How many anchors do you carry?

[CatNewBee]

FIFE, a Mantus 85lbs as main anchor, a lewmar delta 25kg as spare, a lighter Danforth flat stern anchor with chain and rope, a sea anchor cone, and a dinghi anchor.

[MV Wanderlust]

We also carry three, though only one is in use. Our main is a 100lb custom plow anchor. The backup is also a plow. It stays in the lazarette and may not have ever been wet. The third is a fluke connected to a little chain and a bunch more rope, also stored in the lazarette but it looks like it might have only been used a couple of times.

John

[RaymondR]

Looks like we are converging towards three?

[Neeltje]

Neeltje came with 2 anchors; a 105 lb. CQR on 350' of 1/2" chain at the bow, and a 110 lb. Danforth on 200' of 1/2" chain at the stern.

The CQR is on a 2-man anchor winch that feeds the chain via a thru-hull. Unfortunately, the 2nd time we weighed it, we went a little too far and got the swivel of the anchor wedged in said thru-hull. I was going to use the pulley on the bowsprit to yank it out, but the bowsprit was blown off by a lightning strike in the mean time, and it's been wedged there ever since.

The Danforth at the stern was supposed to serve as an emergency break in case of need, but it'll take a stronger man than I to pick it up and hoist it over the side in a pinch, especially with the weight of the 1/2'' chain it's attached to.

The good news is that I'll be at dock for the foreseeable future and won't need either one of them.

The bad news is that I'll be at dock for the foreseeable future...

[Amapola]

We have 2 on our 48' trawler. The main is a Mantus; the backup is a Fortress.

[JBWrites]

Three (okay, technically 5) anchors aboard my 5,500-pound, 24' sailboat.

Main: 25-pound Mantus on 150' of 1/4 G4 chain and 250' of 1/2" brait.
Stern: 7-pound Fortress on 20' of G4 chain and 200-feet of 1/2" three strand.
Storm: A 35-pound Mantus, kept broken down, on 50' of 5/16" G4 and 150' of 1/2" brait.
Kedging: 2, 4-pound Lewmar claw anchors, each with 75' of low-stretch 3/8" line (kept in a bucket). Throw one-haul it in tight, throw second, repeat...

Okay, okay, okay — 6 anchors... I have a Mantus dinghy anchor kit, too.

[lvictorlucas]

A couple of comments:
1) The boat (20 foot o'day day sailor or 50 foot Lord Nelson).
2) Where you and when you sail (Bahamas during the summer or Hawaii).
3) Type of sailing (circumnavigator or Hawaii moring).
4) Bottoms you anchor in.
5) Rode (all chain and technique).
6) Risk tolerance.
All of these will affect the number, size and most importantly the type.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by lvictorlucas

A couple of comments:
1) The boat (20 foot o'day day sailor or 50 foot Lord Nelson).
2) Where you and when you sail (Bahamas during the summer or Hawaii).
3) Type of sailing (circumnavigator or Hawaii moring).
4) Bottoms you anchor in.
5) Rode (all chain and technique).
6) Risk tolerance.
All of these will affect the number, size and most importantly the type.

exactly and I cruise all over the place so I carry an assortment that will work in various conditions and bottom makeup.

All are sized at least one up from spec for my defender.

[Don C L]

Another question pertinent here and just as important IMO is how many rodes do you have ready to go? For my kind of situations expected for where I am I have 3 chain/nylon combos, each capable of holding her in a windy night so I can sleep.

[wingssail]

On Wings we have five anchors:

1. Bruce 20kg. On the bow at all times, with 300ft 5/16 ht chain. Chain is led to and stored in locker at the level of the cabin sole back by mast (there is no bilge)
2. Bruce 30kg. Our "storm" anchor, in a place of readiness where the weight also does the most good.
3. Fortress, large (size unknown), this is our spare main anchor, on a bulkhead below decks, aft near the mast.
4. Fortress FX22, stern anchor, in locker astern, with 150ft 3/8 3-strand. Never used.
5. Bruce, 6lb for dingy, lazerette.

For racing season we remove all the Bruce anchors, the chain, and the stern anchor, and carry only the bigger Fortress, 30ft chain, and 300ft 1/2" nylon three strand.

These anchors are smaller than what seems standard practice these days, but in 55,000 miles of cruising in the last 23 years we have dragged anchor fewer than 5 times, and always held upon resetting. We used the storm anchor once or twice, not because the 20kg was dragging but because we wanted to feel safe in the conditions we were experiencing at the time. (example: Cape Aghulas 45-55kts of wind and 3ft waves with forecast of higher winds. The 20kg Bruce was holding but we changed to the 30kg because we didn't know what wind strength or waves we might see. We blew up two snubbers).

I am constantly amazed at the size which seems to be required if one goes to one of the newer anchors, such as Rocna. In the marina these days we typically see 88# or 121# Rocna anchors on the bows of 45 ft boats, with their "old" 44# anchor alongside (on the 2nd roller) and 300ft of3/8 chain in the chain locker in the bow. In literally hundreds of anchorages we've been in the 44lb Bruce, once properly set, has held perfectly. Carrying all that weight in the bow (even if offset by half a ton on the arch in the back) is not good for performance or comfort at sea in any kind of waves, no matter how much better you claim it makes you sleep when anchored.

[LargeMarge]

We endorse the Dashew Bigger-More Anchor Philosophy:
If know-it-alls at the marina laugh and question your sanity, you are on the right track.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Another question pertinent here and just as important IMO is how many rodes do you have ready to go? For my kind of situations expected for where I am I have 3 chain/nylon combos, each capable of holding her in a windy night so I can sleep.

Good question/comment. I carry three separate rodes that can be deployed with any of my anchors.

My main (bower) rode: 250’ of 3/8” chain.
Secondary: 60’ of 3/8” chain with 200’ nylon.
Teriary (kedge): 10’ of 1/2” chain with 150’ nylon.

Originally Posted by LargeMarge

We endorse the Dashew Bigger-More Anchor Philosophy.

My approach for my bower is to have the largest new-gen anchor that my crew and my boat systems can reasonably manage. Big, but not so large as to make deploying or retrieval overly difficult. I realize it’s a subjective measure, but I think most experienced cruisers know what they (and their boat) can manage.

wingssail, I’ve never seen a 45’ boat with a 121# new-gen anchor, and I’ve only ever heard of one similar sized boat with an 88#. I guess we travel in different areas, but it’s not something that is at all common in my experience.

Rocna doesn’t recommend people up-size. In fact, they make claims that their sizing is sufficiently conservative so that upsizing is unnecessary. I’ve not been displeased with their sizing recommendations, I just think that for a cruiser, it makes sense to have the biggest anchor you can reasonably manage. Bigger is definitely better (all things being equal) for staying put.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

wingssail, I’ve never seen a 45’ boat with a 121# new-gen anchor, and I’ve only ever heard of one similar sized boat with an 88#. I guess we travel in different areas, but it’s not something that is at all common in my experience.

Rocna doesn’t recommend people up-size. In fact, they make claims that their sizing is sufficiently conservative so that upsizing is unnecessary.

Yes, Rocna's sizing recommendations make sense to me also. It's just that every year we see a hundred or so boats come down the coast to Mexico. I walk the docks and I cannot believe the sizes of the anchors on these boats; they're huge! And nobody takes off the old one, it stays too.

Maybe it's that people who are new to cruising, and with a surplus of money, think that if any size anchor is good, more is better.

When queried I always get the same answer, "Yeah but I sleep at night." Well I do too, with a much smaller anchor.

OK, this season I'll photograph some of them.

[boatman61]

One at a time.. theyre heavy..

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Rocna doesn’t recommend people up-size. In fact, they make claims that their sizing is sufficiently conservative so that upsizing is unnecessary. I’ve not been displeased with their sizing recommendations, I just think that for a cruiser, it makes sense to have the biggest anchor you can reasonably manage. Bigger is definitely better (all things being equal) for staying put.

I have a 20H Danforth on my bow (anchoring bow/stern regularly) and with my 65' of chain and some 300 odd feet of nylon (I don't deploy it all!) I can never get my 29 foot, 4 ton boat to get that thing more than halfway buried even pulling both anchors against each other or a 35 knot blow (biggest I've had so far with this boat.) I think that if the anchor is too big, some boats just may not have the umph to get them to set deeply. I don't know but perhaps that is why Rocna doesn't recommend up-sizing.

Also, with the Rocna, it may be that if you don't make sure it is setting, it is my understanding (I have not witnessed it) that it may ride along for a while upside down on its roll bar. If it is too big, you may not get it to dive and set properly. That is just conjecture on my part though.. maybe noelex or panope can inform me on that one.