Sea anchor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A simple sea-anchor or drogue. It is meant to slow forward motion of vessel when
being driven before the wind.
Drawing of a conical sea anchor, with a tripline (at top). Based on an illustrat
ion in The Sailors Handbook by Halsey C. Herreshoff.
A sea anchor (also known as a drift anchor, drift sock, para-anchor or boat brak
e) is a device used to stabilize a boat in heavy weather. Rather than tethering
the boat to the seabed, the sea anchor increases the drag through the water and
thus acts as a brake. When attached to the stern of a vessel, a sea anchor can p
revent the vessel from turning broadside to the waves and being overwhelmed by t
hem.
Often similar in design to the sea anchor is the usually smaller drogue, which i
s attached to the stern and intended to slow the boat for better control.
Contents
1
2
3
4
5

Design
Use
See also
Notes
References

Design
Anything that can act as a source of drag in the water can act as a sea anchor;
a common improvised sea anchor is a long line (a docking warp or anchor rode) pa
id out into the water; while this does not provide much drag, it can act as a dr
ogue and aid in running downwind.[1] In The Sea-Wolf, author and sailor Jack Lon
don described using various torn spars and sails, tied to a line, as an improvis
ed sea anchor.[2] A sail, weighed down with an anchor chain or other heavy objec
t, will also work as an improvised sea anchor.[3]
Early sea anchors were often improvised from spare parts aboard ship. An 1877 bo
ok used by the United States Naval Academy describes methods of making sea ancho
rs. These took the form of a wooden or metal framework forming a simple kite-lik
e shape of sail canvas, backed with a net or closely spaced ropes to provide str
ength. A small anchor attached to one corner kept the sea anchor from twisting.
If the framework was wooden, the wood's buoyancy kept the sea anchor just under
the surface, while an iron framework used a buoy to keep it at the proper depth.
[4]
Modern commercial sea anchors are usually made of cloth, shaped like a parachute
or cone, and rigged so that the larger end points in the direction of the boat'
s movement. When deployed, this type of sea anchor floats just under the surface
, and the water moving past the sea anchor keeps it filled. Some varieties are c
ylindrical, with an adjustable opening in the rear that allows the amount of bra
king to be adjusted when deployed.[5]
The size of the sea anchor determines how much water it can displace, and how mu
ch braking it can provide. It is also possible to use more than one sea anchor t
o increase the braking, and one type, the series drogue, consists of many small
anchors spread out along a line to ease retrieval under heavy conditions.[6]
Most larger sea anchors will provide a mechanism to collapse the anchor for retr
ieval. This is called a trip line, and attaches to the rear of the anchor, allow
ing it to be pulled in back first, shedding water rather than filling. This trip
line can be rigged a number of ways, depending on the preference of the user.[7

]
Use
Sea anchors can be used by vessels of any size, from kayaks to commercial fishin
g vessels,[8] and were even used by sea-landing naval Zeppelins in World War I.[
9] While the purpose of the anchor is to provide drag to slow the vessel, there
are a number of ways this can be used:[10]
The first, and probably most well known use, of the sea anchor is to aid ves
sels in heavy weather. A boat that is not kept bow- or stern-on to heavy seas ca
n easily be rolled by the action of breaking waves. By attaching the sea anchor
to a bridle running from bow to stern, the boat can be held at any angle relativ
e to the wind. This is useful in sailboats in conditions too windy to use the sa
ils to maintain a heading, and in motor vessels that are unable to make sufficie
nt headway to maintain steerage.
Sea anchors also reduce the speed at which a vessel will drift with the wind
. Often sold as drift anchors or drift socks, sea anchors are used in fishing ve
ssels to hold them stationary relative to the water to allow a certain area to b
e fished, without having to use the motor.
The related drogue can provide directional control of a sailboat in the case
of a steering failure. By towing a drogue from a bridle off the stern, the dire
ction of the boat can be controlled on a running course.
The related drogue can be used to control the speed of a sailboat, in cases
where delicate handling is required in high winds.
The related drogue can be used behind a towed vessel to maintain tension on
the towing line, and prevent the radical side-to-side motion exhibited by some v
essels under tow.
Sea anchors may also be used as anchors to allow warping of a vessel in deep
water.
The length and type of the line, or rode, used to attach the sea anchor to the b
ow is also important. In addition to connecting the sea anchor to the hull, the
rode also acts as a shock absorber. The stretching of the rode under load will s
mooth out the changes in loading caused by the changing force of the waves inter
acting with the hull of the vessel. Because a high degree of stretch is desirabl
e in this application, a material with a low elastic modulus is preferred, such
as nylon. If there is no concern about breaking waves and the only reason the se
a anchor is being used is to reduce drift from the wind, then you can use a shor
t rode. If short rode is used on large ocean swells, its length should be tuned
to the wavelength of the waves; either under 1/3 of the wavelength, or an even m
ultiple of the wavelength. A line significantly shorter than the wavelength mean
s the anchor and hull will ride over the crests together, while a line equal to
the wavelength will keep the hull and anchor from ending up out of phase, which
can result in severe loading on the anchor. In stormy seas, and when breaking wa
ves are a concern, it is important not to tune the rode length to the waves, so
that the anchor and boat are not rolled by the same wave or by adjacent waves. T
he ability to absorb shock is even more important. Under these conditions, a rod
e as much as 10 to 15 times the length of the hull should be used to provide a h
igh degree of shock absorption.[11]
See also
Anchorage (shipping)
Notes
Beth A. Leonard & Evans Starzinger. "HEAVY WEATHER ESSENTIALS" (PDF).
The Sea Wolf, e-text at Project Gutenberg
Sailing Multihulls in Heavy Weather
Stephen Bleecker Luce (1877). Seamanship. United States Naval academy, Annapolis
. pp. 279 280.

Adjustable boat brake

Article on the series drogue
Trip lines
Commercial fishing sea anchors for vessels up to 2800 tons displacement
Lehmann Chapter VI
Four uses for drogues
"SEA ANCHOR FAQ'S: Rode".
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sea anchors.
Lehmann, Ernst A.; Mingos, Howard. The Zeppelins. The Development of the Air
ship, with the Story of the Zepplins Air Raids in the World War. Chapter VI THE
NORTH SEA PATROL -- THE ZEPPELINS AT JUTLAND (online chapter)
Roth, Hal (2008). Handling Storms at Sea : the five secrets of heavy weather
sailing. International Marine, McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-149648-3.