Anchor choice

[Peter]

I’m looking to buy a new anchor for my boat, either a plough of CQR, have not decide which type yet, any comments on this issue would be appreciated. My main questions are:
 How to size up an anchor, is there a better way than the simple tables in the brochures.
 Is it good practice to have a choice of different anchors?
 Are the pattern anchors any good? cheap or for peace of mind keep to the genuine item, expensive.
 Supplies of anchors
I am setting the boat up for long distance cruising, and she is 43ft steel hulled, “longish keel”, approx. weight 13 te.
Having not used the forum for a while, what was the problem with it?

Peter

 

[snowleopard]

The best of the bunch in the plough type seems to be the SL Delta with up to twice the holding power of the CQR. Imitation CQRs are a menace.
It's vital to have a variety of anchors to suit the conditions. In your situation I'd go for a Delta as the bower with a Fortress (Aluminium folding) for backup and soft mud and a big fisherman for rocky places. The manufacturers all publish tables of size and tonnage. The Simpson-Lawrence catalog is especially good.
Your main anchor will probably work out at around 20kg/45 lbs.

 

[gus]

Would definately recommend the Delta. If you paint it with two part etching primer and two part white polyurethane it shows up nicely and allows you to see where it is lying if the water is clear. Looks better on the foredeck also.

 

[vyv_cox]

My choice also. I find the Delta to be an excellent anchor and it only ever failed to bed once, in very hard sand. I use all chain on the Delta. I also have a Fortress on 5 metres of chain plus Anchorplait but this has failed to re-bed at wind or tide changes on two occasions in two seasons. I would only use it for daytime purposes when it is a great deal easier to retrieve than the Delta. I suspect that the warp makes as much difference as the anchor itself and the Fortress would possibly be as reliable on all chain. I also carry a 25 lb CQR but it's a long time since it was used.

Conventional wisdom says a Fisherman is needed for rock and weed. I have anchored for many years on a regular basis on the west coast, North Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Scillies, etc. On many occasions the bottom in these places is rocky and weed-infested but I have never needed anything other than the Delta and never dragged, even in some very adverse conditions. Sometimes it is neccessary to be persistent in ensuring that the anchor has bedded properly on these less-than-perfect bottoms, but IMHO this is preferable to carrying a fisherman that would need to be twice the weight of my 35 lb Delta to be effective.

 

[Guest]

My boat is 41' on deck and weighs 13 tons. I use a 45lb CQR as my main anchor - I think 1 lb per foot of LOD is a good rule - on all chain. Alongside it I have a 35 lb CQR on all chain. I like the CQR because the swivelling shank rolls over as the tide changes and the anchor stays set, or resets very quickly. I have no experience with the Delta. Anchoring is a confidence trick - if you have confidence in your ground tackle you sleep well at anchor so I stick with what I trust. The only time I had a problem with the CQR is when I put it down in grass and a squall blew in. You need a really sharp anchor to get through grass. I carry a 15lb Danforth as a kedge.

 

[Guest]

Most designs are good for something so the key elements are:

1. Right anchor for type of bottom.

2. Adequate weight (bigger is better for holding power).

3. Adequate scope (rope or chain you still need enough scope to give a parallel pull at the anchor under ALL likely conditions).

4. SET YOUR ANCHOR (i.e. put the engine into reverse and pull back on at least half power to actually set the anchor into the seabed).

5. Make sure that the anchor/chain (or rope) combination you finish up with gives you a feeling of security rather than one of nervousness. When compared to the cost of reparing or replacing a boat a decent anchoring system costs next to nothing and the "feel good" factor in times of need is worth more that a few pounds sterling.

Best regards )

Ian D

 

[Twister_Ken]

Genuine article

Having broken a CQR lookalike (the 'swivel' part at the base of the blades snapped clean through when setting) I'd say pay the extra for the genuine article, whatever type of anchor you choose.

 

[david_bagshaw]

I always feel there are 3 things for a good anchor, Weight , Weight & Weight. We use a Pool 60 Kg with 100 mtrs of 10mm chain, & I imagine your boat is displacement so there would be no problem with the extra weight, so long s you dont have to throw it over the side.

David

See my web site www.yachtman.co.uk

 

[Guest]

Peter,

You mentioned you are outfitting for long-range cruising. I believe your most important choices are your ground tackle, and there have been several useful replies/suggestions.

Be critical of comments from other skippers on their favourite anchor. Many will say such as "I've used my CQR (Delta, Bruce,...) around the world and it never dragged - only anchor to use".

That is a true statement - what is missing is accurate information on the conditions in which they used their favorite anchor. What was the bottom composition, state of wind and waves, etc. Most any anchor of size recommended by vendor will hold in good bottoms up to around 25kn with no serious surge. Given a sufficiently elastic rode system, perhaps 35kn or a bit more. It is not uncommon for yachts to circumnavigate the 'milk run' and never have winds of such intensity to overcome the resistance of their rode/anchor combination. But you may encounter 60kn+ at some stage, or less than perfect bottom, or have to anchor on short scope, ...

Some things to keep in mind:

1. The weight of a sediment-cleaving anchor necessary to resist a given wind velocity load is a function of the CUBE of wind velocity (not the square as most believe)

2. The elasticity of your rode is just as important as choice of anchor. Van Dorn is the best reference on this.

3. Useful references:

R1 - The Complete Book Of Anchoring And Mooring, Earl Hinz 1986
R2 - Oceanography And Seamanship, Second Edition, William G. Van Dorn 1993
R3 - The Sailing Foundation Anchor Tests Puget Sound, 1995, Doug Fryer
R4 - West Marine Advisor - Anchors 1996 Pg 143 ABYC Ground Tackle Loads Table
R5 - Anchors Selection And Use, Robert A. Smith 1981

4. Trawler World List contains a lot of good discussion on ground tackle. Use Google's site specific search, e.g., <wil andrews site:www.samurai.com> to find Wil Andrews posts. Wil has done a lot of serious, scientific anchor testing.

5. Try the TWL search <darden alain spade anchor ssca site:www.samurai.com> to find Alain Poiraud's letter to SSCA. A good summary of key topics.

6. If you want to send me your email address I can send you a copy of a paper I wrote a while back that address the physics of anchoring systems and evaluation of various anchor tests.

7. Our choice for primary anchor is the SPADE:

www.spade-anchor.com

We carry the largest alloy SPADE offered as our primary - should hold Adagio in a good bottom to 60kn+, rated as 'storm' anchor for a boats exceeding our wind resistance. Our secondary is an 88-lb Delta, also considered a 'storm' anchor for our 15-ton cruising displacement catamaran. Third is a Fortress FX-55. Stern/kedge is a Fortress FX-27.

8. Check Practical Sailor for their series of tests including the SPADE.

9. As Wil Andrews says "Use enough anchor!".

PS - there is some further ground tackle info on our website, see below

Cheers,

Steve Darden

s/v Adagio
Hobart, TAS
Australia
http://www.adagiomarine.com