way to put one of these on a 26M. Since we have no backstay, I'm not creative enough to come up with a way to rig something that would act as an anchor sail.

Jeff I placed a paracord boltrope thru the luff and leech. I think the sail is strong enough to raise with a halyard just cleated off even without a backstay.