which spare anchor to keep

[PapaBruce]

My new to me Morgan 416 Out Island has 4 anchors aboard! The big plow on the windlass that is like new plus a 45 lb cqr with a swivel and 2 danforth 40 lb'ers. All 3 spares are galvanized but the cqr is the only one with rust.

If you were me how many and which one(s) would you keep? I'm thinking one danforth to handle the mud on the ICW which we will be on twice a year.

Thought?

[clifford sloan]

I have been boating from Provincetown to St. Eustatia and would encourage you to keep them all. In a storm you will find that anchoring on the four points is a good way to "ride it out".
All the best and congratulations!
Clif

[Cheechako]

Hard to say really. Definitely want one Danforth. The ICW should not be much of an anchoring challenge, so just use your main anchor that is already setup for that. I'd be tempted to toss one danforth I suppose.... mostly just cause they are so hard to handle and stow!

[Kettlewell]

What type of plow is the main anchor? I would carry at least three anchors: main, and the two Danforths. Assuming they are genuine Danforth anchors--some of the knock offs are not all that good.

[Roy M]

This is a reference from the Multihull Forum (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-103166.html):Two to Tandem: Maximizing Holding Power by Tandem Anchoring. I have unloaded all anchors other than my Rocna 15 kg and Danforth 12H. I'll probably purchase an additional Rocna and use it as a spare, or ready to convert to a tandem, should the horrible things happen that sometimes do.

[PapaBruce]

Thanks guys. The main anchor is a Bruce as far as I can tell. Both the Danforths have that cast into the handle so I presume they are original. I've looked around the marina and checked out two boats that have been transatlantic. They both have one Danforth as the spare. Don't know if they might have another one somewhere but thats all that are on the decks. Again, thanks for the input.

[Kettlewell]

A genuine Bruce or a genuine CQR has the name cast into the shank, so you should be able to tell. Some of the Bruce knock offs have been known to bend or break too easily. A genuine Bruce is very strong. The reason I say three anchors is this. If you lose your main anchor for some reason (snagged on an underwater obstruction) you will have to switch to using the Danforth anchors as your backup, and they don't always reset well with a major wind direction change, so you really need two of them to be secure. Losing an anchor when world cruising is a fairly frequent occurrence. Plus, for really bad conditions, I would drop a Danforth in addition to the main anchor, set off to one side at an angle, forming a V.

[PapaBruce]

Thanks John. My main anchor has nothing cast into the shank. The other 3 have CQR and Danforth respectively. The CQR is really ugly but maybe I should make that my main anchor and keep the two Danforths?

[Kettlewell]

My main anchor has nothing cast into the shank. The other 3 have CQR and Danforth respectively. The CQR is really ugly but maybe I should make that my main anchor and keep the two Danforths?

It's hard to say for sure--I personally prefer a genuine CQR over a Bruce anchor of the same size. People who are Bruce fans seem to agree that you need to go oversize with the Bruce because they set well, but don't hold as well per pound of weight. Do you know what size the Bruce-type is? You might want to consider wire brushing off the worst of the rust on the CQR then coating with cold galvanizing paint. I have used zinc chromate and regular paint pretty successfully on CQRs too. A lot of people on here will tell you that you should just move to a Rocna, Manson Supreme, Spade, or Mantus anchor, and I will agree that they will be easier to use and will hold better than some of the older anchors. However, almost anything will hold fine in the deep mud of the ICW. If you venture further to the Bahamas and the Caribbean you may want to consider upgrading to a newer anchor. Here's what a genuine Bruce should look like.

[PapaBruce]

We'll it's definitely not a Bruce. Looks like it might be a knockoff plow anchor. I'm good with wire brushes!! Thanks!

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by PapaBruce

We'll it's definitely not a Bruce. Looks like it might be a knockoff plow anchor. I'm good with wire brushes!! Thanks!

Dump it, sell it. Also sell the CQR and one Danfort. Then try to buy a Manson or Rocna; a big one, where people passing on the dock will stop and point at it. :thumbs:

[PapaBruce]

That might be the best yet! Sell 3 anchors and one spare fore sail and go BIG! Off to search Rocna and Manson....

[charliehows]

I have a heavy cqr on the chain, a light danforth lunchpick with a few mtrs of chain and 50 mtrs of rope, and a spare heavy cqr - which i took off the boat for a while then thought "well its not much use to me off the boat " so i put it back on...if you've got room to store all the anchors you might as well leave them there. At a minimum id say one heavy and one lunchpick...if you're travelling, a spare heavy gives you the luxury of being able to cut off if you have to and then safely leave the boat to organise to retrieve the stuck anchor, or carry on without having to immediately source a new main anchor. 4 = bit of extra luck in the magic box...

[Cheechako]

Yeah, clean and paint the CQR and make it your #1. The Bruce is good in problematic bottoms like rocks. In other bottoms you two sizes bigger than the CQR in a Bruce. The Danforth's are evidently the good ones , hi tensile version. So that's nice.

[colemj]

If your plans for the danforths are for use where you will take them out in a dinghy to set or kedge, my experiences with a 40lb danforth is it is very cumbersome to handle and will cut off one of your fingers the first chance it gets. If you want an anchor for use this way, I would find some way to buy a Fortress.

Mark