Best anchor gear for East Coast

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tmtracey

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I'd appreciate some advice on the best anchoring gear and setup for the East Coast (Suffolk, Essex, Kent).

My Sadler 29 came with a 15m of 14mm rope, 25m of 8mm chain and a 10kg Delta anchor.

Some questions-

Would these lengths be fine for most situations?
Is it worth getting an anchor swivel?
With that length of chain, do I need a snubber, and what system would be recommended? I've attached a photo of my bow - should I set up a bridle system, or can I put the anchor/snubber line straight off the bow roller?

Thanks in advance.
 

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Without any info on the boat in question, the question cannot be answered!

LoA, displacement, draught and keel type are all crucial factors
 
My take would be that for general anchoring duties you will be fine. Most of the east coast (the greater Thames Estuary bit) has well sheltered muddy anchorages. I vv rarely put out more than 25 m of chain on a 15 kg anchor for a 34' 5 ton boat. To me the issue would be if you have the need (probably an emergency) to anchor in an exposed part of the east coast, off the coast, in which case a bigger anchor and more chain might be wise, but such occurrences are rare. As for snubbers, can be useful but not essential, the key requirement for them is their attachment to a reasonably long length of line to allow some stretch, others can comment with more authority (search forumite 'Neeves' for instance).
I presume this setup came with the boat? in which case it has done the job so far without issue.
now to wait for the incoming....
 
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Great, it sounds like my gear will be fine.
It's almost all going to be on the rivers - i'm not sure where the deepest anchorage will be in this area, if anyone knows I'd be interested.

Does a swivel help or not really necessary? With a snubber, what sort of length of rope should I use and is the chain grab be the usual way to do it?
 
I've found my Manson Supreme is excellent in the mud - also the Fortress aluminium anchor which is my kedge but have used when the original plough anchor that came with my boat was useless in East Coast mud.
 
I have a single line snubber on a chain hook which is 3m long and made of 14mm anchorplait for light use

I then have a bridle snubber with a chain shackle which is substantially longer (can't recall the measurements) for heavy weather use ... it's never been used yet!
 
I think you will be fine.

There is one special situation: sometimes you may want to anchor on the edge of a deep channel.

Stone Point, anywhere on the Orwell, etc.

You don’t want to swing into shoal water and ground at low water. Nor do you want to swing into the channel.

So you need a short scope. 3:1 maximum. This isn’t in the books.

There’s a case for a bigger anchor, here.
 
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When we had a Sadler 29, also deep fin, we anchored with a few metres of chain and the rest warp. I can’t remember how much, maybe forty metres. We were never embarrasses by shortage of tackle and used a 25lb CQR. This held us in 60mph winds off Osea on one occasion but occasionally needed a couple of tries to set in places like the Rocks. The Sadler tends to shear around rather, due to the windage at the bow, but generally we had no problems.
 
Kukri said:
I think you will be fine.

There is one special situation: sometimes you may want to anchor on the edge of a deep channel.

Stone Point, anywhere on the Orwell, etc.

You don’t want to swing into shoal water and ground at low water. Nor do you want to swing into the channel.

So you need a short scope. 3:1 maximum. This isn’t in the books.

There’s a case for a bigger anchor, here.
Click to expand...
When I was a lad, back in Noah's day (1960s), 3:1 was regarded as the standard with more only if extreme weather was expected. On the West Coast of Scotland (where anchorages are often quite small), it's still fairly usual. Larger scopes, as well as the disadvantages you mention, can be anti-social in some situations. In a sheltered anchorage (and I wouldn't use any other kind), I'd only use more if a) I was expecting extreme weather and b) there was swinging room for a longer scope. Of course, that's 3:1 at high water; around the East coast that will be a lot more at low water.
 
tmtracey said:
I'd appreciate some advice on the best anchoring gear and setup for the East Coast (Suffolk, Essex, Kent).

My Sadler 29 came with a 15m of 14mm rope, 25m of 8mm chain and a 10kg Delta anchor.

Some questions-

Would these lengths be fine for most situations?
Is it worth getting an anchor swivel?
With that length of chain, do I need a snubber, and what system would be recommended? I've attached a photo of my bow - should I set up a bridle system, or can I put the anchor/snubber line straight off the bow roller?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
You are going to find that most of the time you anchor on the east coast you are going to be in a maximum of 8-10 meters of water and that will be at high water. Take away a spring tide and you will be floating in 4-6 meters. That suits most people. You have three boat lengths of chain and some additional rope which should be plenty. I have used a Bruce 15kg for many years and it has never let me down. I sleep on my boat every year for at least 30 nights if not more.
 
Thanks all for your help.

The S29 does seem to have a lot of windage. Last year in any wind against tide situations on our swinging mooring, we constantly advanced on the Sonata in front until we were very close to her (2m or so). Had the mooring moved back this year!
 
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