Ideas for Bow line & Anchor setup for Zar Mini Lux RIB

[Jimbojim2179]

Hi, please could you give me good suggestions for how to configure my 10mm nylon rope for the attached pics of our Zar Mini Lux 14.
The onboard pic is showing a stuck on D ring and also an eye on each corner for lifting.
On the bow step box there is a fold out cleat on each side.
There is no separate anchor box and the storage hinges from the bow side of the lid.
I’m not sure if the vertical rubber strip is supposed to hold a line or just for bumper protection.
Thanks

[spartacus]

Welcome to the forum.

Just checking out Zar boats - look good.

On the other models there's a bow roller and a cleat. Look at the possibility of retro-fitting them, otherwise as the boat moves the anchor rope will drag over your tubes. That central channel on the tube is designed give some protection to the tubes from ropes, but you need something on the bow pad to keep the rope in location.

I'd also tether the rope as security on one the aluminium lifting eyes inside. The D rings although strong are probably meant for securing loads underway.

Plenty content on the forum regards anchors if you search, and what kind of ground you're running over. Consensus is grapnels are fine only for short-term stops and definitely not over-night anchoring. Also buy plenty short-link chain, as it's the chain that adds the weight.

Word of warning over Ebay anchor bundles if you're looking. The short-link chain in my experience is usually poorly galvanised and will stain your boat in a few months. Buy from chandlers and make it up yourself with all the hardware you need. You can get gardening soft-plastic buckets to feed into, etc.

[Jimbojim2179]

Yeah, it’s annoying they have not included the bow roller for this model, specially as they went to the effort of putting the step on the top. Was thinking of having the anchor attached to the second hole where the trailer attaches, then have a line attached 1-2m along the anchor line and attach that to one of the fold out cleats. This would allow me to raise the anchor easily. Then use the other fold out cleat to adjust anchor line length. Hope that makes sense.

[beamishken]

Anchor line shouldnt put load over the tubes, tie off the anchor line to the painter attached to the bow eye on the hull & leave the rest of the anchor line in the boat with a slack going to the painter then when you recover you use the remaining line in the boat to retrieve the anchor. Using the bow eye on the hull means the bow isnt being pulled down by the anchor & the boat rides the weather better dont use glued attachments to take the load of the anchor line

[Peter_C]

^What he said.

The bow line known as a painter needs to be shorter than the back of the boat so it doesn't get caught in the prop. It can also be used as a dock line. As it will typically remain in place it also needs to be cleated off somewhere inside the boat. I cut a U into the front of my anchor locker lid to allow ropes to pass thru with the lid closed (My boat does have a cleat on the top center of the bow). So the painter excess is stored in the anchor locker, and when the anchor rode (line) is out the anchor rode passes thru the same U. The anchor rope gets a figure 8 tied into it and a bowline ties the painter to the anchor rode, or you can put a loop into the end of the painter.

The anchor rode end needs to be tied or clipped into the anchor locker. Bow locker and anchor locker are interchangeable words on small boats typically. Gotta put the anchor somewhere. A decent amount of anchor chain at least the length of the boat, and a good anchor will keep you in place. Over 90 meters of anchor rode is what I consider minimum to be able to anchor in 27 meters of water at around a 3:1 scope, with more being better.

You can watch some videos on Youtube for "eye splices".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeYBkMCQ8WY

A picture of the inside of the bow locker would be interesting to see.

[Jimbojim2179]

Originally Posted by Peter_C

^What he said.

The bow line known as a painter needs to be shorter than the back of the boat so it doesn't get caught in the prop. It can also be used as a dock line. As it will typically remain in place it also needs to be cleated off somewhere inside the boat. I cut a U into the front of my anchor locker lid to allow ropes to pass thru with the lid closed (My boat does have a cleat on the top center of the bow). So the painter excess is stored in the anchor locker, and when the anchor rode (line) is out the anchor rode passes thru the same U. The anchor rope gets a figure 8 tied into it and a bowline ties the painter to the anchor rode, or you can put a loop into the end of the painter.

The anchor rode end needs to be tied or clipped into the anchor locker. Bow locker and anchor locker are interchangeable words on small boats typically. Gotta put the anchor somewhere. A decent amount of anchor chain at least the length of the boat, and a good anchor will keep you in place. Over 90 meters of anchor rode is what I consider minimum to be able to anchor in 27 meters of water at around a 3:1 scope, with more being better.

You can watch some videos on Youtube for "eye splices".

A picture of the inside of the bow locker would be interesting to see.

Thanks so much for all the useful input so far.
Can you please look at the attached pics and let me know if I’ve interpreted the info correctly.
The bow storage lifts up and just has the battery located to the starboard side. Under the godlike is a built in fuel tank, not sure how or exactly where it located so I won’t be wanting to screw into the base with cleats, just in case!
Thanks

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Jimbojim2179

Thanks so much for all the useful input so far.
Can you please look at the attached pics and let me know if I’ve interpreted the info correctly.
The bow storage lifts up and just has the battery located to the starboard side. Under the godlike is a built in fuel tank, not sure how or exactly where it located so I won’t be wanting to screw into the base with cleats, just in case!
Thanks

Yes looks pretty close, only modifications I'd do would be tie the inboard end of the anchor line to a cleat inside the locker so it's not trailing out the locker up to the cleat when not used . Doesnt need to be a structural tie off it's just so you dont accidentally let go of the entire line. The other thing when anchor is deployed tie the end of the painter to your figure 8 in you anchor line then you dont have another line hanging over the tubes as it's in the water, no advantage leaving the end back onto a cleat like your picture

[Peter_C]

Yeah I didn't write the part about the painter being cleated off correctly as I didn't mean all the time, just when it is not in use, so it doesn't get sucked into the water while underway, but if it does being shorter than the boat hull will keep it out of the prop. I always tie off to my anchor at the end of the painter. I do not use a loop at the end, as I like it easy to tie off, and figure it is less likely to snag on objects when trying to recover the painter.

The bitter end of the anchor rope on my boat has a small loop over a thimble, which gets clipped off with a cheesy stainless but functional non locking clip, to an eye nut I put onto a bolt inside my anchor locker. If there is a bolt head sticking inside somewhere of at least 8mm that should work. It should never see a load, it is just to keep everything from accidentally going overboard. Without seeing what your anchor locker looks like we are clueless. Unless you plan to leave the bow locker open when anchored you need a way to feed the rope out of the bow locker.

FWIW If you are going to add in cleats, they need to be thru bolted with a backer plate or at least large heavy duty washers.

If you are worried about bolt heads sticking inside you can always use "acorn nuts" and cut the bolts down to the perfect length with a grinder, or hacksaw if you got the initiative.

[Jimbojim2179]

Thanks again for the replies. Much appreciated. Just taken a few pics of the Bow locker. There is an eye welded into the bottom of it. Do these pics change anything?
Thanks

[Peter_C]

To the left of the latch there is a bump out in the deck lid. Can you pass a rope thru it and close the lid?

[Jimbojim2179]

Originally Posted by Peter_C

To the left of the latch there is a bump out in the deck lid. Can you pass a rope thru it and close the lid?

Unfortunately not, as this is the breather for the fuel tank. Thanks a lot for all the support so far. I shall use all your information and come up with a reasonable solution.
Without a separate anchor locker, it’s going to be a case of making a workable alternative.

[Peter_C]

Originally Posted by Peter_C

To the left of the latch there is a bump out in the deck lid. Can you pass a rope thru it and close the lid?

I can see the fuel vent in your photo which is on the bottom port side of the locker. What I am talking about appears to be a bump out on the lid. Can we get a picture of the lid with it open? Can a rope fit thru it with the lid closed?