Anchor
- Thread starter JamesRay
- Start date
- Status
It is a good idea to have a few anchors on board. One size can be a general working anchor. Another would be a storm anchor (the big one) and another just a lunch hook (like 4# or 8# for a 25' sailboat). It's a good idea to have a 2nd anchor on board if you lose one too.
Up to the point you can't handle it, or it weighs your boat down excessively, there is no such thing as "too much anchor", particularly on a stormy evening..
A 20 lb Danforth would be about right for a 35-footer, so it would be extra-secure with your 25. But if you get involved with raft-ups and the like, it would be a really nice thing to have! if you use it, make sure you set it well.
Hartley
S/V Atsa
A 20 lb Danforth would be about right for a 35-footer, so it would be extra-secure with your 25. But if you get involved with raft-ups and the like, it would be a really nice thing to have! if you use it, make sure you set it well.
Hartley
S/V Atsa
Danforth's site shows the high tensile good for a 50 footer in 20 mph winds. That's a far cry from a 50 or 60 mph blow. Given the fluke anchor's propensity to not reset if it gets pryed or pulled loose, I woudn't consider it overkill for an oh-crap storm anchor for your boat. I keep a similar monster on my little boat, with chain and rope rode, ready to go but stored so it doesn't get in the way. Just in case.
http://www.danforthanchors.com/hitensile.html
http://www.danforthanchors.com/hitensile.html
Twenty pounds is not a very large anchor for any craft over twenty feet. I weigh 160 pounds and all of my ladders are class #1 commercial grade rated for 300 pounds. The difference in the feelings of safety are wonderful. With a 20 pound danforth and some chain you should be able to sleep well on a 7:1 scope.
Can you store it below somewhere? Keep the working anchor in the normal (for your boat, which I think has an anchor locker) location, ready to deploy, but put the big one some place out of the way, where it wouldn't take too long to get if needed, but such that you're not tripping over it all the time.
I have a friend who, when asked how large an anchor always says-
" five pounds less than the heaviest you can lift off the bottom"
Bit of an exaggeration, but ---
On the other hand, a 20 pound Danforth is a monstrous big thing to stow. I just sold two of them and it's just a huge anchor- Had them left over from a 35 footer.
I use a 22 pound Bruce with 100 feet of chain (plus nylon) on my 25 footer, which has worked well over some 10,000 miles of coastal cruising. And I carry a 12 pound Hi Tensile Danforth as a backup. Plus a 15 pound Folding Northill. With separate rodes for each.
If you go traveling, take at least two, and make 'em different kinds. Then if one won't work in a particular bottom, another just might. Besides, SOMETIMES you need a Bahama Moor
" five pounds less than the heaviest you can lift off the bottom"
Bit of an exaggeration, but ---
On the other hand, a 20 pound Danforth is a monstrous big thing to stow. I just sold two of them and it's just a huge anchor- Had them left over from a 35 footer.
I use a 22 pound Bruce with 100 feet of chain (plus nylon) on my 25 footer, which has worked well over some 10,000 miles of coastal cruising. And I carry a 12 pound Hi Tensile Danforth as a backup. Plus a 15 pound Folding Northill. With separate rodes for each.
If you go traveling, take at least two, and make 'em different kinds. Then if one won't work in a particular bottom, another just might. Besides, SOMETIMES you need a Bahama Moor
I guess 20# wouldn't be.
30 years ago, I used to crew on a 50 foot on deck schooner. She catted a pair of 100 pound fishermen on 1/2 inch chain. Manual windlass.
After getting underway from a Bahama moor, you were READY for Breakfast!!
The working anchor is mounted on the bow stern with chain and line in the anchor locker up front Was thinking I would switch them out use the smaller one as the extra.
James, I sail a 23' San Juan on a fresh water lake that has many anchoring areas where the depth is from 10 to 20 feet deep. I also use a Danforth anchor of 16#'s. It has held in winds of 20 mph without a hint of slipage. I use 20 feet of 5/16 chain and 150 feet of 1/2 nylon with a scope of 7 to 1. You must be able to back the anchor down very strongly or it won't hold a dingy. I honestly think that a 20# anchor is too large to back down with a boat your size. Go try out the anchor and dive on it to see how it buries itself. If she is dug in great, if not then drop a size and try again.
Good luck, Ray
Good luck, Ray
- Status