We deployed the sea anchors with a short rode as you would to slow a drift while fishing and a much longer rode to test how well the anchors stabilized the boat and held its bow into the seas.

Most powerboaters want nothing to do with raising sails, rigging sails, stitching sails, or anything sailboat-like for that matter. They just want to hit the throttles and go. But once in a while it pays to look to the sailboat for well-engineered and useful gear that can be adapted for powerboat use. A sea anchor is one of those things.

Parachute-style sea anchors developed by sailors and sailing engineers in the late 70’s and early 80’s began to make their way into the powerboat arena in a big way when fishing captains discovered them. Today, fishing captains consider sea anchors to be an excellent tool to control vessel drift under…