snowleopard
Well-Known Member
Let's begin by asking a fundamental question - what do you expect to use a kedge for?
a) As a lunch hook: It's lighter than the bower so easier to raise. Irrelevant if you have a power windlass, otherwise almost any old cheap tat will do.
b) to pull you off the mud etc: You need the lightest one you can get for ease of handling in a dinghy.
c) to set as a second anchor in heavy weather: Needs to be not much smaller than your main anchor or it won't do much good.
d) to use when the conditions don't suit the bower, e.g. in very soft mud: Again needs almost as much holding power as the bower but should be a different type.
To meet all those requirements I would go to a table such as this and pick one a size down from the recommendation for your boat. Unless you're using a danforth or Brittany for the bower I would suggest a Fortress. The Guardian is a cheapskate's version but it doesn't have the soft mud setting that I find invaluable.
Anchor threads on here are always a bit of a minefield. You have to thead your way between the 'nothing but a huge CQR' brigade on the one hand and the frankly agressive tactics of the two manufacturers who always put their oars in.
p.s. just re-read the original question and realised I didn't answer it! Firstly, from the logic above, a kedge of half the weight of the bower is not enough. Secondly, biggest danger with cheap anchors is the far eastern cast iron jobs. They are brittle and snap frequently.
a) As a lunch hook: It's lighter than the bower so easier to raise. Irrelevant if you have a power windlass, otherwise almost any old cheap tat will do.
b) to pull you off the mud etc: You need the lightest one you can get for ease of handling in a dinghy.
c) to set as a second anchor in heavy weather: Needs to be not much smaller than your main anchor or it won't do much good.
d) to use when the conditions don't suit the bower, e.g. in very soft mud: Again needs almost as much holding power as the bower but should be a different type.
To meet all those requirements I would go to a table such as this and pick one a size down from the recommendation for your boat. Unless you're using a danforth or Brittany for the bower I would suggest a Fortress. The Guardian is a cheapskate's version but it doesn't have the soft mud setting that I find invaluable.
Anchor threads on here are always a bit of a minefield. You have to thead your way between the 'nothing but a huge CQR' brigade on the one hand and the frankly agressive tactics of the two manufacturers who always put their oars in.
p.s. just re-read the original question and realised I didn't answer it! Firstly, from the logic above, a kedge of half the weight of the bower is not enough. Secondly, biggest danger with cheap anchors is the far eastern cast iron jobs. They are brittle and snap frequently.
