Anchoring System Upgrade

[Terry Cox]

Our boat came equipped with a 40# Danforth, 30 feet of 5/16" grade 40 chain and 250 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon. When we first purchased the boat in 2002 I had some anchoring lessons to learn.

Those lessons have helped make what I consider to be a very effective anchoring system suitable for just about any occasion. Still have the 40# Danforth. Very effective in PNW waters. Also, still use a 20# kellet (lead down rigger ball). So, Belle-Vie has 50' of 5/16" grade 40 chain, 150 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon, another 50' of 5/16" grade 40 chain and another 150 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon. Each is connected to the other using a warp splice.

Typically I shoot for 25 feet of water to drop and set the anchor. Usually settle with a minimum of 110 to 140 feet of rode unless sour weather is in the forecast. A SS carabiner secures the kellet to the end of the first 50' segment of 5/16" chain. This helps with catenary.

Catenary is also the reason for alternating between chain-to-rope to chain-to-rope. This tip came from another seasoned sailor that seemed to make sense when lots of rode is needed for much deeper water and/or sour weather conditions.

In all the years of anchoring hundreds of times in PNW waters, one time the anchor did not hold and that was in a strong blow in Cortez Bay in Cortez Island, BC. It is a notoriously poor anchorage consisting of a thin layer of mud over hard shale. Needless to say even with 300 feet of rode, Belle-Vie at 35,000 pounds still moved about 100' that night.

 

[centerline]

sometimes one anchor just isnt enough. throw out another anchor... two anchors hold twice as good as one, although there are different techniques involved in this, depending on the wind and currents expected...

 

[Terry Cox]

Bad Idea?

I would never do that. One anchor set well from the bow with proper scope will hold. Two stand a good chance of tangling. Our boat has done a 360 at night more than once. A second anchor from the stern in a strong wind abeam can place a strain on both and the boat.

The same applies to rafting. Only one boat should place an anchor. Two or more anchors down present a tangling opportunity during the night.

 

[centerline]

Lots of boats the world over use two anchors at times... thats where the "Technique" comes in to play.

one anchor from the bow does not always hold, no matter the amount of scope.
it has a everything to do with the holding ground and the size of the anchor.

as it is, in a blow, the one anchor/ground tackle you have set at the bow takes ALL the strain... do you suspect that setting a second anchor will increase that strain?.... and the same for the boat... all the strain is currently being taken at one point, whereas if the load was shared with another cleat elsewhere, the load would be divided, somewhat...

18-24 inches of sand or mud over a shale or stony bottom may hold you in a normal tide/current and breeze, but in a good blow you will drag.

luckily for us, here in the northwest waters we almost always have a lot of good deep and dense mud in most anchorages... and a danforth grabs into it with a solid hookup.

 

[justsomeguy]

Terry, you only mention the one anchor, the Danforth.

No secondary?

 

[woodster]

a bridle will spread the load to more than one cleat

 

[Terry Cox]

Terry, you only mention the one anchor, the Danforth.

No secondary?

I keep a spare on the bow roller, but have yet to use it.

 

[justsomeguy]

I keep a spare on the bow roller, but have yet to use it.

What type?

 

[Terry Cox]

What type?

CQR

 

[Terry Cox]

a bridle will spread the load to more than one cleat

My point about a bow and stern anchor in a blow placing undue pressure on gear has to do with the difference between wind and wave pressure on a boat abeam compared to bow pointing into the wind and waves. All boats are different, but with ours with a high freeboard, placing a bow and stern anchor would place the boat in a position abeam to the wind, which places far more wind and wave pressure on the anchoring system than if bow to the wind and waves.

Skippers will always do what is best for their boat in certain conditions. But I will never place a bow and stern anchor in a blow on our boat. I still fail to see how two anchors provide a better anchoring solution than one well set bow anchor.

 

[Sailgunner]

40# for a passage 42 is the minimum. I used a 44# Delta for a couple of years and had pretty good success but occasionally it took a couple of tries to get it set. We now have a 55# Rocna. It sets first time every time. I also have an all chain rode. My philosophy is as long as you have a windless to pull it up, bigger is better.

 

[rufus1138]

using multiple anchors on one rode can be very very effective, imagine putting another Danforth or the cqr in place of your kellet, lay and set the first Danforth, then keep tension and back down onto the whole system while paying out the rest of the system.

 

[centerline]

using multiple anchors on one rode can be very very effective, imagine putting another Danforth or the cqr in place of your kellet, lay and set the first Danforth, then keep tension and back down onto the whole system while paying out the rest of the system.

a great technique... as long as your rode/warp is strong enough to hold during the storm and doesnt chafe thru.... this is by far the best method of getting more ground holding power with only anchor line out....

 

[rufus1138]

my main point with this strategy is that it will eliminate most of the risk of tangling.

 

[kenackerman]

I've used 2 anchors many times when I felt one wasn't doing the job well enough, or a significant blow was coming. All of those times it was both off the bow. Never had a problem with tangling. I always set them about 60 to 80 degrees apart. Mostly sailed gulf waters off Florida at that point.

It worked for me and I would not hesitate to do it again.

 

[Terry Cox]

Use The System That Works Best For Your Boat

I figure if our system works as well as it has for our boat and region these many years then that is what I will continue to use. As with that old adage, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Our system held our boat at anchor in Cocktail Cove, Lesqueti Island, BC in a blow estimated at 50 MPH. Belle-Vie put up quite a ruckus that night and I could not sleep. Frequent anchor checks were called for, but everything held. The next morning when it was time to cast off for the next anchorage, the windlass could hardly bring the Danforth out of the hole it dug itself into.

However, what works in the PNW region may not work as well elsewhere. If and when we change venues, I will adjust our system to accommodate the new dictates.