On Jul 28, 2005, at 10:39 AM, chbenneck@juno.com wrote:
With all the discussion about anchor type and anchor size, the most important aspect was not discussed.
That is the length of the anchor rode.
A 10:1 ratio of water depth to anchor rode length is the optimum. Ten foot water depth = 100 foot rode.
I just wanted to add one comment to Connie's excellent advice. It's actually not *that* much of a factor on an M-boat, but it's to use the distance from your anchor roller to the bottom when you're calculating, not just the water depth. When I was out cruising, the boat's anchor roller (and the snatch block for the snubber as well) was 5-feet from the water. So in a 20-foot-deep anchorage, at 5:1 scope, if you only counted the 20 feet, you'd let out 100' of rode; but in reality it would only be 4:1. Go for more scope or in deeper water and it starts to add up. Probably only adds two feet or so to your calculations on an M-boat, of course. We also had a rule of 90' minimum rode out (almost) no matter what, but again, perhaps overkill on an M. ---Rachel Fatty Knees 7' #302 Former owner, M-17 #334 Former owner, M-15 #517