Please forgive me but this is a genuine anchor question

[Robin]

I don't know if Lewmar do now what Simpson Lawrence did in the past, but SL used to say that chain should be matched to the anchor, with 35lb CQRs having 5/16th" or 8mm and 45lb ones 3/8ths" or 10mm.

For a 34 footer, even a heavy one a 45lb anchor is fine, matched SL style by 10mm chain. Having fixed that variable then buy a windlass to suit.

As others have said, the windlass is not there to move the boat to the anchor, you should do that with the engine or sails, the windlass is there to lift it on board. FWIW we had a W33 we upgraded to having 200ft of 10mm chain, one size up from the original 8mm and had a 45lb genuine CQR. We had a Lofrans Cayman windlass that was superb and it was the higher wattage of two options, IIRC 1000W, I wouldn't want less. Apart from lifting power, you also need to take account of recovery speed, that Cayman was very quick. We also very rarely 'dropped' the anchor but powered it down on the windlass for more control, the Cayman could do that very quickly.

 

[Colvic Watson]

Through the forum I've now been offered a Lofrans Cayman 1000watt windlass at a price I can just about afford - so that's that sorted. The next part of the equation is the anchor, chain and rope. There's no magic pot of gold to dip into so I have to buy what I can afford. It has to be 10mm calibrated, the quote from Bradney's is £6 per metre for the chain. UK Yacht rigging supplies are quoting £5 per metre - I've bought halyards from them before and it's all genuine Marlow stuff. The quote for the rope is £2 pm for anchorplait spliced on

So - How much chain and how much warp? The budget is tight, how much would you consider is minimum and is there a way of doing it so I can add more chain later - are those chain joiners reliable?

Thanks for the heads up on the Kobra - £95 posted for 16kg is excellent and as has been suggested, no harm in keeping the 60lb CQR - who knows when I might need it. Mind you it's apparently worth a fortune - new it's over £1,100 so offeres invited for a genuine CQR 60lb

 

[sailorman]

Through the forum I've now been offered a Lofrans Cayman 1000watt windlass at a price I can just about afford - so that's that sorted. The next part of the equation is the anchor, chain and rope. There's no magic pot of gold to dip into so I have to buy what I can afford. It has to be 10mm calibrated, the quote from Bradney's is £6 per metre for the chain. UK Yacht rigging supplies are quoting £5 per metre - I've bought halyards from them before and it's all genuine Marlow stuff. The quote for the rope is £2 pm for anchorplait spliced on

So - How much chain and how much warp? The budget is tight, how much would you consider is minimum and is there a way of doing it so I can add more chain later - are those chain joiners reliable?

Thanks for the heads up on the Kobra - £95 posted for 16kg is excellent and as has been suggested, no harm in keeping the 60lb CQR - who knows when I might need it. Mind you it's apparently worth a fortune - new it's over £1,100 so offeres invited for a genuine CQR 60lb

try the Gunshed Trimley for chain

 

[photodog]

Your on the east coast right?.... so anchoring in places isnt gonna be too deep... but swinging room at someplace like Stone point might be a issue... I have yet to use the whole 50 meters of chain we have....

I would have thought that a all chain rode of around that length would be much better than chain and warp...... if you go say 20 meters of chain and 40 meters of warp... then how much difference in price will this be over say 45 meters of chain?

You will be much happier with all chain... I would be curious to see how much you will save by getting all rode... what with the splice and all being a bit extra..

(I have as a kedge a Fortress copy... with 20 meters of chain and iirc 40 meters of rode....)

 

[eidiohir]

Why not keep the original cqr?I have a Colvic Watson 34 fitted with a 60lb cqr and I have had no problems at all and best of all it fits nicely into the bow roller.Any thing that reduces strain on my back is wellcome.I believe that the cqr was original equipment on Jerod(open to correction) and so has stood the test of time.so why change
I should have said that I presumed that the new windless would be strong enough.

 

[photodog]

I would say why bother getting a new hook as well... but if he is committed to changing then he should flog the cqr...

He's committed to the new hook at £100... he needs another 50 meters of calibrated chain to go all chain... and a kedge as well...

Might I suggest...

Flog the cqr... say £300 will pay for the new chain... and then get one of those kit kedges from force 4 or aladdins cave... so spend another £150 or so on top....

Job done... new main hook. all chain... reasonable kedge... £250 expended. Or go down to the back of your local chandlery and see what lump they have going cheap... and 10 meters or so of cheapo chain and a bunch of rope and do it up yourself as a kedge..

 

[LouisBrowne]

We have a 14kg Kobra 2 fitted this year and used regularly. We have found it to be superb. It has had excellent reviews not only in France but also in Yachting Monthly's last anchor test. One of the best things about it is that it sets immediately, so it's easy to position yourself accurately when an anchorage is small or crowded. It is also great value for money.

On our last boat we had a 35lb genuine CQR; the boat was a Fulmar (32ft and 4500 kg displacement) so the anchor was oversize yet in windy conditions it was liable to drag for some distance before digging in.

As to the rode, it must depend on where you sail the boat; 30m of chain with 30m nylon anchorplait spliced onto it might be a starting point for general use.

 

[Colvic Watson]

Copied from the Jimmy Green site; but why can the Kobra be so much lighter for the same boat length?


Anchor Size Guide


.......... 20ft 26ft 33ft 40ft 46ft 52ft
Delta - 4kg 6kg 10kg 16kg 20kg 25kg
Kobra - 4kg 6kg 8kg 10kg 14kg 16kg

.

 

[snowleopard]

Through the forum I've now been offered a Lofrans Cayman 1000watt windlass

Be careful about buying the cable then hoping it will fit the windlass. I have a Lofrans 1000w with a combined rope/chain gypsy. It is very specific in its requirements - it has to have 8mm chain and 12mm 3-strand rope. Anchorplait will not do as it is too soft for the gypsy to get a grip. Check the requirements for your gypsy.

Calibrated chain is just ordinary chain that has been run over a gypsy to check it runs smoothly. Knowing that you should be able to save yourself a few bob. If you go for calibrated, be sure it is 'calibrated for Lofrans', i.e. tested on the right make of gypsy.

 

[NormanS]

Copied from the Jimmy Green site; but why can the Kobra be so much lighter for the same boat length?


Anchor Size Guide


.......... 20ft 26ft 33ft 40ft 46ft 52ft
Delta - 4kg 6kg 10kg 16kg 20kg 25kg
Kobra - 4kg 6kg 8kg 10kg 14kg 16kg

.

I don't care what kind of anchor it is, but these weights seem ludicrous to me. Ok for a lunch stop, but for serious overnight anchoring - no way. OK, most of my anchoring has been on the West Coast of Scotland, and I like to be able to sleep at night.

 

[LittleSister]

If you do it properly you CERTAINLY dont use the windlass to break the anchor out!

So how do you break the anhchor out?

 

[Delfin]

So how do you break the anhchor out?

It depends on the windlass. Mine is hydraulic, hauls 2 tons so I don't worry much about breaking out the anchor using the windlass. I just draw the vessel up to the anchor using the windlass and up it comes. A little strain on the chain, then stop powering the windlass for a moment until slack is re-introduced, then power on again.

For electric windlasses that may overheat, the proper technique is to power or sail up the drop point of the anchor and hoist away. A straight pull either by sailing the anchor out or powering it up via the windlass works equally well, although sailing the anchor out requires some fast action on hauling to prevent oversailing the drop point and banging the hull with the rode.

 

[Hoolie]

I don't care what kind of anchor it is, but these weights seem ludicrous to me. Ok for a lunch stop, but for serious overnight anchoring - no way. OK, most of my anchoring has been on the West Coast of Scotland, and I like to be able to sleep at night.

Copied from a French Kobra 2 supplier's web site.

Longueur du bateau Poids kg Modèle
canot 2 Kobra 1 39140
dinghy 4 Kobra 1 39141
5,50 m 6 Kobra 1 37680
6,50 m 8 Kobra 1 37688
7,50 m 10 Kobra 1 37649
9 m 12 Kobra 2 49223
10,5 m 14 Kobra 2 49226
12,5 m 16 Kobra 2 49229
16 m 20 Kobra 2 49296

It's a French anchor and the recommendations are more conservative (sorry it's lost all the formatting )

 

[Colvic Watson]

Thanks, that's reassuring. I suspect the retailers want to get a sale and if you think you can get away with a cheaper purchase you are more likely to buy. Technically we can go with the 14kg but clearly the 16kg is so little more that it's an obvious choice. I still don't understand why the Delta has to be so much bigger - is the Kobra that much better?

To the question of why change - manhandling a 60lb lump on the bowsprit is not an option for a fat guy with a bad knee and a delightfully feminine SWMBO. The CQR doesn't auto set on the roller and it's just too damned heavy for our set-up.

 

[photodog]

Flog it! If you aint gonna use it as the bower... then you aint gonna use it as a Kedge!

 

[snowleopard]

The CQR doesn't auto set on the roller

With anchors like the Delta that have a flat shank you need to make sure the roller can cope. When the anchor comes up to the roller there is a 50% chance it will be upside down, i.e. blade up. As soon as the chain pulls it over the roller and towards the horizontal it will flip over so the blade ends up downwards. If the width between the cheeks of the roller is narrower than the depth of the shank it is likely to jam or flip out of the roller.

 

[snowleopard]

Copied from the Jimmy Green site; but why can the Kobra be so much lighter for the same boat length?


Anchor Size Guide


.......... 20ft 26ft 33ft 40ft 46ft 52ft
Delta - 4kg 6kg 10kg 16kg 20kg 25kg
Kobra - 4kg 6kg 8kg 10kg 14kg 16kg

.

There has to be an error there. The Kobra and Delta are very similar so there's no way the Kobra should have lighter weights like that. The figures for the Delta match other recommendations

Here is Lewmar's own sizing table.

I notice at the bottom that 'Damage by deformation or bending is not covered by this guarantee'!

 

[Blueboatman]

Confused. My 60lb cqr ( poor mans Wokna) auto stows just fine, if I pause as you do to with it just clear of the water and make sure the point is facing aft.If not, a poke with the boathook or brute force lifting of the chain off the gypsy and rotating it, when clear of the anchored yachts etc, does it.

But the roller set up is for the original 45lb cqr so the locking pin doesn't align with the hole in the the 60. Wound in tight it cant jump off, nevertheless a salty lashing for passage making is called for.

I thought one of the ( ? only) drawbacks to the Rocna type is that the roll bar requires a redesign of the bowroller assembly= expensive?

 

[Colvic Watson]

Realigning a 35lb anchor is always going to be easier than a 60lb anchor - plunging foredeck etc etc. The 60lb CQR clearly suits a boat much bigger than us. I get that it's possible with boathook etc - but we have to plan for what's going to make us want to anchor.

 

[JerryHawkins]

Chain length

Simon,

I have 50m of calibrated 10mm chain on LG ready to go on the windlass. I have another similar length of uncalibrated chain that I could 'prepare' and use given some time to rig. It's basically some forward ballast to counter a ton of diesel and 3/4 ton of water that is really a little too far aft!

Jerry