LET'S TALK ANCHORS, RODES, CHAINS

[LOLA]

I NEED A BIGGER ONE I AM TOLD...HAVE A BRUCE ON BOW...My Bruce says it's 7.5 kg

NOW NEED ON STERN TOO

MOSTLY MUD BOTTOMS HERE IN ICW, AND ROCKS.

BOAT IS A 30FT

WHAT SIZE AND LENGTH CHAIN ?

[John Shasteen]

No Bill, guys say I need a bigger one, women say they need bigger ones.

[zeehag]

fora 30 ft boat i would consider the weight---what is the net wt of your boat---my ericwson is 11,600 pounds. i use for that boat a 25 pound danforth or a 25 pound cqr. i donot have bruce but i used to --it was 8 kg--which i consider too light....i would rather have a 15kg for her....my formosa has a 35 pound cqr, and a 35 pound danforth--i donot use danforth as the mud around here has grass in it and grass and danforth means gonnadrag, guaranteed--i use the cqr.....my formosa has all chain rode-is 5/16 chain and i have a windlass.....ericson is a 35mII and i use 100 ft chain--5/16 chain and i have 490 ft of rope ..this is for my cqr, or primary anchor....i whole heartedly believe in overkill--saves your boat in the long run. i would not use less than 100 ft of chain nor would i wish to use a danforth in mud with weeds or grass......,.phil uses 30 ft of 3/8 chain with hi9s cqr--i would change the chain to 100 ft of 5/16 is it were my boat , but isnt...we dragged a couple of times....donot know size/wt of his cqr....we only dragged on shale bottom and silt over shale...everyone else dragged also...his boat is 37 ft...and just under 20k pnds rated.....

[LOLA]

My Bruce says it's 7.5 kg

[Phil Prater]

Lola,
That is a question that will more than likely get at least 20 replies, each of them different. There are some new anchors out there now, ( Manson and Rocna ) that are supposed to be the cat's meow. The magic answer to all your anchoring problems. Of course they cost all the money in your bank acct. plus your first born. If you anchor primarily in mud, it doesnt take the latest and greatest anchor. And no anchor will dig into a rock, just hang on it. For soft bottoms, a Danforth or a Fortress will do nicely. But, when you add grass or weeds, then they quickly loose out to the other styles. For a good all purpose anchor and your size boat, I would think a 22# Delta, and about 20' of 1/4 chain would do nicely. A couple years ago, I did the ICW from LI to Fla. on a 31 footer, using a 22# Delta. Never drug one time. Keep in mind that what goes down must come up, and without a windlass, that means manual labor. Also, adding a bunch of weight to the bow of the boat, can and will effect the performance and handling of the boat. Wander around your docks, see what other boats in your size range are using, and ask the owners how well they do.

[Veranda]

Hey Lola,

Our old boat was 33 feet and probably pretty much like yours so far as weight goes. If you can stick to anchoring in the sandier spots along the ICW I think that you'll do fine with a Danforth. I had a 22 pounder which might be a handful for you to haul. You could probably go a little smaller and sleep well once the anchor is set.

The Danforths present so much fluke area that once set, they're beasts at holding the bottom. The only concern I ever had with the Danforth was that even when set if the tidal flow is strong enough it may rip the hook from the bottom as the tide changes. There's no guarantee that it will flip and reset itself.

I know its blasphemy but we also didn't use any chain at all on our Danforth. Its easier to handle all line and if you don't have an anchor washdown then all rode is a lot cleaner to deal with. It also saves a lot of weight at the bow of a boat that size. The aluminum Fortress anchors are shaped very much like the steel Danforth hooks and the manufacturer recommends against using any chain with the Fortress. As long as you keep an eye on the condition of the rode when you haul the hook you should be fine. Its not like you'll be dropping the hook for days at a time.

You know, you would have gotten less diverse opinions if you had asked which was the best religion, or sports team or car to drive.

Bill

[keylimejay]

I'd probably go for a 15kg Rocna. I have a 66# Bruce and am satisfied with it, but you can't drop it in grass and expect it to set. All chain would be my preference, but I don't recall if you have a windlass. Also, with all chain you really out to have a washdown system. So, if a chain/rode set up, I'd think 20 or so feet of 1/4" HT chain w/ 200' of 9/16' nylon 3 strand. For a stern anchor a 16# Fortress would be light and easy. Where are you planning to cruise? Jay

[LOLA]

Mostly ICW. First mate Lisa(experienced) seems to feel I don't need 2 anchors yet I have info above. Thank you.

[Suky Cannon]

Hi Lola, I'm just wondering how you plan to use the anchor. It seems right now, you're daysailing and maybe going to throw the anchor out for the afternoon, or some occasional nights. In the areas you will be in, what's the bottom ?
I would reccommend a 2nd anchor as a spare or if you somehow run across a situation where you need 2 anchors. You may be able to get one at marine consignment shop.

[h]

Lola,

My boat is also 33 ft, and I also have a Bruce. I can ot remember the weight though. It is in storage.

After reading a few articles on anchor test, it is true that the Bruce is the worse anchors around.

I would prefer to spend little on achor and feel safe, rather than keeping the Bruce, but do not have any confidence in it. As the risk is loosing the boat.

Go to Rocna site and watch their video, was enough to convince me. Based on their selection, you will need a 15 kg (30lbs) Rocna.

http://www.rocna.com/main.php?section=misc&chapter=video&pa...

h

[John Shasteen]

From time to time we transit the ICW, although mostly along the Texas coast, and you're right, most of the ICW is either muddy or sandy or both.
We carry three aluminum Fortress Danforth-type anchors for normal circumstances (two 13 lb's and one 18 lb, each with 12' of chain and 100' of heavy rode). The Fortress anchors are a lightweight Danforth clone and hold like the much heavier Danforth, which is the ideal anchor for most of the ICW. A 7-lb Fortress will hold your Freedom under normal conditions - the 13 is huge and will hold you in a bit of a blow and a couple of 13's or an 18 will keep you glued down in a storm. We also carry a 45 pound plow as a hurricane anchor - never put out an anchor of that size and weight on a 30-foot boat unless you are prepared to cut rode leave it behind.
The anchoring tactic we use along the south Texas ICW is to head in toward the bank or shallows and once out of the mainline, we drop a 13 over the stern and play it out until we nudge up against the bank then hop out and tie off to a tree or sturdy looking bush - if the tides go out and in the morning we are somewhat stuck, we can winch the stern anchor and run the engine to get back into deeper water. When there's no banks, we head in the shallows, when we are out of the flow, we drop a 13 over the stern, then ease forward, sometimes until we feel the keel bounce, then drop a 13 over the bow and back off by the engine to set the forward anchor, and leave the aft anchor slack - in the morning we can ease up on the foward anchor and pull it in. If we get stuck, we can run the engine and winch back to the aft anchor.

[LOLA]

Thanks John seems like you have your anchors covered. My chain is 25 ft long...what weight should it be? They make diff sizes.

[John Shasteen]

In the shallows of the ICW, you may not have enough room to play out 25 feet of chain plus anchor rode. If you can't play out a boat-length, or so, of nylon rode, the shock on your boat will be teeth rattling in a blow. What you might do is keep your 25 ft chain for anchoring in deeper water, but for the shallows along the ICW, 12 ft of chain is plenty (even 6 ft will work) so long as the chain has some heft to it. To coin the fast food slogan, we "supersize" everything aboard Paloma because of all the bad weather and the lessons we've learned the hard way over the years - including in the ICW. We just figure that even too much ain't enough. With that said, we use 1/2" proof coil chain on Paloma - loaded with all our junk, 75 gallons of water and 20 gallons of diesel, she displaces something over 10K lbs and the 1/2" chain has a breaking stregnth of around 18K pounds - a wide safety factor, as a 10K lb boat is unlikely to be able put even 1/2 that load on the ground tackle. You can use smaller chain, in 5/16 or 3/8 range and probably do just as well in most conditions.