Critical Maintenance for your Anchor Gear
As sailors up North begin to bid farewell to another sailing season, it's time to shift focus to a task that often falls through the cracks - tending to anchor gear maintenance, also known as ground tackle. Overlooking these essential components could lead to a less-than-smooth start to the next chapter of your sailing adventure. Whether you're on The Great Lakes and preparing for winter hibernation or you're about to sail down the coast toward the Caribbean, join me as I walk through post-season care for your anchor system, ensuring safety, effectiveness, and longevity.
Safeguarding Your Investment
Extending Lifespan: Imagine your anchor gear as a steadfast crew member, serving you faithfully through each sail. By investing time in proper maintenance, you're effectively granting it a longer, more dependable service life. In essence, you're prolonging your adventure and saving your hard-earned shekels from your gear reaching end-of-life sooner than necessary.
Safe Harbors Await: Safety and reliability is of utmost importance to any sailor's journey, and a well-maintained anchoring system is a critical piece of that journey. It's not just about finding a protected anchorage to avoid rough waters – it's about knowing you have reliable tools to use when you need them most. Keep your gear shipshape to ensure you're always prepared for the unexpected.
Smoother Anchoring: Well-kept ground tackle operates with reliability and precision, reducing hassle during anchoring process. Picture the satisfaction of effortlessly setting anchor in your favorite cove as you watch the sunset dip below the horizon. That's the promise of a finely-tuned ground tackle system.
Guide for Post-season Anchor Gear Maintenance
Cleaning: Begin your maintenance ritual with a thorough fresh-water rinse of your anchor, chain, and any additional mooring lines connected to your system. Wash away all the salt, sand, growth, and remnants of the season. There is no such thing as too much fresh-water rinse, so take your time here. For a more meticulous cleanse, a gentle brush can work wonders. Leave no nook or cranny unattended. If you can drop your anchor onto a dock and lay out all your anchor rode it'll be much more effective. Finally, ensure everything dries completely to stave off corrosion, especially for those of you in saltwater environments.
Eagle-Eyed Inspection: Inspect your gear meticulously. Seek out any signs of wear, rust, or corrosion. Study your chain link by link, and your nylon rode strand by strand. Vigilance here can prevent potential mishaps down the line. Don't be that sailor that loses $2,000 in chain and an anchor (or worse!) because $100 in 3-strand nylon rode snapped due to wear. A 30 minute inspection will save you loads of cash not only on replacing gear, but also potential insurance claims from a failed system that caused you to collide with another nearby boat in an anchorage.
Lubrication: Consult your equipment's manufacturer and follow their recommendations for lubrication, but we'll provide some general tips here. Proper lubrication ensures that all moving parts of your anchor windlass operate like a finely-tuned instrument, protecting against the corrosion dragon's fiery breath. Generally speaking, look into cleaning and greasing the inside of your windlass, replacing any worn or corroded parts and seals, and of course checking and securing electrical connections. Doing this annually can extend the life of your windlass by 2-3x.
Trial Run: Whether your boat is in the yard or at a marina, it's wise to perform a test run of your ground tackle in a controlled environment. This ensures the gears turn smoothly and the mechanisms engage without any hitches. While you're at it, renew the length markings on the chain and give a reassuring nod to the shackle and swivel securing your anchor stem to the chain. If you're dropping the anchor into the water, when you pull her back up again the final time you'll want to be sure to spray it down with fresh water, ensuring any salt, sand, and other residue is removed. Again, if you can allow everything to dry afterward, that's best.
Safe Haven for Hibernation: For those of you putting your boat into winter hibernation, protect it from the sun and elements if at all possible. This final act of care will deter further corrosion and keep your equipment in tip-top shape when your next season comes around.
The Big Picture
While post-season maintenance is vital, remember that a watchful eye should be cast throughout the year. Regular inspections can nip potential issues in the bud before they grow into anchoring nightmares.
Dedicating time and care to your ground tackle system is the promise of smoother and safer operations down the road. As the sun sets on the current sailing season, give your ground tackle the attention it deserves, and you'll sail into next season with the wind in your sails knowing you are prepared for the journey ahead.