Poking the Bear - a.k.a. Lets talk anchors

[Will Gilmore]

Thank god we don't need a permit to buy anchors.

If we did, the regulatory agency would be privatised, there would be an anchor purchasing market place where you would have to apply for three bids before you could choose one. It would have to be the cheapest one, unless you bought the "Cadillac" anchorage plan. And restrictions as the where you could use your anchor would apply unless your also bought the anchor users license to go along with the anchor owners permit. Everyone needs to get their little piece of the anchor pie. Oh, and you would be required to have an anchor permit even if you never left the dock.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[rgranger]

View attachment 148183

Different bear entirely....

 

[Rick486]

If we did, the regulatory agency would be privatised, there would be an anchor purchasing market place where you would have to apply for three bids before you could choose one. It would have to be the cheapest one, unless you bought the "Cadillac" anchorage plan. And restrictions as the where you could use your anchor would apply unless your also bought the anchor users license to go along with the anchor owners permit. Everyone needs to get their little piece of the anchor pie. Oh, and you would be required to have an anchor permit even if you never left the dock.

- Will (Dragonfly)

Well, on the positive side there may ultimately be Anchorcare, where we can receive a subsidy to buy a government approved anchor...

 

[Franklin]

Spoken like a true man from Kemah. ;-)

That aside, I am curious why you choose the Fortress for your storm anchors. Normally I use them for working anchors in non-rocky bottoms & I use steel anchors for storms. I'd be interested to understand your reasons for making that choice.

As Todds said, it is not good in wind shifts by itself. I like the Fortress because I can get two very big ones for the same weight as 1 Mantus at proper size. Once set for a storm anchor, it is all about fluke size, not weight and Fortress as the biggest fluke size per weight and easy to put together and take apart.

 

[JimInPB]

Wait a minute....
This is an ANCHOR discussion that is roughly a week old & it's barely gotten to page 2? How did THAT happen?

 

[Will Gilmore]

Wait a minute....
This is an ANCHOR discussion that is roughly a week old & it's barely gotten to page 2? How did THAT happen?

Everyone is on the foam flotation thread.

it is all about fluke size, not weight

It's all about fluke size, you say. I've been thinking about making large flat fluke sleeves to go over the tines of my folding grapnel for anchoring in mud and sand. Do you think that wound work? They would be held on by a circular chain and store flat when not on the hook. I don't have a lot of room in a 19' Mariner

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Gene Neill]

They didn't talk about the best anchor you can buy today, the Mantus. I'd say it is a worthless article.

Maybe not worthless, but definitely missing a piece. No discussion of New Gen anchors is complete without it.

 

[Simon Sexton]

Spoken like a true man from Kemah. ;-)

That aside, I am curious why you choose the Fortress for your storm anchors. Normally I use them for working anchors in non-rocky bottoms & I use steel anchors for storms. I'd be interested to understand your reasons for making that choice.

Honest to God, I know, too.

 

[Kings Gambit]

I wonder how many of the anchor aficionados here have had to anchor much in places not well protected from swell in "up" (e.g., high wind) conditions. That is, where the bow is rising and falling through several feet and there are high shock loads being "felt" by the anchor. We always discuss wind strength; what about the added combination of swell and wave force? I'm sure many would council that increased scope is the correct response to those conditions. But is that it? What's the best anchor type there? I was at a boat swap meet a couple of weekends ago where a guy was selling two of what looked like 60# authentic CQRs that he used to anchor his 31-ft Sea Eagle sloop in the Santa Barbara "free" anchorage; sometimes called "Fools Anchorage." How does simply going up in size affect the calculation of what's the "best anchor" to use? (Maybe we can get into three pages now!)

"For one thing, at various times during the year, turbulent seas make it necessary to have heavy-duty ground tackle if you would even consider doing such a thing. Our friend had about 200 feet of 3/4 inch chain and a good-sized anchor for his 34 foot sailboat. Anything less, and your boat could possibly wash up on the beach — an occurrance [sic] that happens with alarming frequency."

 

[Gunni]

Steve Dashew convinced me years ago to go up an anchor size, and then go up another if you can carry it. A heavy anchor stays on the bottom better in the rolling and heaving. It isn’t lifted by the rode. And bigger anchors have larger flukes. But we need to get you into an anchor that actually buries in. That stainless CQR will look great in the garden.

 

[Franklin]

Everyone is on the foam flotation thread.


It's all about fluke size, you say. I've been thinking about making large flat fluke sleeves to go over the tines of my folding grapnel for anchoring in mud and sand. Do you think that wound work? They would be held on by a circular chain and store flat when not on the hook. I don't have a lot of room in a 19' Mariner

- Will (Dragonfly)

You don't need a big anchor for a 19' boat, but a good one. I would go with the 8 lb Mantus.

 

[Will Gilmore]

You don't need a big anchor for a 19' boat, but a good one. I would go with the 8 lb Mantus.

The grapnel is good for shore anchoring and boarding Spanish galleons. But, since I believe in at least two anchors per boat, I also carry a fortress. That's my storm anchor. Actual I have an E-Z Load on the back of my jeep for a storm anchor, but, in a pinch.

- Will (Dragonfly)