ColourfulOwl
Member
Yea I ended up Rocna 20KG galvanised. You lot saved me a lot of money so thanks for that 
I did however pick up a few extra things that anyone else looking to get an anchor might also want to think about.
Think about how your anchor connects to your rode - Anchor Swivel:
I wanted to get an anchor swivel as it's not uncommon where I am for the tide to pull and push you over the anchor (or mooring bouy). This can lead to a twisted chain. The idea of the swivel is that it doesn't matter what way the anchor comes up, as it comes over the bow roller the anchor will be twisted the right way around. If you do get an swivel. Do not connect it directly to your anchor. You want a short length of chain or a couple of shackles between the swivel and the shank of the anchor. This means the leverage on the swivel is always lateral, rather then side to side. They are designed to take the load this way. If you put the swivel directly onto the shank of your anchor, as the chain moves or your get pulled around, the swivel will pulled side to side and the shank will act like a crow bar until it breaks the swivel. As to how likely that is, I don't know. But it is a key piece of advice I've been told multiple time by way more experienced sailors who have all lost an anchor or two in their sailing careers. As with your anchor, see below, you'll want to oversize your anchor swivel.
Chain Markers:
You'll need to find a way to figure out how much chain you are / have put out. The most basic and tried and true method is to mark the chain. Some people do this by spray painting it, some buy chain markers and others put zip ties on. I implore you, don't be the zip tie guy. If you've ever had to pull a chain up by hand, you know it's a difficult job at the best of times, let alone with zip ties wanting to cut your hands to shreds. Zip ties also usually get knocked off by the gypsy of the windlass and don't usually last all that long.
I know some will say chain markers also don't last as they fall out too. I used Anchor Rights chain markers. These come in two pieces, which you sandwich together inside the chain links then screw the pieces together. The screw locks the two pieces together, but also expands them slightly and locks them firmly in place. So far, they haven't budged at all but time will tell.
Anchor Tie Down / Bow Roller Anchor Pin:
It's best practice to secure your anchor to your bow roller, or take the anchor off the bow roller when not in use. I think for most long term cruisers however, once you've lifted the anchor out of the chain locker and fought to get it best the forestay/jib roller 2-3 times you end up just leaving the damn thing on the bow roller. This leaves the question of how best to secure it. The reason you want to secure your anchor is to make sure it doesn't fall off the bow if your windlass was to free run / break. You don't want to use just the windlass to lock the anchor in place. It's also worth looking at your bow roller and seeing if your anchor has any side to side motion. If your in a rolly sea state, your anchor might do damage to your bow roller if it's slamming side to side.
A lot of anchors come with the ability to put a pin in them to lock them to your bow roller. In my case, and a lot of the boats in my marina, the hole in the anchor and the holes in the bow roller don't get aware near to support using a bow roller pin. The alternative is to simply tie the anchor into place. You need a simple solution that can be quickly removed and is easy to reattach. I've yet to figure this out properly, however I do have a solution that is roughly working:
My solution was to use a short length of rope. I tied a figure of 8 knot into one one of the rope and passed the working end through the anchor hole and looped it around the outside of the bow roller, passing it back through the bow roller pin hole. I pull this tight, which locks the anchor from any side to side motion and puts it on a slight angle. I run that rope back to a load baring attachment point in my anchor locker and tie it off. This prevents it from falling. An alternative would be to cleat it off, or attached it to the pulpit. I personally choose to put a load bearing attachment in place to minimise deck clutter. When it comes to deploying the anchor I simply untie the rope from the attachment point and pull the rope via the figure of 8 knot and this frees the anchor in a matter of seconds. I'm not sure if this is the best solution, but it's the best I've come up with so far. Interested to hear if anyone has any ideas on this.
Think about the tidal ranges for where you want to sail:
My boat has 10mm chain and my windlass is setup to support 10mm and rope (not all windlasses can pull up rope). My chain length is 25m and rope length is 35m. Giving me 60m in total rode. In the future I plan to extend this to 60m chain + the 35m of rope. For here in the UK 25m of chain is quite short.
The scoping method I've seen, and personally prefer over the standard RYA 1 to 4 or 1 to 6 ratio. Is to always put out 15m of chain + 2 times the depth with chain or 4 times the depth with chain and rope. This basically means at shallower depths you put our more, but at deeper depths you put out less when you compare the two strategies.
It's common in the UK to have 6-10m tidal ranges (I'm in fleetwood and we often get 6-8m). This means If I dropped anchor in a 2m Low Tide, at High tide that could be 10m of depth. This means I always need to scope out 15m + 20m (of chain - which is more then I personally have) or 40m (of chain and rope). This has basically meant every time I've anchored so far I've just ended up putting out the full 60ish meters of Rode that I have.
My boat is only 36 feet or 11m in length. Carrying around 120m of scope is unrealistic. That's also true however for where I would plan to drop anchor, I can't really think of any scenario where I would intentionally drop in 20m of depth. My boat only drafts 1.5m, so I can go quite shallow and am more likely to be way closer to the shore then a lot of other boats. However where the extra scope comes in is for bad weather. Being able to increase that scope to a 1 to 8 or 1 to 9 ratio (or 4 times the depth and 8 times the depth) in bad weather is a very nice option to have.
Lastly, Size up:
If you plan on using your anchor a lot, which most long term cruisers will. Go for something over-sized. A lot of anchor manufacturers have spec sheets that tell you what sized anchor you need depending on boat tonnage, length etc etc. In most cases, as a live-aboard cruiser, you both is likely to be loaded with gear putting you at the high end of the tonnage scale for your boat. You need to consider this when picking an anchor. In most cases it's a case of going 1 size bigger then spec'd.
You'll also want to think about the gear your boat already has. If you boat has 8mm chain, then you shouldn't use a 20KG Rocna. The manufacturer spec for a 20KG Rocna is 9mm chain, which as far as I know doesn't really exist in the boat market. This then means you need 10mm chain to support that anchor, and a windlass that supports 10mm chain. Thankfully the chain and windlass on my boat already was spec'd as such. But if you looking into buying a new anchor yourself, it's worth thinking about.
I did however pick up a few extra things that anyone else looking to get an anchor might also want to think about.
Think about how your anchor connects to your rode - Anchor Swivel:
I wanted to get an anchor swivel as it's not uncommon where I am for the tide to pull and push you over the anchor (or mooring bouy). This can lead to a twisted chain. The idea of the swivel is that it doesn't matter what way the anchor comes up, as it comes over the bow roller the anchor will be twisted the right way around. If you do get an swivel. Do not connect it directly to your anchor. You want a short length of chain or a couple of shackles between the swivel and the shank of the anchor. This means the leverage on the swivel is always lateral, rather then side to side. They are designed to take the load this way. If you put the swivel directly onto the shank of your anchor, as the chain moves or your get pulled around, the swivel will pulled side to side and the shank will act like a crow bar until it breaks the swivel. As to how likely that is, I don't know. But it is a key piece of advice I've been told multiple time by way more experienced sailors who have all lost an anchor or two in their sailing careers. As with your anchor, see below, you'll want to oversize your anchor swivel.
Chain Markers:
You'll need to find a way to figure out how much chain you are / have put out. The most basic and tried and true method is to mark the chain. Some people do this by spray painting it, some buy chain markers and others put zip ties on. I implore you, don't be the zip tie guy. If you've ever had to pull a chain up by hand, you know it's a difficult job at the best of times, let alone with zip ties wanting to cut your hands to shreds. Zip ties also usually get knocked off by the gypsy of the windlass and don't usually last all that long.
I know some will say chain markers also don't last as they fall out too. I used Anchor Rights chain markers. These come in two pieces, which you sandwich together inside the chain links then screw the pieces together. The screw locks the two pieces together, but also expands them slightly and locks them firmly in place. So far, they haven't budged at all but time will tell.
Anchor Tie Down / Bow Roller Anchor Pin:
It's best practice to secure your anchor to your bow roller, or take the anchor off the bow roller when not in use. I think for most long term cruisers however, once you've lifted the anchor out of the chain locker and fought to get it best the forestay/jib roller 2-3 times you end up just leaving the damn thing on the bow roller. This leaves the question of how best to secure it. The reason you want to secure your anchor is to make sure it doesn't fall off the bow if your windlass was to free run / break. You don't want to use just the windlass to lock the anchor in place. It's also worth looking at your bow roller and seeing if your anchor has any side to side motion. If your in a rolly sea state, your anchor might do damage to your bow roller if it's slamming side to side.
A lot of anchors come with the ability to put a pin in them to lock them to your bow roller. In my case, and a lot of the boats in my marina, the hole in the anchor and the holes in the bow roller don't get aware near to support using a bow roller pin. The alternative is to simply tie the anchor into place. You need a simple solution that can be quickly removed and is easy to reattach. I've yet to figure this out properly, however I do have a solution that is roughly working:
My solution was to use a short length of rope. I tied a figure of 8 knot into one one of the rope and passed the working end through the anchor hole and looped it around the outside of the bow roller, passing it back through the bow roller pin hole. I pull this tight, which locks the anchor from any side to side motion and puts it on a slight angle. I run that rope back to a load baring attachment point in my anchor locker and tie it off. This prevents it from falling. An alternative would be to cleat it off, or attached it to the pulpit. I personally choose to put a load bearing attachment in place to minimise deck clutter. When it comes to deploying the anchor I simply untie the rope from the attachment point and pull the rope via the figure of 8 knot and this frees the anchor in a matter of seconds. I'm not sure if this is the best solution, but it's the best I've come up with so far. Interested to hear if anyone has any ideas on this.
Think about the tidal ranges for where you want to sail:
My boat has 10mm chain and my windlass is setup to support 10mm and rope (not all windlasses can pull up rope). My chain length is 25m and rope length is 35m. Giving me 60m in total rode. In the future I plan to extend this to 60m chain + the 35m of rope. For here in the UK 25m of chain is quite short.
The scoping method I've seen, and personally prefer over the standard RYA 1 to 4 or 1 to 6 ratio. Is to always put out 15m of chain + 2 times the depth with chain or 4 times the depth with chain and rope. This basically means at shallower depths you put our more, but at deeper depths you put out less when you compare the two strategies.
| Depth | RYA Chain (1 to 4) | RYA Rope (1 to 6) | 15m + 2 times depth (chain) | 15m + 4 times depth (rope) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5m | 20m scope | 30m scope | 25m scope | 35m scope |
| 10m | 40m scope | 60m scope | 35m scope | 55m scope |
| 15m | 60m scope | 90m scope | 45m scope | 75m scope |
| 20m | 80m scope | 120m scope | 55m scope | 95m scope |
It's common in the UK to have 6-10m tidal ranges (I'm in fleetwood and we often get 6-8m). This means If I dropped anchor in a 2m Low Tide, at High tide that could be 10m of depth. This means I always need to scope out 15m + 20m (of chain - which is more then I personally have) or 40m (of chain and rope). This has basically meant every time I've anchored so far I've just ended up putting out the full 60ish meters of Rode that I have.
My boat is only 36 feet or 11m in length. Carrying around 120m of scope is unrealistic. That's also true however for where I would plan to drop anchor, I can't really think of any scenario where I would intentionally drop in 20m of depth. My boat only drafts 1.5m, so I can go quite shallow and am more likely to be way closer to the shore then a lot of other boats. However where the extra scope comes in is for bad weather. Being able to increase that scope to a 1 to 8 or 1 to 9 ratio (or 4 times the depth and 8 times the depth) in bad weather is a very nice option to have.
Lastly, Size up:
If you plan on using your anchor a lot, which most long term cruisers will. Go for something over-sized. A lot of anchor manufacturers have spec sheets that tell you what sized anchor you need depending on boat tonnage, length etc etc. In most cases, as a live-aboard cruiser, you both is likely to be loaded with gear putting you at the high end of the tonnage scale for your boat. You need to consider this when picking an anchor. In most cases it's a case of going 1 size bigger then spec'd.
You'll also want to think about the gear your boat already has. If you boat has 8mm chain, then you shouldn't use a 20KG Rocna. The manufacturer spec for a 20KG Rocna is 9mm chain, which as far as I know doesn't really exist in the boat market. This then means you need 10mm chain to support that anchor, and a windlass that supports 10mm chain. Thankfully the chain and windlass on my boat already was spec'd as such. But if you looking into buying a new anchor yourself, it's worth thinking about.
