Anchoring

[Starscream]

Anchoring in the ocean seems hard.

Us lake & River sailors have it easy. A 13lb Mantus with 6 feet of chain and 100ft of line is all we have ever used. I can't remember ever anchoring in more than 15ft of water.

We dragged once when anchoring in weeds. The anchor remained perfectly set though; it ripped out a 50 lb solid chunk of lake-bottom held together by weeds and dragged that along with it. Other than that, if we get the 13 lb Mantus dropped on sand, clay, or mud, it has never budged, even on 2:1 scope in moderate wind.

[Be Free]

I have a 50 lb fisherman anchor on 70 feet of high test chain and variable length of line if needed.
I have the largest anchor in use by the Mac fleet.
I anchor out all the time. In ten years I’ve never been tied to a dock. I tend to anchor close to shore where dragging could become an issue quickly, the harbors in the Fl Keys can be difficult to anchor in, and I have the tackle to handle the anchor effectively. Plus the system minimizes crud on the boat, as the anchor never come on board.
There is no stock anchor for boats. Only what is needed for your own use.

Ix

Ixneigh,

When I was growing up in Miami that was similar to the rig I used. The fisherman anchor was a little smaller (so was my boat) and I did not have quite as much chain. That is an excellent combination.

Did you try anything else before settling on the fisherman?

[Ixneigh]

Re braided vs twisted line; interesting story. I received a free 33 foot keel boat years ago. She was on the beach (no waves) and the plan was to pull her off on a Lunar high tide. I had my friend who had a 35ft fishing boat and a coil of 3/4 inch braid on braid nylon line. Well to my surprise, we parted that line right in the middle. Someone came up with some three strand line, and that yanked the boat right off. It turns out, the core of the braided line failed before the cover. I never used double braided line for anything heavy again. (I think I did use some type of unidirectional fiber/braided core line to tow a distressed keelboat, but I was going very easy.)

Ix

[Ixneigh]

Ix
[/quote]
Ixneigh,

When I was growing up in Miami that was similar to the rig I used. The fisherman anchor was a little smaller (so was my boat) and I did not have quite as much chain. That is an excellent combination.

Did you try anything else before settling on the fisherman?
[/quote]


Sure, a bunch of things. A delta 25, a rocna, a wishbone anchor derivative called a barnacle anchor. These were all a bit small for the 26M, my instincts told me. (But larger anchors don’t work well with the stock roller)
One night my boat was gone. I thought someone had ripped her off because I had good anchors and a lot of chain right? Naw. I ended up buying the Good Samaritan who noticed my boat slowly dragging anchors a case of beer. He tied her to an unused mooring. A hard squall had dislodged my anchors which which took with them a big wad of grass and mud, then dragged along the bottom like bowling balls. I had that happen with the rocna also. It was time to get (more) serious. The fisherman style anchor works very well in the keys, but it’s a huge PITA to deal with. I mean, like huge. Pulling that thing with its crossbar up on deck was one thing I didn’t want to do. I spent a few nights thinking on it before realizing it never had to come on deck anyway. Just pull it up till the cross bar (stock) hits the bow roller, then get a line on one fluke and pull that up alongside the bow. I lash the anchor shank to a cleat on deck and tie the line around the fluke to the pulpit. It’s very secure. It’s easy to launch, not AS easy to “cat” because lassoing the fluke can be tricky if the boat is bouncing around. (I have a line that I made up to sneak down there and grab it)
The system works well, and i would use it on other boats happily.
Fifty lbs of Luke Anchor is a very good sleeping pill. I’ve seen that sucker bury itself completely in crappy bottoms the delta and danforths just plow furrows in.

Ix

[ris]

We have used a 15 lb Manson Supreme since 2016. The anchor is on a anchor roller. If I bought today would most likely buy a Mantus as it resets better. We have always awoke still anchored in the same place as we were when we went to bed. We use 30 feet of 1/4 inch chain with 1/2, 3 strand rope. We also tie to a rope looped through the eye that you attach the trailer wench to.
This lowers your anchoring scope and the boat rides better in larger waves.

Richard

[NiceAft]

Richard,

I don’t think I’ve read about your technique before. Do you tie to the eye, or just pass a line through it? Is the eye designed to take the stress an anchor line exerts? I realize that holding a Mac on a trailer is a force too, but it seems at anchor the forces can be greater.

[OverEasy]

Hi Ixneigh

Correct me but is the “fisherman anchor” you refer to is a ‘Kedge’ style anchor?




Best Regards
Over Easy

BTW: Came across a anchor identification chart that may be of interest to some

[Ixneigh]

Yes, that’s variously called a kedge, yachtsman, fisherman, admiralty, or may fav, a Popeye anchor
There are minor differences depending on maker. I feel the Luke 3 piece storm anchor is the best. It has a longer shank, and massive castings, plus the diamond palms (the “flukes”) which are much better than so called duckbill palms since it’s less inclined to foul your rode.
A caution about these anchors. Since one arm is exposed when it sits on the sea bed, it’s possible the boat can dry out on top of it and be damaged. I don’t worry about that unless I’m anchored in waist deep water. And in that shallow of water it’s easy to see where the anchor is. Plus in the macs case the bottom is pretty thick to stand trailering.

I wanted to go sailing later I’ll try to take a picture of the anchor procedure.

Ix

[NiceAft]

All good info Ix.

[Be Free]

... The fisherman style anchor works very well in the keys, but it’s a huge PITA to deal with. I mean, like huge. ...
Ix

Exactly. Works great but a big PITA. But I'd probably still use it if those were still my home grounds.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Thanks to RSVPASAP for posting the videos from SV Panope! We just finished viewing the videos. Very interesting and very well done!

Thanks Ixneigh for clarifying the anchor type!

We looked at what we currently have from our been provided with on Over Easy from the excellent prior owners (K9Campers) for anchoring which is a Danforth “Fortress “ style anchor and a CQR style anchor. While both have been tried we have generally settled on using the Fortress both down South here in the tidal estuaries surrounding us in the Port Royal Sound areas as well as when up on Lake Champlain. It has seemed to hold very well for the times we have used it. No dragging. No plowing. Bites in and sets well. Retrieves reasonably well.

On SV Panopes scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best) they rate as follows:
> Danforth “Fortress” style ==> 3.6
> CQR style………………………. ==> 3.3

We did modify the shank by shortening it a bit and redrilling to shank hole to make it easier to store inside the cabin. We also have a “break-away” rigging on the anchor just in case it fouls in debris or rocks. This doesn’t affect its normal in-line holding but if the anchor hangs up on the bottom we can position the boat directly over the anchor and if it still is hung there are break-away ties down the length of the shank down to the fluke plate where there is HD shackle. That way once the break-always break free the lift will be at the fluke hinge and will be more probable to disengage from what ever it is hung up on.

Free diving is a non starter in the tidal estuaries or channels due to the prevalence of a variety of sharks, especially Bull sharks , as well as we’re just not gonna go diving down after an anchor anyway . (It is why it’s good idea to carry a spare).

We have about 30 ft of HD galvanized chain and 120+ ft of marked 1/2 inch three strand twisted nylon anchor line. The eyelet was worse for wear so I cut off a couple of feet back to good line and spliced in a new eyelet. The eyelet is double wrapped on the shackle at the free end of the chain to minimize chafe and spread loading.

This has worked very well for us and our usage conditions.

We have plans to eventually upgrade to a drum winch and a self launching anchor roller but not this season.

Meanwhile we might try one or two methods for anchor deployment/retrieval from the aft cockpit that we’ve read and watched videos about online. We’ll post the results of those efforts after we’ve practiced them a couple times.

Best Regards
Over Easy

[NiceAft]

We’ll post the results of those efforts after we’ve practiced them a couple times

.

Please don’t omit the bloopers, they’re always the most fun to watch.

[Ixneigh]

That video is up of the Luke anchor raising.

Ix

[OverEasy]

Hi Ixneigh!

Link???

[Ixneigh]

Here’s the link
Not that great a filming job though



Ix