[C320-list] Of kellets and keel wraps

[cinichols at btinternet.com]

I experimented last season using a 5lb weightlifting weight - on a line of a length that means when the anchor rode goes slack the weight is a foot or so below the keel. An oversize carabiner attached it to the main rode and lets it slide down. I found this enough to stop getting wraps in the Nantucket mooring field. 

Clearly it is only enough to stop wraps being initiated when the rode goes slack in a wind over flow situation but I cannot imagine other times a wrap could occur. Ideas anyone?

Chris Nichols
(sv Amanda Rose #476)

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of Brian McLamb via C320-list
Sent: 20 February 2023 02:41
To: C320-List at catalina320.com
Cc: Brian McLamb <bjcnmclamb at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Of kellets and keel wraps

I have done this same remedy for nearly 10 years. It has never failed me in both River , Cape Lookout  and Chesapeake Bay travels and tides.

S / V Serenity #1075

On Sun, Feb 19, 2023 at 9:36 PM Jack Brennan via C320-list < c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:

>
> So we anchor in many tidal rivers in western Florida, and I have had a 
> few cases where the rode and chain have  wrapped around the wing keel 
> when wind and tide were opposed.
>
> Once, it cost me a large, expensive Delta anchor, 30 feet of chain and 
> some rode when it happened in Little Shark River in Everglades 
> National Park on the SW tip of Florida. No way anyone was jumping into 
> that murky water with the gators and bull sharks. (They breed there.)
>
> Other times, it is a painful exercise to free the chain and rode,  
> either heavy cranking on a winch and/or diving under the boat in chilly water.
>
> Lately, I have been experimenting with using a 15-pound mushroom 
> anchor as a kellet to prevent this. Basically, I clip the mushroom 
> with about 15 feet of line (I usually anchor in 8-12 feet of water) 
> onto the main anchor and tie it to a bow cleat.
>
> When the mushroom slides down the main rode, It pulls it almost 
> straight down. This keeps the rode and chain from angling under the 
> boat and catching the keel. As a bonus, it also helps the anchor dig 
> in. I’ve found the 15-pound mushroom and 22-pound Rocna to be a 
> bulletproof combination so far.
>
> It’s also easier to handle than the next-size-up Rocna for us 
> old-fashioned folks who don’t use windlasses. (A Rocna can be a real 
> pain to raise by hand because they dig in so well. A 35-pound one? I’m 
> not sure I’d want to try that.)
>
> Anyone else confront this problem? Any better solutions?
>
> Jack Brennan
> Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
> Tierra Verde, Fl.
>
>
>
>
> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for 
> Windows
>
> --
Brian McLamb