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Dick Posts: 396
1 days ago
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Thoughts on anchoring: technique and gear
Hi all,
For those of us who anchor out and especially for those who look for increased safety for their loved ones and boat: the following might be of interest.
This is more for those who anchor out overnight, or leave their boats anchored un-attended for day hikes and such: less so for those who use their anchor as a lunch hook and are always on board their boat: they have more options if things turn pear shaped.
I intend to suggest a strategy that will increase ground tackle effectiveness, is easy to execute for most boats, and increases safety for both boat and crew.
Increasing one’s ground tackle effectiveness is always of interest to skippers. For years this meant either increasing the weight of one’s bower (this helped but had its down-sides and clearly limits as to weight) or, when conditions called for it, one deployed a second anchor when things heated up. I have recently posted on another stream generally challenging the wisdom of using a second anchor (either from the bow or from the stern anchor) and the following is an alternative as to how improve the effectiveness of one’s ground tackle while covering a wide range of anchoring challenges, is easier execute and likely exceeds the holding power of one’s present anchoring habits for both everyday anchoring and for the occasional squalls and storms.
For many, perhaps most, widely wandering cruising boats, anchors that are fairly accessible include the bower (everyday) anchor, a second anchor roughly the size of the bower on the bow, a kedging anchor and a stern anchor (often the same anchor). Less accessible is usually a spare anchor and/or a “storm” anchor, often the same anchor, and this anchor is stored in the bilge, often in pieces if the design allows.
Simply said, I suggest taking one’s best anchor and making it your everyday anchor. This is generally wise, but is made all the more effective with the new generation anchors (Spade, Rocna, Manson, Excel etc.). These new generation anchors are just clearly far more effective than the old generation anchors: Delta, CQR, Bruce, Danforth and the like.
The second step, after choosing a new generation anchor, is to make that anchor 2 or 3 sizes above what is generally thought adequate for your size vessel. There is little that improves ground tackle effectiveness, after the design of the anchor, than weight: and the improvement is, to my mind, exponentially improved. (You see now why this is not for those who only use their anchor for the occasional lunch hook).
To answer the strongest argument for the “why” of having one’s best anchor being the everyday anchor when, in fact, most anchoring has everything go well with the present anchor. Even when heavier winds are forecast and the skipper may opt for 2 anchors, usually off the bow, in the wind direction that is forecast, and, again, everything usually goes well.
However, it is my experience that, during the usual cruising season, that heavier wind conditions often occur relatively unexpectedly. Unexpectedly translates, for me, that one should be prepared always for challenging heavier wind conditions. Take the forecast: “Chance of thunderstorms late in the day” a forecast that is so ubiquitous in many areas as to be paid little attention: but this forecast does portend occasional and generally widely dispersed squalls, which, with a bit of bad luck, descends on your anchorage while not touching the one around the corner. The other origin of unexpected heavier winds is the front that comes through with forecast 15-20 kn winds: no big deal, but actually brings in winds more like a steady 25 with gusts into the 30s: a bigger deal.
So, a quick answer to the question above is that, for the unexpected heavier winds, you want your best anchor deployed. It is not the time, when things are wet and boisterous to be messing around on the foredeck, let alone trying to get an anchor out of the bilge and deployed.
The above is my most potent answer to the “why” but:
The advantages:
1. A larger heavier anchor means quicker setting which translates into far less dragging the anchor along the seabed where there is the chance/likelihood of hooking onto debris which will compromise getting a good stick.
2. A bigger heavier anchor has greater holding power.
3. Some skippers will like that you need a shorter amount of rode: shorter scope. And some anchor venders use short- scoping as a selling point. I prefer to use my usual scope and just be that much more secure.
4. If/when there is an unexpected significant increase in wind speed, it is likely that you can just take a look around: possibly respond by veering more rode. But it will be far less likely that you will need to carry an extra anchor on the bow or be tempted to dig out a spare/storm anchor from the bilge.
5. The increased safety is hard to quantify as this increase is both material (staying put in higher winds) and psychological (sleeping better as you experience the increased holding power and less worry/concern).
The dis-advantages:
1. More weight on the bow: probably a bigger deal for sailboats.
a. And, perhaps, in practice, actually less weight if the new generation anchor on the bow replaces the pair of anchors that many cruisers carry.
b. And, I would suggest, for those of us not racing, that ~~20-25% increase in your anchor’s weight on the bow will make a negligible difference in sailing characteristics.
c. Medium size vessels will likely have their new larger anchor fairly easily handled by hand and engine in the usual fashion: the larger the vessel the more convenient and appreciated a windlass will become.
2. The anchor will be more expensive: both because the new generation anchors cost more and because of the larger size chosen. Think of this as a one-shot expense purchasing greater safety for yourself, your crew and the boat.
3. New generation anchors, because of their design and effectiveness, often are retrieved covered with seabed: a washdown pump using the sea/lake’s water makes clean-up much easier. Think of this cleaning effort as the price you pay for the added security you have gained for boat and crew. (A wash-down pump has a myriad of other uses, which will quickly also get appreciated: for example, plumb in parallel a spray wash at the galley sink).
Alchemy’s ground tackle set-up. She is a Valiant 42, a 40-foot moderate to heavy displacement cruising sailboat.
1. At the bow
a. 77-pound Spade: the bower/everyday anchor.
b. A Fortress FX 37: an aluminum anchor primarily for kedging, but also available as a second anchor (never used as such) rigged ready to drop with a slice of the lashing.
2. At the stern is a 19-pound Danforth, rarely used.
3. In the bilge is a 66-pound Spade, taken apart: never used since “retired” to the bilge, but there as a spare in case the bower gets lost and there in case we need to cobble together a “mooring” for a big storm. I consider the 66-pound Spade far superior to the 80-pound Luke it replaced and far more versatile and easier to use. I am not a believer in having different style anchors with the thought that different style anchors do better in different seabeds.
I believe that, for everyday anchoring, that we are anchored securely for wind speeds up to a Near Gale F7 (I am aiming for all boats to achieve the same security using seamanlike techniques of anchoring and gear), and have weathered comfortably occasional gusts into the 40s. More wind or consistent wind in the 40s and I would veer more rode. If unable to veer much more rode, it is time to gear-up, and if a squall is likely to dissipate, turn the engine on and be ready to take to load off or raise anchor and move. I get a halyard slap at 25 kn that will wake me up and I can look around.
We have sailed with our best anchor being our everyday anchor for pushing 20 years now (from full time live-aboard to presently 4-6 months per year). For years this was a 66-pound Spade. Anticipating higher latitude sailing where anchoring deep and remote was likely, we upgraded to a 77-pound Spade and took the 66-pounder apart and stored it as a spare in the bilge. This allowed us to get rid of our “unused-in-15-years” storm anchor, a Luke 80 pounder (in practice, the Luke was very awkward and hard to use and, we felt, in boisterous conditions, at 80 pounds handling would likely lead to harm to the husband-and-wife crew or to the boat.). These changes were ~~12 years ago and lots of miles and anchorages and we would not change a thing.
Come back with questions/comments/thoughts.
My best, Dick Stevenson,
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Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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