Drifting 101?

[Play'N Hooky Too]

Alright, this is probably a googan question but just try to humor me for a second...a common practice when we are out on overnight trips is to cut the engines and drift for a few hours to try to let the majority of the crew get some rest. Invariably though, it seems that without propulsion, the boat has a tendency to always aligns perpendicular to the direction of the seas. This is tolerable in anything less than 1 - 2 feet, but anything over that and stuff not well secured starts moving around, and things start getting broke. Short of installing a Sea Keeper system or leaving it idling with someone manning the controls, is there a simple solution for keeping the bow into the waves?

The boat is a 1976 Hatteras 46C. We are typically in 3000 to 5000 feet of water, so anchoring is not an option, and they really frown on you tying off to the floater rigs in the Gulf. I'm also not a big fan of idling for 3 to 4 hours because I understand that it's not really good for the engines and because I might need that fuel for later.

Please let me know if there is something that you typically do to solve this or if you have any suggestions.

Thanks for your help.

-Alan

 

[Pascal]

Sea anchor or drogue off the bow will keep it pointed into the wind, and the wave unless they come from a different direction

 

[Bob Bradley]

Idling wouldn't help anyway unless you have someone at the helm steering the boat into the waves. We use a para tech sea anchor. It keeps the bow pointed into the seas.

https://seaanchor.com/sea-anchor/

 

[Bob Bradley]

Ours is 24'

 

[rsmith]

We tried a sea anchor once unless the wind is honking it ends up under the boat. I’ve made hundreds of trips offshore overnight to the NE canyons we always drifted for swords. Drill was to drift across the 1000fathom alligator bite. Typically moving back to the starting drift. Boats are designed to roll jus need to make everything secure.

 

[Play'N Hooky Too]

Thanks for the info guys. I had looked at the Para-Tech sea anchors. I didn't know if they would be effective for a large boat. I suppose I'll give them another look.

-Alan

 

[Play'N Hooky Too]

We tried a sea anchor once unless the wind is honking it ends up under the boat. I’ve made hundreds of trips offshore overnight to the NE canyons we always drifted for swords. Drill was to drift across the 1000fathom alligator bite. Typically moving back to the starting drift. Boats are designed to roll jus need to make everything secure.

It's mainly my crew that are complaining about the roll, something about spending half the night "standing" on the stateroom wall.

 

[Pascal]

In very deep water, lowering your anchor a couple of hundred feet should create enough drag to keep the bow upwind or close to

 

[Play'N Hooky Too]

In very deep water, lowering your anchor a couple of hundred feet should create enough drag to keep the bow upwind or close to

Thanks. I may try that before committing to the Sea Anchor.

 

[jim rosenthal]

How much rode o you put out on a sea anchor?

 

[Bob Bradley]

It's been a while since I used it last, but I think I have 150'. If it's set up right, there should be a heavy turnbuckle near the boat. If it's deployed right and set up as Para tech recommends, there is no way for it to get under the boat. There are a couple of downsides. If you hook up with a big sword or bigeye, you lose the ability to maneuver the boat unless you retrieve it first. The other problem is that it only controls the drift relative to the wind, not the current. That can result in any butterfish chunks to drift in an undesirable direction, like into the sea anchor. There have been occasions when I have had to attach a second line from the sea anchor rode to a side clear to keep the bow into the wind. I very much prefer not to use it, but if it kicks up over 5 or 6 footers, it is pretty much the only way to save a trip. I think that Hatt actually patented the snap roll process.

 

[Bob Bradley]

By the way, you must deploy it properly, backing down as you do so. The heavy turnbuckle pulls the rode beneath the surface, assisting in the deployment.

 

[Captain Ralph]

Tell your crew to grow some balls and secure their wine glasses or get their own boat.

 

[Play'N Hooky Too]

Tell your crew to grow some balls and secure their wine glasses or get their own boat.

I'll tell them you said "Bud Lites and White Claws".

 

[Captain Ralph]

I'll tell them you said "Bud Lites and White Claws".

Oh No, that is not what I said, but if they are true wooses, That will work.....

 

[Bob Bradley]

If a 300# guy takes a spill and lands on your leg while you're sleeping you might think differently. I'm running a 45 and have gotten tossed from a bunk into the deck. It comes down to a choice of trying off to someone's deep water gear, deploying the sea anchor, or putting our tail between our legs and going home. You can troll in that shit but can't drift fish.

 

[rsmith]

If a 300# guy takes a spill and lands on your leg while you're sleeping you might think differently. I'm running a 45 and have gotten tossed from a bunk into the deck. It comes down to a choice of trying off to someone's deep water gear, deploying the sea anchor, or putting our tail between our legs and going home. You can troll in that shit but can't drift fish.

Your supposed to be fishing not sleeping. Lol

 

[Bob Bradley]

We do double or triple overnighters. Always 2 guys up at night. If the tuna chunk bite turns on everyone gets up.