Stern Anchor

[mnh]

Hi all,
I would like some opinions form those who use stern anchors. I am traveling down the ICW this spring, and thought it might be good idea to have a stern anchor to keep the boat steady in a current, or while waiting for a bridge opening. Since it won't be under much load, would a 15 lb mushrooom anchor be a good idea? I'm thinking this because they are rubber coated, easily stored, not too heavy, have little likelihood of getting snagged, and are inexpensive. So, what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

[Don C L]

I am of the opinion mushroom anchors are some kind of weird joke. I use Danforth hi-tensile anchors and they haven't let me down yet. I missed what kind of boat you have but a 12H can hold quite a bit.
edit: Hinckley 45, wow nice boat I bet! I'd go with a Danforth 20H. You won't ever regret having the extra holding power for not much extra weight.

[HopCar]

I don't think a boat as big as yours would know a 15 pound mushroom was even there.
I bet you've already got a spare anchor on board. Use it. No need to spend more money.

If you insist on spending money, don't forget I sell anchors.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by mnh

Hi all,
I would like some opinions form those who use stern anchors. I am traveling down the ICW this spring, and thought it might be good idea to have a stern anchor to keep the boat steady in a current, or while waiting for a bridge opening. Since it won't be under much load, would a 15 lb mushrooom anchor be a good idea? I'm thinking this because they are rubber coated, easily stored, not too heavy, have little likelihood of getting snagged, and are inexpensive. So, what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

Dinghy Anchors: Big Anchor Tech Scaled Down - Practical Sailor Print Edition Article

I think you'll find that a 15# dingy anchor doesn't hold enough to even slow you down. Perhaps 50 pounds. If that is the purpose, use the bow anchor on short scope. Yes, waiting can be troublesome.

And if you are thinking of anchoring bow-stern in narrow places, then you REALLY need some hold if the wind comes even a little from the beam. Perhaps an FX-16 Fortress.

[skipmac]

I'll agree with the previous answers.

1. Mushroom anchors in general are worthless
2. 12 lbs of any anchor would be about right for your dinghy. For a 45' sailboat, it would work just as well if you tossed it over the side without a rode attached.

That being said, a stern anchor is a good idea. I have a Fortress that I plan to keep handy for whatever.

[Mark Stillwell]

I have a FX-23 Fortress as our stern anchor for a Beneteau 393

[mnh]

ok, I have a Fortress- 37 aluminum somewhere in the shed. I'll give that a go. Thanks all, much appreciated!

mnh

[Training Wheels]

I use an FX-11. I'm really feeling inadequate....


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

I use an FX-11. I'm really feeling inadequate....


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Me too and I"m looking at a fore/aft anchoree in front of out ICW condo right now that has sagged to lie 90 degs across the eastern 1/3rd of the available channel.


Timing arrivals at lifting bridges to arrive with others seems a good idea to me, let the pack leader take the strain and hit unexpected shallows and unopened bridges before me or radio from farther off and slooow down to suit, that way avoiding messing with one anchor let alone two.

[Spade Anchor]

We have some aluminum anchors on sale from our boat show display. The 2 piece design will stow away easily and at less than 26 lbs will not weigh you down.
It seems to very popular in Europe as a stern anchor.

[JPA Cate]

We're talking about anchoring to await a bridge opening, right? or for the tide to rise enough to get over a shallow area? If you want to use a stern anchor for this, do think about how you are going to retrieve it, because it gets complicated unless the boat is set up for it, with a stern anchor roller placed so the rode will not chafe the boat.

Fwiw, when we are waiting, in the above situations, we always wait on the bower anchor, because retrieval is easier and quicker. On our boat, if we lay to the stern anchor, we would then have to lead the rode outside everything, and to the bow with the bow roller and windlass for retrieval, and then re-store it astern after we got the lot up.

If you're thinking of it for "emergency brakes", then a Danforth or Fortress type of the appropriate size would do the job, and one puts up with the inconvenience.

Ann

[J Clark H356]

My bow anchor us a 44 lb Delta and u use a minimum of 5/1 scope, preferably 7/1. A fortress would be better and more reliable but more difficult to deploy, but I have a 30 lb fluked plastic coated mushroom anchor and used it as a stern anchor coming and going on the Tenn-Tom waterway when anchoring in creeks and along the bank. I tested this anchor in 15 knot winds on KY lake many times when it made no difference whether it held or not to test it's effectiveness. Any more wind than 15 knots and it will drag on my H356, but below 10 Knits when in mud, it does ok.

I would use something else if the forecast was over 10 knots during the period when I was depending on it and look carefully at the expected direction of the wind. The current is not too great on the Tenn-Tom in normal conditions and this anchor worked out well. I had a 22 lb Delta along too for the high wind situation but never deployed it. The Tenn-Tom is similar to the ICW. Just know they limitations of these type anchors and be conservative and know the forecast winds before relying on it and there are conditions where it will work. I used it 3 times going down and 4 times coming back North. Had a lot if current coming North and anchored one night behind a bridge. There as very little wind during any of these anchorages. Had there been wind, I might have chosen a different anchorage or used the 22 lb Delta deployed with a lot if scope and carried out by my dinghy.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Hydra]

When using a Fortress as an "emergency brake", just keep in mind that it can plane fairly well if you don't pay out the rode fast enough: the anchor will take forever to reach the bottom.

Alain

[sailor1924]

I had a 20 pound Danforth as a stern anchor on my 40 ton ketch, it worked well. I lost it, (as noted above) being unable to break it loose against the flood in the Mystic River. We were caught between the bridges when an unscheduled railway maintenance train caused the normally open bridge to close. We buoyed the the anchor planning to retrieve it in the dinghy after we cleared the bridge but some snake cut the line and stole the buoy and line.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by sailor1924

I had a 20 pound Danforth as a stern anchor on my 40 ton ketch, it worked well. I lost it, (as noted above) being unable to break it loose against the flood in the Mystic River. We were caught between the bridges when an unscheduled railway maintenance train caused the normally open bridge to close. We buoyed the the anchor planning to retrieve it in the dinghy after we cleared the bridge but some snake cut the line and stole the buoy and line.

Danforth 20H for a 40 ton boat? Gotta love those Danforths! That's my bow anchor on my 8000# boat. I think I am safe.