Anchors / Rode
Starting from the bow, M’Lady Kathleen has a one-inch thick aluminum plate with two bow rollers. The
plate is bolted to the top of the deck and supported underneath by a
stainless tube welded to a plate which is screwed to the bow (our
feeling is that the plate needed support so it wouldn’t be pulled out
of the deck) similar to a bowsprit support, except that it works in
reverse (compression load, rather than tensile).
We use a 66-pound Manta (Bruce knockoff, purchased from Marisafe) anchor as our primary anchor. This
sounds like overkill, as this size anchor is recommended for a boat up
to 63 feet in length, however, we’d rather go oversize than worry
incessantly about dragging (although dragging is a matter of concern no
matter the anchor size). Our secondary anchor is a 43 pound Danforth and the terciary anchor is a 25-lb. Danforth anchor. One additional anchor is 15-lbs., primarily used for anchoring the dinghy.
The 66 lb. Manta will have a minimum of 200-feet of 5/16 G40 windlass chain (hopefully 300 feet). A
nylon line yoke will be used with a chain grabber to provide stretching
action at the bow, thus minimizing yanking in rough weather.
The
43 and 25 lb. Danforth anchors will have 200 ft. of 5/8” nylon rode,
with 25-feet minimum (more if we can afford it) of chain at the anchor.
The
power windlass is a Lofrans vertical model called Low Profile, 1000
watts, designed for 5/16” chain and 5/8” nylon line. This unit was
purchased from Imtra.
Sail Configuration
The
foresail is a roller furling unit, partially Hood 805D (the foils),
partial unknown (the drum), and partial ProFurl (newer drum added on
top of the original). At some future date the original drum may be replaced with only the ProFurl unit, but for now they both rotate with the foils. The
luff length of the foresail is 45’ (the “I” dimension) and the distance
from the forestay back to the mast (the “J” dimension) is 17’. Additionally, there are 2 “Gale Sails” which can be flown around the rolled-up furling as storm sails. These are home made sails, similar in design and function to the Gale Sails advertised everywhere. There
is a 155% light air sail (5.5 oz material), which we modified from hank-on to the #6 luff tape configuration and a spare 130% genoa, hank-on style in event of roller furling malfunction. We
also have a 100% working jib, which is in nearly new
condition. A recent addition is a large drifter (a type of
spinnaker sail), which will be used for light air and downwind
sailing.
Longer range plans call for adding another roller furling unit, making the sloop into a cutter-rigged boat. The new staysail cable will be the same ¼” diameter and about 36’ in length. Again, an older roller furling unit will be used on this stay. Addition
of this furling will allow storm sails (we’ve made several) to be more
easily utilized and will provide some minimal extra advantage when all
sails are used. This should also make the
boat easier to control when using storm sails as the center of attack
will be closer to the mast and the center of the boat.
The mainsail is 38’ along the luff (the “P” dimension) and 13 ½’ along the foot (the “E” dimension). It is fairly heavy Dacron sailcloth, with 3 deep reefs and fully battened. The
sail is configured with what is known as Jiffy Reefing, meaning there
are lines with blocks to allow easier retention of the sail in the
reefed position (for each of the three levels). Additionally,
the boat is configured with Lazy Jacks, which help keep the sail
flaking onto the boom without it falling over into the cockpit area. The
biggest problem with the lazy jacks is when raising the mainsail, one
must be aware of the possibility of them becoming entangled with the
full-length battens.
The possibility of a trysail on the rear of the mast is yet undetermined. Occasionally,
we will also need to use a small sail hanked onto the rear mainstay as
a riding sail to minimize movement while at anchor. During
the winter we purchased the drifter mentioned above, which is easier to
use than a radial spinnaker. We have no experience with a
spinnaker of any type, so this will be interesting.
