Anchor and Rode for 22ft Sail boat - Bristol Channel

[steveej]

Hi all,

Have just purchased my first boat which went back in the water last weekend.

After a shakedown in Cardiff bay on the Saturday we successfully rounded flatholm on Sunday.

I'm in the process of kitting the boat ready for next season and one of the things I'm looking at is Anchor and Chain/Warp. I'm well aware of the 3 x / 6x guidance, but given the massive tidal range in the channel and the strong tides I was wondering what other people used.

The boat is only 22ft in length.

Assuming chart datum of 5m plus 10m of tide = 15m

This gives either 45m of chain (which I'm not even sure would fit in my locker or even if it would, maybe the weight will be too much on the bow.

Or 90m of warp which is too much with the risk of swinging circles etc.

So what do people use in practice? what is the optimum ratio assuming you wanted to anchor through a full tide cycle?

Andy any anchor recommendations? Don't want to spend a fortune but want to be safe, so will spend if needs be.

Thanks in advance.
Steve

 

[fergie_mac66]

20/25 meters of 6mm chain spliced to 20/30meters of a good nylon rope perhaps 15mm dia,

but only you can know if you have a place to store it

 

[nemodreams]

I have a 22' - and not a huge locker either.

I plumped for 10m of 8mm chain - then I have about 65m of 14mm plait spliced to that.
Somewhat overlong - but was thinking on emergencies ! I kept the old 30m of 6mm, which was a bit sad looking, for the kedge.
I have a 10k delta - and its never dragged yet !

I'd lay out 45 m sometimes at Blue anchor - but seldom would use it all.
Nice to think you can hold the boat though in maybe 30m depth rough water - if ever needed, without having to prat around adding extra ?

Also - I fitted the largest hawse pipe I could find. If single handed - its way easier to flake the rode back down the hole !

You really do need a working full size spare - as an emergency if you have to cut free - and you can use it as a kedge as well.

All that said - Weston/Cardiff end of the Bristol Channel is never too pretty for anchoring - I have seen 2.5 kts on the log backwards at Blue Anchor ! Once past Foreland/ Nash its a bit better.


Have fun !

 

[graham]

One good thing about the Bristol Channel tide strength is that you tend to drag your anchor down tide rather than down wind so you move parallel to the shore.

When the tide is running at 4 or more knots the strain on everything is heavy and the noise of water racing past your anchor cable can be unnerving. Lashing your tiller amidships helps stop some of the yawing about.

Anchor choice can be (believe it or not) a contentious discussion.
I have had success (and occasional failures) in mud and sand with a bruce and a danforth.

For your boat a 5 kg anchor for a kedge or lunchtime anchoring and a 10 kg stowed in the bilge possibly for more serious anchoring.

All chain is great but hard work and a heavy weight in the bow of your boat. I think about 20 foot 8mm chain for a kedge and double for a main anchor with good quality nylon rope making up the rest of the scope. For a 22 footer 10 mm will be strong enough 12 mm easier to handle.If you protect it from chaffe it will last forever.

Finally make sure the bitter end is tied to a strong point in your anchor well .

On my boat I have similar to the above plus another 100 foot of 8mm chain stowed in the bilge where it acts as usefull ballast most of the time but can be shackled on if its important not to drag.

Only used the extra chain a few times and it takes a bit of pulling up by hand.

Trouble is that for every 10 yachties there are 11 opinions on anchors etc.

 

[bitbaltic]

Oooh look an anchor thread! This'll drive some traffic to our corner of the forum.

My advice to OP is the biggest anchor and most chain you can fit in your locker. You will get lots of opinions but on small boats there is a limiting factor of practicality.

It is wise to have a bigger hook in a bilge or lazarette for emergencies/overnight (in the upper channel you will not be anchoring overnight) but pointless using anything more than about 5kg for lunchtime stops.

 

[fergie_mac66]

Oooh look an anchor thread! This'll drive some traffic to our corner of the forum.

My advice to OP is the biggest anchor and most chain you can fit in your locker. You will get lots of opinions but on small boats there is a limiting factor of practicality.

It is wise to have a bigger hook in a bilge or lazarette for emergencies/overnight (in the upper channel you will not be anchoring overnight) but pointless using anything more than about 5kg for lunchtime stops.

hmm limiting factor of practicality ... thames tonnage calculation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Measurement

 

[trapezeartist]

My boat is a bit bigger, but the logic doesn't change. I have about 45m of chain, so the "5m at low water + 10m of tide" holds true for me. That seems as if it doesn't leave a lot of scope (see what I'm doing there?) for anchoring in deeper water, but it has worked for me in practice. I've never actually anchored over a full tide cycle at the eastern end of the Channel and the tidal range down at (say) Lundy is much less.

 

[jwilson]

In most BC places it's sand or mud and a Danforth type is very good, bit of chain plus lots of warp. I've anchored to wait out tides in very deep water with this combination, with a substantial bow wave from the tide.


You can always add a long mooring warp to your anchor rode, and you need really long warps for drying harbour walls. As a kedge I had a big old Fisherman, which got used as a main anchor if the Danforth failed. Off Porlock on stony bottom for example the Fisherman was better.

I had a CQR as well, but it was fairly useless everywhere in the BC, though now I'm on the south coast instead of the BC a CQR copy seems to work OK.

 

[duncan99210]

Given that folks on here say that a Danforth type anchor works well in the area, then perhaps the OP could look at the Fortress/Guardian aluminium anchors? They give excellent holding in mud/soft sand and are very light. The makers recommend only 5 meters of chain and the rest of the rode as rope, thus saving more effort in recovering the anchor. We have one as a ledge and find that the problem is often breaking it out of the bottom once it's been well dug in.

 

[jwilson]

When the Fortress first came out I though how stupid it was to make an anchor out of a lightweight metal, but having since used one it's brilliant for sand/mud bottoms. Only snag is the price......

 

[SteveSarabande]

Are you really going to anchor a lot, if it is just a lunch stop then a short chain and loads of ropecwill do. Its not often i anchor over a full tide.

 

[Seajet]

Steveej,

I have a 22' medium displacement sailing boat.

There's no way I could or would carry a full chain rode, the weight would cripple the trim and performance.

I use a 7.5KG Bruce anchor ( works very well for me over 37 years ) with 6 metres of relatively heavy 1/4" chain then 30 metres of 14mm nylon warp.

In the Bristol Channel I'd carry the same set up but more warp, say 40 metres.

I also carry a folding grapnel as a kedge; as it's pointy it will hopefully penetrate weed and hold on rock in an emergency.

In the meantime if anchoring in serious conditions I tie the grapnel ( in smooth, folded state ) to the bower warp with a short looped line and lower it halfway down on a separate line, as an Angel to take out the shock of waves and give a more horizontal pull on the bower anchor.

 

[fergie_mac66]

Steveej,

I have a 22' medium displacement sailing boat.

There's no way I could or would carry a full chain rode, the weight would cripple the trim and performance.

I use a 7.5KG Bruce anchor ( works very well for me over 37 years ) with 6 metres of relatively heavy 1/4" chain then 30 metres of 14mm nylon warp.

In the Bristol Channel I'd carry the same set up but more warp, say 40 metres.

I also carry a folding grapnel as a kedge; as it's pointy it will hopefully penetrate weed and hold on rock in an emergency.

In the meantime if anchoring in serious conditions I tie the grapnel ( in smooth, folded state ) to the bower warp with a short looped line and lower it halfway down on a separate line, as an Angel to take out the shock of waves and give a more horizontal pull on the bower anchor.

Yes I know what you mean, would agree with the anchor, it should be enough for most occasions on 22 ft WL.
I found our 10 kg on a 26 ft with 30 meters of 8mm and 30 meters of anchor plait was not long enough if you need to anchor where there a tidal flow.We used to anchor off porlock weir in 7 meters and the tide used to drag us with all out! we borrowed a bruce to try as we had a delta but still did not sleep easy so now have a 16kg delta with 45 meters 8mm and 30 of anchor plait. The problem with the BC there’s not many hiding places from the tide, So if hes going to anchor much, I would suggest as much chain more than 6 meters that he can afford the space will get used.

 

[Kwik Decision]

I'm well aware of the 3 x / 6x guidance, but given the massive tidal range in the channel and the strong tides I was wondering what other people used.

The boat is only 22ft in length.

Assuming chart datum of 5m plus 10m of tide = 15m

This gives either 45m of chain (which I'm not even sure would fit in my locker or even if it would, maybe the weight will be too much on the bow.

Or 90m of warp which is too much with the risk of swinging circles etc.

So what do people use in practice? what is the optimum ratio assuming you wanted to anchor through a full tide cycle?

Andy any anchor recommendations? Don't want to spend a fortune but want to be safe, so will spend if needs be.

Thanks in advance.
Steve

If you read through the many anchoring threads on these forums, you'll see that that the old adage of needing far less chain than you do warp is no longer considered true by many (myself inc) - in strong winds (or tides) the rode will be pulled tight, regardless of whether it is chain or warp, there will be little catenary effect and your boat will be held by the anchor only. All anchors work best if the angle of pull is shallow, relative to the sea bed, hence a longer rode giving a shallower angle of pull.

The advantages of chain are it resists chafe on the sea bed far better than rope, and in light wind conditions sinks such that the boat tends to lie to the chain, and doesn't dance about too much. The disadvantage is it is heavy to stow on board as you've noted, and is also heavy to pull up.

In your case I would go for a relatively shortish length of 6 mm grade 40 chain – say 20 m, (you don't need bigger than 6 mm grade 40 on a boat your size, and 6 mm is a lot lighter than 8mm) and a much longer length of 10 or 12 mm nylon warp say 60 m +, giving a total of 80 m + scope, meaning you can comfortably get 5:1 rode:depth ratio in 15 m of water, but it won’t all weigh too much. This means in lighter winds, if you're stopping somewhere reasonably shallow for lunch you can just put the chain out, but in stronger winds / tides you can have a far longer rode.

In terms of anchor I would go for a 6 kg Rocna, - we got a Rocna at the beginning of this season, and have been impressed with how quickly and easily it has set, and it has never budged, and is supposed to work well in mud and sand. 6 kg is the recommended size for your boat (I'm assuming she weighs less than 2 tonnes), and is relatively light, so will make recovery easy. However, a) you do need to ensure you can stow this satisfactorily, and b) this isn't the cheapest option by a long way. For a more economic solution, consider a 6 kg Delta or Kobra. We used to have a Delta, which was good, but not as quick to set as the Rocna.

While Danforth type anchors give very good holding, they are less good at re-setting should the tide turn than an Rocna or Delta. If you are wanting to anchor overnight, this should be a consideration. I would happily have a Danforth type as a kedge though.

Jimmy Greens Web site is a useful source of information regarding anchors and chain, including sample test certs etc. (no connection other than happy customer):
https://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/item/20733/6mm-din766-calibrated-anchor-chain--up-to-20-metres

 

[jwilson]

I disagree with all chain for the BC: I have anchored in pretty deep water (including near mid-channel off the Culvers) with a Danforth and about 10 ft chain, the rest a lot (a lot) of warp. The tide (maybe 4+ knots) actually pulled a weird catenary into the warp, as the warp appeared to go almost backwards from the bow (through the bow wave, but we were definitely held firm).

All chain is very heavy for a small boat.....

 

[Seajet]

I'd go so far as to say all chain is almost impossible and certainly inadvisable for any normal 22' boat; there is such a thing as being able to sail out of trouble, not sit there crippled doing 3 knots and get hammered by any weather during inordinately long passages !

Also the problem of recovering all that chain...

Personally I'm not overwhelmed by the Rocna, not because of any holding properties, but it's so big and awkward with the rollbar; my chum has one on his Centaur and it's a real fiddle like a metal puzzle to get the thing through the pulpit legs, in either direction.

I know everyone has a favourite anchor, but after 37 years with this boat and the ( genuine ) Bruce I'm a great fan, no moving parts to nip fingers, it goes in my anchor locker and has never lost grip.