A neat and simple way to store the anchor line
Issue 30 : May/Jun 2003
One of the most convenient features found on many newer boats is a dedicated anchor locker on the foredeck. My O’Day 222 lacks this amenity, as do many older trailersailers. When I purchased the boat, I found the anchor and its rode “stored” in the lazarette beneath a tangle of PFDs, fenders, and enough docking lines to tie off the QE II. Recalling that someone once said “good seamanship is nine- tenths preparation and one-tenth application,” I set about developing a better storage system for my ground tackle.
My goal was to create an arrangement that would afford easy access, provide protection, and be out of the way when not in use. I decided to suspend the anchor from the bow pulpit using stainless-steel brackets.
With half of my ground tackle stored, I directed my attention to the other half: 150 feet of nylon and chain rode, which I had temporarily stored in a paper bag. Eureka!
Using that same grocery bag as the basis for a pattern of what was to become my anchor-rode bag, I added a zippered lid and extended the back side of the bag up and down. The “up” portion was extended 6 inches. When rolled in half and zippered to itself, this formed a sleeve that would be wrapped around the top rail of the bow pulpit. I rounded the 4-inch “down” portion and centered a large grommet near the edge. By adding a short length of line to the grommet, I could secure the bag to the base of the pulpit. To finish it off I added two more grommets, equally spaced, in the bag’s bottom. One is for drainage and the rode’s bitter end protrudes through the other.
Once the pattern was complete, I took it to the local canvas shop and had it fabricated out of material matching my sailcover. To use it, I mount the bag close to the anchor, loop the sleeve around the top rail of the bow pulpit, zipper it, and tie the bag’s bottom to the pulpit base. From inside of the bag, I pass the bitter end of the rode through one of the grommets in the bag’s bottom and secure it to a cleat. I then flake the rode into the bag and zipper the lid closed, leaving a short length of rode attached to the anchor to complete the system.
Having my ground tackle stored in this manner meets all the goals I established for easy access, protection for the rode, and getting it out of the way when not in use. Using a #20 paper bag as a pattern provided more than enough room for 150 feet of rode. The extra space turned out to be a handy place to store the gloves we use when deploying and retrieving the anchor.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
