anchor chain washdown and walk to bow

C

craigf

Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
23
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Non-Fluid Motion Model
pdq 36, catana 401 Leopard 40
Vessel Name
rum tum
Heres a couple questions for you all. Has anyone installed a anchor chain washdown up front. Have asked factory to install one on the r 27 that we are ordering.. they say no. Which means if we buy the boat that will be a must as we operate on east coast which has lots of mud and we anchor out most of time.

The other question in my mind. For those of you that have to go up front its a narrow walk. Good handholds but with the boat rocking in a seaway it won't be fun.

Any thoughts from you all out there.

craig farnsworth
about to be a r 27 owner
 
Yea, it can be really fun when the sea is rocking and rolling. I usually just pop up through the forward hatch.
 
I hook my washdown hose up in the stern and then carry it up to the bow to wash the chain as it comes up. It definitely requires both agility and care to assure that you always have a good hold to the boat. If it was really rocking and rolling when I was pulling up the hook, I'd probably just live with the mud and clean it up later. It's not worth the risk.

It would definitely be better to have the outlet in the bow, but I don't know what it would take to route a hose from the sea strainer to the bow. It would probably have to come through the v-berth somewhere.
 
Before I initiate the anchor drop procedure, I order the crew (me) to, 1.) open the chocks on the V-berth hatch, and 2.) spread a towel on the bedding so I can stand on it without making a mess. Invariably, something goes wrong like a line snarkle or the bale gets stuck on the anchor. So I jump up t hrough the front hatch and lean forward to make adjustments. If u are on the tall side you can reach almost everything on an R25 or R27 while still in the hatch. Most useful is being able to tie off the rode to the cleat. It's safer while single handing and you can get back to the helm quickly if you always stay (halfway) inside the boat.

For anchor cleaning just use a brush on an extension handle dipping it into the sea, but you'll have to emerge from the boat to do that.
 
Definitely get the water outlet at the bow. I had one installed and as you said it can get pretty muddy on the chain and line on the north east coast. I found it necesssary to always be on the bow when bringing the anchor up to both clean and move rode and chain around in the locker. Sometimes I have the hose already attached and raedy to go if I know I will be anchoring prior to launch or leaving the dock. Walking around the outside is always a balancing act so I always wear my pfd when out there.
 
We found that the coiled hose supplied with the boat was on the short side to easily reach the anchor. I bought a longer hose we we can easily use the existing washdown system at the bow. As others have said it can be dicey heading up front from the cockpit in rough water, PFDs are always good idea.
I also open the hatch over the V-berth, this makes it easy to talk to Debbie while she is handling the anchor.

As Mike said when raising the anchor you need to stop periodically to rearrange the line/chain in the locker. If it piles to high the clutch in the windlass will trip.

Howard
 
Has anyone devised an easy way to access the bow through the forward hatch on a 25 or 27? My rotators are getting more work then they like? Michael
 
Michael,

Barry Cohen added a foldup ladder to his R27 "Yolo". It is in his album:



Howard
 
I've marked the anchor chain where the anchor just leaves the water and then I perform a dunking maneuver. Up and down on the windlass 3-4 times with 95% of the mud removed, if not more. It works well. We're on the east coast too.
 
I love Barry's ladder idea. Next time there is a sale on ladders I think I'll go for it. By the way, tomorrow is launch day 😀
 
Craig:

We used the same ladder that is used on the swim platform.

It works great for me and I am 6'3".
 
I go out through the "passenger-side" window on our 27 to get to the bow - find that easier than trying to get up through the forward hatch.
 
What about using a water immersible pump that can be lower over the bow side. Power is available in the bow area for the windlass so that could be used for an electrical hookup for the pump. Just a thought…

I also like Barry Cohen's ladder mod… great idea.
 
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