Studland drag

T

theotter

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 Nov 2004
Messages
98
Location
Lymington
Visit site
I often follow the trials and tribulations that forumites have with anchoring and the anguish of choosing the 'right' one. I rather smuggly wonder what all the fuss is about because personally I have had no problems with my anchor (Bruce) or anchoring. That was the case until a few weeks ago in Studland. The forecast was for force 7 and it certainly did blow in the night. Accordingly I had ample chain out and at midnight when the wind was peaking I was still where I should be. When I came to depart at first light it was apparent that I had done a fairly spectacular drag of about 300yards. I had threaded my way past a couple of boats and thank goodness there weren't many there because of the wind.

Sometimes these things just happen but what disturbed me more was that in telling the story, a friend told me the same thing had just happened to him. In his case he was ashore and was lucky to catch up with his boat just before it rounded Old Harry. He too normaly has no problems with his anchoring.

Is it possible the nature of the seabed has changed recently as there was a significant washout of the foreshore sand 2 winters ago. Both our anchors came up with good amounts of eel weed. Is there more of it this year or was that just result of my ploughing?

I was wondering if others had unexpectedly experienced similar problems recently.
 
Twice we've anchored in Studland this year and both times our anchor watch alarm has got us up in the middle of the night as we dragged our anchor (about F5-6).

Also, we had masses of weed on the anchor when raised.

We thought it was just us!

Julian
 
We anchored in Studland a number of times in early June - we were on a course and we were practising. Finally we stayed put for several hours in a F5 waiting for darkness. We experienced no significant drag using a CQR pattern anchor but we were careful to look for weed-free patches.

However the vessels around us were having significant problems with dragging. One single-handed mobo had half a dozen attempts before finding a spot well out towards the bar bouy. Our guess was that it was the weed causing the difficulties.
 
I think it was probably the seaweed but a sharp anchor like the Delta should be better than the Bruce. Have you considered getting a hand held GPS. We have a Garmin GPS60 - £100. It has an audible anchor alarm that is programmable for any distance and works perfectly by my pillow in the forecabin with no visible sight of satellites. It is very reassuring. This year we fitted a 12V socket in a locker to supply it.
 
I use 2 times length of chain used. You can also use less if you want to be woken at a change in wind or tide. We slept through a horrible night off Houat this summer when we were nearly becoming airborne in the front cabin - it was very reassuring.
 
Sadly I had to cut my Delta (and 40ft of chain) free last year when it fouled in Totland Bay. I replaced it with a Bruce..Bl++dy thing is useless, It holds okay in mud but that is not much of a test!

I think what you say is correct..for sand a nice sharp entry is whats needed.

Regards Nick
 
[ QUOTE ]
We slept through a horrible night off Houat this summer when we were nearly becoming airborne in the front cabin - it was very reassuring.


[/ QUOTE ]

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

My favourite place! I guess you were caught by a Vent Solaire, they sort out good from poor anchoring methods nicely. We once had a snubber line with incorporated rubber mooring compensator attached to the chain with a S/S 'S' hook and the hook straightened out under the load yet I couldn't bend it back even at home in a vice! Nowadays we use a proper heavy cast S/S chain hook but the previous incident a) demonstrates the loads applied b) that the CQR we then used was pretty good. The wind was only about F6 but was blowing straight onshore with 10mls of fetch, fortunately it was all over in about 2 hours and I think we moved out of the forecabin onto the main cabin floor to avoid the periods of zero gravity.

As regards Studland and the original post, the key is very much the weed. Fortunately the water is shallow enough and usually clear enough to seek out a clear patch of sand to drop the anchor on. Setting the anchor gradually with more and more reverse power I find usually sorts out an anchor set in the bottom or merely hooked on weed. However the shallow water brings higher snatch loads and IMO means more chain is needed than simply 3 x depth, I will usually use 5 x there normally and more in a blow, PLUS we always use a snubber line with incorporated rubber compensator wound in. We have a Delta main anchor on our current boat too and that seems to get through the weed better than the last boat's CQR. We have stayed at anchor in Studland on many occasions over the years in a variety of boats using CQR copies, proper CQRs, a Danforth and a Delta, even with full gales blowing, just as long as the wind is from SW-W, NW is OK but not ideal, anything else and it is time to think elsewhere.
 
Hi Robin,
Are you now back from S. Brittany? How was it? We find the Delta goes straight in. If you motor it in, it can dig very deep and then is more difficult to get out. We have dragged the Chinese copy of the CQR over too many harbour bottoms trying to get it to bite - glad to be rid of it.
 
To add to what everyone else has said - I have anchored many times in Studland Bay using a copy of a Bruce anchor (ie not a genuine Bruce). 7.5 kg with 8mm chain for a 25' boat. It has dragged on one occasion, and on many others repeatedly refused to bite when tested with the engine in reverse ("but it's a quiet night ..."). Combination of eel grass which wraps around the flukes, and a really useless anchor which has failed in other places too.

Does anyone want to buy a 7.5 kg Bruceoid?
 
There is a lot of weed in Studland which causes a lot of people to drag, especially close in. The best slot is just east of a clump of trees otherwise, I always look for a sandy place to drop anchor.
 
I think you've misunderstood. Re-read his post. He says you need a pointy anchor for weed.

Your Bruce should be fine for mud and sand and small stones. I've heard no-one saying they are useless, and mine work well. Doublecheck your anchoring technique.
 
Well many thanks for your advice! The reason I mentioned sand was that Studland Bay is er......sand......

I have always been careful with my anchoring technique as my boat is 10 tonne and plenty of windage. I always take time and care to dig in my anchor and whereas the Delta almost always set 1st time the Bruce almost never does and is fairly useless in sand......this becomes very apparent very quickly and until I get around to replacing it I will exercise great care!

Regards Nick
 
I don't know the place, but hear me out....

Studland Bay sounds as if it is a really popular anchorage judging by the response from other forumites.

The problem sounds very similar to what used to be considered a 'bombproof' anchorage - Puilladobhrain - south of Oban.

Puilladobhrain became a very popular stop-off point for boats waiting the tide going south and also as it was protected and had reputation for excellent holding.

Nowadays, I consider Puilladobhrain as a temporary anchorage or one waiting the tide in good weather only. Reason? Mainly because it has become so popular that the once excellent seabed has now become so ploughed up that holding is now 'poor' to 'reasonable' and I wonder if Studland Bay is in danger of becomeing too popular and therefore a victim of its' own success?

Also - to address the 'weed' part - if boats try and miss the weed, then they will be concentrated even further into 'non-weed' areas of the anchorage, promoting the damage to the seabed.

Donald
 
I was just wondering why you have had 'useless' er, now 'fairly useless' results when others find them good? Otter seems to have had good results and so do I.

If your anchoring technique is ok I am at a loss to explain the contradictory results.

Q. Is your anchor and rode heavy enough for the boat length, weight and windage?
Q. are you laying enough rode down?

He seems also to think there may be weed at Studland. The broad leading edge of the Bruce may not be as good as a pointy in these conditions. Horses for courses perhaps?
 
Yes I'm sorry about the inconsistancy of my reply. Fairly useless or just useless.. Humm? I think I'll stick with fairly useless as it does work in mud and is prbably better than having just a weight when used in sand.

Seriously though there have been several comparative tests over the years that have never really been so conclusive that everyone is convinced that one anchor or another is that much better over the entire range.

My own experience of sailing this boat over the the same area for 7 years or so is quite conclusive for me..The Delta was great and the Bruce is poor in sand.

BTW my chain is very substantial and I have about 200ft which is not as much as I would like, but sufficient for anchoring ( with a decent anchor ) in the Solent area.

Regards Nick
 
In an attempt to solve your problem I ask the question again.

Q. Is your anchor and rode heavy enough for the boat length, weight and windage?

Or, put it anotherway, what is your anchor weight and chain size?
 
If you would like to tell me what your particular qualification is to 'solve my anchoring problem' I think that for the moment I am quite happy to rely on my 35 years of cruising on my own boats to draw my own conclusions. Thank you.

If you are an expert in this field maybe you would like to fill in your Bio so the rest us will be able to recognise this and defer to you.

Regards Nick
 
Mr Castaway

Why so defensive? I'm only trying to help. I was asking a straightforward question as to your anchor weight and rode?

If I was to say I was a novice would that help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top