Doc,
I'm with you on the anchor storage,
first of all, it's not big enough for the
anchor I carry.

Secondly, I really don't want an
anchor bouncing around up there
when your in rough water.
The lid and latch doesn't appear
that strong.

just my .02
jt

Good point about the anchor locker up front...

I hate bow anchor lockers...I wouldn't want one on the bow!!!

I think they're dangerous. Boat telemetry analysis has shown that most offshore boats in moderate to heavy sea conditions experience upwards of 8G's positive and negative inertial forces....

Now imagine an 11, 13, 18 pound anchors experiencing those forces up front in the bow...We're talking 88, 104 to 144 of repetitive oscillating loading on an item of mass.....Surely, the results of an anchor coming loose in the bow is obvious.

Secondly, it really is easier to anchor from the side or stern and walk up the line to the bow.

How do you do that anchor walk thing in a current when retrieving the anchor?

......... teach your old lady how to
drive the boat.


Thats what I did

First, assuming you're already anchored and the line is tied to the bow, take the excess line that leads down from your bow and temporarily tie it to the side or stern cleats, making a somewhat tight run from the bow to the temporary cleat. Now walk up to the bow, release the line from the bow cleat and quickly get back into the cockpit. The boat will now swing around of course, but if you have room it won't be a problem. Now you can hoist up the anchor from inside the safety of the cockpit.

I use this technique all the time in some good 4-5 knot currents. Works like a charm.

There's nothing worse than walking a heavy anchor, rode and line on a slippery deck.

Baja Daze- I'll try that sometime when no one is watching first. My problem is the river bottom here on the Mississippi is sand and mud and the anchor is set so good that you have to pull upstream to break loose. Maybe I can break loose and then do what you talked about.

jt29olhp500s- ok last time my wife drove was my 272 and she was backing out of a slip and I told her from the dock to put it in neutral, well she put the wrong "stick" in neutral which is of course the throttle halfway. Luckly she decided that was wrong and idled down quickly but not before getting up alot of steam. I had 25' of dock line tied to the front cleat and I was quick enough to make a couple of wraps at the end roof support to catch the boat from hitting the next dock. Sure are some good cleats. That was 5 years ago, I guess I'm ready to give her another chance.

Engine room space would be nice for maintenance, but I really like my dance floor and so do the gals at the docks when the tunes are thumpin! There are always tradeoffs. The low capacity of the fresh water system and filling the fresh water tank are my main gripes.