Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

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Part 2: The Basics of Operation
another anchor. (A large, expensive yacht anchor can be marked by tying a large buoy to
the anchor line, so that scuba divers can come back and retrieve it later.)
Breaking Free
Breaking free from mud is usually a simple matter of motoring uptide or upwind to a
point well beyond the anchor, cleating off on an aft cleat, and then applying a little power.
This “turns over” the flukes, pulling on them from the wrong direction, and the anchor
pops free.
Anchors sometimes stick to whatever it is that made them grab bottom in the first place.
This is particularly common over a rock bottom, and it also happens in harbors and commercial
areas where cables and other snags cause problems.
Look Out!
Be sure to keep the
props well clear of the anchor
line as you attempt to turn over
the anchor.
Putting a trip line on the
base of the anchor will help
free the anchor from a
muddy bottom.
The best way to avoid problems is to put a trip line on
the base of the anchor, the crown. This is a lighter cord
secured with light nylon tie-wraps that will break under
stress and cause the trip line to pull from the crown
instead of the top (see the following figure). This usually
slides the hook free. The trip line is somewhat of a
bother to handle, though, and isn’t used except on a
very snaggy bottom.
Main anchor rode, 1 /2" nylon
Nylon tie-wraps
Trip line, 1 /4" nylon
You may need to secure the anchor line to a transom lifting eye (not a cleat, because the
cleat may pull out of the deck under heavy load), get well uptide of the spot where you
dropped the anchor, and then apply increasing engine power until the hook pops free.
The more line you let out, the better your chances of getting the anchor back.