...but we gotta do it....lest we pay an exuberant amount in marina fees.
You see, anchoring our boat is free whereas a marina can charge up to $3 (or more) per foot. Carry the two...and it's not hard to calculate the cost savings. They are significant.
So we are anchoring (or mooring) a lot more these days.
And let me tell you, it is a DIRTY job.
We have a 45 pound CQR (which is honking for our size boat) and 270 ft. of chain (5/16 BBB, if you cruisers are wondering). This is great for peace of mind - because the one thing you do NOT want to happen at anchor is to drag. The more beefy your ground tackle, the better and more secure you are.
Chain is great for added 'beef' and strength - partly because on it's own it is very heavy and actually lays along the sea floor, adding more strength to your hold.
Operative words being, "along the sea floor".
When we pull up our chain with it come GOBS and GOBS and GOBS of mud. Gunky, slimy, "what is that smell?!"* kind of mud. And it gets everywhere.
This morning I looked like Pig Pen from the Peanuts cartoons. Mud all over me. My jacket. My pants. My boots. Everywhere.
It took 12 buckets of seawater to flush down the boat and get her respectable again.
Necessity is the mother of invention and I am now determined to find a way to do this without looking like I was mud wrestling. I'll keep you posted.
Love,
Brittany & Scott
*Perhaps the fact we were anchored next to some sort of natural gas facility was the reason for the stench? It was foul.
10 comments:
Aaaak! Just sent you an email - there's a solution!
Anchor washdown - a necessary accessory in the Chesapeake.
I loooooove our saltwater washdown pump, of which I was skeptical in the beginning. We spray the crap outta the anchor chain before it ever comes on board.
Anchor wash pump /12 volt
Saltwater washdown pump, oh yes. You don't want that gunk IN your anchor locker. yuck.
Per Lin and Larry Pardey. Get a cheap toilet bowl brush and bend it into a "hook" sized to your chain. They also connected a wooden handle to make it long enough to reach the waterline from deck. Then scrub the chain as it is coming out of the water. The brush will rust in a couple of months but at two bucks it can just be replaced. Ken
Sound advice regarding an anchor wash-down pump. The good news is that as you head further south, I suspect you will encounter more sand bottoms! It's great to hear about your new experiences as your cruising time grows.
Anchor washdown pump...I like the sound of that!!
I pull the anchor off the seabed and slowly reverse and "drag" the chain and anchor thru the water. As the chain is hauled up with the windlass the current over the chain and the anchor become clean. Once the anchor is close to the surface I use a pole to clean off the rest. spotless.
We never saw the benefit of the pump- one more power draw, one more system to break etc etc etc. Just used the ol' bucket- Sandy bottoms will be more frequent as you get out of the rivers where the bottoms tend to be stinky mud. To avoid it getting on me- I usually stood with one foot on the cap-rail and one on the pulpit (we had a handheld remote for the windlass). Plus, filling a bucket while the boat is cruising along is good for your arm muscles, just be sure to tie it on somewhere so you don't lost it!
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