Another Anchoring Thread, Yes!

[Dulcesuenos]

Ok so were 7 days into our trip and i am thinking about ways to save weight. This has Absolutly nothing to do with all cr...stuff my wife has aboard. Absolutly nothing hun in case you read this. So we have a delta 35lb. And a manson supreme 25. The manso.n we used on a 13000lb 32 mono.it worked great. I know it says its rated for 28-35' boat. Just wondering if there is any reason to keep both or which one is better for an 32' 7800lb cat with lots windage. Dies thee windage make for excess weight of a larger mono? We have roughly 25' of 3/8 chain. We also carry a large Fortress on board and have at home a 35lb danforth. I have thought of selling the delta and manson and danforth and get a 35 manson. But if it is really not needed id just as soon avoid the extra weight. Of course i could ditch the margarita machine or blender or 9 pairs of shoes..... what would you do?

[sailorboy1]

Well I would get a larger MS as a primary anchor and keep the Delta as back-up.

I would also keep the Fortress, but probably apart in the bag and stored where I could reasonably easily get it.

Of course this doesn't weight, but for me that isn't a goal of anchors.

[zeehag]

what kinds of sea floors will you be anchoring into?? that is what makes the difference.....

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by zeehag

what kinds of sea floors will you be anchoring into?? that is what makes the difference.....

Mainly sand or clay and occasionally rocky

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Mainly sand or clay and occasionally rocky

if you guarantee you will never run aground, then sell the danforth. is only good for kedging , anyway.....the others make good kedges also, as they are light--and ye may consider more chain .....will keep ye anchored longer and safer, as it wont chafe away.....

[cwyckham]

I mostly agree with Don. I'd also get rid of the Delta, though. Upsize the primary and then keep the Fortress as either a back-up or kedge. 10 pounds increase in anchor weight makes a huge difference in performance without measurable weight increase of the boat. Don't skimp on anchor weight. Rode weight is another story. You could go to higher test chain if you want to spend the money. Or even go to a mixed rode if you don't anchor in places with abrasive bottoms.

And yes, you need to take into account the large windage of a cat vs a mono in sizing the anchor.

[Kenomac]

Get a 35# Ultra Anchor and keep the Fortress you already have for backup & kedge. If you ever got into trouble an needed to anchor out in a storm, you could always attach the Fortress in tandem with the Ultra. With this setup, you'd be pretty well set in nearly any type bottom.

[barnakiel]

I think your anchoring gear will be as serious as your anchoring.

In our 26' mono I consider a 33 pounder a bare minimum BUT we do anchor a lot. 25' of chain is what we use on our kedge.

From my experience with cats (unfortunately, much larger than yours) there is no such thing as 'too big' an anchor; in the cruising aspect: cats have more windage than most monos, they also tend to sail about at times.

Big (but light) Fortress type are great choice (weight-wise), bottom permitting.

Plenty of cat people here, you will find all the right answers soon.

Cheers,
b.

[Cheechako]

The delta is a good panic anchor if kept rigged and ready. Saved my 47 footer in 70+ knots of wind once. Just literally threw it over the bow and I stopped 50 ft from the beach.... keel bumping occassionally.

[Dulcesuenos]

I have no windlass and the anchor wench chose helm duties over chain duty. Will have more chain when we head towards rockier bottoms, most likely 50-75' of slightly smaller stronger chain. Think will sell both delta and manson and danforth and get a 35 manson and i love how fast and easy they set and re set. Will keep fortress as spare/ though need to practice settin it. Ive kedged a mono but never a cat. If i cant power off or move off at high tide im calling someone lol.
Thanks all.

[noelex 77]

I used to race and yes we even cut the handle off our toothbrushes, but on a cruising boat, even a cat trying to cut down weight and saving say 1% of your displacement is false economy.

The Fortress, very versatile, has too stay. MS great anchor, but a bit small at 25 lb. The Delta a good anchor, but a 35lb Delta will have similar holding power to a 25lb MS. The Danforth is doing no good at home.

In addition to the Fortress you need two good anchors so:

1. Sell the Deta and Danforth and buy a larger MS keeping the smaller MS as a spare.

2 sell the MS and Danforth and buy a larger MS as the main anchor.


Option 2 would be cheaper given the higher resale value of the MS and would give you two different anchor designs, but is slightly heavier for the same holding power.

[zeehag]

i kedged a hugeous cross trimaran with a danforth. i like bruce best for rocky bottoms. works grreat--i am in that now--mexico is all rocky bottoms--they set so easy...loving it here

[thinwater]

If you search owner sites for folks that have cat that size (PDQ 32, Gemini) you will find that a 35-poind Manson/Rocna plus a Fortress for kedging is a very common set-up. I had a 25-pound Delta for a number of years and determined it was too small. The 35-pound Delta might be good; I would live with that for a while before deciding. The 25-pound Manson is probably too small to bite some places.

I think the sell and get a 35-pound Mason plan is valid too, if the Delta does not work for you (some folks like the setting of Manson better, but mostly, it is just different). Keep the Fortress. You don't really need a 3rd anchor on the boat. Sell the Danforth, for sure. You'll never use it, unless you envision building a storm mooring.

My expereince:
http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/20...n-supreme.html

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Keep the blender--margaritas--and I'm not touching the subject of shoes.

[RabidRabbit]

Why limit yourself to 35lbs? No anchor is ever really heavy enough. Sure 35 might be great 99% of the time, but when it hits the fan, a 45 or 50 wont be a bad thing. All depends what you do, are you going to anchor for months at a time in different areas? Recently I've become the scope nazi and noticed many weekend/day sailors dont use nearly enough. Two years running the same new nordH trawler has anchored right on top of me, put out almost no scope on a 100ish CQR, and dragged around in 20something kts. 27 deep, 8' bow off water =35x8 (storm scope -max needed ever) 280' is the correct and safe rode length. But you ask people and this would seem crazy to many part timers.

[motion30]

I hand pull a 45lb ms with 40' of 3/8'' and I am old and beat up