Sea anchors and drogues General Forum Forums

I've never used either a sea anchor or a drogue, so I don't really know what I'm talking about.  I have hove to with Bodhran many times.  The cutaway forefoot on the Downeasters allow the bow to be blown off pretty easily, so there's no need to use a backed jib or staysail.  Depending on the wind strength I just use a double reefed main or the trysail sheeted in hard and then play with the wheel until I can maintain that good 50 degree angle to the wind.  I've had a hard time keeping all the forward momentum off, but am normally able to keep it to less than .5 knots so I'm mostly protected by my slick.  I carry an 8' parachute anchor which I have set up to run off a bridle between a block at the bow and my jib car.  If I were ever in any really bad seas I'd use the chute to keep Bodhran dead stopped and at 50 degrees to the waves.  I've never been caught out at sea in more than 45 knot sustained winds and find that heaving to with the trysail works fine up to that point.

I don't really like the idea of drogues.  They're meant to be towed behind to slow the boat down.  Problem with that is that it exposes your stern to the waves.  The bow of any boat is far stronger and more watertight than the stern.  It also requires that you sail downwind, possibly losing some hardfought windward miles.  Sea anchors off the bow are also problematic as they put enormous loads on whatever deck gear you've tied them off to when the boat pitches up at the same time as the sea anchor is swept by a wave.  Keeping the bow at a 50 degree angle minimizes both pitch and roll mitigating the pull on the anchor and the bridle splits the load to multiple points.  The problem with rudders is normally confined to boats with spade rudders.  As the boat slides back off a wave the rudder can be put hard over putting a lot of force on the single attachment point.  Our boats with their well supported hung keels and proper rudder stop built into the quadrant shouldn't have a problem with their rudders, though keeping the 50 degree angle also reduces the stress on the rudder when the boat slides down off a wave.  The biggest thing is to create a slick and knock the power out of the waves before they get to you.  If you've never hove to out in scary ocean waves, it's a truly magical thing.  I normally brew up a cup and spend the first hour or so while hove to up in the cockpit watching these big waves falling apart 100' from the boat when they hit my turbulence.

Hope that helps,

Jason

DE32 Bodhran

p.s. I hope that you meant a 36" Jimbuoy sea anchor.  36' would be huge and you'd never get it back in.  If the Jimbuoy sea anchor is the one I'm thinking of, it's really meant for keeping you in one spot while fishing and may not be up to the task of riding out a storm.