Small boat limitations

[Mario Wuttke]

Hi atomichaggis

How does one use a drag anchor in an emergency scenario?

I currently have 2 grapnel anchors, should I get another type?

I'm not so lucky with my boats fuel consumption vs speed...

[...]

Had a look at your site, do you work in boatbuilding or composites?

A drift anchor is very useful if you have a heavy sea / strong wind - and your engine fails. Than a drift anchor is there to keep your bow "into" the waves. It stabilize the boat so that it can go through much higher waves than getting them from left or right....As an alternative - put a couple of lines (30-50m) out in the stern - it will have more or less the same effect - but a good sea anchor is just better.....

"grapnel anchors" are not good if you have sand or slick. On bottoms with stones I guess - they are ok...

I decided for a 5Kg Bruce M anchor. Its light compared to the holding load. I go often fishing in the English channel - here you have sand banks and streams up to 3-4 knots. So you need a good anchor for wreck fishing - or you will loose a lot of fishing gear.....

I would not put to much power to the boat. Speed is not everything. Keep it safe. With 35HP you will ahve a very good and fast boat I guess.

Actually - I studied electronics. But since 9 years I'm business consultant for startUp management and restructuring of companies. Currently I build up a company for Nano- and Micro-Particles.

Boats and fishing are just for fun. I try a lot of things by myself. Rebuilding an old boat is just one of those things

Greetings from Germany,

Woody

[Pingvin]

Som ekstra/nød utstyr ville jeg vurdert å få tak i en mindre motor og få et nedsenkbart feste til den. Da har du dorgemotor og nødmotor. For å slippe å montere ekstra styring kan du jo paralellmontere den a la Blydonkern.

[atomichaggis]

Hi atomichaggis

A drift anchor is very useful if you have a heavy sea / strong wind - and your engine fails. Than a drift anchor is there to keep your bow "into" the waves. It stabilize the boat so that it can go through much higher waves than getting them from left or right....As an alternative - put a couple of lines (30-50m) out in the stern - it will have more or less the same effect - but a good sea anchor is just better.....

"grapnel anchors" are not good if you have sand or slick. On bottoms with stones I guess - they are ok...

I decided for a 5Kg Bruce M anchor. Its light compared to the holding load. I go often fishing in the English channel - here you have sand banks and streams up to 3-4 knots. So you need a good anchor for wreck fishing - or you will loose a lot of fishing gear.....

I would not put to much power to the boat. Speed is not everything. Keep it safe. With 35HP you will ahve a very good and fast boat I guess.

Actually - I studied electronics. But since 9 years I'm business consultant for startUp management and restructuring of companies. Currently I build up a company for Nano- and Micro-Particles.

Boats and fishing are just for fun. I try a lot of things by myself. Rebuilding an old boat is just one of those things

Greetings from Germany,

Woody

Oh, so a drift anchor is different to a drogue... makes sense now

Perhaps I should carry a Bruce and a Grapnel anchor for differing substrates then.

I think anything less than 20 knots will drive me mad... could take hours just getting in and out of førlandsfjorden.

Your work and hobbies are quite different then... still it was a good job on the boat!

Som ekstra/nød utstyr ville jeg vurdert å få tak i en mindre motor og få et nedsenkbart feste til den. Da har du dorgemotor og nødmotor. For å slippe å montere ekstra styring kan du jo paralellmontere den a la Blydonkern.

I had thought about that but I fancy a new 4 stroke first

Are there any capable electric trolling motors that could push along a 17 footer?

[Pingvin]

Are there any capable electric trolling motors that could push along a 17 footer?

Prøvde den minste Min Kota motoren på en liten jolle for et par uker siden. Den tømte et 80A bilbatteri temmelig kjapt. Den gikk ganske dårlig og hele greia stod nesten stille når det ble ørlite motvind og knøttebølger/skvalp.

Tror el. motor kan være greit på en kano på et stille vann, men ellers..nei.

[Mario Wuttke]

Hi,

Perhaps I should carry a Bruce and a Grapnel anchor for differing substrates then.

I think anything less than 20 knots will drive me mad... could take hours just getting in and out of førlandsfjorden.

Your work and hobbies are quite different then... still it was a good job on the boat!

drift anchor -> maybe "sea anchor" is the better name for it. I have one with 1,30m diameter - it looks like a parachute. it works fine - even with strong wind.

Actually the bruce anchor is quite good over all - I never had problems...

20knots - hmm but only if the sea is calm

Yeah - my work is different from my hobbies - If I could, I would make my hobbies to my work - but it's hard to earn money with it

Best regards,

Woody

[atomichaggis]

Prøvde den minste Min Kota motoren på en liten jolle for et par uker siden. Den tømte et 80A bilbatteri temmelig kjapt. Den gikk ganske dårlig og hele greia stod nesten stille når det ble ørlite motvind og knøttebølger/skvalp.

Tror el. motor kan være greit på en kano på et stille vann, men ellers..nei.

I just had a look at some online. some of the better ones put out around 30kgs of thrust, still might be a bit weak on the open sea right enough.

too bad, seemed like a cool option.

Hi,

drift anchor -> maybe "sea anchor" is the better name for it. I have one with 1,30m diameter - it looks like a parachute. it works fine - even with strong wind.

Actually the bruce anchor is quite good over all - I never had problems...

20knots - hmm but only if the sea is calm

Yeah - my work is different from my hobbies - If I could, I would make my hobbies to my work - but it's hard to earn money with it

Best regards,

Woody

When flyfishing on the reservoirs from a boat people often use a drogue on the stern to turn the boat bow first on the drift, slowing the drift from the full tilt sideways drift. I take it that You deploy this drift anchor the opposite way?

I got a 5kg bruce anchor today along with 8kg of chain and a buoy and various shackles etc.

Got a waterproof box for flares and smoke markers and some fireworks to go in it I need to get a fire extinguisher! forgot to pick one up. Had a little petrol incident earlier too... I need a fire extinguisher!

The plexiglass window in front of the steering console is a bit frosty and the one on the opposite side is perfectly clear. They are the same shape so they could be swapped over but I'm not sure what is involved with that... any tips?

[Mario Wuttke]

Hi

[..]I take it that You deploy this drift anchor the opposite way?

[..] I got a 5kg bruce anchor today along with 8kg of chain and a buoy and various shackles etc.

[..]The plexiglass window in front of the steering console is a bit frosty and the one on the opposite side is

perfectly clear. [..]

Yes - the drift or sea anchor works if its fixed on the bow. The good thing is it will work even in deep water, where you can't use a normal anchor anymore - and its much easier to pull it back to the boat instead of pulling a normal anchor from the sea bottom up.....

The 5kg bruce anchor will be more than enough for your boat....

My RANA has safety glass in the front windows of the wheelhouse.

I renewed all other windows by my self. There's a plexiglas dealer here in my town - so I bought 6mm plexi and cutted the windows by myself. I used the older windows as mask. Just be careful with removing the rubber seal. Go to a car glass dealer - they have the right tools - than it's done within a minute....

Best regards,

woody

[atomichaggis]

Hi

Yes - the drift or sea anchor works if its fixed on the bow. The good thing is it will work even in deep water, where you can't use a normal anchor anymore - and its much easier to pull it back to the boat instead of pulling a normal anchor from the sea bottom up.....

The 5kg bruce anchor will be more than enough for your boat....

My RANA has safety glass in the front windows of the wheelhouse.

I renewed all other windows by my self. There's a plexiglas dealer here in my town - so I bought 6mm plexi and cutted the windows by myself. I used the older windows as mask. Just be careful with removing the rubber seal. Go to a car glass dealer - they have the right tools - than it's done within a minute....

Best regards,

woody

Does size matter with the drift anchor?.. I mean like is there a size where it becomes a problem or just get as big as I have space for?

Tore Jan Skeie at Baardsen picked out all the anchor equipment for me so I'm sure its all in order. He mentioned to be careful when pulling the anchor up incase it lets go suddenly and swamps the boat. Would it be safe to attach the anchor to the stern for retrieval as a solution to that problem or is there another reason not to do that?

Trouble with the windows is that I have no Idea how to remove the seals... I'm guessing it involves a very thin blade but I'd probably ruin one before I learned how to do it properly.

[Mario Wuttke]

moin moin,

Does size matter with the drift anchor?.. I mean like is there a size where it becomes a problem or just get as big as I have space for?

Tore Jan Skeie at Baardsen picked out all the anchor equipment for me so I'm sure its all in order. He mentioned to be careful when pulling the anchor up incase it lets go suddenly and swamps the boat. Would it be safe to attach the anchor to the stern for retrieval as a solution to that problem or is there another reason not to do that?

Trouble with the windows is that I have no Idea how to remove the seals... I'm guessing it involves a very thin blade but I'd probably ruin one before I learned how to do it properly.

Size matters to the drift anchor. A diameter from 1-1,20 should be enough for your RANA17. If its to small - the boat drift just faster - if its to big -> no problem. Retrieving is very easy - when you have two lines attached to the sea anchor (one for pulling back, one to "close" the parachute before pulling back...).

I always attach the anchor to the bow. I think attaching the anchor to the stern is - in case of bigger waves - not good. Water will maybe come into the boat when the waves hit the stern. Also the move of the boat in the waves will be much smoother when you have enough line out and the anchor attached to the bow (min. 2-3 time depth). Its also nicer for fishing to be in the "wind shadow" (don't know if you know what I mean) of the wheelhouse - because the bow will turn into the wind/waves normally.......

When I go fishing in the English channel, the stream is sometimes very fast. So pulling up the anchor by hand is "hard work" - especially when I'm alone and no one can "drive" the boat to the anchor. Theres an easy trick to pull the anchor up - without stress and additional equipment. How? Just have a look to this page here:

http://www.boat-angling.co.uk/Hints_and_Ti...at_handling.htm

I can't explain it better - and it works perfect.

BTW: the hole website and the book is very interesting, too ;-)

With this simple trick, you can retrieve the anchor from your cockpit - but keep it attached to the bow ;-)

In regard of the seals of your windows. I went to company called "carglass" - I think they are also known in norway. They pulled out the seals "for free" - and afterwards I sent a couple of EUR and they mounted the new windows with their tools within some minutes. But I think all boat shops will have these tools, too.

Best regards,

Mario

[atomichaggis]

I didn't mean to remain anchored by the stern. I meant to attach the anchor rope to the stern for retrieval only.

It seems in theory much easier to just motor forward one boat length, clip the rope (still attached to the bow) to the stern via a carabine clip, turn around (or forward on a wide arc) and motor away without having to avoid loose rope etc.

Got some moorings sorted now, shall probably go out at the weekend hope I can afford the gas.

[Mario Wuttke]

I didn't mean to remain anchored by the stern. I meant to attach the anchor rope to the stern for retrieval only.

It seems in theory much easier to just motor forward one boat length, clip the rope (still attached to the bow) to the stern via a carabine clip, turn around (or forward on a wide arc) and motor away without having to avoid loose rope etc.

Got some moorings sorted now, shall probably go out at the weekend hope I can afford the gas.

-> sorry - was a missunderstanding....(but the trick with the buoy works pretty fine also this way ;-)

-> Yes retrieval is much more safe from the cockpit....

Hope you find a good place for your boat. I wish you a nice trip on the weekend!

See you.

Woody

[atomichaggis]

Got the boat on the small local harbour now and had a little spin around the fjord

Had a little oops when one of the wheels came of the side of the ramp and the boat was a bit stubborn to leave the trailer cos of the angle but it all ended well.

First impressions of the boat... low speed manouvering isn't very good in this boat but I think thats more to do with the engine not being so responsive at low speed and bastard of a cross wind. On the upside it went faster than I thought it would with the slowest of the 2 propellors I've got and it turns sexilly at higher speeds.

For some reason the steering is set with a bias to one side... no idea why he had it set up like this, there is no extreme prop steer or anything. Really annoying at low speed again. I think I'll contact the guy and ask why before I adjust it.

[Mario Wuttke]

hey hey,

congratulations for the first safe trip

What do you mean exactly with low speed manouvering? Will it go always to one side?

Are you sure it not the "prop walk"? Sounds not usual....

But look to the good things - speed is what you need - now you got it

Best regards,

Woody

[atomichaggis]

hey hey,

congratulations for the first safe trip

What do you mean exactly with low speed manouvering? Will it go always to one side?

Are you sure it not the "prop walk"? Sounds not usual....

But look to the good things - speed is what you need - now you got it

Best regards,

Woody

Thanks!

It doesn't prop steer... not particularly noticeably at least. A part of the problem is either the engines response or the control box. It seems to go 90% of the forward with very little acceleration and then the last 10% is explosive It would be improved with a more responsive throttle tho this wouldn't be too much of a problem on other boats I've used.

The steering problem is that the steering cable is set with a bias to one side... possibly another 20-30% more angle on one side. I really don't understand why he would have set it like this. I had to have a few runs at my berth on the pontoon as I run out of steering... it was at full lock at too shallow an angle.

It didn't have as good a grip of the water at low speeds as the Øien 530F I used in may (Those boats are exceptionally good tho) I suspect a part of that problem may be that the engine is trimmed out a notch too high tho which could possibly be making it ineffective in transfering the power from the motor when the bow is low down. I may need to experiment with the trim setting but it seems right for the top end speeds. I think a new power trimming motor would be a good solution.

The responsiveness of the engine would be ok if the boat didn't drift laterally as much and had more steering angle or at least even steering in both directions.

I could try trimming in a notch til I'm out of the harbour then trimming out once I'm about to gun it.

[atomichaggis]

Some photies from yesterday...