Anchor types & Bottom types

[Adventurebound]

Originally Posted by Factor

Thge trouble with threads like this is that they are artificial, I am not changing the anchor five times a day.

I don't even change my underwear that often. You're right.

[ranger58sb]

Whether Jim is still reading or not...

We've been anchoring for more than 20 years (IOW, not all that long), and I have to admit, I couldn't answer the question, as is.

I only have hands-on experience with Danforth, Fortress (a couple sizes), Delta (a couple sizes), and SuperMax anchors. All were of different weight, not always sized properly for the boat, and with varying rode composition.

I can't always differentiate between "loose" mud and "stiff" mud, haven't been in any kind of particularly rocky situation (that I know of)... although I'm pretty good at finding "slime" from time to time. And in any case, given it's usually too cold and/or murky to dive on an anchor every time... if there's no mud on the anchor and it wasn't stuck on a rock, I can't usually tell perfectly what the holding ground really was (no matter what the chart suggested).

Given the expected and situational symbiosis between holding ground, anchor, rode, boat weight and type (windage, etc.)...

I just can't get there from here.

-Chris

[Adventurebound]

[QUOTE=ranger42c;1555058]Whether
We've been anchoring for more than 20 years (IOW, not all that long), and I have to admit, I couldn't answer the question,





Put your feet up and review independent test data done on anchors. You can't put your boat on the end of an anchor, turn on the fan to hurricane speed and see if it holds.

[Blue Crab]

I have 9 anchors. Anyone top that?

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

I have 9 anchors. Anyone top that?

All on the boat?

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

All on the boat?

Yes sir! Hadta raise the waterline. 3 are Fortresses, brokendown. The fisherman's no prob, the Rocna is on the bow, stowing the two big Danforths vertically. The dang ol 35# CQR is real tough to deal with, I'll admit. It came in a trade recently and may have to go to the consignment shop. However, the word's out around here: no one will pay anything for a CQR.

I'm sleeping on deck. The chain is the stowage nightmare. 9 x 100m each!!!!

Kidding about the length of chain. And sleeping on deck. And now, some accountant is gonna say that I only have 8 anchors. I was counting my grapple hook as 9!

Shoot me!

[StuM]

Last year I had 12 anchors on a boat I brought back from Cairns to Port Moresby.
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(But 10 of them were small folding grapnel anchors for setting race buoys )

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by StuM

Last year I had 12 anchors on a boat I brought back from Cairns to Port Moresby.
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.
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(But 10 of them were small folding grapnel anchors for setting race buoys )

Folding schmolding! Mine's a stainless tubular very light weight job I found on the bottom nearby with a nice little hunk o line attached. The gods were smiling. I think it will be fine for the dink.

Does a folding grapnel fold upside down Stu? I heard something about the toilets down yer way. Got a composter meself.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Does a folding grapnel fold upside down Stu? I heard something about the toilets down yer way. Got a composter meself.

I thought they need to be right side up in order to hold the mud, weed, rock, sand, coral and slime from the OP's original question.

If you use the CQR as a paperweight, you could say you have 8 1/2.

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

I thought they need to be right side up in order to hold the mud, weed, rock, sand, coral and slime from the OP's original question...

Not in Australia, I bet, where StuM lives.

[markpierce]

I'd think seriously before having more than two anchors. Haven't acquired anchor "paranoia" yet.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Adventurebound

Put your feet up and review independent test data done on anchors.

Yes, independent data is usually useful. OTOH, that still would not have allowed me to answer Jim's question using my own knowledge.

And he can read test data.

-Chris

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by markpierce

I'd think seriously before having more than two anchors. Haven't acquired anchor "paranoia" yet.

Yo ho ho! You ol' seadog. You've got one for Saturday AND one for Sunday. Hope ya don't get a nosebleed looking down off that deck, Cap'n Coot.

No question 8 or 9 is overkill. I have acquired them over the years. I mentioned the number for comic effect but dang if some of you guys ain't hard of hearing humor.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Adventurebound

Put your feet up and review independent test data done on anchors. You can't put your boat on the end of an anchor, turn on the fan to hurricane speed and see if it holds.

The magazine articles do a great job of testing an holding ability, but they can only test in very uniform bottom configurations.
This rules out a lot of substrates and virtually all the test have looked at reasonably hard sand because it is easy to find anchorages with large uniform areas and the harder sand separates the good anchors from the also rans.
There have been some tests that have looked at soft mud, but while these are useful they have mostly been small scale tests that don't really have enough results to even out the statistical variability. As well some have concentrated on specialist mud anchors which very few cruisers would attempt to carry. In addition while ultimate holding ability is very important they often do not test other important parameters, such as resetting ability.

I think part of the problem is because question is too wide ranging and difficult for a single person to answer.
However, there are CF members that have extensive experience with a smaller number of substrates.
It would be great to hear from those people that have sailed in areas of thick weed. Which anchors work best? While someone else can comment on soft mud etc

People that anchor often in one particular substrate have presumably found which anchors have worked well and those that don't perform.

Perhaps in this way we can resurrect the thread and ultimately gain the same information.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

While someone else can comment on soft mud etc

People that anchor often in one particular substrate have presumably found which anchors have worked well and those that don't perform.

Ha! I can comment on mud! All sorts of mud.

We've had good success here in the Chesapeake -- ranging from hard to soft mud and even to almost slime and including resets -- with our pivoting (adjustable) SuperMax, on the normal setting; haven't ever had to use the mud setting. Yet. Real slime would probably need that adjustment.

We've also had good success with our Fortress, including resets, except for once. We were in soft mud and a local circular squall spun the boat 360° in about 2 minutes. We could tell we were loose, and it was easier in this particular case to simply raise the anchor and move to the dock (we were that close to home)... so I dunno if it would have reset or not. In any case, I put this in the "unusual event" category for around here.

There are other variables maybe worth mentioning. Our current 44-lb SuperMax (Max16) came from a previous boat, so it's one size under the maker's recommendation for our current boat size. The pulpit will (probably) physically the 75-lb size (Max20, 1x above recommended), as will the windlass, I have to do the final lift to get the rascal up onto the roller... and I'm getting to the point where an 75-lb dead lift isn't so fun anymore. This all leads up to: I usually prefer one size larger than maker's recommendation, but in the case, I think their 50-lb (Max17) anchor would be just fine. And in the meantime, the one we have is working fine.

This with a rode made up of 25' of chain and 300' of 8-plait. It usually takes about 30 minutes of hovering when we bring the anchor up while I hose off the mud from the chain links using our saltwater washdown at the bow. Hence the short chain.

I think our current Fortress is an FX-37, one size larger than maker's recommendation. Also brought from the previous boat. Wouldn't mind an FX-55, but it ain't broke so we're not fixin' it. Tidy dismantled storage is a major advantage for us.

Finally, none of this is recommendation; simply observation, and limited experience at that, given this is only about two anchor types and mud. I could also remember some mud episodes with various Delta anchors... but the results would be skewed by a different sort of "unusual event" once, and by the one that came with our current boat... about 3 sizes too small so a non-starter.

-Chris