Anchor warp

[BogMonster]

Looking at the minor bits n' pieces for the new barge ... apparently it now has the bouncy bits around the outside though I am still waiting for a photo.

Mooring lines are easy but is there any reason why I should not use normal 3 strand white nylon for anchor warp? I'll need to source an anchor and some chain + warp, I can easily source 10mm 3 strand white nylon at a good price, which I figure should be ok? It may not be quite as easy to handle as octoplait but the cost of that seems a bit silly, I don't know anywhere that sells it locally, and I only use it once in a blue moon anyway, it's mainly 'just in case' - I think I anchored about 3 or 4 times in four years with the Humber as you don't exactly hop in and go snorkelling in these waters.

Also I'm not sure how big the anchor locker is on a Vipermax - anybody know offhand roughly how much rope/chain will fit in a 5.8m's anchor locker? If it will fit I was looking at getting about 50m of rope and maybe 6m of chain plus the biggest anchor that will fit through the hatch (which doesn't look like it will be very big) - any practical suggestions or hatch dimensions would be great

Possibly a silly question - but how / where does a Vipermax anchor locker drain out? If you put a wet rope in there sooner or later you will end up with a puddle in the bottom, and I hadn't thought about it until a moment ago but there is no drain bung...?

[GJ0KYZ]

I have a 6.8m Ribcraft and use a 9kg CQR anchor with 15m of 8mm chain and 50m of three-ply 12mm rope.

[markg]

on my shakey hull the anchor locker drains down through a pipe that exits the hull about 3ft back from the anchor locker and is covered by a kind of half clamshell stainless type thing that would let water out when underway, i suspect yours may be similar.

[Chris]

50 metres of rope, 6m of chain not a problem. If you go for a plough (CQR) the folding arm will allow a fair size anchor to go through into the locker.

With regards to rope choice, I find that a proper warp wont end up in a knotted up mess like normal rope.

[walruz]

My only thought is that 10 mm is quite narrow to grab onto when recovering the anchour. Hence I went for 12mm 3 ply.

Ian

[Hightower]

50 meters of warp won't be a problem, I reckon you'll get away with a 5 kg plough anchor, I use a fixed one and it just goes into the locker, but I would suggest a hinged one as Chris suggests as it'll guarantee to fit.

As for a drain hole....You'll have to fit one yourself as it's completely sealed. I put a bung in the rear but have never needed to use it yet to drain water.

[m chappelow]

3 ply should be ok for normal overnight anchoring but if you are going to anchor up for long periods or days on end at the same place and the boat swings or moves around with the tide it can start to unravel the twist and then cause tangles even with swivels fitted .

[BogMonster]

Thanks all

I would not risk leaving it anchored overnight as the only insurance policy I can get here will not cover boats under 8 metres left unattended at anchor or on a mooring, but even if it did the wind can get up so quickly here that I still wouldn't risk it. It's just for the odd hour here or there and just in a few metres of water, and emergency use.

I might just ask Roy to get the biggest anchor that will fit in the locker and ship it in the boat, and then sort out the rope and chain when I get it here. Choices available in our shop are 10mm and 24mm and I think the 24mm might be overkill

[walruz]

Why not ask Roy to get the rope you would like and drop that in the locker as well. IBS from Falmouth did this for me when I bought my boat from them and had it shipped to the Scillies (admittedly a slightly shorter journey than your boat faces but the same principle).

Ian

[BogMonster]

Yeah I could do, just a bit wary about too many mobile items on the boat to go walkies on the long journey down or more accurately while it's sitting about at each end.