More Anchor Questions

[willyshields2]

My 26 foot cruiser will probably weigh in at 7,000 lbs fully equipped and my butt on it, I think. Carver says it weighs 5300 lbs dry. I plan on staying in the Kawarthas with it. (Lake Simcoe and east)
Question 1. How big an anchor do I need?
Question 2. How much rode do I need and which is better, chain or rope?

[Hydra]

Just in case you didn't notice, anchors and rodes are very sensitive subjects on forums: opinions differ widely.
Q1: I suppose that you don't have a windlass, so I suggest that you get a 10 to 12kg (22 to 26lbs) good-quality, sea-proven anchor (Delta, Spade, Rocna, Manson Supreme...).
Q2: There are two schools of thought: all chain (costly, heavy, not much elasticity but resists well to chafing) and rope+chain (cheaper, lighter, more elasticity for shock absorption but sensitive to chafe).

I would suggest at least two boat lengths of 8mm chain plus 50m of 14mm rope permanently attached (splice or knot) to the chain, plus another 100m of rope stowed elsewhere. With this tackle, you should be able to anchor in 20m of water, in normal (not gale or storm) conditions.

It would be prudent to have a second complete anchoring tackle, just in case... I also suggest that you do some reading and thinking, to make your own mind on the subject.

Alain

[jdoe71]

Originally Posted by Hydra

you should be able to anchor in 20m of water, in normal (not gale or storm) conditions.

Alain

You'd be hard pressed to find 20 feet of water let alone 20 m of water east of Lake Simcoe. The Trent-Severn waterway is a bunch of muddy, shallow, weedy lakes. Spent 5 or 6 years on that chunk of water in the early 90s. There's lots of soft muck and a Danforth works better in it than a plow. I'd get a Danforth about 22 lbs and a Delta about the same weight for firmer mud. Use about 30 feet of 1/4" or 5/16" chain, 100 feet of 1/2" nylon, you'll often be anchoring in 6 or 8 feet of water. We had a 26' aft cabin power boat at the time and the Danforth was the best anchor for that goop. Back down gently on it until you know it's set. These lakes are super weedy and nothing will hold in the weeds.

[David M]

If you have to manually pull it out of the water I would not recommend all chain. I like the aluminum Fortress anchors for their light weight. You generally do not want less than a boat length of chain on your rode.

There are plenty of differing opinions on this subject. Whatever works for you is whats best for you.

[willyshields2]

The boat came with two anchors. The way I got it figured out is that I will put about 50' of the heaviest chain the windlass (Lewmar 1000) will handle and then load it up with rope around 100'. I also have a second anchor for off the stern which will have about 10' of chain and about 100' of 1/2" rope on it. For right now I will be putting the Lewmar on the bow but eventually there will be a second windlass on the stern as well.