how to anchor and place shot line

[searider]

not sure if in right place as its my 1st post, im just getting my rib ready for the season and was woundering on how best to have my ropes when diving from the rib , i normally lay down the anchor line with chain and make sure its set then thats where im stuch as ive never used a shot line before . can any one give advise or pics of how you set the boat ropes up or if local to wakefield could poss meet up and discuss and show how its done. thanks for any help i get , andy ossett.

[Janos]

Originally Posted by searider

not sure if in right place as its my 1st post, im just getting my rib ready for the season and was woundering on how best to have my ropes when diving from the rib , i normally lay down the anchor line with chain and make sure its set then thats where im stuch as ive never used a shot line before . can any one give advise or pics of how you set the boat ropes up or if local to wakefield could poss meet up and discuss and show how its done. thanks for any help i get , andy ossett.

I attach the line to a buoy, then flake it into a tub buoy end first, finishing with the grapnel (better than a shot weight) and chain. I then find the wreck, motor into the tide, and then once I've seen the trace on the sounder, drop the grapnel a few 10s of m uptide.

Janos

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by searider

not sure if in right place as its my 1st post, im just getting my rib ready for the season and was woundering on how best to have my ropes when diving from the rib , i normally lay down the anchor line with chain and make sure its set then thats where im stuch as ive never used a shot line before . can any one give advise or pics of how you set the boat ropes up or if local to wakefield could poss meet up and discuss and show how its done. thanks for any help i get , andy ossett.

I'm not brilliant on shot lines, (rarely use one and even then we justy bung it over - don't normally shot wrecks because we don't have many) but when anchoring, and bearing in mind it's often in deeper water than the average yachtie would anchor, we use at least 10m of chain (so no volunteers for pulling the anchor) and on my boat, I have an orange buoy (actually a plastic engine oil can with the cap glued on) tied to the very end of the anchor rope (or warp).

My boat has a big carabiner tied on the end of the painter rope (rope tied off on the bow) and when I set the anchor, I feed out as much anchor line as required, make sure she's securely in and then tie a figure-8 loop in the anchor line and clip it off to the carabiner on the painter,so the boat is riding at anchor by said bow painter.

If I need to move in a hurry, all I need to do is pull in the painter, unclip the carabiner from the anchor line and chuck all the spare line with buoy overboard - that way, I can return later on to pull the anchor in as and when I have time - very handy if a diver surfaces in trouble or drifting away or you just need to move in a hurry.

Lastly, first pair in should swim down the anchor line and check that the anchor is secure, not tangled with the chain and that the chain is laid out straight. It's also a good idea if the last divers out can loosen the anchor, and make sure it's not jammed under a rock/in a crevice or wreckage.

If you have a decent GPS, it should have a dragged anchor alarm which well tell you if you are moving when you shouldn't be.

[Air Chisel]

take on board what Janos and Rich have said. Assuming you know what way the tide will be running (if not check your chart for direction of flow befor slack and after - that way you will know if you missed slack or not) you need to have plenty of extra on your shot - you can always pull the slack in. keep it too short and the anchor may get pulled up over the wreck. well-flaked rope is a good key to deploying it and you can throw it out without fear of tangling. do a drift check before you throw the anchor, use the GPS to check tide direction over the wreck, go uptide according to speed. Faster drift = go further updite before deploying anchor - for a 1/2 kt current I usually go about 40m uptide at least - also depends of depth of wreck. Make sure your chain is at least 2 plus M long, as thats what's going to take the chafing off the wreck. Longer the better so you can afford to make it lighter rather than short and heavy. Use a 4-fluke folding anchor, and put a carabiner on the end of it. first pair down find a firm anchor point and secure the anchor using the chain.
Painter should have a carabiner on it. when you deploy the anchor make sure you have loops on the shot according to the depth you are diving in. if the anchor bites and the tide is running you might have to motor against the tide to give the person tying in slack. Loops in the line make it a doddle. have a good sized buoy with about 1.5m line and a carabiner on it. Anchor bites, painter and buoy go on the SAME loop but NOT as one - both clip on seperately through the loop.

You won't go tooooo far wrong if you stick to the basics. for a buoy find a 20kg sofnolime barrel if you dont' have a big orange buff. Lastly, choose your rope that is suitable. When you pull your rope in, do NOT coil over your arms, just flake it in. If worried, re-pack when you get chance.

Try and find a local club and ask to see theirs if you really are not sure.

[Helen F H]

I sent a PM to Searider but never heard anything back....

This is what i said

I used to do a lot of rib diving in the dark and distant past.

If you anchor at a dive site have something in place allowing you to jettison your anchor and recover it again. If a diver surfaces 100 yards away in trouble you dont want to have to haul anchor and then get to them, rather ditch it and go. One really neat system was a reel of anchor line with a clip on it which allowed the whole thing to be unclipped from the boat, the line tied off and a buoy attached and ditched over the side - i can draw you a diagram if you like?

Shotlines - best ones i have seen are a bucket with a load of old chain in the bottom, a layer of concrete to seal the whole lot - leave one link sticking out of the concrete to tie your line to, and fill it to about 3 inches from the top of the bucket. You can then coil your line into the bucket and put the float on the top. When you get to your site, simply kick the whole thing over the side and it should pay out no problems.

Lazy shots work well with a rib, but are a pain with bigger boats as they can tangle when you deploy. They have a ring under the buoy and the line goes through it and back down attached to a small weight. This means the shotline adjusts itself to the right length. They can be a pain if there is any current and also if you have people who like to tarzan off the rope

The tow buoy (also called other things, i think its a regional thing) allows you to see which way the tide is going and provides extra buoyancy if someone does decide to climb back up the shot arm over arm


Below a pic - anchor reel on the left as i remembered it. Depending on the size of the boat and the ease of getting a nice person to do some stainless steel fabrication its a good idea but is easily modified to suit.

Other pic is a lazy shot


Does that help?

[searider]

sorry helen i somtimes drive to london so i might not be able to post straight away i like your drawing and have taken on your info , i have just been on YOUTUBE and have seen the vids collin marriot has put on , his show him diving down the ropes and as i will be diving the same area its very good watching , thanks every one for your time showing a learner, how to do things properly.

[Air Guzzler]

i hope you shape yourself better than this girl

[searider]

i wont be leaning over like that my mate can do it

[PW1664]

Helen makes a good point; I infact wouldn't anchor or tie off the RHIB while divers are in the water;

Although the idea of the anchor to bouy and lazy line is a good one, for me it's a compromise, albeit a small one. I keep the boat running to ensure there's no chance of engine starting problems in case of an emergency pick up...

Keeping mobile also allows you to just stand off the bouy, keeping watch for traffic, enebling you to put yaurself between divers/bouy and any craft that ingnore your A flag as well as help position the RHIB if it's a bit choppy...

[searider]

true i always keek my brother on the rib so he can move to follow us if we come up away from the rib