Anchor Line Wrapped around the Keel (Sentinels / Kellets)

[Ken Juul]

I have read about this quite often, but had my first experience recently on an extended cruise.  We had anchored off a friend's house, fairly protected from the winds, but the North/south tidal current was probably 1-2 kts at max flow.  The first couple of tide changes we were fine because the wind was strong enough to keep the anchor line taught.  About noon on the second day, the wind was shifting from an onshore easterly to a front driven SW flow.  It happened to be calm during the slack water between tide changes.  As we coming back from brunch in the dink, I could tell something was amiss, the boat was sitting sideways to the current, the anchor line taught tending aft tight against the hull.  Put on the mask and flippers and took a look.  Thankfully the line was just around the shoal draft keel.  I tried motoring off the line a couple different ways with no luck.  I guess I could have cancelled our afternoon sail with our friends and waited till slack tide to get the line free, but didn't want to do that.  What I ended up doing was pulling all the rode out of the anchor locker, back feeding it through the anchor roller bale and tying an inflatable bumper to the end of the rode.  I released the anchor line from the cleat and watched the anchor line disappear over the bow.  As the current pushed the boat away from the anchor I watched for the float to pop up on the opposite side of the boat.  It took a long long minute, but finally popped up about 5' off the port bow.  We got the boat stabilized, let the float get stabilized in the current then approached it like a mooring float.  For close quarters maneuvering we use "Marriage Savers" head mounted walkie talkies (www.cruisingsolutions.com) to ensure both of us know what is going on, they were extremely helpful in this instance.  After grabbing the float and anchor line, the Admiral simply shifted the boat in and out of forward to keep tension off the anchor line without leaving enough slack to cause another wrap.  After removing the float I rethreaded the anchor line and started recovering the excess rode.  We had a great late afternoon/sunset sail and reset the hook for a good night's sleep.
A couple of notes.  I had entered the coordinates of the original anchorage in the chartplotter.  If the float didn't reappear, I had a position to dive to recover the anchor.  Most of our rode is nylon; the float idea would not work with all chain and would probably scratch the side of the boat badly.  Had we lost the anchor, I do carry a backup, and we had a marina about an hour away should we not feel comfortable with the backup.  If the line had wrapped around the prop or rudder, our only choice would have been to abandon the anchor or wait till slack tide to try and unwind it.

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Ken, I've never been in this situation but was the tension on the rode so strong that you couldn't undo it when you dove on it? Hope it's not a stupid question.

Mike

[Stu Jackson]

Mike, diving on it is not always a good idea, and from re-reading Ken's post, he didn't.  When it happened to us in December 1998, we'd just bought the boat six months earlier.  Cold water in Ayala Cove on San Francisco Bay.  Tried the "reverse the engine" trick.  Didn't work.  Went overboard with a knife. Didn't work either.  [Now we have a wet suit and goggles and a snorkel - didn't back then.] Even 1/2" line is not spaghetti and won't cut easily.  Finally thought about it, maybe while underwater with our Hold-Tite, and simply backed the tangle off the shaft by hand.  Easier to say now than when I was doing it.

The Good News:  We have a Catalina 34 with hot water heating.  Took a nice warm shower.  The brandy didn't hurt either.  

[Ron Hill]

Ken : I've made numerous post on your very predicament !!  It is simply preventable!!!
 
That's what a sentinel (mushroom anchor on a tag line attached to the nylon rode) is for if you don't use all or 30' of chain rode!!!!!! 
The mushroom sets on the bottom and keeps the nylon rode from wrapping the wing!!  A few thoughts

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Stu and Ron, that's the thing about boating, every situation is different and sometimes you just have to figure out what's best under the conditions.
A little Brandy or Rum never hurts either after you get things back together.   

[Ken Juul]

A dockmate also mentioned the sentinel, my first 40' is chain, not sure it would have helped.  If I had waited til slack tide, I maybe could have unwrapped it by hand free diving.  With 1-2 knots of current pushing the boat it was not possible.  I probably set myself up for it, because of the current I had about 100' of rode out for 8' of water, I should have stayed on the boat and shortened the scope during the windless tide change.

[Stu Jackson]

Ken, I think you're a C36 Forum member, too.  Try this one:  http://www.c36ia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1285

This link is no longer useful after the C36 website was changed in mid-2014.  Sorry.

Try this one:

https://www.catalina36.org/forum/sailing-discussion/anchoring-lesson-learned

[Ron Hill]

Ken : It would seem to me that in 8 feet of water with 60 ft of nylon (100 feet total) rode is asking for a wrap.  60 ft (54 to the bottom) of loose nylon rode will wrap around a wing keel.  Be it wind and/or tide. 
 
I found that twenty feet of nylon rode or more, needs a sentinel.  That's why I went to 50 ft of chain so I can pay out up to an additional 20 ft of nylon and NOT wrap!!  We can easily anchor in 10ft or less (sheltered cove!).   

[Stu Jackson]

Here's a picture of ours.  The carabiner goes around the main anchor rode.  The line goes to the bow cleat.

Please read the link in reply #6, too, for a written description of how it's deployed.

This is an 8# mushroom, works for me for where I sail and where I need it, based on the discussion in that link earlier.  IIRC, Ron Hill uses a 15# for his stated reasons.