OK…been watching/reading all the threads related to this, and sometimes they get a little convoluted and disjointed. Obviously, it’s not a “one size fits all” thing, and I could use a little input/feedback on my specific configuration/situation:
Whitby 42
Ketch rig full
keel cruiser. If the scale was accurate, was right at 14,000 kg (+/-31,000 lbs) when I had her hauled for a bottom job last month. Probably about right.
Tanks were fairly full and a lot of “stuff” on her now that wasn’t when I had her hauled when we bought her. And she was about 27-28 kips then. So cruising weight is probably going to be around 32-33 kips by the time we have her fully provisioned.
In Grand Cayman right now, working on the last of the things to make her "home" for the next year or so. Just brought her back from Rio Dulce about 10 days ago. Was pretty much downwind there 18 months ago, and a nasty hard on the nose beat back end of last month…wind didn’t shift like it was supposed to for an extra day…
But we learned we need to change a few things. She just did not want to go to
weather, and I think the following contributes to it, and this post is an attempt to validate (or invalidate) my thoughts. Been sailing a long time, but this hard
core cruising is fairly new, and I still have a lot to learn…
When we bought the
boat, there were two chunks of 3/8~chain (don’t know if it’s BBB or HT. Will have to get my micrometer out and check…just thought of that this morning…after I’d already been there and back for the day… it may make a difference in choices to be outlined in a bit). Primary section is +/-200 ft with +/-250 ft of ¾” 3-strand spliced behind it. Other is +/-150 ft. Both sitting in the locker right now about as far forward as you can get on the boat….
No
anchor when we bought the
boat, and at the time,
budget was set (and tight), so I ended up with a
Fortress FX-23 and a
Delta 35. Sizing guides said it was appropriate, but it seems to be woefully undersized at this point. I’ve never been fully comfortable with a set…sleep with one and half eyes open if the
wind blows at all. Can’t be doing that for the next year on a regular basis…
I’ve already made up my mind on a new
anchor. Looking like either a 60# Supreme or a 65#
Mantus. Leaning toward the
Mantus because I like the fact it’s bolted together and will easier to stow on
passage. I know there may be many who don’t like that, but I’ve been in construction all my adult life, and in the heavy
steel industry for the last 15. With several hundred thousand bolts in hospitals and high rise
steel structure all over the western US, I can sleep just fine with a bolted connection…they won’t be the weak point.
I bought a
windlass that ended up having the wrong size
gypsy (newbie lack of experience~ I come from a
racing background and we just never anchored!

), and I can’t get one (gypsy) for the 3/8 chain. So therein lies my quandary. As I see it I have two options:
Option #1: Get a bigger
windlass and leave everything else alone. Main drawback in my mind is it doesn’t help with the bow weight to speak of. And the chain is several years old, and although it’s not really showing rust to speak of, it also hasn’t been out of the locker much at all. And then there’s the fact that I really don’t know what kind of use/abuse it got before I inherited it. Could probably sell the windlass I have now to recoup part to the replacement cost and get out at around $500-$700 US (Not counting my labour, which is, of course, as we all know…priceless!)
Option #2: 250-300 ft of 5/16” G40 HT with 200-250 ft 5/8” 3 strand spliced in behind it for the primary. Possible bonus in the weight location department, but I’ll have to get the chain that’s in the locker now out to know ~ there’s a hawse pipe from the locker in the forepeak to a locker in the
bilge. I have the 3 strand run down there right now. The 3/8 wouldn’t fit, but I don’t remember how close it was to fitting. Would be a blessing if some of the chain can be fed down to the
bilge at the front of the keel… Lots of dive and
fishing boats here, so I shouldn’t have a problem selling the 3/8 chain and ¾” 3 strand I have. Especially if I throw in some custom splicing for the buyer. Figuring this way will be between $800-$1100 US. But a couple of hundred of that is for titanium fittings I’ve committed to with this configuration.
So economically, there's not a lot a weight either way.
In both cases, the
Fortress with 40-50 ft of chain, and as much 5/8” or ¾”- 3 strand as I should reasonably need (keep several hundred feet stowed for
drogue,
sea anchor and general
mooring and docking) would be back up/storm.
Looking to
head out of here early May, to west end of
Jamaica, then Bocas del Toro for and indeterminate amount of time. San Blas and Cartegena in the mix as well. Figure on that area through at least the end of this
Hurricane season, and most of it on the hook. And depending on how that goes, maybe through to the Pacific, where I know that
anchoring will present a whole new set of challenges. Am hoping to be moving in the right direction in preparation for that eventuality.
Thoughts, suggestions, and constructive criticism welcomed.
Thanks in advance
Raybo