Anchor Decision
- Thread starter MikeHoncho
- Start date
mike, you have some of the most skilled captains on this web site trying to guide you. they have been being very polite. mike, there is no but. a vessels ground tackle is it's emergency brake. it's is the most important piece of safety equipment on the vessel.
when buying your ground gear you want to have what's best for region under the most horrific conditions, not what might work on a calm summers day. mike, you have been told by highly skilled captians that a CQR is not a match at all for your area. reread the leslie wisdom. reread capta's comments. these guys are good captains.
it's safety first mike
P.S. mike, on a beautiful summers day, arriving to a beautiful cove, do you want to spend the afternoon exploring it's pleasures or do you want to spend the afternoon trying to get your hook set?
SAFTEY FIRST
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This is my second boat with a CQR primary anchor. After 30 some years and hundreds of nights, I would say the CQR takes a bit longer to set certainly than the newer anchors. But I've had much better luck than Les and have rarely had my CQR's not set. But it has happened and we had to bring it in and set again.Dang it, now your telling me I shouldn't have bought my canvas sails?
Allow some extra distance to set when you drop it. Set it with a long scope, lay it down, don't drop it. For insurance, make sure you back down hard on it. That's about it. I don't think it hurts to lay the anchor chain and rode (I use chain and nylon) down and let anchor slowly set in as you furl sails, etc. Then set it later.
CQR's will drag! I've had a handful of incidents where our anchor has dragged over those 30+ years. But luckily no problems that couldn't be taken care of.
We spent a year or so in the Bahamas, sleeping on a CQR. These days, we're seasonal sailors on the coast of NE and on anchor 30 -40 nights a season. Rarely do we have to spend the night in an open roadstead (I avoid exposed anchorages) as we're familiar with most of our sailing grounds.
Wow, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to stir up so much.mike, you have some of the most skilled captains on this web site trying to guide you. they have been being very polite. mike, there is no but. a vessels ground tackle is it's emergency brake. it's is the most important piece of safety equipment on the vessel.
when buying your ground gear you want to have what's best for region under the most horrific conditions, not what might work on a calm summers day. mike, you have been told by highly skilled captians that a CQR is not a match at all for your area. reread the leslie wisdom. reread capta's comments. these guys are good captains.
it's safety first mike
P.S. mike, on a beautiful summers day, arriving to a beautiful cove, do you want to spend the afternoon exploring it's pleasures or do you want to spend the afternoon trying to get your hook set.
SAFTEY FIRST
I think it was more curiosity poorly phrased that got us here. You can't give away a genuine CQR down here anymore.
Anchors tend to be a hot button item on most boating-related internet forums. This discussion has actually been more civilized than many that I have seen. Lots of good info has been provided.
My 2 cents is this –
1) Different anchors work well in different bottom types. There is no single anchor that does everything best in all situations. The modern anchors do seem to provide excellent results more reliably than the older anchors, in most bottom types, as a general rule of thumb. Different people have different favorites, just like some folks like Coke & others like Pepsi. I happen to like Mantus & Rockna, but that's just me. Mantus has the advantage of being able to unbolt, so that you can store it in pieces if you carry it as a spare. My 21' boat still hangs on a plain old oversized plow more often than anything else & has had no issues to date.
2) Consider not selling your spare anchor. Eventually you will loose an anchor somewhere & having a backup sitting in the garage may be a day saver for you at some point in the future. You may also want to set 3 anchors "Bahamian style" as a storm tactic if you get caught in a tough situation some day. The money you are likely to get back on a used anchor is not likely to be a big chunk of the replacement cost.
3) Part of the reason that CQR anchors enjoyed such widespread popularity for so long, was that they were one of the few anchors that were considered insurable by Lloyd’s of London for many years. Before choosing which anchor to hang your boat on overnight, consider looking at your insurance policy to see if they restrict which ones they cover.
4) If you find yourself setting & retrieving your anchor by hand, that Fortress will be your best friend. If you are looking for an anchor that you can not worry about during a tide or wind change, then other anchors are likely better choices.
5) if you are going to hang your boat on that big honkin’ used CQR, be sure that the pin is in good condition.
My 2 cents is this –
1) Different anchors work well in different bottom types. There is no single anchor that does everything best in all situations. The modern anchors do seem to provide excellent results more reliably than the older anchors, in most bottom types, as a general rule of thumb. Different people have different favorites, just like some folks like Coke & others like Pepsi. I happen to like Mantus & Rockna, but that's just me. Mantus has the advantage of being able to unbolt, so that you can store it in pieces if you carry it as a spare. My 21' boat still hangs on a plain old oversized plow more often than anything else & has had no issues to date.
2) Consider not selling your spare anchor. Eventually you will loose an anchor somewhere & having a backup sitting in the garage may be a day saver for you at some point in the future. You may also want to set 3 anchors "Bahamian style" as a storm tactic if you get caught in a tough situation some day. The money you are likely to get back on a used anchor is not likely to be a big chunk of the replacement cost.
3) Part of the reason that CQR anchors enjoyed such widespread popularity for so long, was that they were one of the few anchors that were considered insurable by Lloyd’s of London for many years. Before choosing which anchor to hang your boat on overnight, consider looking at your insurance policy to see if they restrict which ones they cover.
4) If you find yourself setting & retrieving your anchor by hand, that Fortress will be your best friend. If you are looking for an anchor that you can not worry about during a tide or wind change, then other anchors are likely better choices.
5) if you are going to hang your boat on that big honkin’ used CQR, be sure that the pin is in good condition.
Great input by everyone. Giving and taking information on forums demand tact and logic. My hope is that I have taken the given info with courtesy and tact. Any other way is not information sharing but debating.
I'm going to keep them all Jim! I have approx 75ft of chain with 200 ft of rode and another 250ft spool of spare on board. I'll also keep my eyes open for a newer type and if one comes along I'll snatch it. I was eye balling the Mantus.
Again, thanks for the input I feel it all is very valuable.
I would keep both. Actually, I did keep both. I replaced my primary Delta with a Manson Supreme. The Supreme hangs on the bow roller, and the Delta now resides on the pulpit, ready for deployment as a secondary anchor. The Fortress has always lived in the port lazerette and is light and lies flat for storage.
The Delta served us well, but the Supreme sets quicker in all kinds of bottoms. The Fortress is worth keeping for it's ability to hold in mud.
Anchors have been discussed ad infititum in all of the sailing forums for many years. Bottom line is if you are buying new, buy a new generation anchor, Rocna, Mantus, Fortess etc. Yes, the older anchors, CQR etc have worked for years but so have hanked on jibs and sextants. The new gen anchors set hard and very seldom drag....
The Delta is too small for any use with your boat. Sell it.
CQR is outdated. IMHO, there were better choices available when I started sailing, 40 years ago. Just read the histories of dragging and setting problems. There are good reasons that evolutionary line died out. Yes, there are a few die-hards out there for anything. A 25-pound Rocna or Mantus should do fine and be more reliable.
10-pound Danforth vs. Fortress is a huge difference. one might be a little small, the other quite good. You must be precise. A Rocna/Fortress combo is quite versatile, with many rigging alternatives.
CQR is outdated. IMHO, there were better choices available when I started sailing, 40 years ago. Just read the histories of dragging and setting problems. There are good reasons that evolutionary line died out. Yes, there are a few die-hards out there for anything. A 25-pound Rocna or Mantus should do fine and be more reliable.
10-pound Danforth vs. Fortress is a huge difference. one might be a little small, the other quite good. You must be precise. A Rocna/Fortress combo is quite versatile, with many rigging alternatives.
Crimey, people. He already said he bought what he wanted and that he is keeping all three. He's not going to sell his CQR just on a few say-so's. People have told hm to sell it all, keep it all, sell one or the other, so we've pretty well given him a bunch of usless advice. You CQR-haters remind me of the Eagles song where they sing "They will never forget you, 'till somebody else comes along". CQR has long been the anchor to buy. Just because there are new kids on the block (for alot more money) doesn't mean that all of a sudden CQRs suck.
Everyone pays for what they can afford and use what you like, but there's no need to bad-mouth what someone else can afford for his use and already said he will keep and use. I'm sure all anchors will drag at some time or other. Give us a break, folks..
Everyone pays for what they can afford and use what you like, but there's no need to bad-mouth what someone else can afford for his use and already said he will keep and use. I'm sure all anchors will drag at some time or other. Give us a break, folks..
That's funny right there. Yea your right but owning a sailboat for less than a year and already knowing the anchor question was going to open a can of worms, I remind myself that I asked the question and expect answers that I might not like as long as it's nice. That's why i'm not on a couple other sailing forums, not nice....
I think anchors are highly over rated. There are millions of posts on anchor brands in thread arguments (note Mikes awareness), yet you rarely hear about choosing an anchorage, which entails volumes. Or what it takes to gain experience anchoring, and how that will effect how you anchor, over time.
I don't think you can buy a good nights sleep in an open roadstead where it's blowing 30 knots at 3am. I think you can gain that skill, if you want to, but that takes experience, not $$$. There's more to anchoring than what's shackled(oh, a million threads cover that bit of gear, too) onto the end of your rode.
Our coast is full of schooners now in the charter trade. Many are over a hundred years old. A century ago these same boats were engaged in trade around the world. Docks were few in ports. These boats and the crews lives depended on them staying put on anchor. They learned how to (or didn't and were lost).
It's a joy to watch these old boats anchor for the night. It's a hand-labor intensive move. The plan is laid long before they reach their anchorage; locations weather forecast, dinner for the 'dudes', the sunset, other boats, etc etc, and finally, their anchor and how it performs in different bottom.
They set those anchors under sail (most of the schooners are un-powered). They still have the old fisherman anchors from the era the boats were built. Not the best available today but still a good all around anchor, if you know what you're doing.
The captain of the schooner American Eagle, rode this southerly into Burnt Coat Harbor off Swan's Island several years ago. We (under power) came in behind. They laid the big fisherman on the bottom running downwind and let the anchor set and bring the bow into the wind. Looked simple but another Fisherman is ready to run(this schooner I believe is powered but if so, the engine was not running).
We anchored alongside satisfied with the weather forecast (and the set of our anchor), for a good nights sleep. Another old schooner sailed in later.
The captain steered the same anchoring maneuver, all under sail. This was the schooner Beaudoin. Beautiful sight in the slanting afternoon light. These old boats, still getting around the coast of Maine on antiquities.
The more you know, the less you need.
There was just an interesting coffee-onboard thread on Cruising Anarchy. It went like gangbusters for 21 days with 5051 views and 206 posts!and next we will discuss the absolute best method to brew coffee on board.......
For my money, the Mocha Pot rules.
Oh boy you know how to ask provocative questions. Swivels... Many choices, many issues. Maybe not?
Start another thread.and next we will discuss the absolute best method to brew coffee on board.......
What’s wrong with a little thread drift?
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Spoil sport
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Yes! Another train wreck!