Are you comfortable sleeping "while on the hook"?
- Thread starter dserrell
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You'd be good..
You'd be good to ignore those numbers for the Bruce/Claw style anchors in the link.
Most anyone who's ever used a Bruce, and nearly every anchor test has concluded, that with the Bruce/Claw you should always go up at least one size, if not two sizes. This is what Practical Sailor recommends too.
Sail magazine suggesting a 22Lb. Bruce for a 41-45 foot boat is a wrecked boat waiting to happen. I had a 22 Bruce on a Catalina 30 that I dragged on a number of occasion with 60 feet of 3/8" chain and proper scope. This is TWO full sizes bigger than what Sail says a Bruce can do on a 30' boat.
I have never met anyone with a 30 footer who runs an 11Lb. Bruce? That is just plain scary advise on Sail Magazine's part. The Bruce is a fine anchor if you go up one or two sizes. Having used Bruce anchors extensively two sizes minimum would be my own comfort level..
What do I run on our 36 footer? A Rocna 33Lb with over 80' of chain then 300 feet of 5/8" double braid. Yes, I sleep soundly...
You'd be good to ignore those numbers for the Bruce/Claw style anchors in the link.
Most anyone who's ever used a Bruce, and nearly every anchor test has concluded, that with the Bruce/Claw you should always go up at least one size, if not two sizes. This is what Practical Sailor recommends too.
Sail magazine suggesting a 22Lb. Bruce for a 41-45 foot boat is a wrecked boat waiting to happen. I had a 22 Bruce on a Catalina 30 that I dragged on a number of occasion with 60 feet of 3/8" chain and proper scope. This is TWO full sizes bigger than what Sail says a Bruce can do on a 30' boat.
I have never met anyone with a 30 footer who runs an 11Lb. Bruce? That is just plain scary advise on Sail Magazine's part. The Bruce is a fine anchor if you go up one or two sizes. Having used Bruce anchors extensively two sizes minimum would be my own comfort level..
What do I run on our 36 footer? A Rocna 33Lb with over 80' of chain then 300 feet of 5/8" double braid. Yes, I sleep soundly...
I NEVER sleep soundly anchored when there is any wind blowing. One thing about anchors - don't trust them. Unless you dive on your anchor you never really know what you have dug into. I have seen experienced anchorers who thought they were safely dug in with a mostly chain rode, sit at anchor for hours only to have the clump of weeds, they unkowingly dug into, give way.
David, ya might wanna reign in your "passion" for a moment and do some real world data research on the newer anchors, which Maine Sail has been terming the "new generation." The two standouts are Manson Supreme and Rocna. You also have to size an ANCHORING SYSTEM, not just buying an anchor off the shelf.
You may be interested in these two links from our C34 message board, including contributions from Maine Sail. I, too, sleep very well when anchored with my system.
Four pages: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.0.html Reply #33 on page 3 is very important, please read the whole topic, since techniques for setting anchors are also discussed: size & type of anchor aside, the bane of most poor anchoring is the technique.
Includes tables for system sizing from Calder's Cruising Handbook: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.0.html
for a moment and do some real world data research on the newer anchors, which Maine Sail has been terming the "new generation." The two standouts are Manson Supreme and Rocna. You also have to size an ANCHORING SYSTEM, not just buying an anchor off the shelf.You may be interested in these two links from our C34 message board, including contributions from Maine Sail. I, too, sleep very well when anchored with my system.
Four pages: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.0.html Reply #33 on page 3 is very important, please read the whole topic, since techniques for setting anchors are also discussed: size & type of anchor aside, the bane of most poor anchoring is the technique.
Includes tables for system sizing from Calder's Cruising Handbook: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.0.html
I sleep like a baby when anchored out. The highest wind we have experienced were sustained over 25 with gusts. I choose sheltered anchorages with less than a mile fetch. Ground tackle is 35 pound CQR ,30 feet 3/8 chain and three hundred feet of 5/8 3 starnd nylon. the bottom conditions vary from soft muck to hard sand or dirt.
David,
There is absolutely no reason or benefit to having a SS anchor. Most of the SS claw anchors on eBay and such are of a VERY, VERY poor grade of stainless steel, as are many of the eBay claws that are not SS.
It should also be mentioned that SS suffers from crevice corrosion when in salt water and deprived of oxygen, as it would be when sitting on the bottom. If you want stainless for looks then feel free to pay the price but you gain no benefit and only potential negatives. Perhaps 99% of cruisers use galvanized anchors because they are reliable.
The 15Lb. galvanized Manson Supreme sells for $174.79 at Defender.
The reason the Manson Supreme in stainless sells for $735.00 is because Manson is a reputable company who chooses to use quality stainless steel not Chinese junk. You can not buy a good quality stainless anchor for $123.00 and there is a big difference in price between Chinese junk stainless steel and quality 316. For get casting the anchor and heat treating it, 11 pounds of quality stainless will probably cost more than $123.00 in ingot form..
I sleep very soundly. I didn't use to but I'm now pretty confident after all these years that the change in motion and other noises will wake me up if I drag. I try harder to find nicely protected and quiet anchorages than I used to. It's worth an extra hour's sail or motor for a quiet night. I do use a GPS anchor alarm occasionally if bottom, weather, and shore topography warrant.
Technique is important. I like to watch people anchor and it's amazing how many just let it go, throw some line in the water, and run back to the cockpit to get the drinks poured. Stopping the boat with the anchor is a particularly bad and common technique as it's hooked in reverse and then has to reset.
I bring the boat to a complete stop watching the shore or water along side. The anchor is let down as the bow blows off until it just touches. The chain is then let out very slowly so that it lays out neatly along the bottom as the bow blows downwind instead of landing in a heap on top of the anchor, possibly fouling it. When the chain is all on the bottom, I let out the rope rode keeping enough tension on it to keep the bow up. The boat blows downwind more or less broadside in most conditions by controlling the line tension.
When I have about 3/4 of the scope I plan to use, I snub the line on the cleat if the boat is blowing down fast. It's pretty obvious if the anchor takes a bite. In quieter conditions, I will pull the line up above the rail and give it several hard heaves. Often I can feel the anchor dig in with each pull. Sometimes, I can feel it skittering and clinking over cobblestone like bottom or ledge if I've picked a bad spot. I sometimes feel the kelp it hooked on pull loose at the roots. That usually means pulling it all the way up again, clearing it, and starting over.
Once I have a good set, I let out the full scope. If anchoring under power, I put the engine in reverse and run it up to about 2100 watching the shore for any signs of dragging.
Proper anchoring takes a while but I haven't dragged in the night since the early 80's.
Technique is important. I like to watch people anchor and it's amazing how many just let it go, throw some line in the water, and run back to the cockpit to get the drinks poured. Stopping the boat with the anchor is a particularly bad and common technique as it's hooked in reverse and then has to reset.
I bring the boat to a complete stop watching the shore or water along side. The anchor is let down as the bow blows off until it just touches. The chain is then let out very slowly so that it lays out neatly along the bottom as the bow blows downwind instead of landing in a heap on top of the anchor, possibly fouling it. When the chain is all on the bottom, I let out the rope rode keeping enough tension on it to keep the bow up. The boat blows downwind more or less broadside in most conditions by controlling the line tension.
When I have about 3/4 of the scope I plan to use, I snub the line on the cleat if the boat is blowing down fast. It's pretty obvious if the anchor takes a bite. In quieter conditions, I will pull the line up above the rail and give it several hard heaves. Often I can feel the anchor dig in with each pull. Sometimes, I can feel it skittering and clinking over cobblestone like bottom or ledge if I've picked a bad spot. I sometimes feel the kelp it hooked on pull loose at the roots. That usually means pulling it all the way up again, clearing it, and starting over.
Once I have a good set, I let out the full scope. If anchoring under power, I put the engine in reverse and run it up to about 2100 watching the shore for any signs of dragging.
Proper anchoring takes a while but I haven't dragged in the night since the early 80's.
Ladylove has never dragged with her CQR 35 and 100' of chain rode. Still I have not learned to sleep at anchor. Well there was that time up the little creek off of the South River near Annapolis. Talk about a quiet anchorage!
Was blowing 30 to 40 with knots 8'+ seas at the start of this years Around long Island race and after about 4 hours we did the math and tuned around and took about 45 minutes to cover what taken 4 hours
Everybody was shot and the toys are us off the belt parkway was as good as it was gonna get So we had dinner and everybody passed out at 8pm AND NEVER SLEPT BETTER
even it if it did keep blowing all night
Listen to Mainsail
Dserrell,
I have a 36 foot boat, and I use a Rocna 20kg with 150 feet of chain and 150 feet of 5/8 inch nylon rode. As stated above, setting an anchor properly is at least as important as the ground tackle, and the selection of the anchorage is also very important. So far, we have never dragged, although others around us have (with one dragging into me in only about 8 knots of wind). I swear by the Rocna, it has so far always set first time!
Anyway, I say listen to Mainsail, as he gives great advise.
Good luck and good anchoring,
Tom
Dserrell,
I have a 36 foot boat, and I use a Rocna 20kg with 150 feet of chain and 150 feet of 5/8 inch nylon rode. As stated above, setting an anchor properly is at least as important as the ground tackle, and the selection of the anchorage is also very important. So far, we have never dragged, although others around us have (with one dragging into me in only about 8 knots of wind). I swear by the Rocna, it has so far always set first time!
Anyway, I say listen to Mainsail, as he gives great advise.
Good luck and good anchoring,
Tom
My two cents
I sleep better at anchor than at the dock. I have 34' boat, a 33# Rocna with 100' of 5/16 chain and 300/ of 5/8 Yale Brait. Depending on depth and crowding of course, I almost always run out at least all of the chain and some of the rope, then tie the rope to a cleat. If winds in the anchorage start getting up to 20kts I'll leave the gps on and set the anchor alarm. I've never had a problem, (knock on wood) but I have had a few restless nights. One of the advantages of old age is that I'm up every couple of hours anyway. If I were buying the anchor again, I would be tempted to go for massive holding power at one size up, but nowhere I have been have I come close to needing this and I spend about 60 days a year on the hook.
I sleep better at anchor than at the dock. I have 34' boat, a 33# Rocna with 100' of 5/16 chain and 300/ of 5/8 Yale Brait. Depending on depth and crowding of course, I almost always run out at least all of the chain and some of the rope, then tie the rope to a cleat. If winds in the anchorage start getting up to 20kts I'll leave the gps on and set the anchor alarm. I've never had a problem, (knock on wood) but I have had a few restless nights. One of the advantages of old age is that I'm up every couple of hours anyway. If I were buying the anchor again, I would be tempted to go for massive holding power at one size up, but nowhere I have been have I come close to needing this and I spend about 60 days a year on the hook.
I carry a 33pound bruce with 30' of chain on a Catalina 30. If I was you I would be using a 22 lb bruce with 20 feet of chain. That will hold in a real blow.
Remember it is not uncommon to hit some really rough stuff from time to time. I have ridden out a storm that had 60 knot sustained winds and I went directly over my anchor during a direction change when the wind first struck. I held, reset, and had no issues. I really like the setup
Remember it is not uncommon to hit some really rough stuff from time to time. I have ridden out a storm that had 60 knot sustained winds and I went directly over my anchor during a direction change when the wind first struck. I held, reset, and had no issues. I really like the setup
i sleep well at anchor unless the bottom is shale with silt over--makes poor holding for any anchor-----i use a 35 pound cqr on my ericson 35mII--and a 35 pound cqr on my formosa 41--ericson has 100 ft of 5/16 chain, and formosa is 300 ft 55/16 chain......ericson has 496 ft of 3/4 in three strand line as rode and formosa is all chain. i do not drag anchor. lol. i gave my 8 kilo bruce anchor to a friend with a 32 pearson vanguard--he loves bruce anchors. i love cqr anchors.
right now i am cruising with a friend on his boat--we use a 35pound cqr and 30 ft of 3/8 chain....we only drag in st petes in the north basin where the bottom is silt over shale---we are now anchored in manatee river--has mud and good holding -- we sleep well here!!!
right now i am cruising with a friend on his boat--we use a 35pound cqr and 30 ft of 3/8 chain....we only drag in st petes in the north basin where the bottom is silt over shale---we are now anchored in manatee river--has mud and good holding -- we sleep well here!!!
Scope
Here in the PNW we can experience tide ranges of 20 ft. I rarely anchore in less than 10 ft at low water and my bow roller is 6 ft above the water. This adds up to 36 feet and I consider 3 to 1 scope the minimum for settled conditions in a tight anchorage, so I almost always need to let out 108 feet of rode. This takes me just past my 100' feet of chain with enough rope out to absorb minor shocks and tie to the cleat. Of course sometimes the tide range isn't that great and the water is a little shallower and the anchorage a little tighter and I can't let out that much, but not often.
If conditions are the least bir rough, I go to 5 to 1 or more. If I can't let out what is necessary to feel safe, I go somewhere else while it's light, because I don't want to do it in the middle of the night.
The design displacement of my boat is 13,500.
Here in the PNW we can experience tide ranges of 20 ft. I rarely anchore in less than 10 ft at low water and my bow roller is 6 ft above the water. This adds up to 36 feet and I consider 3 to 1 scope the minimum for settled conditions in a tight anchorage, so I almost always need to let out 108 feet of rode. This takes me just past my 100' feet of chain with enough rope out to absorb minor shocks and tie to the cleat. Of course sometimes the tide range isn't that great and the water is a little shallower and the anchorage a little tighter and I can't let out that much, but not often.
If conditions are the least bir rough, I go to 5 to 1 or more. If I can't let out what is necessary to feel safe, I go somewhere else while it's light, because I don't want to do it in the middle of the night.
The design displacement of my boat is 13,500.
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