Anchor size and type?

Clyder

Clyder

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<span style="color:red"> </span> /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Sorry if this has been done to death....but...what type of anchor and suitable weight would be recommended for a 21ft Sports cuddy on the Clyde estuary (the bottom as far as I can see is flat sand) Any ideas welcome. Thanks.
 
it has been doen to death but what the hell ...........you don't say what you want it for (will you overnight? suspect it's day boating.............)

I had a 5 kg bruce copy to 10m 6mm chain to 50 m 12mm octoplait on my DellQuay 660. Worked fine for anything except weed over sand when a delta will do a lot better (at 5 times the price). Should fit your anchor locker too. 4 kg spade or delta would be the price no interest options.

You could go to 7.5kg but I would consider OTT.

Danforth can work well on sand/mud but it's big and poor on any other surface. Can also be poor to reset.
 
I personally would not go for anything smaller than a 7.5kg anchor for your size boat (approx 6m).

8mm chain is the recommended size for anchoring. With 6mm chain you will need a lot more of it!!!



A bruce anchor will also work well in sand, but storage may be a problem. The Danforth folds up so can be stored easier.

As Duncan said, use with 12mm Octoplait rope or 3-strand. Both can be easily spliced if required.
 
I'm learning some interesting things about anchoring on grass-type weed here in Ibiza. The Bruce is poor, CQRs are not reliable. The locals use something more like a Danforth. I have found that laying two anchors, Danforth then immediately followed by the Bruce (maybe the Bruce is just working as a huge anchor 'chum'?) works well. I think the the Danforth flukes are long enough to penetrate the weed whereas the others can't. Don't know for sure why, but it works! So, for my money have a Bruce as the main anchor (excellent on sand and mud) and carry a Danforth as a second anchor/kedge which you can lay out in tandem with the Bruce if you find yourself on weed.
 
if it's the same as the stuff around Rosas then I found the bruce useless - the weed takes all the bite out of the leading edge.

best by far has to be the chislel types and spade/sword/rocna as well as Delta.

I can only assume that with your combi the danforth is sweeping the surface weed for the bruce to get at the sand!
 
it all comes down to use - overnighting in sheltered conditions and lunch hooking they will hold fine. You are adding some 20kg with the extra anchor and chain just where a speed boat doesn't want it!

this guide tends to support this - but also suggests a 5kg bruce = 7.5kg danforth.............. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
CQR - Danforth - Bruce ???

Why not a Biblos, a Gorgone, or a Fisherman anchor??

CQR - Danforth - Bruce have all be invented before the last World Wide War II and since that time everything has been improved.. including anchors..

- Bruce worked fine for anything except weed over sand
- Danforth can work well on sand/mud but it's big and poor on any other surface. Can also be poor to reset.
- The Bruce is poor, CQRs are not reliable.
- Bruce useless

All « old generation » anchors have their drawback.. and they have been well documented. Perhaps it will be time now to look at the “new generation” ones??
 
When I compare the flukes of the Danforth with the flukes of the most popular type in the local chandlery (don't know the actual name of them), the Danforth has longer flukes. It looks more able to pierce grass down to the seabed before the shank gets caught in weed than any of the other types. It looks as though it ought to work, it is of similar design to the local favorite and it is actually working.

Indeed, after my Bruce had failed to hold, I was lying to the (smaller) Danforth in exactly the same seabed conditions with NO chain (it was an emergency) in a F5. That is pretty stunning performance given that people have been dragging much larger anchors on long rodes of chain. Have you tried the Danforth in these conditions and found it to be unacceptable, or do you have any references to trials in support of that?
 
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Have you tried the Danforth in these conditions and found it to be unacceptable, or do you have any references to trials in support of that

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simple answer is no to the first and only the published test results for the latter. As you say it has large flukes relative to weight and once set can deliver a fair hold - setting and resetting, kelp and loose stones etc jamming it are some of it's downsides.
 
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4 kg spade or delta would be the price no interest options.


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however you look at it for a small dayboat 30 euro's on a 5kg claw comppared to 156 plus tax plus postage for the spade is a bit of a no briner I am afraid.

OK the Sword is only 88 plus tax etc at 5 kg but this is still a very large figure.

right now I would back the sword against the bruce, and probably the delta, if I am planning to sleep but the rest of the year will tell more..............
 
CQR is the popular choice for the Clyde with a Bruce a close second. Danforths aint popular round these parts.

Donald
 
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