Drogues and Sea Anchors - resources for cruising sailors

Drag Devices

[Article]

Overview By Earl R. Hinz

Here′s the place to start if you are unfamiliar with drogues and sea anchors and their uses. Clear prose, but no pictures, and the original article is not available offline.

[Ocean Navigator, January 1995]
- Read the article (fee $5 a year)
- Order the back issue

Sea Anchor FAQ's

[Site]

By Para-Tech Engineering Co.

Lots of detailed advice on choosing, rigging, and using a sea anchor. A reference manual. Has links to instruction manuals for their product′s instruction manual.

[Para-Tech Engineering Co., Silt, CO, USA]
- Read the page

Ship Without a Rudder

[Article]

Cruise Account with Tips By Herb McCormick
Ship Without a Rudder

A 60-foot sloop loses her rudder at sea and the crew manages to sail her to port using a storm sail and drogue. The lessons learned include the best speed, and the right size, shape, and attachment point for the drogue,

[Cruising World, 5 July 2005]
- Experience with a drogue

Coping with Extremes

[Offline]

Detailed How-To By Dag Pike

Although written for powerboaters, a good source of information on drogue, sea anchors, and their deployment. Vendor list. 9 pages

[PassageMaker, April 1999]
- Order the PassageMaker back issue

Rudder Loads on the Modern Cruiser

[Article]

Overview By Jeremy McGeary
Rudder Loads on the Modern Cruiser

If the rudder is lost, here is why steering with a jury rudder or drogue will require much greater forces than the two-fingers-on-the-wheel we are used to.

[Cruising World, 5 July 2005]
- Forces on a jury rudder

Anchoring At Sea

[Site]

Owners' Group By Terry Kotas

These cruisers deploys a Paratech sea anchor in gale force winds a few miles from shore, learning five lessons in the process.

[Fantasia 35 Owners, USA]
- Sea anchor experience

Investigation of the Use of Drogues

[Site]

Government organization By U.S. Coast Guard
Investigation of the Use of Drogues

A very detailed computer and test-tank study of the interaction of boat, wave, and drogue. Lots of engineering, but also some detailed design information to use if you are thinking of carrying and rigging a sea anchor.

[U.S. Coast Guard, USA]
- Drogue technology

A Practical Approach

[Article]

Brief How-To By Scott & Wendy Bannerot

Tips for preparing for and handling heavy weather, including what storm gear to deploy such as sea anchors and storm canvas, with accounts of some storms managed under sail. 3 pages with list of sea anchor vendors.

[Ocean Navigator, July 2003]
- Sailing through a storm
- Order the back issue

The usefulness of drogues

[Site]

By Jeanne Pockel The usefulness of drogues

FAQ entry about where to get the pattern to make a sea anchor yourself and when to use it.

[Cruiser Log, USA]
- Visit the page
- SSCA pub list

Sea Anchors / Drogues - What a Drag

[Site]

By Doug Ritter Sea Anchors / Drogues - What a Drag

A drogue "may be even more critical to raft stability than ballast," and has other purposes according to this report, which looks at various (primarily aircraft) liferafts and how they rig a sea anchor.

[Equipped To Survive Foundation, Inc., USA]
- Drogues on life rafts

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