Anchor hangers choice

[davidmhull]

Good morning. I have finally given in and want to upgrade my anchor hanger. There are basically two styles to choose from for a Danforth anchor. There is this:

and this:


Which do you prefer? Right now I just have it bungied to the pulpit so anything would be an improvement. Thanks.

 

[Michael Davis]

I have only used the first type you show. I have had anchors jump out of them while crossing an area of rip tide. Never used the 2nd type but it looks more secure. No longer use Danforth type anchors.

 

[Simon Sexton]

@davidmhull ,
Good afternoon! I personally don't have an anchor holder on my boat, but a friend of mine has one on his Hunter 31 that I've sailed a few times. Last time, we sailed out to a small island in the bay and anchored there. When it came time to lift the anchor out of the holder, it was very difficult do remove it because the boat was rolling. If you don't lift it perfectly straight upwards, it'll get stuck sideways in the holder and you'll find yourself jerking and shaking the heck out of the danforth to get it loose. Before departing the island, we made sure to spray the thing down with WD-40. It was a little more cooperative after that.

 

[rgranger]

I guess it depend on where you plan to hang your anchor. The first option works best in the bow pulpit.... and also allows your anchor to snag your genoa and destroy it for you.

You can also make your own using 4" PVC pipe. Here are pics of several I made. The first boat I no longer own. The second is my current boat. In both cases, the PVC pipe is clamped to a stanchion post using a large hose clamp. I think the black PVC pipe looks better. If you decide to do this. You need to put an end cap on the PVC pipe and then drill several holes in the cap to let water drain out. If you look closely, you can see that I am able to leave about 10' of chain attached to the anchors. I feed the chain down into the pipe then stuff the shank down in the pipe. I loop a small bungee over the anchor to ensure that it does not bounce out but I really think that is overkill. When I am sailing I usually keep the road attached, coiled and bungeed to the rail right next to the anchor. It makes for a very easy and fast deployment.

You can clearly see the hose clamps in this stern anchor mount. A stern anchor mount is ideal for a quick lunch hook. I make the anchor ready in the cockpit before I pull into a cove. As I enter the cove, I cut the outboard, toss the anchor over the stern and let the momentum set the hook. I originally set it up as an emergency anchor but so far I have not had to use it for that (knock on wood).

 

[davidmhull]

Thanks very much for the replies. I am particularly interested to hear that the anchor can come loose on the first type. I sail some pretty rough water (lost my mast last year in a squall) and I do not want it jumping out. The second type looks like it is fairly adjustable as to how firmly it can grip the anchor. I've never had a problem with my Genoa trying to grab anything that far forward yet so not sure if that would be an issue. I like the pipe idea R. Thanks again.

 

[Justin_NSA]

I had the second one on my Mac. The only problem was that the arm of the anchor was long enough to bang on the deck. I had to shorten it about 1". They I had to wrap it some so it would clank when we sailed.
My Hunter has a roller and a locker if I want to store it.

 

[MisterR6]

I have the first one exactly. It is very easy to use and has never come out or loose. There is a small latch on one side, open the latch and angle the anchor up then slide sideways to get it out of the other side. There is no way it can come loose or slide out without opening the latch. An old soft sided cooler keeps the chain off the deck. If you zoom on the first picture the latch is on the left side. I like it, no issues, or complaints. I have a 155% genoa that stays several feet away, never snagged it yet, not sure why it would ever be in front of the bow pulpit, but I suppose accidents happen.

 

[rgranger]

but I suppose accidents happen.

 

[davidmhull]

Thanks for the input misterr6.