| If you've ever been on a small cruising boat that | | | | weight of your anchor for the best holding power. |
| dragged its sailboat anchor and ended up on the | | | | 2. Rig your sentinel for action |
| beach, you won't want to go through it again! I was | | | | Pass a snatch block over the rope part of the anchor |
| recently crew on a boat that did just that, and it sank | | | | rode. Clip the bag handles onto the block's snap |
| within 20 minutes. Looking back, one thing we could | | | | shackle. Attach a long line (with a length equal to your |
| have tried early on was to use a weight called a | | | | rode) to the snatch block. If you don't have a snatch |
| "sentinel." | | | | block handy, or if using all-chain rode, substitute a large |
| When you have to put out a marine anchor on a short | | | | loop of line or an oversize screw-pin shackle. |
| scope--such as in crowded anchorages--you will want | | | | 3. Send down the sentinel |
| to keep the anchor rode horizontal to the bottom. | | | | Ease the weight down the rode with the long line. With |
| When the tide rises or swells cause the bow to pitch | | | | rope-chain rode, send the sentinel down until you feel it |
| up and down, it places enormous shock loads on the | | | | stop where the rope rode joins the chain rode. Pull it |
| rode. | | | | back a few feet and cleat it off. With all-chain rode, |
| This creates a vertical pull on the anchor which can | | | | send the sentinel down until it contacts the top of your |
| cause the flukes to pull out of the bottom. That means | | | | anchor shank. Pull it back about half way up the chain |
| your small cruising boat will drag. A sentinel consists of | | | | and cleat it off. |
| a weight, suspended about halfway down the rode. | | | | Use these three easy steps to keep your sailboat |
| This helps push the anchor line closer to sea bottom to | | | | anchor flukes buried deep beneath the seabed in |
| keep the anchor buried. Follow these three easy steps: | | | | crowded anchorages or stormy weather. You will rest |
| 1. Make up your sentinel | | | | well, knowing that you have a trusty sentinel on watch, |
| Place heavy chain, shackles, or any other suitable | | | | working all night long to keep you and your sailing crew |
| weights into a strong bag with handles. Any amount of | | | | safe and sound. |
| weight works, but try to combine weights equal to the | | | | |