I've been anchoring out in Monterey Bay for over a month. I bought an 11 lb Bruce copy at West Marine and I'm using it with 20ft of 1/4 inch chain and 150 feet of rode in about 23 ft of water. After two weeks of dancing around the 3/8 inch rode looked like it had untwisted/retwisted in the middle. The guy at WM didn't think it had been weakened so I didn't replace it but I did add a swivel. I'm sheltered from the big swells but it's not what I would call a peaceful anchorage. When the breeze picks up the boat dances around a lot. The bottom is heavy sand with some rock outcroppings here and there. I'm now using this ground tackle as a kind of poor man's mooring. I put a 10 lb. mushroom at the end of the chain and attached a 30 ft piece of 3/8 to that with an eye in the end which attaches to the main rode. When I take the boat out I pull the rode up to the eye, detach from it and leave a float tied to the eye. It all seems to be working fine so far. The Bruce copy... http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product/10001/-1/10001/2 39615/10001/212/11206/5 Norm
-----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces+nl=sagatech.com@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces+nl=sagatech.com@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of stephen gray Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 20:16 To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: Re: M_Boats: New Boat-what anchor?
For most bottom conditions, your Bruce type should work for a starter, but I would go to a larger size....say around 11 pounds with a short piece of 1/4" chain and 150' of 3/8 nylon rode.
Not exactly true...It's less about the weight of the anchor and more about the system. Never use a SHORT piece of chain. Use one that is properly sized for the load of the boat you are anchoring. Any good book on anchoring will tell you how to calculate the loads. And, 3/8 is way too stiff for such a small boat. The goal is for the rode/chain combination to keep the anchor grounded. Smaller rode (within reason) is always better as it will give and take without lifting the chain then the anchor etc. Anchoring is a lost art that's worth learning. Even a bad anchor will do amazing feats give the proper chain/rode and placed at the proper scope. You can get the best anchor money can buy, but without correct deployment it's worthless. Take the time to go to the library and get a book or two. It's as important as knowing how to sail the boat.
For what it's worth I used the 4 lb. Bruce for a number of years with a nice length of chain and lots of scope. Used properly it's all the anchor you will ever need. An 11 lb. Bruce on such a small boat is way overkill. Take the difference in cost and invest in a good chain and rode.
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