Small Boat Storm Tactics

[Mr. Fixit]

How many of you sailors carry a sea anchor, how often did you use it.?? What do you like/dislike about the sea anchor you use??. I am starting to get things ready for spring, should be on the water by mid May. I have a few things that I want to change / add but my list is short this year.

[AdriftAtSea]

I carry a Jordan Series Drogue.  I've written about the JSD on my blog.  The major issue with it is retrieval, as I discuss in the blog.

How many of you sailors carry a sea anchor, how often did you use it.?? What do you like/dislike about the sea anchor you use??. I am starting to get things ready for spring, should be on the water by mid May. I have a few things that I want to change / add but my list is short this year.

[Bill NH]

Used to have a 15' ParaTech sea anchor on my 37' trimaran, and now have a smaller version that I've used on several <30' boats.  I've set them for practice, to heave to  waiting for light or tide to enter a harbor, and once in storm conditions with the tri.  In all cases they worked as advertised, with steadier motion and greatly reduced leeway compared to just heaving to.  My only suggestion would be to go with a pickup buoy rather than the full trip line back to the boat.  It makes retrieval slower but avoids the possibility of the rode and trip line fouling eachother...

[Mr. Fixit]

I have been researching the advantages of drogues or sea anchors and there is quite a bit of info on the web, especially sailing sites. There appears to be both advantages  and disadvantages of both and the subject can be quite contradictable. (similar to walking in a barroom and stating that you want to discuss religion or politics!!!). I have decided on a sea anchor, not that i think they are better than a drogue, but with the sea anchor I can use my spare anchor line to deploy, also they may be easier to retrirve. At my age this is something I have to consider. I am also going to rig a bridle to pull the bow 40 degrees or so off the wind. I intend to practice deploying to see what works best. I am going with a 12' para type anchor, made  nylon urethane coated fabric, all seams will be rienforced with nylon strapping. I am also going to try a partial trip line as suggested. What I have planned will be made as strong or stronger than  products available on the market. Time to stop researching and start sewing!!!

[Captain Smollett]

I have been researching the advantages of drogues or sea anchors ... the subject can be quite contradictable.

That's right, from the bow or stern is an oft debated topic.

I like this little video, which I think shows part of the issue quite nicely.  The key points are at the following time stamps:

0:27 - slow moving small boat overtaken sternwise by a breaking sea; result = capsize.

0:45 - small boat bow-on to small breaker, floats right over it.

0.57 - small boat bow-on to breaker, floats right over.

Beautiful demo.   ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuXqPpMXsUI