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Old 17-12-2021, 20:26   #16
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

Some places require anchoring bow and stern. They are, in fact, uncommon, in my experience. Some people prefer putting out a stern hook to keep the stern into the swell in an otherwise rolly anchorage. ....and of course people vary a lot in how resistant to sleeping rolling makes them. I'm way worse in that respect than Jim. Often, moving to a sea berth where I can rely on the lee cloth to stabilize my body will be the difference between sleep and no sleep.

However, regardless of that, you never know when a kedge will keep you safe and comfy. A useful addition to one's versatility at anchor.

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Old 17-12-2021, 21:05   #17
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

Yeah I'd echo that. A Danforth 35H would be one I'd consider, and for your boat the 20H would be a good kedge. Personally I keep collecting anchors! But that's because I have had to release an anchor and rode before when it was impossibly jammed in windy weather and I had to anchor elsewhere and go back later to get it. If you have to lose your best anchor do you have a capable replacement? Danforths get a bad rep because they are best at one-direction situations in sand or hard mud, but if it sets well you'll be amazed what it can hold.
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Old 17-12-2021, 21:30   #18
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

I second Mike Oreilly on his opinion. All I carry is Spade and Fortress. Never drug my spade more then a foot on the set. (I do have 200 ft 3/8 chain rode with a S80 on my baba 30 though)

S80 for everyday
A140 for storm anchor
Fortress 16 and 23 for stern and kedge.

The Spade A140 is 18.5kg and stores fairly flat in 2 pieces. Bigtime spade anchor fan.
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Old 17-12-2021, 21:39   #19
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

I'd go with the Rocna and Danforth. It would be nice if the Rocna was a size bigger. The biggest Viking (25kg) is not big enough. I'd prefer a 40kg Excel or Spade S160 but I'm not sure I'd spend that sort of money to replace a 33kg Rocna. Pretty small improvement.

The Danforth is a great 2nd anchor. Best anchor in mud. I almost always set a 2nd anchor from the dinghy so storing it on the bow is preferable. I lower it to the dinghy (tied to the dinghy bow and hanging in the water). I recover it by attaching a fender and casting it off. I first recover the primary then go pick up the 2nd with a boat hook.

A Fortress would be slightly better but it seems hard to justify the money when you have a perfectly suitable Danforth. To make the Danforth easier to handle, I'd use no chain. A 200ft 8-plait rode is easy to handle and will have a very low angle in the water depth that you usually will use a 2nd anchor. And you can always shackle on some chain if you are anchoring in coral.

The argument for 3+ anchors these days is pretty weak - unless you are cruising where there is no FedX to replace a lost anchor -- or actually expect to ride out a hurricane at anchor (which your insurance company doesn't want to know about).
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Old 17-12-2021, 21:56   #20
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

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The biggest Viking (25kg) is not big enough.
According to their literature the weight is less important than the surface area of the fluke, they claim anyway! Their sizing chart pegs my boat size at a Viking 20
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Old 17-12-2021, 22:11   #21
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

It’s more about where you cruise ,where you intend to cruise,all chain ,half rope and chain ,mostly rope ,lots of variables ,a break down Herreshoff,fisherman style is the best all round anchor for all round conditions bar non .⛵️⚓️👍
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Old 18-12-2021, 03:43   #22
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

I had: Manson Supreme primary, Spade Al secondary, Fortress tertiary. Very seldom but sometimes, found a bottom in which one style would work but another didn’t. Was glad to have the choices. Used all three in hiding from hurricanes.

The Spade began to exhibit the known corrosion issues and I am not in a place where I can effect a rebuild although it would be worth it.

I had a drag event with the Manson in which the roll bar fouled. It only took one time to shake my tree but that Manson was a damned fine anchor and held very well in all the other places I’d been.

So I have replaced.

Now have a Sarca Excel primary, Viking secondary and the Fortress. The Excel sets better where I am at present. The Viking should do for everywhere else but mainly I like its lightness for strength and disassembly. The Fortress also breaks down and is light.

Anchors are all about horses for courses AFAIC

Personally I’d kick both the Bruce and the CQR to the curb. There are better options these days.
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Old 18-12-2021, 04:20   #23
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

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Originally Posted by CarlF View Post
The argument for 3+ anchors these days is pretty weak - unless you are cruising where there is no FedX to replace a lost anchor -- or actually expect to ride out a hurricane at anchor (which your insurance company doesn't want to know about).

Usually people bring up the situation where the primary anchor and rode has to be abandoned on a windy night, to prevent/mitigate damage to the boat when other boats are drifting into your boat. I've never encountered this myself, but the idea is that you need the backup anchor to re-anchor and get through the night, unless you want to try and spend a windy night on the kedge.
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Old 18-12-2021, 06:13   #24
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

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According to their literature the weight is less important than the surface area of the fluke, they claim anyway! Their sizing chart pegs my boat size at a Viking 20
This is what I would think, but I'm surprised numerous posters haven't jumped in to tell you how important weight is.

I'd keep the Rocna as the bower, the Danforth as a mud anchor, stern kedge, and if the budget allowed get a Viking/Mantus, which breaks down and can be stowed below - as a back-up for use in thick weed or other Rocna-defeating conditions.

The Viking looks a lot like a Mantus with a "ventilated" shank, so I would guess the performance is similar.
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Old 18-12-2021, 06:38   #25
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

I’m old and shaped like my manatee crew but I have no problem with big Fortress anchors. On deck, under the Trinka dinghy, bolted down.. a Fortress FX 85. Which is our fast approaching storm anchor. Pull two pins, connect rode and lower away. On the rail, a FX 55. When we need to anchor in soupy stuff. We always use a sounding lead if we’ve never anchored in a spot before.
These are not our on the bow anchors !
I keep a FX 37 to lend out to sailors who have lost an anchor or unprepared for a storm. For Hurricanes, we have a FX 120 broken down below which I’ve had to assemble on deck only once and did ask the manatee crew to help.
You have to watch your finders with Fortress, but you can tie them flat till you are ready to drop them. I’m careful with moving them but it’s practice not brute strength. Getting them back onboard ? What you need is a folding army shovel and scuba because a Fortress used in a big storm will dig its way to China.
I’ve written before on the Kodiak system which uses big floats and a snubber to a waterline strong point or block.
The manatee crew do eat a lot of veggies but pizza and beer parties have taken their toll. The Green Frog could out swim them.
Merry Christmas
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Old 18-12-2021, 13:42   #26
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

This happened when we sailed Jim's S&S30 to HI. It happened that we were leaving Kaneohe on Oahu at the same time as a king tide. The king tide obscured the tops of the pipes which marked the coral heads. And, we ran a-coral (aground) on one, and as the water receded, we could see the top of the pipe. Quickly, he went to get the 20#HT Danforth, and I made him put it on a floating cockpit cushion, and he proceeded to walk it out under water as far as he could get it, to try and kedge us off. Although we proved unable to get ourselves off, we called for help, and eventually a Morgan OI 41 came to our rescue, with a big enough engine that with ours, and a coast guard runabout, and 4 large Hawaiian men pushing up on the bow, we did get off.

We went back to the yacht club to lick our wounds and soothe our embarrassed egos, and Jim played the guitar for a long, long time into the night.

That anchor was the primary anchor for that boat. It is an old friend, now. That event was in 1983.

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Old 18-12-2021, 14:28   #27
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

But maybe add one? This summer was our first major coastal cruise (we have previously sailed the protected Chesapeake) and found two occasions where we had ZERO wind and low rollers (York Maine, and Roque Island, Maine). With no wind, the boat would rotate sideways to the waves and roll. And with no wind, the tricks for rotating the boat into the waves don't work. Our solution was using the dinghy's 3 lb dandforth and our two 75' dyneema spin sheets tied together -- row it out and drop it as a stern anchor. Next year, we're upsizing to a 5lb danforth (because it's in the attic) and a dedicated 150' 4mm dyneema rode. This sounds massively undersized for our 43' 200000 lb mono, but the loads are trivial -- it's not a storm anchor!
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Old 18-12-2021, 22:11   #28
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

The little 5lb Danforth is rated to hold 1000#!
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Old 19-12-2021, 09:22   #29
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

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The little 5lb Danforth is rated to hold 1000#!

When we used the tiny dinghy danforth, I was amazed at how much load we could put on it, and how much it took to pull it up. It surely did the intended job!
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Old 19-12-2021, 09:45   #30
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Re: Help me whittle down my anchors

I had a shackle let go on my big Mantus. Post mortum showed the retaining wire had failed. No matter, dar and stormy night, I lost my main anchor. I switched over the secondary Spade and retrieved the Mantus the next day.

I did figure out how the wire got broken and fixed the issue. But in the moment it was nice to have an adequate secondary at the ready.
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