Where to keep anchor rode on an Ericson 27?

Our Ericson 27 came with two anchors, the smaller of which has an attached short length of some light chain and has a matching mount on the bow pulpit. They were just sort of chilling in random lockers in the boat. There was also a container with a longish length of twisted anchor rode with a reinforced eye in one end.

My question is: where am I supposed to keep the rode so that it can be rapidly deployed? The only opening near the bow is the circle hole with a vent thing in it that goes to a strange area that can be accessed through a circular hole in the front of the v-berth. It doesn't really seem ideal for feeding anchor rode, as it presently has one of those plastic vent things in it, but then I've never actually fed anchor rode at all.

It's also not clear to me where the attached chain should reside. Perhaps the entire length of rode and chain are just stored separately, and attached when needed? This seems inconvenient, and risky, as far as losing the unattached anchor.

A last thing that's not obvious to me is why the lighter anchor is the bow anchor. It's my understanding that the bow anchor is the one you'd normally use, rather than the stern anchor, but wouldn't you want your normal anchor to be the heavier one?

Sorry for so many questions, but I'm having lots of trouble figuring out how this anchor stuff is supposed to work...

On my prior E-27, I had the anchor mounted on the bow pulpit, and the chain was permanently shackled to the rode (don't forget to use stainless seizing wire to lock the shackle's pin from turning). Many do indeed have the rode fished down through the vent into the anchor locker, which is what the intent is of that forward most area forward of the V-berths you mention. You could add a separate hawsepipe like this, which is certainly nicer than fishing through the vent (and what I had rigged):

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/bro...nge-max-1-rope-ch-pltd-br-142722-/4,8171.html

And yes, have your heavier anchor ready to deploy from the bow, and perhaps keep the second (with a rode ready and attached) in a cockpit side locker for rapid emergency deployment.

On my E23 the vent is just aft of the little forward bulkhead and I glassed in a plywood "floor" in the peak, pitched slightly forward w/ a drain hole drilled through the hull. I installed one of the larger hinged deck pipes, above the new locker, that enables you to actually reach in if there's an obstruction, and it's much easier to feed the line into. My large Danforth anchor w/ chain and rode attached, also lives on a pulpit bracket shown....

http://www.bosunsupplies.com/products2.cfm?product=L2049


Hawse pipe

http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/Hawsepipe.htm

Here are Some Pics

Aarron,

I thought I would attach a couple of pictures of my E27, that I have on my computer, for reference. The one picture shows the deck pipe. Mine is similar to the one shown on the link that Emerald posted, but it is oval shaped. The other picture is from the v-berth, showing the access to the anchor locker.

I actually forgot, but I think I have about 300' of rope and 20' of anchor rode in there. Don't quote me on the actual lengths, but the point is there seems to be enough room for my needs.

As they say, pictures speak a thousand words. I always find that it is easier to ask or answer a question with pictures. Leaves a lot of the guess work out of it on both ends.

Good Luck

rode storage

Hi,

I don't have an anchor locker in the bow of my e27. I do have an anchor bracket at the bow pulpit, and the chain and rode came stacked in the storage locker under the helm seat when I bought my boat. I found, however, that it took too long to attach the anchor to the rode in an emergency. It's also very difficult for me to get the anchor in/out of that bracket on a pitching foredeck. So I now leave the anchor attached to chain and rode, stacked in the helm seat locker and tied together with a bungee, where I can deploy it from the helm, and then walk it up to the bow once deployed. I single hand a lot, and it gives peace of mind knowing that I can deploy that sucker myself in an instant from the helm, cleating it off from the stern. I have 2 anchors and rodes stored in that locker, which is large enough to accommodate them.

Another point is that many boats (and mine is one of them) lay at anchor better when anchored from the stern rather than the bow. Anchored from the bow, it sails around on the anchor like crazy, even pulling out a smaller stern anchor when I had two anchors deployed.

I plan to try anchoring from the stern next time.

Interesting

Patti Wood said:

Hi,

I don't have an anchor locker in the bow of my e27.

Click to expand...

Patti,

I have owned my E27 less than a year (my first boat). Although I was aware that there are slight variations on the E27, particularly between the tiller model and wheel model, I was not aware that the anchor locker was an option on the E27. Would like to see pictures of the v-berth area. Is it expanded into where my anchor locker is? Or perhaps it is there, just not accessible. I couldn't tell from your post.

Maybe I should clarify. My anchor does not go below and hangs on the bow pulpit as shown on my previous post, only the rope and rode go in the "locker" So perhaps calling it an "anchor" locker is not appropriate? Not sure if it makes a difference.

rode storage

Hi Todd,

Foredeck of my boat looks just like that of the yellow one shown above in pics, except on mine there is no hawse pipe and no hinged access door in the v-berth - just a large round hole in the bulkhead. That would be a useful modification and could certainly be done, just hasn't made it onto the to-do list. Also, on my foredeck there is a center cleat mounted just where the hawse pipe would go. Guess I could remove that if I wanted to install a hawse pipe. If I did that, I would leave the anchor mounted on the bow pulpit and attached to the chain/rode. Then, I could get a windlass. And electric winches. And a fridge with icemaker. And a dishwasher. And...and...and, etc. Does it ever end?

Anchor rode storage

On my previous boat, a1972 E-27 there was a hawse pipe that led to the storage space in front of the V. The anchor was mounted on the bow pulpit and always attacked to the chain and anchor line. The access to the storage area was a small aprox 6x6 piece of wood screwed on to the vertical piece of week separating the storage space from the V. Sam as in the picture of Todd's boat

Chiming in a little late here. Mine has a hawse pipe shown here at the bow in behind the cowl vent. Yes I remove the vent when anchoring. The hawse pipe on the bow leads down to the anchor locker in the peak of the "V" Berth. I actually have the rode secured under the anchor locker so it never gets away from me. You can see some of the chain spilling out of the opening in the peak of the "V" berth in the last photo. I now have a Screw-In ABS Deck Plate covering that opening. I also have a stern anchor that hangs on the stern pulpit (not shown). I store the chain and rode under the starboard settee. Yes, make sure you secure all anchor shackles with Stainless-Steel Seizing Wire you can get at marine hardware stores.

Joe,

In regard to your anchor locker question, I believe that what everyone means by saying "anchor locker" is that the space in front of the V is used for anchor line/rode. Thus, it's really more of a "chain locker" as some people call it.

The V on the E27 appears to be identical to the V on the E25. From what I can tell from other photos I've seen, the extra two feet on the E27 shows itself in the galley area.

The access door to the chain locker that is present on your E27 appears to have been installed by a former owner. Seems to me to be a good idea, since the only way to gain access otherwise is to remove the entire panel. The circular hole at the bottom of my access panel is covered with a screen, which provides some ventilation and protection against bugs. Have you had any problems with mildew in the chain locker? The door is not a bad idea and I might like to mimic it at some point in the future.

Thanks,
Roscoe

E25, cb, #226

Yup, Chain & Rode Locker, or better yet, Chain & Rode Hole works for me. Gawd I wish I had a real anchor locker.

The 29 has the same setup but Rumkin came with a 10" by 14 " door in the panel which is part of the liner.
I can see all chain working in this locker but rope looks like it would end up tangled when stuffed down the pipe??? Is this a problem?
As someone earlier said My anchor is in the helm seat locker where I can dump it if I need to in a hurry.

My E27 has the typical Chain/Rode Locker/Hole and an oval hawse pipe on the deck. I wanted a little more access from the V-berth without removing the entire plywood bulkhead, so put a removable, commercial teak louver assembly into it. I secure it so it's upside-down which makes the louvers slant such that any water from the rode wouldn't come into the V-berth and yet there is air circulation.

The tendency for some stern squat also factors into how I handle my anchors. I keep the heavier anchor and larger/longer, main rode at the bow with a lighter Fortress mounted at the stern and a lighter rode in the stern lazarette. I'm mostly single-handed so initially anchoring off the stern is my preferred method. (Even with crew, I like it better.) But if there is any wave action or threat of building wind, I wouldn't stay tied off the stern. So sometimes there can be some carrying of anchors and rodes from bow to stern and back.

Feeding that rode down into its 'hole' can be somewhat cumbersome, but I've never had an instance where it would tangle and not feed back out.