Thanks, John. I had hoped I would get these kinds of simple, sensible answers from the experienced. --Craig ----- Original Message ----- From: <Saltm17@aol.com> To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 12:26 PM Subject: Anchoring There is another benefit from anchoring by the stern. I leave the hatch boards out and any small breeze blows into the cabin. It sure beats a small wind scoup in the forward hatch. Also, I leave the anchor line tied to the stern clean, and then run the rest of the line forward, outside of everything, and tie it off on the bow cleat just as I would if I were anchoring "normally". That way, if the wind does blow up during the night, all I have to do is remove the line from the stern cleat, and the boat swings around quickly and the rode is instantly 17 feet longer. No fumbling in the dark with lines, shrouds etc. John Miss 7 M17 # 372