Anchor Lockers Part I

0
Anchor Lockers Part I

 

The contemporary anchor locker setup favors clear-deck convenience. This compromise can have some serious disadvantages. As with most things on sailboats, boat owners/buyers have to weigh the pros and cons and find a balance that meets their needs.

1. Hiding windlass foot controls under a locker lid, like these on the Catalina 375, keeps them from being accidentally engaged, but it also leaves the anchor handler in a precarious position, teetering over the open locker, as he weighs anchor.

2. The Hunter 306 has a well-placed anchor rode tie-off; having the terminal on top of the well makes an emergency castoff much easier.

3. This Hunter’s locker and windlass setup leaves the rode-handler totally dependent on the windlass’s enclosed chain gypsy. This does not allow for a chain connection using a thimbled eye-splice and shackle. There’s also no option to work a secondary rode on a warping drum or capstan.

4. This Beneteau 323 locker hides the windlass and its wired hand control, which doesn’t limit the anchor handler’s position as foot controls would.

5. An example of good gear in a bad place. Installing a furler in a locker adds unnecessary bends and twists—and potential fouling points—to the furling line, and unjamming a fouled drum becomes more of a challenge.

Darrell Nicholson
Practical Sailor has been independently testing and reporting on sailboats and sailing gear for more than 50 years. Its independent tests are carried out by experienced sailors and marine industry professionals dedicated to providing objective evaluation and reporting about boats, gear, and the skills required to cross oceans. Practical Sailor is edited by Darrell Nicholson, a long-time liveaboard sailor and trans-Pacific cruiser who has been director of Belvoir Media Group's marine division since 2005. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton Master license, has logged tens of thousands of miles in three oceans, and has skippered everything from pilot boats to day charter cats. His weekly blog Inside Practical Sailor offers an inside look at current research and gear tests at Practical Sailor, while his award-winning column,"Rhumb Lines," tracks boating trends and reflects upon the sailing life. He sails a Sparkman & Stephens-designed Yankee 30 out of St. Petersburg, Florida. You can reach him at darrellnicholson.com.