anchors,mud and storage.

[cnc33voodoo]

last weekend i decided to anchor in a spot off a beach with a sandy bottom.
for the first time since owning this boat i used my danforth which i usually keep stored in a compartment under my vberth.
on sunday when we decided to leave i pulled out my anchor and it came up as a ball of muck.
cleaning off the anchor to put back in storage made a mess of the deck and i ended up wrapping a towel around it to put back into storage until getting to home port.
my boat does not have a windlass, a storage compartment on deck to toss it in nor a mounting bracket near my bow to hold the anchors.
this week i was looking into a windlass system to install but i do not know where i would go about getting a bracket to mount on my bow to hold the anchors.
i must say im not very fond of the idea of carving up my deck to create such a system.
another idea i have is a pressurised water system on deck to hose down the anchor prior to storage.
i anchor pretty much every weekend.
any thoughts or reccomendations on this?

[gc1111]

A washdown pump for the anchor is a nice luxury. But it would be an additional item, not a replacement for a bow roller or windlass. Most people without a windlass clean the anchor off by swooshing it up and down before hauling it on deck.
There are nice brackets that attach to a bow pulpit and hold a danforth. (See West Marine for some examples). There are simple hold-down brackets that allow a danforth to lie pretty much flat on the deck. This can be located in a variety of places, e.g. on the cabin top, other than the foredeck.

[camaraderie]

Well...a Danforth type will stow on a rail

Windline Rail Mount Anchor Bracket

A pressure water deck system is a pretty easy install and is useful beyond cleaning the anchor. Don Case has a good article on how to install and some mfrs. sell a complete kit. I recommend a piece by piece purchase based on your boat. Deck Washdown System

[erps]

We used to use a bucket to dip in the water and then dump on the anchor to wash the muck off. Between that and a long handled brush, you can get most of it off before you bring it on deck.

[sailingdog]

You can also leave the anchor hanging off the bow and let the water rinse it for a few minutes as you sail off.

[SEMIJim]

Haul it up, have a 2nd person use a good, stiff plastic spatula to scrape most of the muck off, then vigorously dunk and swish it in the water a few times and, voila`: Clean(-ish) anchor

(We have neither bow-roller nor anchor locker, ourselves. Anchor is stored in the starboard lazerette.)

Jim

[cnc33voodoo]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Well...a Danforth type will stow on a rail

Windline Rail Mount Anchor Bracket

A pressure water deck system is a pretty easy install and is useful beyond cleaning the anchor. Don Case has a good article on how to install and some mfrs. sell a complete kit. I recommend a piece by piece purchase based on your boat. Deck Washdown System

Thats looks like a good alternative but how safe/strong is it?.Its a pretty big anchor.Do you think that will put too much weight on the pulpit?
Both anchors are too big to clean in a bucket and too heavy to dunk up and down in the water plus I get nervous about scuffing the hull while trying this.
I also dont have the manpower for a two man job while driving the boat from an anchorage.
As for trying to convince my wife to clean muck off an anchor or steering the boat out of a busy anchorage........lets not go there.
I would love to get a bow roller that holds two anchors, if I could find one I would even consider drilling into my deck for a windlass.But where would I buy something like that?
I looked on cncphotoalbum web site and theres a guy who made a custom one but I think it looks kind of cheesy.
I would buy a bolt on system if I could find one that worked and had a clean look and for the amount of anchoring we do a washdown pump would be a worthwhile investment aswell.

[gc1111]

What size Danforth are you using? The usual danforth working anchor for a 33 ft. boat is fairly easy to handle and would not put a lot of weight on the rail.

[camaraderie]

It ewill hold a Danforth up to 35 lbs which is a pretty big Danforth...probaly considerably bigger than yours. Your pulpit should easily hold it as it is designed to hold a person's weight.

You can google bow rollers for individual anchors but all the major marine stores carry them. A DUAL bow roller system would require custom fabrication consisting of individual bow rollers welded to a custom plate and affixed to your deck. Any manchine shop can handle this but you have to be quite precise in the ANGLES you want if you are going to install a windlass since both bow rollers will have to align properly with that windlass.
The sailnet store and others carry a wide variety of windlasses. Installation requires planning and precision AND consideration for the battery and electrical provisions required rather than just the mounting. You can do it if you are handy but it ain't cheap!
Spend some time on the bow of your boat and visualize how it all might look. Then take a tape measure and get an idea of the space you have available...you don't what the shank of your anchor to extend back to the windlass and you need to look at the angles both horizontal and vertical required to get a good feed to the windlass.
Also look underdeck and figure out where the backing plate and any under deck portion would have to go and if there are any obstructions. Then consider where you will put the batteries and how to run the thick cables from batteries to windlass.
Then start shopping with a clear idea of what ou want to do!

[gc1111]

Don't forget manual windlasses. There was one on a 34ft. boat that I took South down the ICW, anchoring every night. It worked very well - sometimes took a lot of patience when using only low gear but a lot fewer complications than an electric.