Looking for Advice

[arjand]

Dear all,
I am looking for advice/experience in the anchoring dept.
I am preparing our boat for extensive cruising, inc caribe/pacific. Boat: Nordic 40, 18.000lbs with a Bruce 20kg (44 lbs).

Questions:
Should I upgrade my anchor? Following Rocna I should upgrade to a 55lbs rocna, the manson supreme indicates a 44lbs or is there nothing wrong with my good old Bruce 44lbs? (no issues so far but have not been anywhere near where it is blowing/rough).

Second: I read almost all the posts on this issue: 300ft vs 200ft of chain? I have no idea how the boat behaves with weight up front (currently weekend sailing with nylon). I know that all the cruising veterans recommend 300ft. Dont we stubborn and go with the 300ft? Is there a way that if you need 200ft to anchor one still runs into choral above that level?

What kind of chain? Does this matter a lot? How do I know if my windlass is ok with it?

Last but not least: I saw a drawing of snubbers going below water and letting more chain out that take on the role of an anchor rider. Does anybody have any experience with this? Is is wise to have the snubber attached to the chain below the water? Is there a recommended length for snubbers?

Thanks very much for your time.

Ari

[delmarrey]

You're going to get a lot of replies on this one, but my recommendation is to have at least 60' of 5/16 or 3/8" chain. and get a second or, even a third anchor of different style. IMHO 18k wouldn't really require all chain. You just have to avoid the line getting in the corral, if any, which you should anyway.

Different bottom types may require a different approach. My Bruce has served me well but I do carry a Delta and a Danforth as back ups, which I had to use the Delta once to get thru the sea grass. in a 30 kt breeze.

My P$.86

[SA/USA]

I would say that having several anchors is always a good choice. A Spade S100, 44#, would serve you very well. I agree with the last poster, you do not need 200-300 feet of chain. There are some very good tables and charts out there that give recommendations for size and length of chain, based on the length and weight of your boat.

[ActiveCaptain]

Where will you be anchoring? What depths do you typically anchor in? What is the tide swing in the areas you'll be anchoring in (max)?

Those values will provide the basis for determining how much rode to carry. Knowing what other people have isn't very important unless they do the exact type of cruising you'll be doing.

[arjand]

Planning for a circumnavigation. Planning for the 'standard' route including caribe, paific, indonesia, indian ocean. (not sure if I can be more exact).

[cabo_sailor]

I'm sure you will get LOTS of advice on this one. One recurrent theme you will see is a need for a variety of anchors and probably as many as you can find room for.

As to your inquiry re: snubbers. If you go with an all chain rode, a snubber is a necessity. Without it, if there is any wave activity at all, you stand a chance of popping your anchor out of the bottom. If that is not bad enough, you will be in for a very, very unpleasant ride. Each time a wave raises your bow, the chain will come taught and transmit a nasty jerk to your boat. Picture the dog chasing a squirrel coming to the end of its chain. Boing!

The snubber is your shock absorber, you want it to stretch so 3-strand nylon is usually chosen. You don't want it too thick because then it won't stretch as easily. I have all chain rode on my primary anchor and use 1/2 in 3 strand for the snubber. Its about 25 ft long. I spliced a thimble into one end and attached a chain hook to the thimble. There are other ways of attaching but this was easy and inexpensive.

When anchoring I let out all but the last 20 ft of chain or so, attach the chain hook to the chain just past the anchor roller and lead the snubber back through the bow hawse pipe to a very substantial cleat. If you have a sampson post, so much the better. Just keep in mind chafing when you rig it. Now I have a 15-20 ft bight of 3-strand sitting in the water. One end attached to the chain and the other to the cleat. I let out some more anchor chain until the 3 strand is taking the load. There is actually slack chain hanging underneath the snubber. Not a huge amount but the distance from the chain to the now taught snubber is a couple of feet. Your done.

If for some reason the snubber parts, don't worry. You will feel it, boy will you feel it.

For myself, I'm doing mostly coastal cruising along Florida's west coast and the Keys. I hope to be able to get to the Bahamas. In both areas the water is pretty shallow. I carry 3 anchors, my favorites a genuine CQR (not the Chinese knock-off) and a Fortress. The CQR is on 240 ft of 5/16 chain. The Fortress is on 60 ft of 5/16 chain attached to 250 ft of 5/8 nylon 3-strand.

Rich

[craigsmith]

Originally Posted by arjand

Questions:
Should I upgrade my anchor? Following Rocna I should upgrade to a 55lbs rocna, the manson supreme indicates a 44lbs or is there nothing wrong with my good old Bruce 44lbs? (no issues so far but have not been anywhere near where it is blowing/rough).

www.rocna.com/kb/Rocna_sizing_recommendations

Originally Posted by arjand

Second: I read almost all the posts on this issue: 300ft vs 200ft of chain? I have no idea how the boat behaves with weight up front (currently weekend sailing with nylon). I know that all the cruising veterans recommend 300ft. Dont we stubborn and go with the 300ft? Is there a way that if you need 200ft to anchor one still runs into choral above that level?

There is no single answer, beyond what may safely be considered to be an absolute minimum to cover all foreseeable locales on the planet. Most boats require nothing like this length.

Worldwide, there are only a few very deep water anchorages that are basically unavoidable if the destination in question is to be visited. The South Pacific, particularly the Society Islands, can present depths of around 30 meters (100 feet). Of course it is possible to find deeper waters, but after having spent time in all these destinations, Peter and I consider this to be a reasonable and practical maximum. You can always extend with rope in emergencies in deeper water.

From this figure of 30 m, we may expect a minimum chain length based simply on a 2:1 scope, giving 60 m (200') of chain. This will present some useful catenary in the form of an all-chain rode, and the scope may be increased with rope almost to 3:1 before the rope is hung close to the seabed (and then only in calm weather), depending on coral formation heights in the immediate area. Equally, a more conservative 3:1 all-chain scope may be attained with 90 m (300'), extended safely to almost 4:1 with rope (a lot of scope in such deep water).

So we suggest that the longest chain length required in an anchor rode would never practically exceed a number between 60 and 90 meters, and that the earlier figure of 60 m is likely to be quite adequate.

Originally Posted by arjand

What kind of chain? Does this matter a lot? How do I know if my windlass is ok with it?

www.rocna.com/kb/Chain

That article will give you the basics.

On account of the weight issue, I would be looking for 8 mm (5/16") G70 high tensile instead of 10 mm (3/8") G40 / high test and definitely avoid G30 / BBB/ "proof". (Assuming a Rocna 25 [55 lb] as above). You need long lengths for abrasion resistance, not redundant amounts of overly heavy steel.

Originally Posted by arjand

Last but not least: I saw a drawing of snubbers going below water and letting more chain out that take on the role of an anchor rider. Does anybody have any experience with this? Is is wise to have the snubber attached to the chain below the water? Is there a recommended length for snubbers?

Yes. Use a chain hook or (preferably) tie it with a rolling hitch. The length depends entirely on the thickness of the rope and its lay, i.e. its stretch behavior, and then the behavior of your boat. You will have to fine tune it yourself. The idea is to have sufficient stretch that peak loads are smoothed out for the anchor, while not ending up with a bungee cord that sails the boat around and actually increases loading.

www.rocna.com/kb/Snubbers