Best Anchor for 2320SLC

[andertonm]

The anchor locker limits the size of the anchor you can use on the 2320, and we want one we can count on in bad conditions - max current, wind, etc. The boat has a bow pulpit that will hold a substantial anchor, but we want to stow the anchor while docked. We have 200 feet of line, so scope shouldn't be a problem. What's the group's experience on the best combination of anchor and chain that fits in the locker and makes sure we will stay stuck?

 

[Outta Here]

I have used several combinations of anchor/chains over the years. Most didn't set good or were heavy.

About a year ago, someone reccomended a Danforth brand, not a copy. Wow, what a difference. Looks the same as copys but really works. I have a Danfort Hi-Tensile 5H. Weighs only 5 pounds. Best price at the time www.poormansboating.com

Since I have a center console and pull up by hand, the weight is important. Sets fast and firm in NC sandy and muddy bottoms. Also works in Florida Bay, sometimes grass will clog and requires 2nd setting. Chain is 10' 1/4" ss, again, easy to handle. Came from www.4bestbargains.com. Both companies were a pleasure to deal with.

The 5# Danforth easily out performs my 13# Boaters World/West Marine danforth copy.

 

[Megabyte]

I don't know that there is a 'best' anchor. Much depends on the type of bottom you have, and the conditions (and amount of hold) you want.

When I bought my boat, it came with a Danforth that didn't fit the pulpit very well.
You can see it here on "sea trial day".

I swapped that Danforth for a Delta Fast-Set, with 20' of chain and 200' of 1/2" nylon.

That anchor did well until one night when the Admiral and I spent the night on the hook.
The weather took a turn for the worse and blew overnight 20+kts out of the south. I spent a sleepless night worrying if the anchor was holding on the muddy bottom.
The Delta now lives on the pulpit of B-Faithfuls boat, and he is happy with it.

The Delta was replaced by this Anchor Concepts HydroBubble 'Captains Choice', which is sized for boats to 35'.
http://www.hydrobubble.com/Store/Produc ... ml?PIID=10

I pull this anchor by hand, but if conditions got nasty and I couldn't, I'd use my homemade anchor float to retreive it.

I still haven't found 'the best' anchor, but this one works pretty well for me.

 

[andertonm]

Wow! I knew I asked the right guys. Thanks for the input.

 

[esfishdoc]

I'm using a Delta as pictured in Megabytes response. The key is the amount of chain. I've got 25 feet of chain (and a windlass to deal with the weight). I can't say I've ever anchored in really rough conditions. Probably the roughest was with 20 mph winds and 2 to 3 foot waves drum fishing.... but the anchor has always set first time and stayed that way.

Richard

 

[Ranger Tim]

I use a Delta 20 lb. fast-set, which is heavier than most folks use on a 21 foot boat. I also use 20 feet of chain on it. I have never had a problem with getting a good set with this anchor and have spent the night swinging on it many times. I weathered a big blow in Milford Haven one night and even watched a waterspout (from a comfortable distance!) without the first thought of breaking free. It does re-set if the wind swings radically. Perhaps it is the bigger than usual size that has kept me firmly anchored.

I also carry a typical Danforth copy for a main spare or setting up a second anchor for a more stable mooring, and I carry a wreck anchor for latching onto sunken ships or rock islands. Got a sea anchor and drift sock too! I could anchor a small flotilla with the stuff I have aboard. There are several people that fish with me that are also subject to becoming ground tackle if they don't quit hiding bananas in their lunch bags!

 

[96TL]

I use a #16.5 Bruce anchor. I usually anchor in sandy/muddy bottoms. It's never pulled out on me so far, and I've been in some rough current. I use 15' of 1/4" SS chain and 200' of 1/2" New England rope. Great anchor. I wouldn't throw it over a reef or wreck though. Might not come out. I use a cheap Danforth knock-off for that.

 

[DaleH]

FWIW I keep at least 3 anchors on board. Two of the three are the premium Danforth type Hi Tensile, where the 8.5 pound version holds to a 35' boat in 20+mph winds and the 13.5 pounder is rated for a 45' boat in similar winds. With adequate scope and chain rode, to me they are the perfect blend of weight and holding power. I also keep a cheaper Danforth 13S on hand as a stern anchor. In tuna season, I throw a huge 25 pound Danforth in the bilge as backup.

That said, tests have shown that the correct size anchor of any reputable design pulled horizontally is more likely to hold than any oversize anchor pulled upwards.

So when/if ever needed, say like in a BIG wind, I feel more comfortable by throwing a sentinel, kellet, or simple 'anchor rode weight' overboard, like shown below. I use the SS ring from my anchor retriver gizmo to put down the weight. How an anchor 'sentinel' works:

• It increases the catenary and keeps the angle of pull on the anchor horizontal, which helps the anchor dig in. This almost DOUBLES the holding power of the anchor and reduces the working load on the anchor by 50%.
  
• It acts as a spring, reducing the boat’s overall motion while anchored, especially the fore-aft see-saw motion sometimes felt in surge. Life on board is much more comfortable.
  
• It reduces the swing of the vessel considerably. This is especially beneficial in crowded bays and for high winded vessels. (Ben Hines, the owner of a 75 ton, 50ft, steel Cape Horn trawler says 'it reduces the swing by about 50%')
  
• It stops snubbing each side of the swing in wind gusts, when the bow lifts to the sea and the chain is pulled taut with a jerk. This adds to your cruising comfort.
  
• It keeps your rope or chain warp almost vertical and out of the way of other boats moving about in the bay, especially at night.

 

[Claymar]

Dale

Thats a very interesting anchor set up.

Wondering if you could get a little more detailed in the rigging.

The buddywarp, what is that? Looks like it might be attached to the weight and slid down the rode? And how much weight is needed?

 

[andertonm]

I'm with Claymar... I want to know a lot more about the buddywarp and associated rigging. I can see from the responses that I have been "underthinking" the whole anchor thing. When they sell you an anchor at West Marine, they sell you a six foot (or so) chain. Nobody here has mentioned less than ten feet, so that's my first move. Next thing will be a real Danforth that will stow in the locker. I don't sleep over or anchor for extended periods in rough water, but, as a safety issue, I want to know my anchor will hold in adverse conditions. Next step for me will be multiple anchors for different purposes. Very educational.

 

[Claymar]

If I remember correctly, I think from "The Annapolis Book of Sailing" chain length should be 2/3 the length of the boat as a rule of thumb. Most folks in my area use the length of the boat as a guide. I bought an anchor package form Lewmar when I purchased a windless and they sent me an 18' setup to match my 2120.

I mentioned that to my local West Marine guy and he just told me the chain should outway the anchor?? Like the 2/3 rule personaly.

 

[DaleH]

Wondering if you could get a little more detailed in the rigging. The buddywarp, what is that?

I'm with Claymar... I want to know a lot more about the buddywarp and associated rigging.

The 'buddywarp' is just a term that the maker of the commerically available 'Anchor buddy' sentinel or kellet weight calls the lighter line that positions the weight more than 1/2-way down the main anchor rode. In addition to the extra anchors on board, I also keep spare lengths of chain, in 10' lengths (prior anchor setups ) and shackles on hand. In a serious blow, I'll loop 20' of 5/16" proof coil chain (smallest I'll ever deploy) into a 4-strand coil (secured with smaller twine at 4 quadrants) as my weight that would be suspended off of the main rode by my SS anchor ball retriever loop. FWIW 5/16" chain is almost one pound per foot, so it roughly meets the book's requirements below.

Use of a an anchor Sentinel or Kellet, per the book:
Another way to get more catenary out of an existing anchor rode—either chain or rope—is the use of a “sentinel” or “kellet” weight. This involves running a heavy weight down the rode to improve or maintain catenary as wind forces increase. It is an effective means of adding weight to the rode.

After the anchor is set, the sentinel is typically deployed from the bow of a boat with a light line leading back from the sentinel to the boat for recovery, control, and placement. Some mariners simply shackle or tie the sentinel to a chain link from the bow of the boat when the anchor first hits bottom and temporarily goes slack and before greater amounts of scope are veered out (if using chain rode). Others prefer to slide the sentinel down the anchor chain by using a big shackle placed over the top of the chain with the weight attached to the shackle.

Location of the sentinel on the rode is important. To be most effective the weight should be set somewhere in the first half of the rode (closest to the anchor). The idea is to keep the initial section of rode weighted down as close to the bottom as possible.

How much weight is involved? A rule of thumb is that the weight should be a bit less than one pound for every foot of boat length. For a 40-foot boat, that would mean a sentinel of 30 to 40 pounds.

Use of a sentinel weight should be a standard tactic for the mariner faced with deteriorating weather when at anchor. Others, as already discussed, include veering out more rode, increasing the amount of nylon in a rode, stripping the bow of a boat to move the center of effort aft, use of a small riding sail aft, and reducing windage in general.

GENERAL Anchoring Tips:

• Select the size of your anchor based on boat length and weight
• Chose an anchor type suited for the kind of bottom you expect to encounter
• Use as much scope as practical
• Add 20-30 feet of chain to an all nylon rode
• Consider placing a Sentinel or kellet about half way down the rode
• For the ultimate in holding power, switch to all chain rode

 

[Porkchunker]

I have two 13 lb Danforth knock-offs. One came with the boat, and the other I purchased later. Originally the rode was made up of 10' of 1/4" BBB chain and 200' of 1/2" rope. But one night at the CBBT, I couldn't get the anchor to set in a strong current. The current was so strong that it swept the anchor up and smacked the chine of the hull...knocking a piece of gelcoat out.


That next spring, I went to 30' of 1/4" BBB chain and 250' of 1/2" New England 3-strand rope. Anchor sets every time. I got the 30' figure from Chapman's, where they recommend something between 1.0 and 1.5 times the length of the boat in chain. The hull length is 25', but the overall length is 31' (incl. pulpit and motors on the bracket). So 30' of chain seemed to be a nice round number...and it works well.

Whatever anchor you choose, go with a good chunk of chain.

Dave

 

[Megabyte]

Whatever anchor you choose, go with a good chunk of chain.

Word! 8)

 

[andertonm]

Great advice and training. I'm going chain shopping tomorrow.

 

[Porkchunker]

BTW, learn to make your own rope to chain splice. It comes in handy when you swap ends of the rope after a couple of years. After running the anchor for a couple of years, the standard advise is to remove the rode from the locker, cut the rope off the chain, swap ends of the rope, and re-splice. Goal is to use the other end of the rope which has been sitting mostly unused at the bottom of the locker.

 

[andertonm]

Good stuff! Went to WM last night and bought 20 feet of quarter inch chain. Will proceed from there. Thanks for all the good info.

 

[andertonm]

Went out today and on the way crossed paths with Son and Grandsons in john boat in the inlet doing some flounder fishing. Grandsons got onboard for a trip out to the Yancey wreck armed with crabs and clams for 'tog. Got to the spot and current running like a river with 10-20 knot wind pushing the same way, so this is going to be a good chance to check the new 20' of chain on the old anchor. Wellll..... first, it was difficult to get enough scope with the current pushing the anchor back towards where we wanted to be. Second, I think the cheesy # 8 Hooker (I think) anchor just isn't up to the job. We were trying to do some pretty precise positioning in crowded waters. Got a pretty good bite on the bottom on the second try, but ended up uncomfortably close to a piling. The heading of the current changes throughout the tide cycle around the bridge and it started to swing us towards the piling, so we decided to pull up and try for another spot. BY this time, the tide was really ripping and, frankly, I was getting tired of pulling that 20' of chain up in that current. Grandkids were starting to look a little green and talking about a trip to Famous Uncle Al's Hot Dogs. Tried a little more drifting for flounder, but nothing was happening, so we pulled up and went after the dogs. Grandkids drove home - they have a lot of time at the helm for kids their age. After the hot dog stop, we went anchor shopping at West Marine. Settled on a Fortress #7, which is rated for our boat size and actually fits in the locker. There was semi-official meeting of the "old cronies club" going on at the register at WM (I'm a member in good standing) and they all concurred the Fortress was good stuff. Time will tell....

 

[grouperjim]

The best anchor is a 22 lb Lewmar Delta with 30 ft of chain. Oh, I forgot the windlass, got to have that. With that set up you are not going anywhere.

 

[Capt. Ronnie]

Good stuff! Went to WM last night and bought 20 feet of quarter inch chain. Will proceed from there. Thanks for all the good info.

My opinion, 1/4 inch chain is too small
I have the factory anchor and chain my 2320 came with.
It was 1/4 inch chain and I couldn't get the anchor to set 90% of the time!
I changed to 7/16inch chain, and about twice the length I had, and the anchor sets very easily now !
And if the they would allow the commercials to go back to overfishing the F^^^ing dogfish up her in the northeast and wipe them out, I would go back to chum and chunking a lot more like I did in the past and the anchor would get used more than I use it now!!!