PARACHUTE SEA ANCHOR CHAINPLATES
As far as I know, Exit Only is the only catamaran on planet earth that has parachute sea anchor chainplates on the bow.
I designed the chainplates to be a chafe free place where I could attach a bridle when lying to a parachute sea anchor in a storm offshore. They are also strong attachment points for an anchor bridle when going through tropical storms and hurricanes at anchor. These chainplates have lasted more than twenty five years, and they are as strong as ever.
I've heard some experts say that the forces generated by the pull of a parachute sea anchor will pull your cleats right out of the deck. If you attach the parachute bridle to the cross beam of your catamaran, it will pull the crossbeam out of the bow.
I created my own answer to this objection.
If you examine these pictures, you will see that the parachute sea anchor chainplates create a chafe free way to attach a bridle to Exit Only.
These chainplates are twenty-five inches long on deck and consist of six millimeter thick stainless steel. On the underside of the deck is the same size of stainless plate, but it is only twenty inches long.
Large bolts go through the deck and through both chainplates, and there is nearly zero chance that these chainplates will ever move. If they move, it's because both bows will have been pulled off the boat.
Welded down both sides of the chainplate and sticking out in front of it is a stainless steel bail that is about as thick as my finger. The part of the bail that sticks out in front of the bow is where I attach my parachute bridle using d-shackles that I wire closed after the bridle is in place.
When we left New Zealand expecting to get hit by a low pressure area or caught in a squash zone, I attached my parachute bridles to the bail of the parachute anchor chainplate on each bow before I left port. Everything was ready to go if we needed to deploy the chute.
When we got caught in the squash zone, we shackled the parachute sea anchor rode to the already attached bridle and we quickly and easily deployed our parachute. It wasn't that big of a deal because everything was prepared in advance and we had tons of confidence in our gear and boat.
The bail that is welded to the sea anchor chainplate proved to be immensely strong. When we were anchored in Bequia in the Caribbean, a 115 foot long charter power yacht lost control of their vessel while raising anchor, and they plowed into our port bow.
Fortunately, the sturdy bail on the sea anchor chainplate acted like a bumper putting a dent in their wayward bow which protected us from any damage to our hull. I have no doubts about the strength of our sea anchor chainplates and welded bail on our bow because it easily absorbed and survived the hit by that mega yacht. Our chainplates and sea anchor bridle system isn't going anywhere.
The bail was also useful when we were crossing the Indian Ocean dodging giant logs after the tsunami.
We occasionally hit tsunami debris that was small, but when we got into logs that were bigger than our boat, I had to do something to protect our bows in the event of a collision with a tree.
I used two long wooden oars to protect our bows. I passed the handles of the oars vertically through the bails on the bow, and then I lashed the oars into place. So I had heavy duty oars running down the full length of the bows, and if we hit anything, the oars would take the impact and spread the force of the impact so a hull penetration would not occur.
One oar survived intact, and the other oar ended up being badly splintered by the time we were through the tsunami debris field. Even with those precautions, we still had some tsunami related bow damage.
If we did not have those bails sticking out in front of our bows, we would not have had a place to securely attach those oars on the front of our bows. It's quite possible that we could have had some major tsunami related damage if those oars couldn't have been lashed in place.
I love my sea anchor chainplates and bails.
They saved me north of New Zealand in a squash zone, they saved me from serious tsunami damage in the Indian Ocean, and they saved me when I was hit by a mega yacht in Bequia.
Awesome music video that captures the essence of what it's like to sail offshore in a catamaran around the world when conditions are less than perfect. David Abbott from Too Many Drummers sings the vocals, and he also edited the footage from our Red Sea adventures. This is the theme song from the Red Sea Chronicles.
Sailing up the Red Sea is not for the faint of heart. From the Bab al Mandeb to the Suez Canal, adventures and adversity are in abundance. If you take things too seriously, you just might get the Red Sea Blues.
If you like drum beats, and you like adventure, then have a listen to the Red Sea Chronicles Trailer.
Flying fish assault Exit Only in the middle of the night as we sail through the Arabian Gulf from the Maldives to Oman. And so begins our Red Sea adventures.
Sailing through Pirate Alley between Yemen and Somalia involves calculated risk. It may not be Russian Roulette, but it is a bit of a worry. Follow Team Maxing Out as they navigate through Pirate Alley.
Stopping in Yemen was just what the doctor ordered. We refueled, repaired our alternator, and we made friends with our gracious Yemeni hosts. We also went to Baskins Robbins as a reward for surviving Pirate Alley.
After you survive Pirate Alley, you must sail through the Gate of Sorrows (Bab Al Mandab) at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Gate of Sorrows lived up to its name with fifty knots of wind and a sandstorm that pummeled Exit Only for two days. Life is good.
Captain Dave and his family spent eleven years sailing around the world on their Privilege 39 catamaran, Exit Only. During the trip, the crew shot 200 hours of video with professional cameras to show people what it's like to sail on a small boat around the world.
The Red Sea Chronicles is a one hour and twenty-two minute feature film showing their adventures as Exit Only sails through Pirate Alley in the Gulf of Aden and up the Red Sea. The professional footage documents their experiences in Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, and the Suez Canal. It chronicles the rigors of traveling in a remote section of the world rarely visited by cruisers. Exit Only dodges Yemeni pirates, fights a gale and sand storms in the Bab al Mandeb at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The crew explores deserted islands on the western shores of the Red Sea, and learns to check the cruising guides for land mines before venturing ashore.
The Red Sea Chronicles also has outstanding Special Features including an Instructional Video on Storm Management that tells sailors how to deal with storms at sea.
And don't forget the two Music Videos: "The Red Sea Blues", and "Captain - Save Our Souls".
The Red Sea Chronicles is a first class adventure that stokes the sailing dreams of both experienced and wannabe sailors alike.
Join Team Maxingout as they sail through Pirate Alley and up the Red Sea
See what it's like to cruise on a catamaran before you spend a bazillion dollars purchasing one
After watching the Red Sea Chronicles you will be able to see yourself sailing on the ocean of your dreams
Although I like the feel of a paper book in my hand, I love trees even more. When people purchase an eBook, they actually save trees and save money as well. Ebooks are less expensive and have no negative impact on the environment. All of Dr. Dave's books are available at Save A Tree Bookstore. Visit the bookstore today and start putting good things into your mind. It's easy to fill your mind with positive things using eBooks. No matter where you are or what you are doing, you can pull out your smart phone or tablet and start reading. You can even use electronic highlighters and make annotations in your eBooks just like paper books.
