A 35lb CQR in the Anchor Hawse Pipe

"We're dragging", seemed a constant refrain once we started cruising Nellie on the East Coast.  Our Babeth (think Forfjord), which worked flawlessly in the Pacific Northwest, proved less than optimal on the Maryland to Florida ICW, in the Keys, and in the Bahamas.   Danforth anchors are popular here but they are notorious for not resetting and that's problematic as some anchorages have significant tidal currents.  Available anchor choices quickly whittle down to some sort of plow.   Enter the CQR.  

Both Thistle 37VT47 and Kedge 37VT43 have mounted 35lb CQRs on their tugs.   Al Peterson designed an innovative bow mounting while Ed McChain uses the LNVT's existing anchor hawse pipe. It's the hawse pipe mount that we've been using with good success while cruising from Key West to Palm Beach.  The 35lb CQR actually fits quite well in the hawse. 

While retrieving the anchor its shank comes aboard easily.  The top of the shank reaches deck level just as the bottom of the shank enters the hawse.  The flukes rest nicely against the tug's stainless strike plate.   The mounting isn't perfect though.  When the anchor first clears the water its bill can scratch the hull's paint.  In fact, the bill extends beyond the tug's stainless strike plate until the anchor is almost fully up.  Controlling the bill with a boat hook helps mitigate the problem.  Another issue is that even when the anchor is fully up its flukes are free to swivel. In large seas the flukes could pound against the hull.   Thistle's solution, and the one we adopted, is to capture the flukes with a loop of rope, haul up tightly, and then lash the rope's bitter end to the bow's starboard side hawse cleat.  The final issue I want to bring up has to do with aesthetics, and there's no nice way to put this, a 35lb CQR on an LNVT is butt ugly!   They say "Form follows function."  I translate this to mean that I'd rather sleep well than look good.

Written aboard Nellie D. while anchored off Palm Beach using a 7 to 1 scope, 3/8" BBB chain, and a well set 35lb CQR.  The good news is that with her anchor down Nellie is as pretty as her sisters!

Update (20 March 2015) - While beating through some 4' waves the restraint, pictured above, was inadequate as the anchor was hitting the hull.  A second line around the forward fluke was needed.