Sailing technique on a catamaran: anchoring and mooring

Catamarans can be somewhat frisky at anchor, but from a renowned catamaran Nigel Ayrens There are a couple of tricks that will make anchoring and mooring safer - and more comfortable too.

To the pluses of cruise catamarans undoubtedly it must be attributed that the shallow draft gives them the opportunity to anchor in many hidden and attractive, but not deep places, often inaccessible to yachts with large keels. 

General plan of anchoring on the boat under the engine much the same as on a monohall - approaching the place where you plan to drop anchor, setting to leventic and signal to the bow when you are ready to kick back the chain.

The only snag is the stubborn reluctance of the catamaran to maintain stability in the headwind in any wind, except perhaps a light breeze. But it is also true that two motors allow good position and course holdgiving you as much time as you need to take a good look around. However, try not to hover for a long time - otherwise the wind may take this as an "invitation" to take control of the boat. 

Sailing technique on a catamaran: under-engine control

Holding position

Once the anchor is at the bottom, you can step back using the throttle controls to stay to the left until you are at a point where the chain is sufficiently tucked up. 

If you are in the waters, where there are no tidal or other currentsthen you can plan to lie on the leventic like other boats around. But the catch is in the already mentioned unwillingness of the kata to hold this way. However, with some luck, your catamaran will have a solution for this too. 

Here's what's going on when the kat starts to wiggle around the anchor... It all starts with the bow falling off to one side or the other and the boat is moving straight - say, at an angle of 45 ° to the wind axis. Gradually, the boat will be forced to bring its bow to the wind, because its direction of movement is limited by the radius around the anchor.

It slows down and is brought to the wind, but since the anchor pulls it by the bow in one direction, the boat rolls over the leventik point and everything starts anew. It's not hard to imagine that this scenario will repeat itself all the time, taking up too much parking space and unnerving neighbors. The physics of this phenomenon is not much different from the wobble of a flag in the wind. 

To solve this problem, the chain and the anchor cable should be tied to the bridle or mustache rather than directly to the reel on the bow. This means that the ends must be attached to the nose of each float and the middle of the resulting bridge to the anchor chain or bracket. And when the bow of the kata falls off the axis of the wind, the cable from the leeward side will take on the load if the windward one weakens. 

Such asymmetric load will be much more effective in bringing the catamaran to leventic before it can pick up any speed.

Anchoring sequence

You can experiment with bridle lengthbut something that looks like an equilateral triangle (as seen from above) seems to work best. However, the boat you are sailing probably already has a bridle adjusted and ready to use.

Thus, the sequence of actions for anchoring is approximately as follows:

1. Choose the best anchoring site possible.
2. Approach the chosen location from the leeward side and let the crew prepare to drop the anchor at your command.
3. Move astern on leeward side while the anchor man releases the chain.
4. Install the bridle and loosen the anchor chain until the load transfers to the bridle. 
5. If the kat for some reason does not anchor securely - changeable winds, unwanted currents, or anything else - consider giving up a second anchor. 

The best way to do this is through a tender. While the learning curve can be quite steep, a little trial and error will help you better prepare for the day when you have to wait out rough weather from a known direction.

Second anchor must be given in such a way that the angle between the first and second anchor chain is between 90 ° and 60 °.

We select mooring

If you get up on mooring more oftenthan anchored, then visibility - or rather the lack of it - can be a problem. So the old tactic tells us to send a crew member to the bow to hold the gaff and point them to the buoy — a much better way than just telling the helmsman what's going on. 

If the buoy you wish to attach to has no rope or chain, it will be nearly impossible to pass the temporary end through the ring without launching the tender, especially if you have a high freeboard. If so, you can moor the boat astern first.

To begin with, the helmsman needs both a good view of the buoy and the ability to communicate with the mooring sailor. Once the end is attached, the helmsman must be able to maneuver the boat sufficiently so that the mooring sailor can drag the weakened end of the mooring onto the bow - but not so loose that there is a risk of winding it around the propeller. Which can be embarrassing at best and dangerous at worst. 

Mooring sequence

A summary of the procedure will look something like this:

1. Find a buoythat was allocated to you, or select the appropriate one if you did not have any specific instructions.
2. Walk up to him on the leeward side and instruct a team member to hook the end with a hook, wind the non-main end and secure the free part to the duck or any other strong point that is at hand.  
3. That's all - you are safe! It remains to install the bridleas above and you're done.

Anchoring or mooring a catamaran is more difficult than a monohull yacht. This is due to the good old problem: catamarans are "more resilient" than yachts, are more susceptible to wind drift and have less hulls underwater.

This does not mean that training opportunities should be ignored when the anchorage is spacious enough and not crowded. Against, practicing these skills in the right conditions helps build confidence and develop skillsnecessary to control the khat in various circumstances (for example, the Interparus school conducts training in La Rochelle, where the necessary infrastructure has been created to work out safe anchoring and mooring). 

The Interparus Yachting team is often called a catamaran team, because we actively work with double-hull yachts for sale, training and rental. On our catamaran courses, we try to convey the best that we have gained through our own experience over the years.

Ultimately, most of the fun of sailing involves mastering new skills and developing proficiency in handling whatever boat you are on.

Sailing technique on a catamaran: the transition from mono to multi

What should and shouldn't be done

• Spend some time for trainingholding the bow of the catamaran against the wind under the engines.
• Anchor correctlyso that you can feel the boat jerk forward slightly as you return the engine to neutral.
• Make sure your crew is properly instructed in anchoring and mooring.
• Remember to remind the anchor sailor to pause the chain recoil when the anchor is on the bottom until the boat has pulled back. This will keep the chain from getting tangled at the anchor. 
• Do not drop anchor, if space is really small. The catamaran needs more space than other boats as it is large and often quite playful at anchor.
• Don't give up too easily - after all, you have a stronger trump card than average monohull yachts. And therefore, you may find some pure water that is not available to them! In tidal waters, you can even go to the bottom and have a very peaceful night.

Interparus is one of the few that provides training on sailing catamarans at its yacht school. Our experienced instructors have many years of experience in driving, sailing, and teaching sailing techniques on catamarans. Call now +33 644 14 21 68 (Sasha Goron), and sign up for a catamaran driving course from Interparus Yachting.

19.08.2019