Anchor/Rode

Davidasailor26 · Oct 1, 2023

More chain is generally better, but it’s a compromise for boat weight and anchor handling. In mud you don’t have the chafe concerns that others might dragging line across rock or coral. Personally I would probably be happy with 20’ of chain and 200’ of line on a 27’ boat, anchoring in anything up to 25 or 30 feet of depth. The 10/50 is tighter unless depth is closer to 5’, but as a backup/stern anchor that could be adequate too.

Richard19068 · Oct 1, 2023

AUDIS BROW said:
Generally, I am anchoring in muddy bottoms in shallow water with I believe a 12lb(guess) fluke. There is 20' chain followed by 200' line. I have a smaller fluke for the stern with 10ft chain and 50ft line. Doing some research online I believe I am underserved with chain, but curious what everyone else is using before I go to the bank.

Any suggestions on what chain size to use, how long?

Rope size, how long?

Any experience with different anchors than the fluke?

What do you consider "shallow"?
Where around Dana Point do you anchor?
Overnight?
Weather?
Do you want to set up for where you "generally" anchor or do you want to be more at ease if you are anchoring off some of the coves at Catalina?

P.S. What boat did you capsize with Dad?

Benny17441 · Oct 2, 2023

My experience over the year with fluke anchors is that they do not reset well and quickly enough . I much prefer a plow or claw anchor. The rule of thumb for a 27 feet boat is a 25 lbs. anchor and I would recommend a 30 or 35 lbs. As far as chain, one foot of chain per foot of boat length. Your calm anchorage may not always remain calm and you may not want to be limited to just that location in the future so having an overly strong tackle will bring peace of mind and open up sailing possibilities. As far as chain I would recommend 1/4".

eherlihy · Oct 2, 2023

By fluke, do you mean a Danforth knockoff?

As a very general rule-of-thumb, you want 1 pound of anchor weight, and at least 1 foot of chain, for every foot of boat. That said, I have a Rocna 15 (33lbs) with 25 feet of chain for my O'day 35 (11,500 lbs). I have anchored up and down the east coast (brought my boat from RI to the west coast of FL in 2020-2021) without a problem.

I hesitate to share this (because comparative anchor discussions invariably bring out the trolls); but you may find this comparison chart that I used to share with my ASA 103 students helpful (Circa 2016). The source for this chart was an online discussion that I had with Greg Knutsen from Mantus Anchors. In my experience, I have found that the galvanizing of Mantus anchors has been lacking, thereby reducing their robust rating to less than indicated in the chart.

jssailem · Oct 7, 2023

The problems with anchor selection are compromise and subjective experiences.

If you are considering anchoring off the beach as Santa Barbara or generally along the coast. I would definitely up the chain length and anchor weight. The new designs all have plusses and minuses. Adding anchoring gear to your boat can impact the sailing character of the boat. There are compromises to be made.

In my research I liked the comparative data from Steve on his YouTube site SV Panope

With this info, my defined sailing area, and the information about the anchorages, I selected a 35lb Mantus M1 galvanized anchor with 100ft of chain and 250 ft of rode. Note my boat is 35 ft in length.

I plan to anchor out in water as deep as 50ft, with weather and tides that can endanger poorly anchored boat. If I was to make a change I would increase the anchor weight. I have safely anchored in sheltered bays with 50 knot wind storms and not dragged nor heard the anchor alarm during the night.

Note that adding weight to your anchor system means you need to pull the gear back aboard. This may mean you need a reliable windlass in the system. It did for me.

capta · Oct 7, 2023

eherlihy said:
By fluke, do you mean a Danforth knockoff?

As a very general rule-of-thumb, you want 1 pound of anchor weight, and at least 1 foot of chain, for every foot of boat. That said, I have a Rocna 15 (33lbs) with 25 feet of chain for my O'day 35 (11,500 lbs). I have anchored up and down the east coast (brought my boat from RI to the west coast of FL in 2020-2021) without a problem.

I hesitate to share this (because comparative anchor discussions invariably bring out the trolls); but you may find this comparison chart that I used to share with my ASA 103 students helpful (Circa 2016). The source for this chart was an online discussion that I had with Greg Knutsen from Mantus Anchors. In my experience, I have found that the galvanizing of Mantus anchors has been lacking, thereby reducing their robust rating to less than indicated in the chart.

View attachment 220391

Well, I'm guessing that the chart you posted was a product of Mantus. From my considerable anchoring experience, the Rocna is by far and away the best anchor to use as one's primary anchor. Where it may not be suitable, the Fortress covers the need.
Below is a picture of a Mantus on a cat in Trinidad. The anchor appeared to be correctly sized for the boat, yet the tip was, as you can see, badly bent. A Rocna is much more heavily built and I do not ever see this happening.
Also, the Bruce, which I see so frequently, was never designed as a yacht anchor. It was designed to be a semi-permanent anchor for oil rigs and the like. Lots of folks think they are great, but I personally, would prefer that the single most important bit of safety gear on my boat, be designed for that purpose.

Anchor/Rode

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Attachments