BST: Shewmon Mk 9 10’ Sea Anchor - $500 plus shipping (continental US only)

[Tim Johnson]

This is a Shewmon Mk 9 10 Sea Anchor. According to Shewmon's book,
this sea anchor is appropriate for power boats up to 28,000 lbs
displacement and sailboats up to 11,000 lbs.  I used it with great
success, however, on a 53 Hatteras sportfish with at least double the
displacement recommended.

This sea anchor was used 3-4 times and was always rinsed in fresh
water and air-dried before being stored.  The boat I now have has a
displacement of 175,000 lbs., clearly in excess of the capability of
this sea anchor.

  It is unfortunate that Practical Sailor has done only a modest
amount of research and only tests the most well know (advertised) Para-
Tech and Fiorentino (advertised somewhat less) sea anchors. Had they
studied sea anchors more thoroughly, they would have included material
from the Shewmon book and included his sea anchors in their testing.

  I thoroughly researched sea anchors before deciding to purchase the
Shewmon Mk9 Sea Anchor. This included reading the available
literature, most notably Daniel C. Shewmons The Sea Anchor & Drogue
Handbook. This book among other things provides comparable data on sea
anchor and drogue use, and details on the design, construction and
performance of the various sea anchors available.

  Actual controlled and scientific testing demonstrates the
superiority of the Shewmon design models. The Shewmon sea anchors are
much more robustly constructed than those from other manufacturers.
The more expensive to produce hemispherical flying shape of the
Shewmon compared to the "flat" shape of the other designs enables a
smaller Shewmon to out perform larger Para-Tech models.

  Fiorentino, another manufacturer of sea anchors includes the
following in their promotional material.

  Heavy Duty is Better

"Concerning any heavy-duty lifesaving equipment, the term over-design
is a limp reason to justify the purchase of lightweight articles
merely to save a few dollars, a few pounds of storage or to justify an
outmoded method of design and manufacture." --Dan Shewmon, author of
Sea Anchors & Drogues.

  The following is excerpted from Para-Anchors Myths vs. Facts by
Michael David

  Myth: Parachute Anchors wont hold up in Heavy Seas.

  Fact: Modern para-anchors are designed to handle tremendous abuse,
even under extreme weather situations. Fiorentino and Shewmon anchors
have no reported structural failure with their para-anchors. Para-Tech
claims that published accounts of their chutes breaking apart in rough
seas are due to sailor error and not the chute design.




Tim Johnson
M/V CLAIRBUOYANT
Nordhavn 64 #06
tim at timandclair.com