I have noticed under certain conditions that my boat tends to sail on anchor. It seems to be in winds of 15knts or more.
Funny thing is it doesn’t always do it.
I am a 40ft boat with all chain for the anchor rode. I normally put out around 5:1 water depth plus freeboard at the Bow. I am using a rope snubber/bridal which is only on one side, usually the starboard side.
Has anyone used an anchor riding sail or should I be able to reduce this with a double bridal setup.
You can see the setup in the picture attached.

There was a recent article in Cruising Helmsman magazine about that. Giving your yacht a 'wedgie' was the articles name. The author of the article was cruising in the Hebrides and met an old salt who had cruised extensively throughout the North Sea and Scotland where windy anchorages are common. He showed them how to stop their yacht yawing from side to side in gusty conditions by hoisting a wedge shaped sail near the stern. If I recall they used a storm gib folded to create a wedge shape and hoisted so that the apex of the fold is forward with the clew and tack (now creating 2 clews) secured aft. They had to add extra cringles at each end of the fold (new head and tack) to secure the sail to a halyard and the new tack to a suitable deck or cockpit fitting. This sail kept the yacht stable within a point to port or starboard.

Though you are adding more windage the wedge shape of the sail means that if the boat veers, lets say to port, then the starboard side of the sail backs more than the port side. This pushes the stern around opposing the yaw and centres the boat to the anchor. I hope that makes sense.

I did find this photo perhaps this is what you mean

Yes HGO2 that is exactly what I was referring to, maybe a little less colourful though.
From what I understand there are two types, being the flat sail and the wedge type. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them or any other methods that could be used to slow the movement down at anchor. Particularly in crowded anchorages. TKNick the one you describe is a little different but closer to the wedge design. It sounds interesting and I may investigate that further.

Here are some wedge type riding sails.

what a great topic !!!!!! keep em coming !!!!

Thanks Nick, will try.

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manitulak said..
Thanks Nick, will try.

cool , please give a report on effectiveness

I have heard of H28 ketches doing similar with the mizzen

very interesting stuff ............

I've seen a similar setup that was from the topping lift to backstay. Apparently works.

To the op is your bridle off center? Wouldn't a straight/balanced bridle be easiest?

Yes the bridal is off centre, in the pic you can see that there are two leads for the bridal, unfortunately the second was chafed and it wasn’t used at the time. If I use a single straight bridal over the second anchor roller I lose access to my anchor locker.
It is my intention to have a new bridal made which will come through both the Port and Starboard fairleads to the deck cleats, this should balance it up. That said I don’t know if this is the root cause of my problem. From what I understand if the centre of effort is forward of the Pivot point (Fin Keel) then the bow lifting and falling away can be a problem.
From what I have read, if I can move the point of effort aft by the use of the riding sail then my problem may be greatly reduced. Now I just have to decide between the wedge and the flat riding sail.

RiffRaff. A bridle wont stop the boat from sailing at anchor. The bridle from the leeward side wraps around the bow and pulls from the bow. The windward bridle just goes slack so there is no effect from a bridle. Cats are a different story as the bridle pulls from the leeward hull.
I doubt that a sail aft is going to make any difference. Look at the effective sail area of your furled headsail and mast both forward of the hulls CLR and you will have to set a huge sail aft to alter the CofE of the anchored configuration, otherwise doesn't a bimini work?
Anyway let us know if you find that it does work, you never know.

Have a look at the photo of the boat with the triangle thingi.
Looks like it is sailing with the anchor rode approx 45 deg off the port side.

Frant,
I had considered the effective sail area forward, there is also an effective sail area aft i.e. Bimini etc. It seems that there is slightly more forward which in effect causes a swinging effect and snatching when on anchor in gusty conditions.
I have only just got the boat to Perth and I am pre-empting those gusty SW breezes in summer. I am still not 100% convinced about the Riding Sail but it seems like a reasonably small cost to find out.
It seems from reading on the internet that this is a common problem.
I have also read about other options using a drogue or bucket on the anchor rode just below water level, stern anchors etc etc.

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RiffRaff said..
Frant,
I had considered the effective sail area forward, there is also an effective sail area aft i.e. Bimini etc. It seems that there is slightly more forward which in effect causes a swinging effect and snatching when on anchor in gusty conditions.
I have only just got the boat to Perth and I am pre-empting those gusty SW breezes in summer. I am still not 100% convinced about the Riding Sail but it seems like a reasonably small cost to find out.
It seems from reading on the internet that this is a common problem.
I have also read about other options using a drogue or bucket on the anchor rode just below water level, stern anchors etc etc.

I think that sailing at anchor is simply an unavoidable side effect of an efficient fin keel hull and aerodynamically efficient rig. The use of a mizzen on the H28 is not required as the boat wont sail to windward and they sit at anchor quite nicely as it is.

In most parts of Australia we dont have to worry too much about the tide, so it is the windage which matters most. The wedge shape has the advantageous effect that it keeps the boat pointing into the wind without having to vear off first. If you have windage right at the back of the boat it has lots of leverage and hence a relatively small area can be effective.

Only trouble with adding windage is that it is going to put more strain on the anchor, but a lot less than a sudden stop if you are "sailing" at anchor.

The H28 ketch already has aft windage with a mizzen, plus,(if fitted), the spray dodger adds aft windage.

Its not much use having a boat pointing into the wind at anchor if the boats anchored near by are zapping all over the place. Best to do what the others are doing.

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Ramona said..
Its not much use having a boat pointing into the wind at anchor if the boats anchored near by are zapping all over the place. Best to do what the others are doing.

Unfortunately the zapping around by the other boats is in random directions, so the probability of being hit would be greater if your boat is also moving around more. It is true though, that it is important to be anchored close to similar vessels, as they will in general align in the same direction.

also, if you are snatching at anchor in 25 knots you increase the chance of dragging.

Hiding in quite open anchorage, swell coming all around from random directions.
you will try anything to get a few hours sleep,
50 m rode, slide second about 8 m along the rode using a big D shackle .
Early morning with not much sleep, enough was enough , removed second anchor
and pull over the main anchor rope to stern cleat.
no more sailing at anchor, how peaceful become, time to catch up with same sleep

+1 I've been tempted to do the same thing a few times. When it's 28deg c at 5 in the morning and nary a puff of wind I figured we'd get more relief ass around. Only hassle is centering a stern line. And our open transom with big wakes.

Would raising a much reefed mainsail have the same effect as a wedge or is it too close to midships.??.

As I tried to explain, if you have a sail or other vertical area at the aft part of the vessel, it only corrects a swing once the boat has actually moved out of alignment with the wind. This is better than nothing, but is not as good as the wedgie. The wedgie creates drag when it is lined up with the wind, and a side force +drag when it moves out of line. The drag works with anchor tension to keep the boat straight.

There is another factor, and that is hull shape. Most hulls are designed to be directionally stable when moving forward. Move astern, and the underwater profile tends to induce a sideways movement, paticularly with a long keel. As an example, my long keel T/S is much more steady at anchor if I lift the rudder out of the water. On the air side, tilting the bimini forward to act as an air brake at the back of the boat, also reduces the shearing movement.

Anchoring by the stern is fine, if that is the only way to move the boat windage away from the anchor connection, plus the underwater shape is now more directionally stable. However, on some boats a flat stern can cause wave slap, making it more noisy, particularly if you are in an aft cabin. (Go the Manitou double ender!)

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samsturdy said..


Would raising a much reefed mainsail have the same effect as a wedge or is it too close to midships.??.

That would aid the sailing at anchor the same as a secured main under a sail cover on a fin keel yacht.

Couple of years ago we had a 30 foot lifting keel yacht staying on a courtesy mooring here after coming off the slips. Owner left it here a few days waiting for decent weather to sail away. Unfortunately he lifted the lifting rudder blade clear of the water when he put it on the mooring. I was doing some work on mine when he turned up. Moderate Westerly blowing, took him 20 minutes to catch his boat!

so does lashing the rudder in any position help solve the problem ? ............... or drogue cleated aft ,will that help ??? ...

FWIW and may not (obviously) be applicable to others. At anchor I have the rudder lifted, this unbalances the hull shape and stops sailing at anchor, likewise lifting the centreboard. This removes any sailing but for us also eliminates any clanking at anchor. Not sure how it may help Keeler's but as stated FWIW.

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slammin said..
FWIW and may not (obviously) be applicable to others. At anchor I have the rudder lifted, this unbalances the hull shape and stops sailing at anchor, likewise lifting the centreboard. This removes any sailing but for us also eliminates any clanking at anchor. Not sure how it may help Keeler's but as stated FWIW.

In the example above there was a strong tide too. The boat was moving that fast that one bloke in an inflatable could not get alongside, it was quite a violent movement side to side. The mooring was the type with a large buoy and a rope toggle about 10 feet long. Bit of rudder blade down and a lashed tiller would have been a smart move. Still would have zapped about but the oscillations would have been slower. I wish I had a video camera there that day. I should add that I had some difficulty getting alongside my vessel the same day, dog got knocked off the tender and I had to rescue him first!

I lash my tiller centered on the mooring. In fresh winds the yacht sails up the mooring with just the mainsail cover. My solar panels are mounted vertically one each side of the pushpit, almost parallel. These I think aid in keeping the boat stable at anchor/mooring. Some yachts here sail right around their moorings in fresh conditions.
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Well I've learned something here. When I bought my boat I noticed that on the swing mooring the tiller was lashed centre.
I thought this was just to make the cockpit look 'tidy', but I realise now that the previous owner new what he was doing.
BTW, I always leave the tiller lashed when I leave the boat (swing mooring) because it looks tidy....Oh dear.

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samsturdy said..


Well I've learned something here. When I bought my boat I noticed that on the swing mooring the tiller was lashed centre.
I thought this was just to make the cockpit look 'tidy', but I realise now that the previous owner new what he was doing.
BTW, I always leave the tiller lashed when I leave the boat (swing mooring) because it looks tidy....Oh dear.

Most wear on boat rudder bearings occurs at moorings. The rudder lashed is going to prevent most of it.

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Ramona said..

samsturdy said..


Well I've learned something here. When I bought my boat I noticed that on the swing mooring the tiller was lashed centre.
I thought this was just to make the cockpit look 'tidy', but I realise now that the previous owner new what he was doing.
BTW, I always leave the tiller lashed when I leave the boat (swing mooring) because it looks tidy....Oh dear.

Most wear on boat rudder bearings occurs at moorings. The rudder lashed is going to prevent most of it.

Yes, and tightly lashed as well. Being loosely lashed is worse than not being lashed at all.