On 6/6/2016 4:58 PM, Jazzy wrote: Hi Jazz, You are opening Pandora's Box when you ask an anchoring question. 1) Anchor equipment is a direct function of the area where you want to anchor. An anchor is just a tool being asked to do a job. However, sea bottoms vary widely; lake bottoms are different situations. Is there tide to worry about? One foot? Three feet? or 25 feet? Each presents its own problems. 2) What type of bottom are you anchoring in? ...see your nautical chart for the answer to that question. When you have that answer, then you can select an anchor suitable for that type of bottom condition; a Danforth; or a Bruce type, are two favorites. 3) To give you a feel for anchor weights: on our 29 foot keel boat with 4 tons displacement, I had a 22 lb Danforth; a 15 lb HiTensile Danforth (with better holding power than the 22 lb Danforth); and a storm anchor that was a 35 lb. CQR that lived in the forepeake with lots of chain and 300 feet of rode. ( It was never used, but the feeling of having it aboard , ...just in case of another 3 day Nor'easter at anchor , was well worth carrying it.) The other two all had 150 foot rodes with about 10 feet of chain. 4) You want a minimum of two anchors plus rodes on board. Why? Well, you are anchored and some motorboat yahoo decides to anchor right on top of where your anchor is located. With consummate skill he then backs down, entangling your rode in his propeller and pulling your anchor out of the bottom. Now what do you do if you haven't got a second anchor available? 5) On our M15 we carried a small aluminum Danforth with chain and rode in a bucket in the port sail locker for daily use. We also carried an 8 lb Bruce, and we also have a 15 lb Fortress that was in the forward compartment - with chain and a long rode. 6) You want a nylon rode that is elastic, so that it absorbs the shock of wave action. Above all you have to protect your anchor from being ripped out of the bottom, since it is the only thing that is holding you in place. 7) If the wind picks up, then put out two anchors about 90 degrees apart - think the letter Y with your ship at the end of the vertical bar of the Y. Two anchors are always better than just one; and the boat won't sail around the anchor as much either. 8) Anchoring is an art learned the hard way. You learn from your mistakes, or the mistakes of others. 9) The longer the anchor rode the better the anchor holds. You want _horizontal pul_l on the anchor so that it dig in further as the load increases (which is the reason for the chain) and you should always anchor with at least a ratio of 10 to 1: ten feet of rode for each foot of water depth. So if you are anchoring in 10 feet of water depth (no tide) then your anchor rode has to be at least 100 feet long. Add two feet of tide to that equation and you now need 200 feet of rode. 10) These are values for rough conditions in an anchorage subjected to wind and wave action. If you are in a well protected cove, with no waves and he wind can't reach you, you can get by with shorter anchor rodes. However, the longer the rode, the more safety you have. Ciao, Connie
Hi all, I was wondering if I might get some pics or atleast descriptions of your anchor setups. I'd love a little sprit/roller set up, but can't figure how to get around the furler, nav light etc.
Also, I have the a deck pipe up there to pass rode through the deck, and there's some sort of anchor holding device on the rail. Where do you guys put your feet when you sleep if the rain and rope live there somewhere???
I'm planning on about 20 ft of chain and 100 ish of rode. Also an overkill anchor so I can leave it in the harbor for days. A local who anchors out there suggested 30lbs. I found a 22lb claw type I'm liking. And have my 8lb Danforth setup as well.
I don't even know what else to ask, so lemme have it !
Jazz