What anchor size for my Hunter 42 rocna 33

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Feb 1, 2009
14
2 Passage Panama
I have a Hunter 42 passage and I am thinking of buying a Rocna 33 which is kilos. Is this overkill? I have a 45 lb anchor now which will be used for backup.
33 kilos 70 some pounds.

Thanks
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,701
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
I have a Hunter 42 passage and I am thinking of buying a Rocna 33 which is kilos. Is this overkill? I have a 45 lb anchor now which will be used for backup.
33 kilos 70 some pounds.

Thanks
Rocna recommends a 25 kilo (55 pounds) for boats to 46' and displacement to 26,460 pounds.

Remember that Rocna has already sized very conservatively:


Rocna said:
Our sizing is conservative, intended to provide an anchor adequate for use in all conditions most boaters would ever endure. We base our calculations on 50 knots wind, associated surge, and soft moderate holding bottoms into which it is assumed the anchor has set. Adequate scope is assumed. This is far in excess of most manufacturers.
Windage and resulting forces is judged based on typical vessel profiles according to LOA and displacement
 
Jun 3, 2004
131
BC 37 Back Creek, Annapolis
With anchors, generally I like the idea of the bigger the better, but you have some constraints to contend with in the design of your current vessel. It's quite a leap to go from a 45# to 73# anchor. Can your windlass and other deck gear handle it? A simple crude test you can do is to add 30 lbs of weight to your current 45# anchor and see if your windlass can haul that dummy anchor up and properly stow it.

A Rocna will often come up loaded with a scoop of seabed, especially if you anchor in muddy bottoms, so you can estimate occasionally having an additional 10-15 lbs added to the deadweight of the anchor. So, for good measure in the test, add more weight, maybe a total load of 90 lbs for the anchor alone, (plus the chain of course).

Your windlass should easily be able to haul such a load up to the boat. The problem tho is at the turning point where the anchor stock rolls over the bow roller, assuming you still have the original anchor roller from Hunter. The force required to pulll it over that sharp 90 degree bend is considerable and may well be beyond what your stock windlass is capable of. The bigger the Rocna anchor, the longer its stock. As it swings over the bow roller, there is a chance the longer stock on a bigger (33Kg) anchor will hit your furling gear. Check that dimension for fit. Also, check chain sizing recommendation for the Rocna 33. I think it's 10mm, or 3/8". Is that OK with your current windlass?

Before buying my Rocna 25 (55#), I first checked the dimensional fit and then did the windlass test by attaching some old 10# barbell weights to my existing 44# Delta. It worked, but that test told me that a 55# Rocna is at the top limit of what my stock windlass and bow roller can handle. Boat is a 2005 H41 and uses a Simpson Lawrence Atlantic 1000 windlass.

You will find one of the challenges of owning a Rocna is breaking it out of the bottom when you are ready to depart (depending on the sea bottom of course). This is a lovely dilemma because it gives you reassurance your anchor is working extremely well. But the downside is it can take a lot of force to break it out. You will probably resort to breaking it out by motoring over it. The larger the anchor you have, the more strain you are going to be putting on your deck gear when breaking it out under power.

A Rocna 33 is going to be big. You can check dimensional fit by building a rough full-size template from a PDF file that Rocna will send you on request.

As already stated by Maine Sail, Rocna is conservative on their anchor sizing, but only you know your intended cruising grounds, bottom conditions and likely weather conditions. And if, considering all that, you need a 33Kg anchor for your particular boat. If you really do need one yet you run in to fit issues as covered above, then you will need to modify your boat/gear to suit.
 
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Jul 25, 2004
359
Hunter 42 currently in New Zealand
P42 anchor size

I also have a Passage 42, and I have used a 60 lb. CQR for S. Pacific cruising for years. Like you, I like the Rocna anchors, but I have been unable to justify the expenditure for a new one due to the fact that my CQR has held wonderfully in all bottoms in which I've used it: coral, rock, sand, mud, and even long grass. If a 60 CQR has never dragged on me, even sitting out occasional really bad stuff, I wonder if the Rocna 33 (kg) isn't really WAY too much for regular use. I carry an 80 lb. Luke for a storm anchor, but I wouldn't want to strain my gear using it regularly.

As an aside, I wouldn't expect the original P42 windlass to last long with that anchor and rode (which I assume will be 3/8" or 10 mm). I upgraded my original Maxwell to a Maxwell 1200, which was easily modified to fit in the original P42 custom made windlass location (after encountering regular and continuous circuit overloads w/my 60 lb anchor, causing the breaker to open several times each time I pulled up my anchor). If you need the Maxwell spreadsheet w/the part numbers of the different chainwheels for each type/size of chain, let me know and I can email it to you.

Good luck with the changeover.
 
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Sep 24, 1999
1,511
Hunter H46LE Sausalito
the Rocna 25 is plenty

I own a Hunter 46LE, and spend close to 50 days on the hook every year. I've been using a 25 kilo Rocna for the past year, and it has never yet dragged or failed to set. Here in SF bay, summer breezes are typically 25 knots, and the Rocna so far has had no trouble in these situations.
 
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