242 anchoring, how do you do it?
 

I have a 242 LS and have been anchoring by throwing it over the side and tying to the center cleat, not ideal as I am broadside to the wind. It's almost impossible to get tied to the front cleat. That would be ideal but not sure how to get that done. Any suggestions? Tricks/tips?

I have someone sit on the bow and drop it/tie off, I'll reverse to set it. Then get out and set the rear anchor. If I'm alone, it's a pain in the ass.

Tie the anchor line to the front cleat first as you are approaching your anchorage, while anchor is in boat then drop anchor over side from cockpit. Be certain of line routing, bow rail, front line chocks so it does not need rerouting. Be careful not to fowl the line on anything inside of the boat. I also set my anchor on a large towel when on the floor of the boat.
It is a pain in the rear as the deck should be super slippery.

I did tie to the front cleat, ran the line along the bow rail and did it that way but retrieving it was a pain. It is very sketchy getting onto the bow, I am extremely paranoid that one misstep and the windshield is toast. Just a pain in the ass.

Put a line with a ring on the end around the anchor rode between the bow cleat and the anchor, with end of line tied to somewhere in the cockpit or spring cleat. When time to pull up anchor, pull on that line until it brings the anchor rode to your hand, and then start pulling up the anchor.

Or, this might work: Cleat the anchor to the bow about 20' from the end of the anchor line. Tie the end to somewhere in the cockpit. Pull the boat forward to take pull off anchor line, and undo the knot on the bow, keeping the end of anchor rode tied to the cockpit. Then start pulling the anchor up.

Can you get to the bow through the cabin and access hatch?

my wife goes through the hatch and i hand her the anchor...it's not really a big deal even on a pretty windy day.

i've done it by myself (wife handing me the anchor)

Throw the anchor over the side of the boat, and hand the line up to your first mate on the bow to tie off.

BTW, the Box Anchor is the best anchor for this. You don't have to "set" it. You just toss it in the water.

On my 242 SS, I would launch and retrieve the anchor from the bow. It was a total PITA doing a pole vault over the windshield each time. Eventually, I built a custom anchor locker up at the bow, just behind the lifting cleat.

That way, I only had to vault over the windshield myself, not carrying the anchor/chain/rode.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...dbd822d4d9.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...fcb6c6697b.jpg

A windlass would be ideal, but I think it would take away from the looks of the boat.

That looks really well done. How long did that take you to make?

Tp, i remember you doing this project it did come out great, i just don't have the balls to take a saw to my deck.

Is this the consensus anchor for a F311 in (mostly) sandy bottoms (Gulf of Mexico)?

All of my time in the gulf I've always used a danforth style. Whether the brand is hooker or danforth isnt really a big deal. I keep onboard 3 16-22lb anchors, all with a minimum of 6' of chain. When we go to blue Angel's or something else where I may not be around the boat the whole day it sure is comforting to know it isnt moving in any direction.

Copy all.
One of our major goals/plans for returning to P'cola is to do the Blue Angel airshow(s) by boat!

Yall making it this year? We will be in little sabine.

We know Little Sabine well...but we will not be down there by then (13 July, right?) DARN!
We can't wait to start (re-start) the Gulf Life...we used to live it (when I was stationed at P'cola) back in the late 80s and early 90s.
ENJOY IT!

F14A, i can't reply to your last PM. Says your mailbox is full.

Thanks...fixed

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