Anchor Retrieval System (ARS)

Abstract

An improved anchor retrieving device is disclosed. The Anchor Retrieval System (ARS) of this invention has three major parts. One part, the slider, is slide-ably mounted on the anchor rode. Another part, the tether, attaches the slider to the crown end of the anchor during use. Another part, the retriever, is stored on the boat and put onto the anchor rode when needed. This invention encompasses a remotely releasable retriever and a slider that is easily and safely mounted on the anchor rode without having to be threaded on from an end of said rode.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an improvement in or relating to marine anchor retrieval devices to retrieve an anchor when it becomes snagged at the bottom of a body of water, for example, seized by roots or ledges of rocks or submerged timbers or like, and particularly to an improved anchor retrieving device having an easily and safely mountable and dismountable slider portion and a remotely releasable retriever portion allowing the retrieved anchor to be easily and safely hauled on board the boat.

BACKGROUND

In order for a conventional boat anchor to perform an adequate boat anchoring function, the flukes of the anchor must dig into the earth. Frequently such operations result in an entanglement of one or more of the flukes with roots, rocks, debris, underwater cables, pipe lines and the like making it impossible to release the anchor by conventional methods. In order to render an anchor releasable several methods have been employed in the past but each has undesirable features that greatly limit their effectiveness.

One method commonly referred to as a trip line, employs an extra line with one end secured to the crown of the anchor and the other end attached to a float. The anchor is released by picking up the float and pulling in the anchor by the float line. This requires that the float be attached and picked up each time the boat is anchored. This extra effort generally discourages the use of this method, especially since it cannot be used in crowded conditions due to space limitations and the danger of the float being destroyed by boats in the area. It has also been the practice to latch the flukes by a yieldable latch which is unlatched by an excessive tension on the anchor line. While such yieldable latches may render the anchor releasable from undesired entanglement, it is likely that undesired release of the anchor may occur when the pulling force on the anchor line exceeds the bias of the yieldable latch and the anchor is rendered unusable until it is brought back onboard. Another system employs a ring secured to the anchor line and slidably mounted on the anchor shank. This arrangement may result in undesired release of the anchor due to a change in the direction of wind or tide which causes the ring to slide to the crown of the anchor. Another method employs a line attaching the anchor rode to the crown of the anchor and a releasable link between the rode and the anchor shank. The anchor is released by disconnecting the rode from the shank thereby transferring the pull to the crown via the line attaching the rode to the crown. This method introduces a potential weak link in the anchor/rode connection and renders the anchor unusable until it is brought back onboard.

Another method (U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,577 GENTRY, FR2,592,624 ABBADIE) overcoming many of the short comings of the afore mentioned systems utilizes a slider positioned near the anchor and slidably mounted on the anchor rode, a tether connecting the slider to the trip point of the anchor and a retriever, with a retriever line attached, that is connectible to the slider for retrieving a fouled marine anchor by placing the retriever on the anchor rode, lowering it down via the retrieving line until it connects to the slider and then transferring the pull to the trip point of the anchor by pulling up on the retriever line thereby tripping out the anchor.

While overcoming many of the short comings of the other methods, the method of Gentry and Abbadie (U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,577 GENTRY, FR2,592,624 ABBADIE) have distinct shortcomings. One shortcoming involves the method of placing the slider on the anchor rode. In order to get the slider on the anchor rode, it must be either threaded on from the end distant the anchor or the anchor line must be parted or disconnected from the anchor before the slider can be put on the anchor rode. This becomes a distinct disadvantage and inconvenience if, for instance, the boater doesn't want to leave the slider on the anchor rode at all times but rather only wants to use it occasionally. An anchor rode can be many hundreds of feet long and threading from the end distant the anchor can be laborious and time consuming. Parting the rode or disconnecting the rode from the anchor can also be laborious and time consuming. Great pains are taken to make the rode and the anchor-rode connection strong and secure and great care has to be taken when the rode is parted then re-connected or the anchor disconnected then re-connected. If care is not taken through inattention or haste, the safety of the boat and crew can be put at risk. Another short coming is the need to manually remove the retriever from the rode before a retrieved anchor can be brought onboard in the usual fashion over the bow roller. Due to the bulk and complexity of the retriever, it may not easily pass through the bow roller. In ideal conditions, it may be nothing more than an inconvenience to have to lean over the bow of the boat and remove the retriever before bringing the anchor onboard but conditions are rarely ideal. It is not uncommon to need to retrieve a fouled anchor in bad weather or in a crowded anchorage or with an inexperienced crew or with no crew or in some combination of these conditions. Any of these conditions can create a situation that puts both crew and the boat in danger. If there is any kind of wave action, trying to manually disengage the retriever from the anchor rode while the anchor is swinging at the bow of the boat can be very dangerous. In a crowded anchorage, having to dedicate a crew member to manually disengage the retriever means one less crew member to attend to the many potential hazards presented when leaving a crowded anchorage. If the crew is inexperienced or if the boat is being handled solo, these dangers are greatly increased. Leaving the anchor hanging at the bow until it is safe and convenient to disengage the retriever and bring the anchor onboard is also a dangerous option. Depending on conditions, the anchor can do serious damage to the bow of the boat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention therefore is to provide an improved anchor retrieval system that is provided with a slider that can be easily and safely installed on an anchor rode and a retriever that can be remotely disengaged from the anchor rode thereby allowing a retrieved anchor to be safely and easily brought onboard.

To this end, a slider according to the present invention can be easily and safely placed onto an anchor rode without the inconvenience, labor and risk involved in threading it on from the end of the rode distant the anchor or parting the anchor rode or disconnecting the anchor from the rode and a retriever according to the present invention can, by means of a remotely releasable latch, be disengaged from the anchor rode by contact with the bow roller or by manipulation from a distance as with a boat hook or an oar or pole like implement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the prior art anchor retrieval system attached to a fouled anchor and the basic steps in the anchor retrieval.

FIG. 2A depicts a remotely releasable retriever in an open position and a slider below said retriever.

FIG. 2B is the same retriever in the closed position.

FIG. 3A-C shows a remotely releasable retriever (open for clarity) with a slider A) below said retriever, B) moved into the catch position and C) moved up to the release position.

FIG. 4 shows a remotely releasable retriever with captured slider going up against a bow roller prior to its release.

FIG. 5 shows an alternate remotely releasable retriever with a simple remotely releasable latch and catch pin.

FIG. 6A shows an improved slider with the addition of a vertical slot. FIG. 6B shows the slider being put onto a chain. FIG. 6C shows how a slider with a slot can be immobilized on the rode with a frangible tie of some sort.

FIG. 7 shows a two part improved slider held together by a band and a shackle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For the purpose of this description, ‘remotely releasable retriever’ means a retriever releasable from the anchor rode by a means that allows the person effecting the release to be a distance greater than said person's arm's length from said retriever during the release.

The improved Anchor Retrieval System (ARS) of this invention has three major parts. One part, the improved slider, is slide-ably mounted on the anchor rode and is easily and safely mounted and dismounted from the anchor rode. Another part, the tether, attaches the slider to the crown end of the anchor during use. Another part, the remotely releasable retriever, is stored on the boat and put onto the anchor rode when needed and can be remotely released from the slider and anchor rode.

FIGS. 1A-B generally depict the prior art ARS. FIG. 1A depicts the anchor (1) of a boat fouled by an entanglement (9). Attached to the anchor, prior to the anchors deployment is the slider (3) and the tether (7), the tether is secured to the slider by a loop and fastener, and the opposing end of the tether which also has a loop is secured to the anchor at is crown end (8). The retriever (4) is shown being deployed along the anchor rode (6). The rode is connected to the shank end of the anchor (2) by means of a shackle (24). Attached to the retriever is a retriever line (5).

FIG. 1B depicts the retriever fully deployed and having captured the slider. FIG. 1C depicts the relationship as the boat changes its position and travels directly over the anchor. The tension is transferred to the retriever line, as shown in FIG. 1C, wherein it is able to further transfer an upward force to the crown end of the anchor, shown in FIG. 1D thereby releasing it from the entanglement. Upon being released the anchor may be retrieved in a normal manner as shown in FIG. 1E.

The present invention will now be described in detail by referring to preferred embodiments thereof.

When an anchor fitted with the improved ARS of the present invention becomes ensnared and cannot be pulled up by the rode, the remotely releasable retriever is placed on the anchor rode with a retrieving line attached and is slid down the rode until it engages and captures the slider. After releasing tension on the anchor rode, the remotely releasable retriever/slider pair is pulled up using the retriever line. As the remotely releasable retriever/slider is raised, it slides along the anchor rode and, via the tether, starts to pull on the crown end of the anchor. As the remotely releasable retriever/slider is pulled further, all upward pull is transferred to the crown end via the tether and the anchor is released from the fouling element. Once the anchor is freed, it can be hauled up using the remotely releasable retriever line or the anchor rode can be used to haul the anchor up and the retriever line can be slackened.

In the preferred embodiment, when the remotely releasable retriever and retrieved anchor get to the surface the remotely releasable retriever can be easily released from the slider and the anchor rode by either a downward pressure applied to the top of the retriever with a boathook or oar or other suitable means or by contact with the bow roller on the boat at which point it will automatically unlatch and fall free of the anchor rode. The slider and anchor can then go through the roller as usual without the need for someone to lean over the edge of the boat and manually remove the retriever.

FIG. 2A depicts the preferred embodiment of a remotely releasable retriever in an open position and slider (3), below the retriever. Said retriever consisting of retriever block A (10) and retriever block B (11). Retriever block A and retriever block B are held together by the use of a hinge (18). The retriever blocks when closed have a central hole (42) of sufficient diameter to allow the slider to pass through. Retriever block A has plate A (15) centrally located opposite the hinge (18) with a vertical opening (19) of sufficient size to allow the tongue (33) of pivotable latch (16) to enter. The pivotable latch is held to retriever block A with a securing screw (17). Said pivotable latch is held in the closed position by the latch tensioning device (14). The retriever block B (11) has plate B (12) attached opposite the hinge and also contains a vertical opening (20) of sufficient size to allow the pivotable latch tongue (33) to enter. Said plate A is recessed into retriever block A to allow plate B to be in front of plate A when the retriever blocks are closed. When retriever block A and retriever block B are closed the vertical opening in plate A is in alignment with the vertical opening in plate B.

A recessed pocket (21) contains a lever (13) and a securing screw (40), said recessed pocket of sufficient depth to allow retriever block A and retriever block B to be closed and not interfere with the movement of the lever. The lever is positioned in the pocket such that it is allowed to pivot in the upward direction but limited in its ability to pivot in a downward direction.

The slider is of the same approximate height of the retriever blocks and of sufficient outer diameter to pass into the opening caused when the retriever blocks are closed. The inner diameter of the slider is such as to allow the passage of said anchor rode. The slider has a circumferential grove (22) of sufficient depth to allow said lever to recesses itself in said circumferential grove when the slider is passed through the closed retriever blocks.

FIG. 2B depicts the retriever in a closed position with plate B overlapping plate A such that the vertical slot in plate A is aligned with the vertical slot in plate B and the tongue is allowed to protrude through the said slots.

FIGS. 3A-C show the retriever in an open position for clarity. FIG. 3A shows the slider (3) entering the central hole of the retriever and pivoting lever (13) in an upward direction. FIG. 3B shows the slider (3) in the captured position and unable to move downward. FIG. 3C shows the slider moved further into the retriever and pivoting pivotable latch (16) into the unlatched position, allowing retriever block A (10) and retriever block B (11) to separate.

FIG. 4 shows the anchor retrieval system in a position where it is about to release the retriever block (43). As the anchor rode (6) is upwardly advanced passing over the top of the bow roller (23) the retriever block eventually reached the bow roller where it may no longer advance. The rode continues to travel upwards taking the slider with it. The upward movement of the slider causes the pivotable latch to pivot in a manner as shown in FIG. 3C.

In an alternative embodiment, the remotely releasable retriever is released from the slider and anchor rode by simply pulling a latching pin that has been configured to be engaged by a boat hook or similar device.

FIG. 5A shows an alternative embodiment of the retriever wherein plate A (15), plate B (12) and the pivotable latch as depicted in FIG. 2A are replaced by latch piece left (30) and latch piece right (28). Latch piece left is fashioned in a way to have a plurality of perpendicular member with a through holes (31). Latch piece right is designed to have a singular or a plurality of perpendicular member with a through hole (29). When the retriever is in the closed position the perpendicular members of the right latch piece are allowed to fit between the perpendicular members of the left latch piece. The through holes align and a removable securing pin (32) is used to hold retriever block A (10) and retriever block B (11) together as shown in FIG. 5B.

When a slider of the improved ARS of the present invention has to be installed or removed from the anchor rode this can be easily and safely accomplished without the need to thread the improved slider on from one end of the anchor rode or part the rode.

FIG. 6A depicts a preferred embodiment of the slider wherein a longitudinal segment (41) of sufficient width to allow the passage of an anchor chain is removed from the slider (26). FIG. 6B shows the manner in which the chain (6) is threaded through the slider. The slider is affixed to the chain by means of a frangible tie (27) which passes through two holes on the slider and through the chain as shown in FIG. 6C.

FIG. 7A shows an alternative embodiment of the slider wherein it is made in two interlocking parts, of interlocking part A (34) and of interlocking part B (35). Band (36) is an integral part of interlocking part B. Said band is sized to provide a snug fit around interlocking part A when interlocking part A is slid into position such that the alignment hole (38) in interlocking part B lines up with and is outside of alignment hole (37) in interlocking part A. FIG. 7B shows interlocking parts A and B mated around chain (6) with shackle (39) locking said interlocking part A and said interlocking part B together.

Claims

1. An improved anchor retrieving device for retrieving an anchor having a crown end and a shank end and an anchor rode attached to said shank end and secured to the boat, said device comprising a slider element slidably mounted on said anchor rode adjacent said shank end, a tether element interconnecting said slider and said crown end for imparting a releasing force thereto, a retriever element slidable along said anchor rode for engaging said slider and a retrieving line attached to said retriever, the improvement comprising a remotely releasable retriever element that is remotely releasable from the anchor rode.

2. An improved anchor retrieving device according to claim 1 wherein the remotely releasable retriever element is released by contact with the bow roller.

3. An improved anchor retrieving device according to claim 1 wherein the remotely releasable retriever element is releasable by a downward pressure to the top surface of said retriever element.

4. An improved anchor retrieving device according to claim 1 wherein the remotely releasable retriever element is secured in the closed position by a locking pin.

5. The anchor retrieving device according to claim 1 wherein the improvement comprises a slider element that is mountable on said anchor rode without having to be threaded on from an end of said anchor rode.

6. An improved anchor retrieving device according to claim 5 wherein the slider element has a vertical slit of sufficient width to allow said slider element to be slidably mounted onto said anchor rode without having to be threaded on from an end of said anchor rode.

7. An improved anchor retrieving device according to claim 5 wherein the slider element is comprised of two pieces connected by a hinge.

8. An improved anchor retrieving device according to claim 5 wherein the slider element is comprised of at least two interlocking pieces.