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From: (no name) (no email)
Date: Fri Oct 29 2004 - 08:58:02 EDT
In a message dated 10/28/04 11:01:53 PM,
writes:
<< I have obtained a military cargo parachute which I plan to use as a sea
anchor (not drogue). I would use it in moderate seas to keep the bow into
the waves in the event of an engine failure on a 70 foot steel motor barge.
Has anyone done this already, do I need to add anything to the parachute
apart from a long nylon warp, swivel and trip line, e.g. weights? Can I run
the trip line directly from the parachute centre back to the boat instead of
away from the boat to a float then back?
>>
This used to be quite popular a few decades ago. But the parachutes used were
small ones, no more than 8' in diameter. The load on that a 70' steel trawler
would place on a standard sized cargo parachute might rip out all the shroud
lines unless the parachute was designed to drop tanks. Remember that water is
800 times denser than air and the lines need to be sized accordingly.
The reason the trip line is lead to a float and then outside the chute to the
boat is to minimize the chance that it will get tangled in the shrouds or
wrapped around the swivel. If you can't trip the chute, you will have to cut it
loose.
I'm not dismissing the idea of using a cargo chute as a sea anchor entirely.
Buy a surplus chute and try it out before using it in the ultimate storm. If
it works, fine. If it doesn't, you can always use the material for awnings.
Larry Z
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