Sail Delmarva: Gulls and Halyards

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Gulls and Halyards

Some attest they love the sound of gulls. It reminds them where they are. I think they havn't been around the water long enough to get sick of the screaming vandals. All the noise tells me is that I'm in a messy harbor. The Little Mermaid had it right.

"Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine ...."

As for halyards, I have no problem with stepping on an unoccupied boat and tying them off. They left a nuisance behind, so they have no reasonable expectation that someone board to fix it. When they see it tied off they might learn from that.

[Once 40 years ago someone tied mine off. When I came back I saw the string and I was immediately chastened. It never happened again, not because I'm a great guy, but because it was an embarrassing lesson I didn't want to repeat.]

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Rigging Modern Anchors

First print edition, 2018, by Seaworthy Press. About 156 pages.

I've been setting and trusting anchors with my life (climbing) and my boat (sailing) for 35 years. I've been testing and documenting anchor testing for 5 years, and I've spent the last two sifting, collating, and analyzing all that I have learned. The result, I believe, is a complete description of what is actually going on below the waves, not just descriptively or as oral history from an old salt, but with numerical back-up everywhere I could provided it. I hope it helps. I know I sleep better. From the back cover of the book:

“Rigging Modern Anchors” demystifies anchoring with today’s modern anchors. Through years of systematic testing, Drew Frye has produced a new benchmark of understanding based on empirical data instead of anecdotal wisdom, passed down from one sailor to the next without proof or deep understanding. In “Rigging Modern Anchors” we dig deeply into the how and why of anchoring, using hard numbers as our foundation.

Included are in-depth discussions of anchoring basics, loads, scope, and the effects of cyclical loading, soil consolidation and bottom characteristics on holding power. Special attention is given to problem bottoms such as very soft mud and rock. There are anchor-specific observations, discussions of tandem anchors and rigging methods, plus an extensive appendix containing test data, open source designs for bridle plates and anchor turners, strength and toughness for various chain types, anchor connector recommendations, anchor sizing guides and more.

Proper anchoring technique, rigging, and gear selection is vital to the safety of ship and crew. Instead of hoping your anchor and rigging scheme will hold, read “Rigging Modern Anchors” and be sure.

Keeping a Cruising Boat for Peanuts--Available in PDF!

2017, Kindle, about 425 pages, $9.99.

Buy now in PDF, 410 pages.

Table of Contents

As much as I love sailing, putting my daughter through college and funding my 401K are more important. Transitioning from professional engineer to writer has transformed my habit of living efficiently into a passion for spreading funds thin. I like to think of it as a challenge for the imagination—it’s more fun that way.

I’ve written over 200 equipment reviews and engineering articles for popular sailing magazines, all based on laboratory and hands-on testing. I’ve spent 30 years learning how to maintain, fix, and upgrade. I've also spent 35 years as a chemical engineer, and my wife thinks I live in my basement shop.

As a result I’ve become a fair hand most crafts, never get stuck in the field with something I can’t fix, and I've learned to spread money thin, without compromising speed, reliability, or performance. Although I've written on many topics, my wife assures me this is the one I know best. My magnum opus?

Sail Delmarva

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Sunday, November 23, 2025

Gulls and Halyards

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