How to make a floating anchor for a boat with your own hands

Many wonder why a floating anchor is needed. The device is required to slow the course of the vessel, which has crashed or lost the ability to swim. In particular, this applies to cases when an emergency situation is observed near a waterway, from which it is not recommended to be removed.

However, the level of efficiency of the device is confirmed on small ships, especially on sailing species. For ships of a larger size, their utility is questioned by specialists. In addition, no relevant experiments were carried out.

How is the floating anchor?

The basis of the product is dense fabric. The floating anchor, the photo of which is presented below, is made of canvas.

As a rule, the device has a cone shape or a pyramid, the base of which is uncovered. The latter is attached by means of a hoop made of metal or cruciform beams. To it are connected four lines, by means of which there is a fastening to the anchor rope.

To the top of the cone is attached a pulling cable, which pulls the anchor. The device has a buoy used for lowering and lifting the device. You can also determine by buoy where the product is located.

Ways of using floating anchors

The data are taken from the annual journal RORC 1999. The materials are quite interesting, because in the domestic literature the methods of using floating anchors are outlined in general terms and do not give a complete answer about the advisability of using them in the conditions of stormy weather. Soviet specialists only noted casually that they are used for iol.

A thoroughly floating anchor was considered in the work of K. Adlard Kohls "Under sail in a storm". The author notes that the drift created by the device, effectively reduces the drift in windy weather (the size of the yacht must match the size of the device).

The main danger lies in the fact that when yawing, the yacht can turn a lag toward the wave and roll over. Rushing causes a load on the anchor and the rope. In the rear course of the ship, the steering wheel may break. It becomes clear that when using the device on a modern yacht with a short keel, the vessel should be put sail to the stern to preserve the direction of the floating anchor. This will ensure the safety of the boat.

A floating anchor for the boat, boat and aftershield is suitable. However, the endurance of bison on the shoulder strap has a limit. Therefore, according to Kohls, the use of a floating anchor is not always justified. Provided that keeping the yacht in the wind will be optimal, and the load on the steering wheel is reduced, the yacht will become as if tied to the stern. It will not swing, which can cause it to flood. The yacht will cock the cockpit.

It should be noted that all of the author's conclusions date back to the middle of the last century. Over the years, the modification of the yachts has undergone major changes, and the cockpits themselves drain the water. The change in design allowed us to look at the problem of using such anchors in a new way. Today, such a device is advised to have any yachtsman who goes to the open sea.

Applications of floating anchors on rafts

Almost all types of rafts have a floating anchor. It was developed by the National Marine Institute of Great Britain (NMI). The device is very large. Its surface is porous. Along with large pockets for ballast, it has a high efficiency against the inverting of the raft. Tests conducted in Iceland proved that, despite the storm, the raft remains afloat. The second function of the anchor is to slow the drift.

Floating anchors on modern yachts

The test was conducted for RORC at the University of Southampton. It proved that the floating anchor can keep the yacht afloat at high waves. The device helps reduce the speed of the vessel and keeps it downwind. Model tests revealed that the yacht repeatedly avoided turning and lagging waves.

The floating anchor is recommended for single-hulls and multi-hull yachts. The position of the device from the stern assumes that waves of great gravity will fall on this part of the vessel. For this reason, all openings must be sealed. This is given great importance in a special set of rules, which states that yachts must have strength and water resistance. In particular, this applies to the hull, cabin and deck, which must withstand the onslaught of water.

Primary requirements

It is required that hatches and mortgage boards covering the central entrance are attached to the yacht by a strong sling. The roofs of the cockpit lockers also need close attention. They play a huge role in waterproofing the ship. If these extremely necessary parts are lost or damaged, the water falling on the stern will fall inside and quickly fill the yacht.

The Transport Department set the dimensions of the floating anchors for shipborne rescue rafts and lifeboats. The diameter of the pipe must be
From 10 to 15% of the LWL yacht. Such a floating anchor can be made by a sailing master.

Cable for tug

The recommended cable length is 10 x LOA. In this case, the value corresponds to the period of the wave. Suitable material is an anchor cable of three strands based on nylon.

Drift of a boat with a floating anchor

If the vessel can not swim to the shore, enter the bay or choose a place convenient for berthing, and also unable to hold onto the wind with the helm, then resort to the use of a floating anchor. The device will reduce drift.

At great depth the device makes it possible to put the ship at odds with the wave. Anchor is located on the bow of the vessel, in the water it is filled. Then a rope is tightened, which slows the movement of the boat, turning it with its nose towards the wind.

The length of the rope must be at least five lengths small boat. The cable is released in a weakened state. It should not be shorter than the anchor line.

To reduce the impact of waves on the vessel and prevent flooding, use special oils. The most effective are oils of animal origin. Spreading over the watery surface, they create a film that interferes with the formation of crests and quenching the energy of the waves.

Mineral oils have a lower functionality. On small boats they are not advised to use them.

How to use oil?

Oil periodically pours from the windward side. From the same edge is hung a mop in it.

There is another way, more economical. In a bag of canvas or a can of metal, holes are made into which a crumbled cork, rag or hemp is laid. Inside the oil is poured. Then the container closes, the bag is tied, fastened to the anchor rope and etched.

Also, through the floating anchor, the tench is passed, so that both ends are on the ship. Then a bag or a bank is attached to the line. They must be moved to the anchor at a distance of several meters from it. The empty bag or bank is pulled out onto the vessel and refilled with oil. For tench on a floating anchor, it is recommended to stock up the block. A sack or a can is suspended from the anchor rope as a float at such a height that they can reach the wave. Oil, emerging from a can or a bag, covers the water surface with a film.

Making a floating anchor for boats made of PVC with their own hands. Process Features

The floating anchor for a PVC boat should have a size of 2, 5 to 4 m. Everything depends on the size of the vessel. With the help of the sling the speed of the boat is regulated.

The basis of the self-made construction is the dome. The material can serve as a thick polyethylene, a synthetic material. The length of service depends on this.

It is important that in the center of such a parachute should be a hole 10-15 cm in diameter. Water will enter through it. It is adjustable with a cord. The diameter of the dome, depending on the size of the boat, is 120-150 cm.

By the length of the circle, a loop is sewn, through which a rope tightens the anchor. There are designs that are attached to the slats. On the top of them is a bottle. The lower part of the anchor should be heavier.

The longer the rope, through which the anchor is attached to the boat, the more effective the device will have. For example, when the length of the sling is 1.5 m, the length of the rope should be 10 m.

The second method of manufacturing

As a rule, this is a rectangular floating anchor. The open opening of the device in this case may be quadrangular, triangular or any other shape. You can make a floating anchor for the boat with your hands from the pole.

It should be of a large thickness. To him prinaytovana canvas in the form of a triangle. A cargo is attached to the bottom corner of the matter.

Often on boats made of PVC, use a weathervane type anchor or a device with a truncated cone. Such a device is made of canvas. The diameter of the base is approximately 40 cm, the length of the device is -120 cm, the diameter at the tip of the cone is 3 cm on the cutoff. The base of the cone is wrapped around by a screw and is strengthened by four longitudinal strips of a similar cable. It ends with a loop for fixing the dreads.

The third way

The floating anchor for the PVC boat can be made by another method. This design assumes the use of a ring of wire with a diameter of 6-8 mm. For the device is ideally suited hula-hoop Soviet production made of durable high-quality aluminum. It is optimal in shape and size. The size of such a device will keep afloat a small boat of PVC in the stream of the current and will ensure its optimum speed during fishing.

If there is no hula-hoop, then the ring is made of wire. Then the hoop is covered with a thin tarpaulin, but it is possible and polyethylene. Cloth stretches so that there is no sag. The circle is divided into three equal parts, to which the meter ropes are tied. Their ends are connected. A bottle of plastic with a volume of 5 liters is attached to the top part, and a load is attached to the bottom. So the anchor in the water will take a vertical position and can hold a jet of current.

If fishing is carried out in windy weather, the plastic bottle is replaced by a half-liter tank. In this case, the floating anchor goes into the water column not much, and the waves are not dangerous. The system does not inflate like a sail and stably holds the vessel in the required stream of flow.

It is advised not to lower the device from the boat for more than 5 m. It is further advised, since the means can turn the anchor by its mass, and the meaning of the device will be lost.

To carry such an uncomplicated device with you is recommended if you are fishing in reservoirs. The diameter of the ring is chosen depending on the size of the boat made of PVC.

It should be noted that if there is no hoop of aluminum, then you can resort to the use of branches with leaves. Branches are cut and tightly bound. A small load is attached to them. The bottle is not attached, since the branches have excellent buoyancy. Such a device by functionality is inferior to the anchor based on the hoop, but copes with its task.