From: David Colbert
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011
To: JEC – Hydrovane
Subject: hydrovane and para-anchors

Hi John

We purchased a hydrovane from you a couple of years ago and have since been sailing the western Pacific and are happy to report that the hydrovane has performed very well.

We also carry a parachute anchor for storm conditions. You will be well aware that setting a parachute anchor off the bow can put a lot of strain on rudders as the boat is forced backwards by the seas. Do you have a recommended procedure for dealing with the hydrovane rudder while using a parachute anchor? In the likely conditions it would be very hard to remove. And has anyone had first hand experience of lying to a parachute anchor in storm conditions with a hydrovane attached to the stern that you are aware of?

Thanks
Dave
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On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 3:52 AM,
John Curry wrote:

Hi Dave

Good to hear from you.

I think the para anchor should keep both your rudders safe. As you know the para anchor is intended to hold the boat relatively in position with a slow drift backwards. Regardless, if the boat is picked up and thrown, as can happen in a storm, the rudder is certainly a concern.

We have never heard from anyone with a Hydrovane using a para anchor in a storm.

The Hydrovane rudder is not the worry – it is indestructible. The vulnerable part is the shaft – which can bend under extreme load. A few years ago we upgraded the shaft to accommodate our bigger rudder. Have yet to see one of the new shafts bend.

Hal Roth’s storm tactic was to keep the boat going forward with a tiny storm sail and if still going too fast a drogue would be deployed to slow it down. He felt the big vulnerability when hove to was to the rudder. That concept is what concerns you … and me.

In my 20,000 plus miles of ocean sailing I have only been in one storm – 40 to 45 knots for 32 hours – mid way between Hawaii and Vancouver. The first point is that it is rare to ever get caught in a storm that merits a para anchor and even at those wind speeds which produced 20 or 25 foot seas I would wonder about the challenges of deploying a para anchor. At near the same time we had friends heading to Alaska that were caught in a storm and did deploy a para anchor. They report an equally awful boat motion with or without it and a risky job in deploying it – not that impressed.

Although in our storm we hoved to with our staysail…… and were completely thrown sideways a few times by big waves – but no damage. If I had to do it again I would consider using that small staysail sheeted hard as a rock with a course of 15 degrees off of dead downwind. If boat speed as a worry I would deploy a drogue off the stern.

Cheers
John
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From: David Colbert
Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011
To: John Curry
Subject: Re: hydrovane and para-anchors

Thanks for all that John. It is good to get the benefit of your experiences. I agree with the tactic of sailing off at about 15+ degrees from downwind with a very small amount of sail. I have done it once in 60+ knots and it worked well. However, we do carry the para anchor as a requirement of New Zealand Category One Regulations. You must have either a para anchor or a drogue. We can’t tow a drogue because the Hydrovane is offset and would possibly interfere with any drogue. Therefore we have the para anchor which we have never had to stream in anger and hope never to do so!

My concern for the Hydrovane, as is yours, is the shaft if we do ever have to deploy the para anchor, but I guess that is just something we will find out about…

You may be interested to know that on our last passage from New Caledonia to Australia we were surfing at up to 14 knots in 30 – 35 knots of wind and the Hydrovane is fine.

Dave