Stern Anchor?

[BugzyCan]

I was watching a youtube vid, with a guy talking about his autopilot, and he mentioned that he single sails quite often, so he installed an anchor on the stern of the boat so it is readily available if he gets into trouble, and he doesn't have to run up to the front to deploy.


So I am trying to imagine how this works. Does he have a chain running from front of boat to rear that is attached to that anchor, or does he plan on anchoring the boat with the ass end facing the waves?


It seems like it could be a good idea, just not sure how it would play out.

[mvweebles]

Flat rode is commonly used in Europe for stern mooring and is stored on a reel. A Danforth style anchor hung from your pushpit could be rigged to deploy qyucky. Perhaps with an appropriate length of chain in a bag also hung from the aft rail.

ANKAROLINA Anchor Line System Set 56m 2500kg Load https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N4WUONO..._Lg7SDbMES77DS

[psk125]

People set it up both ways, with the anchor line led aft from the bow to the anchor they have ready to drop near the cockpit, or with an anchor and line ready to be set from the stern. It depends upon what they want or the situation they want to be ready for.

[thinwater]

a. A flat webbing line is not designed to absorb that energy of a moving boat and will probably fail.


b. The anchor is not likely to set if the boat is still moving at good speed. You'll need to head into the wind and stop.



c. The boat still has momentum. Use it to shoot into the wind, in a direction and distance that gives you room to let out scope and set the anchor.



I've done this a few times. You want to anchor from the bow. I would never have considered a stern anchor since it would not have been as useful. The trick is to decide to anchor quickly, not to wait.

[billknny]

This is one of those ideas that sounds great, and many sailors do rig it up and take it to heart, ready to drop an anchor at a moment's notice. Stern to the wind works fine in an emergency.

But, honestly, in well over 50,000 miles of sailing I have never had a situation where I would have been saved by a quickly deployable stern anchor. Sailing out of trouble has always been my first answer, and--so far--it has always worked for me.

I am sure that creative minds can draw out a scenario where ONLY a quickly deployed stern anchor could save the day, and I won't argue them, just give it a reality check to be sure that other solutions aren't as good or better, or maybe its a situation good seamanship would have kept them out of in the first place.

There certainly have been times I have deployed a stern anchor in some very unusual storm situations, and very tight anchorages, but it is rare, and quick deployment was never an issue. In my world, the time, effort, and money spent to set up an instantly deployable stern anchor would be far better spent else where.

An anchor stored on the stern rail adds to clutter on deck, and that has its own drawbacks. Clear decks and rails are safer and easier to navigate.

On my current boat, I have control of the bow windlass from the helm, so I can deploy the main bower faster from the helm than I could a rarely used stern anchor.

[Don C L]

Well I have a stern anchor on a long roller, a Danforth, as I am always anchored bow and stern in my neighborhood. And I have dropped the stern when sailing into an anchorage, because it was easy but, unless it was an emergency, I wouldn't stay that way. Well, no, actually there is one anchorage in particular where it makes sense to stay anchored bow in to the shore because of the night winds. Now one CAN set the stern anchor and then walk the (presumably nylon) rode up to the bow and cleat it there to turn the boat around and stay that way. Nothing wrong with that EXCEPT that when it comes time to leave, if there is a strong wind or swell, you are trying to pull your ass-end into it, and there may not be a windlass back there. OR you pull up all the rode on the foredeck and then you have to carry it all back... not very fun. Typically it is still easy to just round up on a spot and drop the bow first and drift back over where I'll drop the stern. In any case, to your point, on my boat the anchor is not really in the way and it is easy to deploy, but I have not (yet) had to deploy it to get, or stay, out of trouble. But I could, and that is another option, and to my mind, the more options the better. The main problem I have with it is I want to keep as much weight out of the stern of my smaller boat as possible and the chain's weight is a disadvantage, but not a deal breaker. Now, also most boats don't have much room for a deck plate and for chain to pay out easily, along with good stowage for the rode; it may take some ingenuity to make it work well. BTW it is possible to set an anchor if you are still sailing at a good clip, as long as the rode is able to pay out really fast. Let it pay out to a 5 or 7:1 scope and cleat it quick... at least with my smaller boat and a Danforth, the boat comes to a pretty quick stop! ... not really advisable though.

[Sojourner]

We have a big danforth rigged at the stern ready to go with plenty of rode at all times, but that's more for being too lazy to shore tie around these parts, or to kedge into swell at anchor. Yes, anchoring from the stern alone is a thing you can do, some (a few) prefer it, but dropping a typical light, flat danforth anchor at any knots in an emergency is a no-go.... you'll watch it sail thru the water behind you as you run aground. Far better off rigging (or already having) the ability to deploy main anchor from cockpit. I haven't tried yet but I'm pretty sure if I bust down my main rocna at full clip I'll do a 180 to give me whiplash.

[Dockhead]

Emergency anchoring is basic seamanship. Like a liferaft, it is unlikely you will ever need it, but like a liferaft, it's something which when needed is REALLY needed.


Sailing out of trouble should always be Plan A, but what if your engine fails as you are drifting on the tide towards a bridge in a dead calm? There was someone on here some years ago who had that exact situation, and lost his mast, because he was not prepared for emergency anchoring.



I agree with Thinwater that you want to go head to wind if possible, and that your bower anchor is a better choice for this, although an easily handled kedge could also be a good choice. I have a Fortress ready for this purpose, because I can throw it over myself and faster than powering out my 12mm chain, and because Fortresses set faster and on shorter scope.


In some cases you might want to do it from the stern for some reason; if you're using your kedge then just carry it there and throw it off.


If you want to be REALLY well prepared to emergency anchor in a second, you could buy one of those brackets and mount the kedge to the pushpit, but that's windage and would be in the way. FWIW, I'll take my chances getting to the anchor locker in time.

[noelex 77]

If you are thinking about an emergency situation, I don’t think a Danforth/Fortress is a great solution.

On the positive side, being flat they store well on the pushpit rail, and in the case of the Fortress it is the lightest of all the anchoring options. They are also good at shortish scopes. These positives make this type of anchor a great choice as a general kedge/stern/secondary anchor.

However, this type of design has some significant drawbacks that make it poor in the type of emergency situation that is being discussed. Specifically, this type of design (especially the lightweight Fortress) is very poor at setting when the boat is moving. All anchors struggle to grab when moving rapidly over the seabed, but the Fortress tends to “fly” at a very low speed. Also, compared to modern designs the anchor is not very versatile. It is exceptionally good in very soft substrates, but poor in hard and weedy bottoms.

Overall, a Fortress as a stern/kedge anchor is a great choice, but for an emergency situation using the main anchor is likely to be the better option for many boats. It may mean scraping the bow gelcoat, but having seen many inexperienced sailors doing this during routine anchoring, the damage is less than may be imagined.

Both the speed of deployment of the main anchor and the ability to control the rode deployment from the cockpit need to be considered.

I don’t have all the answers. My main anchor is moderately quick to deploy, but there are other concerns such security of anchor underway that need to be balanced with the requirement for rapid deployment.

One improvement I have made is small clutch release handle for the Maxwell winch. It is small enough to fit in a pocket. The supplied clutch release handle is much longer. The long handle is great for releasing a stuck clutch, but the leverage is not needed if the clutch is regularly used. Of course many anchor winch designs use a conventional winch handle, so this improvement is not needed, but the point is to think about the speed of deployment of the primary anchor and try and speed this up as much as practical, consistent with the other aim of anchor security while sailing.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

If you are thinking about an emergency situation, I don’t think a Danforth/Fortress is a great solution.

On the positive side, being flat they store well on the pushpit rail, and in the case of the Fortress it is the lightest of all the anchoring options. They are also good at shortish scopes. These positives make this type of anchor a great choice as a general kedge/stern/secondary anchor.

However, this type of design has some significant drawbacks that make it poor in the type of emergency situation that is being discussed. Specifically, this type of design (especially the lightweight Fortress) is very poor at setting when the boat is moving. All anchors struggle to grab when moving rapidly over the seabed, but the Fortress tends to “fly” at a very low speed. Also, compared to modern designs the anchor is not very versatile. It is exceptionally good in very soft substrates, but poor in hard and weedy bottoms.

Overall, a Fortress as a stern/kedge anchor is a great choice, but for an emergency situation using the main anchor is likely to be the better option for many boats. It may mean scraping the bow gelcoat, but having seen many inexperienced sailors doing this during routine anchoring, the damage is less than may be imagined.

Both the speed of deployment of the main anchor and the ability to control the rode deployment from the cockpit need to be considered.

I don’t have all the answers. My main anchor is moderately quick to deploy, but there are other concerns such security of anchor underway that need to be balanced with the requirement for rapid deployment.

One improvement I have made is small clutch release handle for the Maxwell winch. It is small enough to fit in a pocket. The supplied clutch release handle is much longer. The long handle is great for releasing a stuck clutch, but the leverage is not needed if the clutch is regularly used. Of course many anchor winch designs use a conventional winch handle, so this improvement is not needed, but the point is to think about the speed of deployment of the primary anchor and try and speed this up as much as practical, consistent with the other aim of anchor security while sailing.

I hope my next boat will have a big horizontal windlass with a proper band brake and permanently mounted clutch lever, so that all I have to do to let the anchor fly is unstrap it and pop the clutch. Then wind down the brake until the chain is moving slowly enough to get the chain stopper or strop on.

I do not ever gravity drop my anchor, and would never do it while the boat was moving, because I wouldn't be able to stop the chain. There is no way the clutch or worm gears of my particular windlass would take the force of suddenly stopping 23 tonnes of boat from even 1 knot of way on.

Of course you're right about Fortress anchor "flying", but I have a big one and it seems to be ok up to a couple of knots. I have practiced emergency anchoring with it, and I use it as a stern anchor when doing Baltic mooring, usually with a bit of way on, and it is remarkable how it never fails to bite.

If I had to emergency anchor from more than a knot or two of boat speed, I would have no choice but to power out the chain, with the strop ready and hoping I can get it on before the chain is ripped out of the windlass. One reason why I use a chain hook instead of a soft shackle to attach the belaying strop is to give me some chance of getting the strop on if the chain is moving. I sure hope that never happens. Plan A of course would be to get the boat speed off another way.


Plan B also assumes that the Spade would even set from more than a couple knots of boat speed; I'm not sure it would. :shudder:


And the Fortress would be fine in a case where you are dead in the water in a calm with 0 boat speed, but the water is moving at a few knots from the tide. The anchor won't "fly" without speed through the water, and the aggressive Fortress setting behavior would be just what you want in that case. I think it would be more likely to set than my Spade in that case.

[Don C L]

I will wholeheartedly agree that my Danforths and Fortresses too I am sure will fly. That's why I'd say that for an emergency especially, it is necessary to have a set-up where the rode can pay out very fast and completely unimpeded. All chain won't go as fast as nylon of course so it may behoove some with all chain to maintain a load of nylon too for whatever the emergency anchor may be. In may own case I have about 50 feet of chain and then all nylon and it can pay out very quickly, leaving the anchor behind on the bottom, still, (I guess, cuz I haven't watched it) until I cleat it. Typically folks who have stern anchors even on larger boats that I have seen have a chain and nylon rode back there, so if it is set up well it may be the better, faster, choice in an emergency. If the rode can't leave the boat in a hurry, then, yes, don't use a Danforth.
Kind of an interesting new anchor test... which anchors set better at 5 or 6 knots! Might be a little tough to film though.

[Panope]

A free falling anchor will not be moving through the water anywhere near the speed of the boat. In fact, if the rode is able to pay out freely, the anchor's speed will be very near zero as it descends and lands on the seabed.

Yes, the anchor will accelerate rapidly when the slack and catenary come out of the rode. However, the better anchors (not a CQR) will set fine even with high speed.

In the following "emergency stern anchoring" test, I deliberately payed out the anchor rode somewhat SLOWLY so as to test the anchors ability to set even while it was traveling at several knots at the point of first contact with the seabed.

During the deployment, the anchor was very close to "flying". Had I payed the rode out even more slowly, the anchor would have "flown" indefinitely.

Note: Despite my own conclusion that a stern anchor can definitely be used to stop a boat in an emergency, I choose to NOT have a anchor mounted on the stern of my boat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtD4DBjjE0w&t=56s

[Suijin]

I think anyone who single-hands and is in coastal situations...inlets, canals, bridges etc. has or should have an easily deployed stern anchor, for the simple fact that there are scenarios in which you'll need it immediately and going to the bow, for a variety of reasons, is not ideal. So I'm going to assume that is why the OP's friend has one.

Yeah a Danforth is not the best option, but it's the good enough option if alternatives are impractical or unworkable.

I have a x-28 Fortress on a bracket on my stern pushpin, connected to 20' of 3/8" chain (yes less than ideal) and then 3/4" three strand rode. Setting it while the boat is moving is a matter of tossing the anchor, paying out the chain and appropriate length or rode, then snubbing it with a bit of finesse, to get it to dig before it might start skating. That worked the one time I have had to deploy it in anger and I will admit to holding my breath until I felt the rode harden up.

Yeah I would love to have a 20kg Rocna on a stern roller with >50' of chain but that's not going to happen anytime soon. :/

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Panope

A free falling anchor will not be moving through the water anywhere near the speed of the boat. In fact, if the rode is able to pay out freely, the anchor's speed will be very near zero as it descends and lands on the seabed.

Yes, the anchor will accelerate rapidly when the slack and catenary come out of the rode. However, the better anchors (not a CQR) will set fine even with high speed.

In the following "emergency stern anchoring" test, I deliberately payed out the anchor rode somewhat SLOWLY so as to test the anchors ability to set even while it was traveling at several knots at the point of first contact with the seabed.

During the deployment, the anchor was very close to "flying". Had I payed the rode out even more slowly, the anchor would have "flown" indefinitely.

Note: Despite my own conclusion that a stern anchor can definitely be used to stop a boat in an emergency, I choose to NOT have a anchor mounted on the stern of my boat.

Fantastic work. You and Noelex have really advanced the state of knowledge about anchoring. You two should write a book together


I've never tried emergency anchoring from that much speed, and I am surprised and happy to see that it works. Maybe I should try it myself.


My practice is to throw the anchor out by hand with a lot of the 100 meters of rope rode I have for it. Th reason why I do that is so that I can get it cleated off while it stretches out, but here we see dramatically that this might also prevent "flying" before the anchor reaches the seabed.



We also see the incredible aggressive Fortress setting behavior -- I think just what we want for emergency anchoring

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Panope

A free falling anchor will not be moving through the water anywhere near the speed of the boat. In fact, if the rode is able to pay out freely, the anchor's speed will be very near zero as it descends and lands on the seabed.

Yes, the anchor will accelerate rapidly when the slack and catenary come out of the rode. However, the better anchors (not a CQR) will set fine even with high speed.

In the following "emergency stern anchoring" test, I deliberately payed out the anchor rode somewhat SLOWLY so as to test the anchors ability to set even while it was traveling at several knots at the point of first contact with the seabed.

During the deployment, the anchor was very close to "flying". Had I payed the rode out even more slowly, the anchor would have "flown" indefinitely.

Note: Despite my own conclusion that a stern anchor can definitely be used to stop a boat in an emergency, I choose to NOT have a anchor mounted on the stern of my boat.

WOW, great video Panope! I had missed that one. Well that helps settle that mystery, for me anyway. Pretty impressive results for the Fortress at that scope and speed.