Since I moved up to the proper anchor and chain (88# Rocna & 1/2" chain) we have moved down from 10:1 to 7:1 and now to 3:1 (as I was originally taught, 5:1 with line & chain). The boat rides better and much more quietly since we no longer drag all that chain across the bottom, and our chain appears to be wearing more slowly as more is suspended.I know that when setting an anchor one should use a scope of 7:1 ~ 10:1 based on conditions of the seabed and surface. But if one wants to set a stern anchor, should one use the same scope as the bow anchor? Or, can one get away with lesser scope? The purpose of the aft anchor is to reduce the swing of the boat while at anchor.
Thoughts?
Can't say we won't drag tonight, but we haven't once, in 6 years of sailing full time in the islands, at anchor most nights.
As for a stern anchor, we usually use a 1" line and 50 feet of 3/8" chain with a 55 Fortress about 7:1. It's light enough to drag before the Number 1 anchor and allow the boat to sit as she pleases still well anchored. We most often do this somewhere like Prickly Bay, Grenada where the swell hits you broadside when you are anchored bow to wind. So, hauling the boat around to sit more comfortably to the swell leaves the boat broadside to the wind. Add a 3 AM squall and you don't want both anchors to drag, which they might do if the stern anchor didn't. Sometimes, if the squall is particularly vicious, I'll proactively cast it free with a fender tied to it and retrieve it after the squall.
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