Anchor setup for serious crusing - anchor size for 25 foot, 2 tons (4500 pounds) yachts

[Neeves]

Yes I tend to use sheltered anchorages.

Tell that to NormanS.

If you were confident you would remove the anchor completely, sell it and invest in some decent malt.

Jonathan

 

[FWB]

Tell that to NormanS.

If you were confident you would remove the anchor completely, sell it and invest in some decent malt.

Jonathan

Sounds as if you’ve had too many already.

 

[Koeketiene]

My 28 ft 9 ton boat has a 10kg Delta and 10mm chain.

Two questions for you:
1. Just out of idle curiosity, what boat do you sail? I sail a 36' IOR One Tonner and she displaces 7.8T - and by todays standards that's on the heavy side. What 28' boat displaces 9T?
2. And for that kind of displacement, isn't the anchor a bit 'undersized'?

 

[FWB]

Two questions for you:
1. Just out of idle curiosity, what boat do you sail? I sail a 36' IOR One Tonner and she displaces 7.8T - and by todays standards that's on the heavy side. What 28' boat displaces 9T?
2. And for that kind of displacement, isn't the anchor a bit 'undersized'?

She’s a Heard 28 a Falmouth working boat converted to cruising. No the chain does most of the work not the anchor

 

[Poignard]

I love it!

Someone can be relied upon to come up with this - every time.

Beggars belief.

At 17 knots (is that a bit of a blow?), a 5: 1 scope and 30m of 8mm chain deployed - all the chain is off the seabed. How, precisely is the chain offering any hold - sticky water?

Jonathan

She’s a Heard 28 a Falmouth working boat converted to cruising. No the chain does most of the work not the anchor View attachment 148589

And very attractive she looks too. ?

 

[Koeketiene]

She’s a Heard 28 a Falmouth working boat converted to cruising. No the chain does most of the work not the anchor View attachment 148589

She looks lovely.
Not sure I agree 100% about anchor vs chain weight though.
But if it works for you...

 

[Poignard]

She’s a Heard 28 a Falmouth working boat converted to cruising. No the chain does most of the work not the anchor View attachment 148589

And very attractive she looks too.

 

[FWB]

She looks lovely.
Not sure I agree 100% about anchor vs chain weight though.
But if it works for you...

Well everything is heavy on the boat, apart from the anchor. There’s 5 tons encapsulated lead in the long keel. She does go though !

 

[zoidberg]

Yes I tend to use sheltered anchorages.17 kts is not sheltered.

I get rather more than 17 kts in my GARDEN!

Especially these days.... and nights. Brings down branches of dead wood - big bits. As in 'last night'.

Edit: I knows 'zackly where that is.... and it looks like you're heading towards The Pandora.

 

[zoidberg]

Here's one of them 'sheltered Scottish summer anchorages'.....

Last time I was there, on a borrowed SC mooring, it rained 'stair rods' for 3 days and nights. I went on deck solely to empty out the dinghy now and then.

 

[zoidberg]

Here's another of them 'sheltered Scottish anchorages'.....

Same week.

Oh, and 25lb CQR and all chain, 'cos that's what the boat had. So that's what we used.
.

 

[noelex]

Occasional strong winds are unfortunately unavoidable when cruising areas around the UK, especially the northern latitudes.

The concept that poor ground tackle is fine because you can always escape these conditions is flawed. Sooner or later this notion will lead to grief.

 

[NormanS]

As I think you predicted, a Boomerang does not work with a grooved bow roller.

My anchor used to slide from side to side with an ungrooved roller, so I had one made with a groove to accept the shank of my Rocna. This does not retain my 8 mm chain, with the result that the chain rolls and the anchor can come up reversed. A swivel allows the anchor to rotate before hauling it onto the roller.

I have two bow rollers. I made the one regularly used for the anchor chain with a slot, to try to prevent the chain from rotating. Unfortunately, at times, it still rotates. I made a "Bent Link", which is merely a piece of 1/2" round bar with an eye at each end, and with a bend in it. This is attached a few links from the anchor, between the anchor and the rest of the chain. As soon as the bend reaches the roller, it automatically rotates the anchor to the correct orientation. Because the link is made of round material, the slot in the roller does not prevent rotation. This presupposes that the material of the Bent Link is not of a larger diameter than the width of the slot in the roller. It also requires sufficient distance between the anchor and the windlass gypsy. It works faultlessly.

 

[Boathook]

Yes I tend to use sheltered anchorages.17 kts is not sheltered.

I was anchored in the Helford a few years back up past Frenchmans Creek and was holding a good 20 knots. This was sheltered compared to the main mooring area. I've also had nearly 30 knots in Poole harbour but had flat waters due to be close to the land.

 

[Neeves]

Anchor threads on here go back years and are subject to derision, agreement, laughter etc.
My own view FWIW..not a lot on here…is that the chain is more important than the anchor in many conditions.
My 28 ft 9 ton boat has a 10kg Delta and 10mm chain. I have an anchor buoy on a pulley system that always sits above the anchor. I can see where the anchor is and in most cases the boat sits to the chain and only gets to pull on the anchor in a blow.

What you are saying is that I many conditions, 1 knot of wind, 2 knots of wind, 3 knots of wind upto, say, 10 knots of wind - the anchor chain is sufficient to hold your vessel. Have you ever seen your anchor, under water, and the hold it might develop? How much chain do you deploy

Really useful and reliable information.

Beggars belief.

Maybe you should join the real world.

There is an outside chance someone might believe what you said, originally, and not realise you only anchor when the wind is less than 10 knots.

Jonathan

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Occasional strong winds are unfortunately unavoidable when cruising areas around the UK, especially the northern latitudes.

The concept that poor ground tackle is fine because you can always escape these conditions is flawed. Sooner or later this notion will lead to grief.

My observations as a Scottish sailor, Clyde and West Coast, ex professional skipper, was that anchor dragging incidents are rarer than marina based incidents and groundings trying to enter safe havens. There was a time when the majority using CQR and Bruce anchors and appeared to anchor successfully in strong winds, long before pontoons started to appear.

 

[Neeves]

I have two bow rollers. I made the one regularly used for the anchor chain with a slot, to try to prevent the chain from rotating. Unfortunately, at times, it still rotates. I made a "Bent Link", which is merely a piece of 1/2" round bar with an eye at each end, and with a bend in it. This is attached a few links from the anchor, between the anchor and the rest of the chain. As soon as the bend reaches the roller, it automatically rotates the anchor to the correct orientation. Because the link is made of round material, the slot in the roller does not prevent rotation. This presupposes that the material of the Bent Link is not of a larger diameter than the width of the slot in the roller. It also requires sufficient distance between the anchor and the windlass gypsy. It works faultlessly.

I am being picky, but not actually wanting to be argumentative but both of you, Norman and Vyv are saying that with a grooved bow roller the anchor can still arrive at the bow roller - inverted.

Can anyone advise what is the benefit of a grooved bow roller?

I confess I've never had a grooved bow roller so my boomerang was based on people with similar equipment to mine - a roller with a gentle 'V' as I assumed, totally erroneously, that the groove returned the anchor as it was deployed - right way round.

Bad research.

Jonathan

 

[Motor_Sailor]

. . . There was a time when the majority using CQR and Bruce anchors and appeared to anchor successfully in strong winds, long before pontoons started to appear.

If you walk around the boatyards at Dunstaffnage or Creran, I would suggest that the majority of the boats are still using CQRs, Bruces or Deltas. And still they don't drag despite not scurrying off to some pontoon every time the wind blows.

The OP needs to find a secondhand Delta 10kg with his 25 metres of chain and 200ft of 11mm Octoplait. Then supplement it with a Fortress on 3 metres of chain and another 200ft of rope. Then he'll have a spare, a kedge and a second anchor if needs be. Add a modicum of skill and he'll be fine anywhere around the UK or North Atlantic.

 

[vyv_cox]

I have two bow rollers. I made the one regularly used for the anchor chain with a slot, to try to prevent the chain from rotating. Unfortunately, at times, it still rotates. I made a "Bent Link", which is merely a piece of 1/2" round bar with an eye at each end, and with a bend in it. This is attached a few links from the anchor, between the anchor and the rest of the chain. As soon as the bend reaches the roller, it automatically rotates the anchor to the correct orientation. Because the link is made of round material, the slot in the roller does not prevent rotation. This presupposes that the material of the Bent Link is not of a larger diameter than the width of the slot in the roller. It also requires sufficient distance between the anchor and the windlass gypsy. It works faultlessly.

Yes I can see that a boomerang of round bar would probably work. I was given a flat bar one by Viking to test and that does not rotate.

 

[vyv_cox]

I am being picky, but not actually wanting to be argumentative but both of you, Norman and Vyv are saying that with a grooved bow roller the anchor can still arrive at the bow roller - inverted.

Can anyone advise what is the benefit of a grooved bow roller?

I confess I've never had a grooved bow roller so my boomerang was based on people with similar equipment to mine - a roller with a gentle 'V' as I assumed, totally erroneously, that the groove returned the anchor as it was deployed - right way round.

Bad research.

Jonathan

I did mention the reason in my earlier post. The groove prevents the anchor from sliding side to side on tacks and holds it far more positively with a shackle attaching the eye of the shank to the deck