Harry, After doing some research on storm anchors the best ones seemed to be from Fiorentino. I've examined them and spoke to their people at a boat show. Their products (and people) are very impressive. The Fiorentino system is based on a stainless steel ring thingamajig that keeps the parachute cords from getting tangled. The problem is that nobody I've found makes a serious parachute anchor targeted for 900#-1700# sailboats. I suspect that even the smallest storm anchors are too big. In theory, I agree with Howard about the drift sock, but I have absolutely no experience with sea anchors or drift socks on microcruisers. Some folks may think the whole idea of carrying drogues or sea anchors on a Monty is a bit goofy - and for most trips it is. However... One nice day we headed out the Golden Gate bridge with our Sabre 30' "Excalibur" pointed towards Monterey, and a forecast of 10-15 knot winds. Within a few hours the wind was gusting over 35. The seas were only 6'-8' but due to the tidal currents and wind direction they were steep and breaking heavily. I decided to duck into Half Moon Bay for the night when I realized that I was the only one on board having fun. Facing those same conditions alone in a M-17 might be a little hairy. It would be nice to have the option of heaving-to with a sea anchor for a few hours until the tide changed and the seas stretched out. At any rate, my search for the ideal M-17 "parking brake" continues. Jim Poulakis M-17 "Spirit" On Mar 15, 2009, at 6:42 AM, Howard Audsley wrote:
Now and them I'm reminded that the guy I bought my M17 from had attempted to sail her from San Francisco to Hawaii. Told me he turned back after 3 days. Anyway, it seemed to me he was under equipped in some critical areas (i.e., no self steering), but did have a sea anchor. So it came with the boat. I used to carry it around, but can't think of any occasion where I would have ever needed it, so it's now stored in my basement, where it has not moved in about 5 years.
Main use of a sea anchor is to ride out really severe storms. The Pardey's are big advocates, but that is for tropical storms and hurricanes on the open seas. They "park" the boat by heaving to, then if the drift rate continues, they drop a chute overboard. The combination of boat and chute create a slick upwind of the boat that allows them to ride out some really nasty stuff.
For your use, it might work the same, but the goal being to keep you away from lee shores. A 6' chute seems to be pretty big for an M15. I've never even tried to deploy mine, but I hear they can be a handful to get back in the boat. You may want to look at some of the smaller drift socks used by fishing boats to slow down their drift. The one I'm thinking of might be around 3 feet in diameter. Would work the same as a larger chute to park you in a favorable aspect (bow about 50 degrees to the wind) and to slow down your rate of drift. Or as a drag running off the wind to slow you down.
Howard
On Jan 18, 2009, at 2:50 PM, Harry & Nancy wrote:
Hi folks: Hope you are surviving this "beautiful" winter. I'm thinking of buying a parachute-type storm anchor for outings on L. Superior in my M15. Has anyone had experience with one? Getting tangled or "deflated" under use are chief concerns.It seems that there are two leading ones:Para-Tech and Fiorentino, and 6ft. would be the appropriate size for a Montgomery 15.I have been unable to find comparative reviews in searching the literature.Any ideas/info would be much appreciated. Thanks, Harry Elmslie _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
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