Anchor rode length?

J

jlastofka

New member
I've looked through the posts and didn't find a discussion of what lengths of lines people are really deploying. The books say with a 7:1 scope you get almost 100% of the anchor's holding power. Obviously this assumes something about the bottom. If you hook onto something substantial (well-shaped rock, cable, sunken ship) you could use a lot less scope.... In sand or mud, the scope would be more important.

In crowded anchorages and protected water, we normally use something like 3:1 here in Southern California. Even less sometimes.

What do people find they can normally use? I'm thinking a Fortress FX-16 (big aluminum danforth) and 20' 1/4" chain and 300' 1/2" line with a windlass on the 22 cruiser I'm getting in a week or so. I have some other anchors lying around, up to a 35lb CQR, but I think I'll try the FX-16 first, because I have it handy and it only weighs 10 lbs.

If I anchor off Catalina Island, it's going to be in about 100' of water, so anything over 3:1 is going to be a LOT of line.

(Maybe I'll decide to actually try the 35lb CQR. That ought to hold.)

Anyway, what do you find is a reasonable length to actually deploy if you're not in a hurricane?......

Jeff
 
Jeff,

I use a 16# bruce with 40' chain and 200' rode. I rode out a nasty night at Little Scorpian on Santa Cruz Island a couple years ago- the anchor held great.
 
I have a 25 so slightly different than your requirements. I have a 22lb Delta anchor with 30 ft of 5/16+ chain and 280 ft of rode. Works well for me in all conditons and bottoms I've encountered so far, more chain is always better but have to consider the extra weight on board. The general rule of thumb is chain = length of boat or more.

To reduce scope in good (calm) conditions, first set the anchor at 5 to 1 or greater, then reduce scope to 3 or 4 to 1. But under reduced scope I wouldn't leave the boat or sleep overnight in that configuration.

And remember your anchoring depth must include the height above water where your rode attaches.
 
jlastofka":1ijf1un1 said:
I've looked through the posts and didn't find a discussion of what lengths of lines people are really deploying. The books say with a 7:1 scope you get almost 100% of the anchor's holding power. Obviously this assumes something about the bottom. If you hook onto something substantial (well-shaped rock, cable, sunken ship) you could use a lot less scope.... In sand or mud, the scope would be more important.

In crowded anchorages and protected water, we normally use something like 3:1 here in Southern California. Even less sometimes.

What do people find they can normally use? I'm thinking a Fortress FX-16 (big aluminum danforth) and 20' 1/4" chain and 300' 1/2" line with a windlass on the 22 cruiser I'm getting in a week or so. I have some other anchors lying around, up to a 35lb CQR, but I think I'll try the FX-16 first, because I have it handy and it only weighs 10 lbs.

If I anchor off Catalina Island, it's going to be in about 100' of water, so anything over 3:1 is going to be a LOT of line.

(Maybe I'll decide to actually try the 35lb CQR. That ought to hold.)

Anyway, what do you find is a reasonable length to actually deploy if you're not in a hurricane?......

Jeff
Click to expand...

Jeff-

I have the Fortress FX-16 on my CD-22.

It's a great anchor, and I like the light weight on the bow roller. I use it with 100 ft of chain (there goes the light bow!) followed by 200 ft of rope to keep the pull horizontal.

This anchor is best suited for sand and mud, and must definitely power set solidly to be trustworthy.

In tests, it does not reset well in direction changes in big winds.

I would not use it if I were anticipating anchoring in rocks, grass, or hard clay.

I'd be sure to use plenty of chain (25-40 ft) to keep the pull horizontal.

For a more universal anchor, I'd choose the plow type (i.e., Delta Fastset), or the claw type (Bruce or similar).

I'd keep that 35 lb CQR down someplace admidships ready to switch out with your normal anchor as a storm anchor.

Some of the foregoing is based on personal experience, but most on a great amount of reading posts and anchor tests.

Good Luck On the Hook!

Joe.
 
Jeff,

While the TomCat has more wind and sea working against the anchor than your CD22, here are some more thoughts:

As Joe said, it's always good to have a monster anchor stowed away for heavy seas, winds, etc.. Sometimes I put both out to reduce the swing. Sometimes, when I'm nervous about sleeping, I'll just haul out the monster anchor so I can relax.

My TomCat came with a fairly small, to my eye, Delta Fastset on the windlass. It can drag fairly easily if not set hard at the start, and can be pulled out by a sharp wind change, esp. on a 1 to 3 ratio in soft bottom.

My killer, monster anchor is a 22 pound Danforth that I used to use on my previous houseboat. I have 10 foot of chain and 200 foot of rope on that one. (most of our anchorages are about 20-25 foot).

I'd advise having a rope and chain mounted on the heavier 2nd anchor. Sometimes you need it quick.

John
 
drjohn71a":13su3v9j said:
My killer, monster anchor is a 22 pound Danforth that I used to use on my previous houseboat. I have 10 foot of chain and 200 foot of rope on that one. (most of our anchorages are about 20-25 foot).

I'd advise having a rope and chain mounted on the heavier 2nd anchor. Sometimes you need it quick.
Click to expand...

Presumably your Delta remains on the windlass? When you deploy your Danforth, do you just throw it over the side and tie it off to the bow cleat? I would think you would need some kind of roller or something. Please explain in more detail!

Thanks,
Warren
 
It's not a good idea to 'throw' a danforth over the side. The anchor will 'fly' or 'plane' thru the water and can wind up somewhere you don't want or can foul the chain as the chain can sink faster than the anchor.

It's best to lower the anchor till it touches the bottom. Then start backing the boat and pay out the rode. When the pre-chosen length of rode is reached, cleat it off and idle or coast backwards till the anchor sets and the rode comes up tight.

I always apply a little throttle in reverse to ensure that the anchor is set.
 
Well, let me see... If the weather/water is rough,then the primary anchor line from the windlass ought to be tied off to that bow cleat.

For two anchors, first you set the windlass anchor so that, when you're all done, you'll have 45-60 angles of pull on each anchor. The higher the degree of pull up to 90, the stronger the combined setup.

Then you slowly putt around, using the first anchor line like a 'radius' drawing tool until your spot to drop the second anchor comes up. A line between the two anchors will end up perpendicular to where your boat will finally be.

Drop the second anchor carefully by hand and back off on it pulling close to the final angle of pull. I usuallly aim for 60 degrees from each anchor. When you are done, your boat should be offset about half way between the two anchors, perpendicular to a line drawn between the two anchors.

Many times, I 'd just pull up the smaller anchor and drop and set the heavy anchor. That works fine except on poor bottoms and massive wind/wave action.


Also, as a note for general TomCat anchoring, to minimize the hull slapping at anchor, you can drop and set the windlassed anchor, then loop a line around that anchor line and tie it back to the port or starboard forward cleat and pull it until main anchor line leads out at about 45 degrees. The boat will still sail and slap a bit, but it can only sail short runs in one direction and won't keep sailing up one way, turning the other way and sailin that way. Two anchors is the best setup to stop sailing at anchor.

I almost never tie an anchor up to any where but the bow cleat.
John
 
We use a slightly oversized Bruce, 20' chain, and 200 feet of line -- haven't pulled out yet. In Alaska and British Columbia, we use 300' of line. We have the fortress as our backup -- a great light-weight anchor. Swinging on the Bruce as we answer your inquiry.
 
Warren...

I now see that I didn't fully address your question as to how to handle the auxillary anchor rode as it goes from the bow cleat to the water.

I run it between the railing posts. You could make a harness to hold it in between to vertical railing posts. On my other boats, I had bow chocks to run the rope thru to prevent chafing against the fiberglass. I've not had two anchors out for long lately. One could wrap some chafing gear, leathers, carpet, but probably a good set of chocks installed would be a good idea.


You may have already noticed in stormy weather anchorages that, with the currently supplied bow roller and winch setup, the anchor rode easily jumps out of the roller and ends up rubbing on the fiberglass. So, we probably ought to do something to better contain the anchor rode as it leaves the bow.

John
 
Oh.... and to answer jlovstacka... s question...

I don't like to sleep on less than a 6 to 1 rode to depth ratio. 10 to 1 is the most relaxing. I do know you can get by on less... OK if you're awake fishing and/or watching, but oh boy can you wake up to some surprises if anchored on short ratios!

John
 
Best answer is for you to get either the Chapman's Seamanship book and/or the U.S. Coast Guard's Seamanship manual. They are filled with highly detailed info just like this and you can browse all winter long... and learn.

John
 
If you just can't get enough information on anchoring, Earl R. Hinz has written "The Complete Book of Anchoring and Mooring". At 300 pages, it provides more information than most people want!

Dreamer-22 lb. Delta Fastset, 50' 1/4" Chain, 250' 1/2" Nylon Rode. Works for us.
 
I have 15' feet of chain with 300' of rode. I use the delta quick set. Never had a problem but then again I have not slept on anchor. I don't think I could do that no matter how much rode I had. I like the shorter chain because if I had to listen to 50' of chain go through the windlass I think I'd just cut it loose. Kind of noisy.
 
On my two C Dory boats I have 200 feet of 1/2" rode and 20 and 50 feet of 1/4" HT chain. I keep another two hunks of 200 feet of rode aboard.

I have anchored hundreds (maybe thousands) of times in the channel Islands--and for the most part I anchor fore and aft there--you want to keep the bow into the swell. And also keep the boat alighned with whatever wind is blowing.

On my larger boats my primary rode was 200 feet of chain, backed with 200 or 300 feet of line. I always had several more 300 hunks of line aboard.

At the Isthmus (Two Harbors) the only place you can anchor, which is not over 100 feet deep is in little fishermans (KHYC area).. there you can work the C Dory back in close to the beach and anchor the bow in deeper water. With two anchors, fore and aft, you can get a lot more boats in a harbor (for example go to Little Geiger's cove on a holiday weekend and see how many boats Blue water cruising club can get in there--virtually can walk across the cove.

I often set a stern anchor in shoal water--as shoal as I can dare (consider a number of my boats had 8 foot draft)--and then pay out lines until I could set the bow anchor and still have 6 to 7:1 scope--set the bow, and back down onto the stern anchor...
 
Well, I certainly agree with Dan. This is one of those topics that ranks right up there with "what kind of truck do you drive?" in terms of varying opinions. Experience like Thataway's and local conditions make a huge difference.

Here in Puget Sound, generally anchoring conditions are very good and in all but the worst of weather a scope between 3 to 1 and 5 to 1 is very adequate for the common anchorages. As it generally works out, during the most crowded times when space makes it hard to get much more than 3 to 1, the winds tend to be lightest. As the wind and weather gets more interesting, the crowds leave anyway. Surprisingly enough, as deep as Puget Sound gets, the most popular anchorages have lots of shallow water - ie Sucia Island, Stuart Island, Deer Harbor, Friday Harbor, Monataque Harbor, Bedwell Harbor etc.

We had an appropriately sized Bruce anchor on a Camano 28 and prior to a trip up the inside passage, I was convinced I needed more rode so I put on 100 feet of chain and 300 feet of nylon rode. I was prepared for the deep water anchorages up north. I don't think the last 200 hundred feet of the rode ever got wet. Most of the time, the chain and a little line was all that ever went out and we slept well except for one very stormy night when it would have been too bouncy to sleep if we had been chained to a concrete pillar. Was 100 feet of chain and 300 feet of rode the right decision? You bet. If we had needed it, it was there, we just didn't need it.

On my Ranger 25, I have a Bruce type anchor, 50 feet of chain and 200 feet of rode. I'm not planning to go north of Vancouver Island so that should be adequate. I'm carrying a second anchor, chain and rode - mostly as an emergency spare but don't expect to use it. I have enough line on board to stern tie to shore if needed but I have only done that in the past in Desolation Sound and it's not on my want to return to list anyway so will probably not use it.

Of course, like every body else, we've had our sleep disturbed multiple times as we get bumped by some boat that is drifting around because the skipper thought letting out enough line to get the anchor to the bottom was fine or they came in late and anchored inside the scope of our boat.

I have noticed that I'm checking the anchor a bit more often during the night as the years go by. Consequence of getting older - if I'm up anyway to visit the head, might as well take a look around. Besides, it's pretty out there in the middle of the night.
 
7 to 1 is our standard. We'll go to 10 to 1 if the weather is up; and/or put out a second anchor depending on the situation. In a crowded anchorage, our shallow draft gives us an advantage, and we'll try to work our way in closer. Keep in mind that in the Puget Sound area, the tidal swing will be much greater than in the Gulf... so our ratios will increase as the tide drops. We have 50' of chain and 200' of line on the primary (delta 22#); 20' of chain and 150' of line on the secondary (danforth).

We had used Fortress anchors on our trimaran to keep the weight down, but they will tend to float down... very important that you back down on them firmly to insure that they are set. I sleep well with the Delta and find it resets better with a big change of direction due to wind/tide.

One other technique that works well for me: if I think there is a concern about the anchor set, before bed, I'll say, "I sure hope that anchor holds tonight... I'm not sure if it set well." :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
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