Anchor size for 26 foot boat?

[BugzyCan]

My Macgregor 26S came with a heavy anchor that I think is too large for this boat. It must be about 50 lbs, and very cumbersome to move around, especially dragging the bag with the chain and rope along with it to the front of the boat during setup.

I was thinking of replacing it with one of these new models with the righting ring across the top, that style looks fantastic, but what weight is suitable for a 26 foot boat for coastal mooring?

[Don C L]

Mantus shows a 25 lb for you, but that seems like overkill even as a storm anchor, but it is what they recommend for that length boat, 17lb for your weight (displacement). For your boat a Danforth 12H would also hold you in a storm, and a 20H will hold you and the 35' boat that drags down on you.
https://www.mantusmarine.com/mantus-...anchor-sizing/

[mstrebe]

I had a Fortress 11 on my MacGregor 26M and it was perfect. Fit in the anchor locker, really dug in, light weight. Strong recommend.

[thomm225]

My Bristol 27 came with an old 20lb CQR with maybe 35' of chain and 250' of rope rode and it has worked great for these passed 8 years in winds to around 30 knots and gusts maybe over 40.

[Stu Jackson]

Anchor System Sizing Tables (Reply #6) Ground Tackle & Anchor System Sizing TABLES & Swivels

[chris mac]

For my 26 foot boat, I went with a spade a80. Not as heavy or as cumbersome as the rollbar anchors. It may cost a little more, but in my opinion, it works a lot better.
Every anchor will have it's own chart showing their recommended size for your boat.
I just noticed you are in BC, check what is locally available and see their charts first. shipping charges on anchors are not cheap!

[NewMoon]

Rocna 10 (22lb) worked great for many summers cruising the Inside Passage on my 26' power boat. Rode was 40 feet of 1/4" HT chain and 300 feet 1/2" nylon.

[Bean Counter]

Rocna sizing guide Sizing Guide | Rocna Anchors // Rock Solid

[TrentePieds]

Bugzycan:

I sail the Salish Sea too in 5-ton pilot house cutter with roller furling, i.e. with LOTSA stuff for a stiff wind to grab hold of :-)! My anchor is a 22 lb Bruce with 40 feet of 5/16" chain and 200 feet of nylon.

Great anchor for me since it sits in a bow roller with one fluke snugging around the stem resting on chocks. A lovely secure arrangement. I could fit a "Beugel" anchor, the type you describe, in the same bow roller, but I see no advantage in doing it. If broken out accidentally, the Bruce "rolls over" (and reburies) due to its basic design just like a Beugel is intended to do, so for me, the Beugel holds no charms.

What you use for an anchor depends on were you sail and how you sail. Here in the Salish, in the vast majority of places the water is too deep for anchoring a 30 footer, let alone anything smaller. Remember we have to account sometimes for a rise'n'fall of tide of 16 feet. Where the water is shallow enuff to anchor, the bottom is most often sand and gravel; sometimes, but only in a few places, mud.

In a boat as small as a McGregor26 neither the Bruce or, worse, the Beugel is convenient for stowage. Either a Danforth or a Fortress is much easier to handle on deck because the can lie flat in chocks, and both of them are perfectly good patterns for the kind of sandy/gravelly bottoms we have. I have a 10 lb (?) Fortress for a "kedge", but I cannot work up a lot of faith in it in comparison with the Bruce.

Something that I would not do without in these waters is a coupla hundred feet of spare rode. Many, many places you'll be taking your McGregor you'll want to take a line ashore over your stern in order to control your swing. Buccaneer Bay in one such place. Codfish Cove is another. On bigger boats you will see that people carry that "stern rode" wound onto a reel mounted on the pushpit.

So just to make the point unequivocally: Asking your question on a worldwide forum, is just fine since we all learn from replies, but as far as anchoring goes, the question can only be sensibly answered by those with actual knowledge of the waters you'll be sailing and anchoring in.

All the best

TrentePieds

[Adelie]

If you are dinking around close to home with only very occasional anchoring 15-20lb sound fine.
If you are going to be anchoring regularly then 22-25lb.

With a Fortess you can go significantly lighter but the don’t deal with weeds or wind shifts nearly as well.

Really you should have several anchors for varying situations and bottom conditions.

25lb Spade or Mantus, 100’ of 1/4 HT chain and 100-200’ of 7/16 or 1/2” nylon.
15lb Fortess, 30’ of 1/4 HT & 200’ 1/2”.

[BugzyCan]

Perhaps I will just add a second anchor and keep this heavier one downstairs for emergencies or as a backup.

Thanks for all of the advice.

[Don C L]

Well. if you need more ballast, but it's a 50lb what? Some anchors just aren't worth it, no matter how big they are.

[gmakhs]

I do use 12 kilo anchor (24lbs) and 50 meters of 8 mm chain on my 26 feet and am happy I can sleep peacefully.but mine has an anchor locker ....

[Mike Banks]

I would use a 30 pounds anchor in galvanised steel. I like Manson anchors, but any other high-quality one approved by Lloyds insurance would be OK./ I kike a bog bower anchor, just not as big as the one you have aboard--I suspect the previous owner used it as a fixed mooring rather than an overnighter.

Having said that, for a daylight stop for lunch one could use a smaller anchor, but I carried four on my vessel, five if you count the tender anchor. Two were Mansons, one sixty pounds one thirty, a reef pick of unknown manufacture, the other was a forty pounds Bruce. If I were you, two Manson supremes--one Thirty, the other twenty. Those can be hoisted by hand. For anything larger you will need a windlass.

[hamburking]

I used a 7.5 kg bruce on my C&C25. Always held. I also carried a 5kg bruce as a lunch hook. The C&C25mk1 has no anchor locker, so the 5kg bruce was much easier to carry from the cockpit locker to the bow.

I kept the anchors in laundry baskets to keep them tidy and ready to use.

When using a light(ish) anchor, I like to use 10 feet of heavy chain. This increases the effectiveness of the anchor greatly by keeping the stock down.

I agree that the new rocna style anchors are better, but when you see the price tag, you may want to look again at a used bruce which would sell for maybe $40.

In the pictures (attached) you may notice a 22 pound plow anchor also on the bow. This pointy anchor was needed when the weeds were thick, as a small bruce is not good in weeds. But I did not like the plow.