JW's Upgrades for 2016 - Anchoring

Ive got some money for a new anchor but Im still confused (and yes, i know I have pondered this over many a cava in the marina).

I was pretty set on a Mantus but I keep coming back to a Rocna.
The boat is 50ft and 22000kg. Currently has a 20kg bruce (hohoho) so my head says a 33kg Rocna/Mantus should do the trick, with 10mm chain.

Both manufacturers' next step up is a 40kg (OK mantus is 39.7kg) but the price also jumps significantly (like a third).
Also, I dont think the 40kg anchor will fit my bow gear. So, while I except bigger is always better, would a 33kg Rocna with 10mm chain perform well on that boat?
 
Magnum said:
Hurricane. Wise anchor/chain upgrades in my opinion.

I was horrified to learn that our 68 was going to be supplied with 60m of 10mm chain. This is madness on a 70ft 38 tonne boat although Princess say it's within spec, just.

First upgrade for us was a stainless 61Kg Ultra anchor. Far better than the standard 40Kg Lewmar.

But as you have already said the biggest improvement comes from 12mm over 10mm chain. We too had 10mm on our old 67 and dragged several times which just discourages you from anchoring more often. Our sailing boat had 12mm chain and the difference in a blow was incredible. It would take a 35 knot plus wind to even lift all the chain and then only just.

So we are going for 80mm of 12mm on the 68. I'm happy with galv chain although Princess have suggested stainless due to it flowing better in the locker. It's obviously bulkier than 10mm but even so I wouldn't have thought an extra 20m would make that much difference.

Interesting that you have 150m. Wow. Do you ever use anywhere approaching that much?
Click to expand...

Good choice of anchor
Our neighbour SammyB has one and they say it is great - not sure what size their is though.

Definitely 12mm chain - I don't know why we didn't upgrade earlier.

Stainless steel chain
I "kind of" regret not buying stainless last year.
Flowing into the locker IS what its all about.
Our galvanised chain soon "stacks up" into a mound - during recovery from a typical Mallorcan anchorage (3 or 4 metres of water (20m of chain deployed), we have to climb down into the chain locker a couple of times and give it a kick to knock it over.
I think, if it were left to pile up, it would eventually reach the windlass and cause a jam - potentially damaging the windlass.
IMO stainless chain would be worth the extra.

150m - well thats a long story - ask MYAG.
I love the way he anchors - deploy the anchor anchor safely in a bay and then winch back against it onto the rocks.
When we bought the chain in Carloforte last year, we had the option of 100m or 150m and I happened to choose 150m.

Some pics of why the extra length - also you need to get a good strong floating rope to this kind of anchoring.

DJI_0026e_Small_zps2rg6a9ss.jpg


IMG_7448_Small_zpsgcl7ljzt.jpg


This was with our old 10mm chain - the whole lot deployed.

IMG_7494_Small_zpsu6xsgahl.jpg


IMG_7485_Small_zpsokyfhwjo.jpg


and MYAG in the same bay

DSC06453_Small_zps0kugptbq.jpg


And this video shows why I bought the extra length of chain.
Video clip by MAPISM
I want to do this kind of anchoring - we now have the capability - just got to find more of those idyllic bays.




Another point
What windlass are they installing.
Get the biggest one you can fit.
I've upgraded from a V4 to a V5
But I would have liked to have installed a V6 (V4 to V6 would have left too many holes in the deck)
The V8 is fantastic.


EDIT
Oh yes - a chain lock/stopper like the Lewmar one above really makes a difference.
 
Last edited:
Magnum said:
This is madness on a 70ft 38 tonne boat
Click to expand...

Interesting.
The P68 is a much bigger boat than the old P67.
We have often weighed ours using our local yard's travel hoist.
Always comes in at around 45 tonnes.
So I always say she is 50 tonnes whenever I'm asked.

Is the new P68 actually lighter?
I know the injection molding process has made the boats lighter but by that much?
What size are the engines?
You may remember that the P67's are 1200Hp
Lighter hull might mean smaller engines - but remember, the new P68 is much bigger as well.
 
Yep, resin infusion process makes for a much lighter boat. Base model is 37.5 tonnes but we have hard-top, air-con, an extra gennie and hydraulic stabilisers to add to that, so probably more like 40. Either way 10mm anchor chain is a joke.

Engines are MAN 1400 24L V12s and they are a thing of beauty :cool:
 
Magnum said:
I was horrified to learn that our 68 was going to be supplied with 60m of 10mm chain. This is madness on a 70ft 38 tonne boat although Princess say it's within spec, just.
Click to expand...

Jeez thats shit. Ferretti put a 40kg Delta on my 63' boat as standard but at least they had the sense to attach 70m of 12mm chain to it. FWIW, apart from fitting a 55kg Rocna, I increased the total chain length to 100m but I don't recall ever putting out more than about 60-70m of it. Its fine to put out a load of chain if you are in a deserted anchorage but most of the time you are in a crowded anchorage and you don't have the room to swing to 100m of chain.

Yup I agree having a heavier chain definitely improves the performance of the anchor. You can have a heavy anchor but its not going to perform very well if a light chain lifts it upwards off the seabed. Its all about keeping as much chain on the seabed as possible
 
I heard somewhere that Princess refer to these installations as "Lunchtime Anchors".

Lats year, I watched a P72 in Palma Nova struggle with a very inadequate setup.
He eventually dragged it over the top of another chain.
We couldn't help - only SWMBO and I on board and it was too windy for us to leave the boat but a very helpful professionally crewed yacht sent two crew members who knew what they were doing over to help.
 
Magnum said:
Interesting that you have 150m. Wow. Do you ever use anywhere approaching that much?
Click to expand...

we used to have 95m but swapped for a 150m stainless steel 2 y ago
and yes we occasionally use 100+ meters:

in Croatia we very often ancher and bring a rope to shore as in Mike's pics,
sometimes I wrongly estimate the distance to shore, I don't have a laser meter onboard yet (like MYAG has ;) )
and than it is nice to have some extra spare meters of chain
I like to approach the boat close to shore so guests can snorkle and swim in shallow water.

next reason is
my most often visited port is Cavtat,
there are no bow lines, so mooring is by dropping the anker,

on some positions you have to go quite far from the quay (min +80m) to reach the rocky bottom,
when you drop the anchor just a bit too far, by wrongly estimating the distance,
you will notice only at the last moment that the chain is too short to reach the quay,
which is frustrating as you have to start the anker dropping sequence all over again,
and very embarrassing to the many spectators walking along on that place :)

150m is perhaps a little luxurious, 130m of chain should be good
 
BartW said:
when you drop the anchor just a bit too far, by wrongly estimating the distance,
you will notice only at the last moment that the chain is too short to reach the quay,
which is frustrating as you have to start the anker dropping sequence all over again,
and very embarrassing to the many spectators walking along on that place :)
Click to expand...

I did that a few times in Croatia myself and you're right it does make you look a bit of a twat. MYAG's laser distance device would have been very useful;)
 
I haven't done that kind of anchorage since I left Croatia, but back in those days I always found the radar accurate enough to avoid re-deploying the anchor...
Which btw would have been even more annoying with two of them, which I did use occasionally.
 
MapisM said:
I haven't done that kind of anchorage since I left Croatia, but back in those days I always found the radar accurate enough to avoid re-deploying the anchor...
Which btw would have been even more annoying with two of them, which I did use occasionally.
Click to expand...

I did try that a couple of times but found it difficult to identify the quay amongst all the other clutter but it is a good point
 
Hurricane said:
Another point
What windlass are they installing.
Get the biggest one you can fit.
I've upgraded from a V4 to a V5
But I would have liked to have installed a V6 (V4 to V6 would have left too many holes in the deck)
The V8 is fantastic.
.
Click to expand...
Just been told it's a V6. No idea what the difference is between a V4, 5, 6 or 8!
 
Magnum said:
Just been told it's a V6. No idea what the difference is between a V4, 5, 6 or 8!
Click to expand...

V6 should be Ok
It is significantly bigger than the V4/V5 which are, essentially, the same windlass (with different gearboxes/motors)
The V6 is much bigger - I wish I had the option.

A V8 would be fantastic but is probably a bit of an overkill.

I hope my views help.
 
Hurricane said:
V6 should be Ok
It is significantly bigger than the V4/V5 which are, essentially, the same windlass (with different gearboxes/motors)
The V6 is much bigger - I wish I had the option.

A V8 would be fantastic but is probably a bit of an overkill.

I hope my views help.
Click to expand...
Thank you. Much appreciated :)
 
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