Sea anchor
Submitted by Curndog on Tue, 2016-12-27 13:55
hey guys just bought a sea anchor for my boat. It measures 600mm wide and its 750mm long. Says it suits upto 6 metre boats which mine is 4.65 metre. Too late now but is that big enough? Seems a little small
Krusty
Posts: 714
Date Joined: 27/11/15
In my opinion that is way to
In my opinion that is way to small.
The first one I bought was about the same size as the one you have and the difference it made to my drift was next to nothing...useless.!
I have a 5.5m ally boat and decided to spend the extra and purchased a big fat snapper anchor.
I got the silk 6 - 9m one and although it's on the large size for my boat, I recon it is just right.
Given that wind, current and boat design all have an effect on your drift, my boat in a 10 - 15kn breeze will drift at around 0.5kn with this anchor.
My fishing spots are so secret........... even the fish don't know where they are !!
Curndog
Posts: 443
Date Joined: 21/11/16
Thought so!
yeah I thought so! Il go swap it. Thanks mate
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Yeah I've gone over sized
Yeah I've gone over sized with mine too, works a treat.
Love the West!
chris raff
Posts: 3257
Date Joined: 09/02/10
A oversized drogue will slow
A oversized drogue will slow you down further though placement is also important for the drift and safety if the swells up , most of us just throw it off the stern , some good info on this old thread .
http://fishwrecked.com/forum/sea-anchor-position
“Intelligence is like a four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.”
Willlo
Posts: 1490
Date Joined: 07/10/11
Never throw it off the
Never throw it off the stern.not a nice place to have a wave hit you. I have it of the bow then run it along the starboard side where i have a few places to tie of from depending on conditions. I fish 3 out of my 5.8 cc it rocks a bit but we can fish 6 rods at the same time if required.
Call Sign - BZ785
Haynes Hunter Prowler CC
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
I've always gone with the
I've always gone with the stern but after reading that thread link will give midships a go Willo. You learn something every day.
Love the West!
Krusty
Posts: 714
Date Joined: 27/11/15
True, it's not all about the
True, it's not all about the size but also how you use it
Size does play a big part here though !
My fishing spots are so secret........... even the fish don't know where they are !!
Poppy
Posts: 98
Date Joined: 19/01/13
Home made
I had a very solid old crab net that I was not using, so I took the top (larger) ring and attached a sock made from spare shade cloth material and I use it tied to the centre port side. The solid metal ring keeps the mouth of the anchor open all the time which helps achieve maximum drag. Works a treat and cost next to nothing.
A pessimist is never disapointed
Curndog
Posts: 443
Date Joined: 21/11/16
1250 x 1250
i swapped it for a 1250mm x 1250mm that should do the job
ProFish
Posts: 66
Date Joined: 21/03/14
Sea Anchor
Hi Guys ,
How far out do you let the sea anchor from the boat.?
Cheers
Willlo
Posts: 1490
Date Joined: 07/10/11
About a boat length to half
About a boat length to half again. Also tie a rope from the inside of the anchor so you can pull it inside out makes it easier to pull in. If you tie of the bow it also makes it easier if the skipper drives up the rope so the decky doesnt have to walk up the bow.
Call Sign - BZ785
Haynes Hunter Prowler CC
ProFish
Posts: 66
Date Joined: 21/03/14
Sea Anchor
Thanks Willlo
lastcast
Posts: 215
Date Joined: 04/04/13
Sea anchor
Other thing to be aware of is that a good sea anchor is potentially a very use bit of safety gear.
Let's say you are too deep to anchor and you lose power. Or you've somehow lost your anchor and lost power. To buy some time, you should put out your sea anchor from the bow.
Thatll slow your drift right down and keep the nose into it minimising chance of swamping.
Use the anchor rope as that will be longer than the distance between the wave crests. That means that the boat won't be caught by a rope pulling taut as the drogue and boat catch on either side of a wave.
I was very surprised when I did the theory component of my skippers ticket that this wasn't mentioned. Also that these are not required equipment offshore for the above reasons.
Also don't dick around get a big fat snapper one like the man said.
richie68
Posts: 165
Date Joined: 07/08/11
Sea Anchor.
Agree with Willo. Definateley don't set it off the stern. If the swell is up you can take a wave over the stern. Not good. I set mine off the midship cleat, or bow would be good. Any sea anchor is better than none, want a drift around .03 t .05 knots ideal. Be safe. Do your research.Happy fishing...
Curndog
Posts: 443
Date Joined: 21/11/16
1.5 knots
As posted by krusty he told me the first sea anchor I had was way to small and he liked to drift at .5 knots. I swapped for a larger sea anchor and was stil going at 1.5- 2 knots. Maybe it's still not big enough because the day was quite nice. Still caught 2 dhus tho so u guess it worked for me
Krusty
Posts: 714
Date Joined: 27/11/15
That's not to bad Curndog.My
That's not to bad Curndog.
My drift will vary depending on the conditions, If there is say about a 10kn breeze one way and there is a current the other way then generally my drift is around 0.5kn (give or take)
If however the breeze and current are in the same direction your going to drift faster.
The size you have now will definitely be better than your original one. I am not exactly sure the diameter of my one but it probably isn't that much bigger than your new one.
I suggest trying it in different conditions, tie it off to different areas of the boat, even try having your enginbe turned one way or the other and just experiment a bit to see what suits best.
Well done on the Dhu's too
My fishing spots are so secret........... even the fish don't know where they are !!
Curndog
Posts: 443
Date Joined: 21/11/16
Cheers krusty
yeah il experiment a bit more and take note of the different conditions. You were 100% right about the first one I had would of been way to small