T&T: Anchor comments

[C. Marin Faure]

 >Do all those with Rocna, Manson, etc. anchors also have a wash down
system?

It probably depends on where you boat.  We've had our Rocna come up  
pretty clean when anchored to a sandy bottom.  But when the bottom is  
mud, or weedy mud, or oozy mud, or sandy mud, or anything "clingy,"  
the Rocna can bring up an impressive load.  Under these conditions, I  
would say a washdown system is a must, although not so much because  
of the anchor.  You can knock most of the stuff off the Rocna with a  
boathook as long as you aren't anal about cruising around with a  
pristinely clean anchor.

Of more concern is the chain.  Like most trawler operators in the PNW  
we use an all-chain rode.  Over a muddy, oozy, or mud-and-shell  
bottom, the chain comes up with a LOT of muck on it.  If you don't  
blast this stuff off somehow it ends up in the anchor locker where at  
best it makes a mess and drops dried mud down into the forefoot bilge  
and at worst stinks to high heaven as the critters in the mud die off  
and rot.  A wash down system is the only practical way of dealing  
with this.

A previous owner of our boat installed a powerful washdown pump in  
the engine room that consists of a 3/4 horsepower Westinghouse AC  
motor driving a big bronze Jabsco pump.  According to the spec sheet,  
the thing is capable of delivering 23 gallons a minute at up to 26  
psi.  It is still sold today as the Jabsco Model 6050.  It pulls  
water from a dedicated through-hull/seacock and is plumbed with heavy  
hose to spigots on the fore and aft decks.  It barely moved water  
when we bought the boat and it lingered near the bottom of our to-do  
list until last summer when I figured I'd better overhaul it prior to  
our cruise to Desolation Sound where we would be doing a lot of  
anchoring.  So I overhauled the pump and now, even considering the  
long hose run from the engine to the bow, it puts out a pretty  
powerful stream of water.  More than enough to blast the heavy muck  
off the chain and the anchor.

Were we installing a washdown pump ourselves I don't know that I'd  
have gone this route, partly because of the expense (the Model 6050  
today typically sells for some $600-plus), but mainly because if we  
want to use it we have to start the generator.  Our inverter will run  
the pump but with the stock alternators already working to capacity  
to supply the power being sucked out of the batteries by our Lofrans  
windlass, I figure it's easier on everything simply to get the AC for  
the pump from the generator.  So I'd probably tend to go with as  
strong a DC washdown pump as I could find.  But since we inherited  
the big AC pump and the recent overhaul gave it back its impressive  
performance we'll continue to use it.

One thing of note with the Rocna---- the rollbar will fill itself  
with mud as you use it.  This has no effect whatsoever on the  
performance of the anchor but I think it's a good idea to keep the  
inside of the tube clean and dry when it's not being used.  The tube  
is open at both ends to drain, and there is a drain/air hole in the  
underside of the tube at the top of the arch.  But it's a good idea  
when you finish a cruise and are washing down the boat with fresh  
water to blast some up into the open ends of the rollbar until what  
comes out the other end and the drain hole in middle is clean water.


____________________
C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington