Stern Anchor

[Island Girl 33]

I am considering mounting my Fortress anchor on the stern rail as well as keeping dedicated rode/chain in the cockpit area for use with a stern anchor.

My question: How many times do you actually use a stern-deployed anchor? I will be cruising in the Bahamas and then on to the Caribbean. Any different for Mediterranean cruising?


Island Girl
Pearson 33-2

[osirissail]

As I mentioned in another CF thread about anchoring near to shores due to steep drop offs of the sea floor - and another thread about keeping the bow into the swells to stop rolling - - Stern anchors are preferable to using the "bridle" arrangement of two lines off your bow anchor to turn the boat's bow into the swells.
- - It is the nature of the eastern Caribbean Islands that the swells will wrap around the island and enter anchorages at an angle that is perpendicular to the prevailing winds. This puts the swells on your beam when the boat is hanging on the bow anchor into the wind.
- - You can normally with a lot of motoring around find "sweet spots" where the swells are minimal or at least aligned with the prevailing winds. But if you cannot then you will have a rolly time at anchor which really drives me crazy and makes doing anything inside the boat a pain in the butt.
- - Many islands have very steep dropoffs only a few meters from the beach/shore line. Here you use the bow anchor and then run the stern anchor to shore/beach or a line to a tree or boulder. However, this is getting uncommon or obsolete as the local "boat boys" and park managements are installing mooring buoys for rent in these areas.
- - But in some popular anchorages with reasonable depths and holding the contrary swells to wind angles make life unpleasant. Here I use the stern anchor to pull the stern around until the bow is into the swells. Normally I rig a snatch block or turning block off a stern cleat to feed the anchor rode up to a main cockpit winch so I can adjust the angle of the boat. Also when going ashore I relax the stern anchor rode to put the bow back into the wind. This reduces the extra stress on the anchors from being broadside to the wind. But you need to claim your area and/or stay away from boats that are only using a bow anchor as your boat will not swing with the wind if you are using a stern and bow anchor.
- - Using the stern anchor system makes life on board more pleasant - but - then there is the added hassle of getting that anchor up when it is time to leave. Usually the stern anchor is smaller so it really digs into the sea bottom. Getting it out of the bottom or mud can be a real chore.

[stacy]

In 20+ yrs of cruising the west coast of the U.S. and mexico, the east coast of the US. and the bahamas I can honestly say that we have only used a stern anchor once.

[Kettlewell]

The last time I used a stern-deployed anchor it was at a dock where I had to Med. moor, but I just keep a second anchor stored in my bow locker with its rode in a sailbag so I can move it around the boat wherever I need it. Deploying an anchor off the stern is so rare in the U.S., the Bahamas, and the western Caribbean that it is not worth it for me to store one there. In the Bahamas you are likely to need to do a Bahamian moor quite often, which is two anchors with the lines lead to the bow. This is due to narrow anchorages with reversing currents. We found the same thing handy down in the San Blas Islands. The eastern Caribbean has different anchoring situations with a steady trade wind and few reversing current anchorages, so a stern anchor might come into play more. In the Med. you have to do lots of Med mooring, either stern or bow into the quay, so a stern anchor is pretty much a necessity over there. Others will argue, but on my boat I find it much easier to go bow in when Med. mooring as I have much more control in forward and I can see better what I am doing. Then when you have to leave you can pull yourself out to your stern anchor so maneuvering is much easier.

[jkleins]

I found the stern anchor handy a couple times to get the bow into the waves with a contrary wind. Not enough to have put up with the anchor stored back in the cockpit, for us.

I think there is another option though to having all that stuff stored at the stern. We kept our Fortress (stern anchor and second anchor) on the bow roller and when we wanted to deploy it just dropped it first and then went up to where our bow anchor should be and dropped it. Then we just walked the line back to the stern and handled it as if it was originally from there. The only downside is the length of rode from the bow to the stern cleat that we just tied off and left against side of the boat. For the few times we needed it it worked well. Even when we needed to take it back in the dinghy we just dropped it from the bow and walked the rode back as we carried it to it's resting place.

Didn't seem much harder then having it mounted on the stern and much easier to deal with the 99% of the time you didn't need it.

Jim

[Unicorn Dreams]

Welcome Aboard Cruisers Forum

It doesn't to carry a stern anchor ready. Never know when you might need it..

[sailingaway221]

Often I use it to point into either the wind or the waves and in super calm conditions I use it so i don't go floating around the anchorage bumping into other boats doing the same thing. I have also used it to save another boat dragging...... I spend a lot of time in anchorages without a lot of room with a lot of reef around so I use it to keep me off the reef and as a backup to the main anchor. Great to have ... just in case!

[jackdale]

Aside from using a stern anchor to do a bow-in Med moor several times in Turkey, I have never used a stern anchor on 30 years in the PNW, Caribbean, Bahamas.

[Capt.Don]

Using bow and stern anchors is common in the Channel Islands Calilfornia, in particular Santa Cruz where there's small coves. I have a 16lb Fortress, 25' chain and 200' 5/8" nylon in our stern lazarette.

[Cheechako]

It's not a bad storage spot...even if you end up carrying it forward to use in a panic off the bow. I have seldom sucessfully used a stern anchor. In a dead quiet small cove surrounded by large trees in British Columbia with the bow tied to a tree and the stern anchor out it worked. (watch the tide!) Most the time it seems the current or wind is too overwhelming and it's just a mess. Even in light wind or no wind, if you use one and others are not using one, then when all the boats clock around... you've got a problem!

[daddle]

Store it in the bilge. On the stern rail is a horrid idea...no matter how common. Hours of pitching vs. A few minutes of stowage work: no brainer.

[osirissail]

Where you stow a stern anchor probably depends a lot on whether you have a stern cockpit boat or a mid-cockpit boat. I have a mid cockpit boat so the whole aft deck at the stern is open and there is plenty of room for all kinds of stuff. But the classical aft cockpit boats are really tight on room with railings and seats, bimini poles and lots of other stuff blocking the aft rail areas.
- - Some aft cockpit boats have large "sugar-scoop" sterns with lockers which could be used to stow the stern anchor and rode.
- - Using a stern anchor is double duty as you have to anchor twice, once with the normal bow anchor and again with the stern anchor. So it is not a very convenient or quick process. This usually makes it something you try not to do if there are other options available. But when there are no other options then the stern anchor does just what it is supposed to do and "locks" you into position.
- - I have used it in the ICW along the east coast of the USA when anchoring in tight side creeks with reversing currents. The creeks are quite narrow so letting the boat pivot on a Bahamian moor usually would allow the boat to contact the shore on one side or the other.
- - In the Bahamas just about everywhere is open and has shallow flat bottom so using a stern anchor would be an extremely rare occurrence.
- - In the Caribbean Leeward Islands it is also very rare to need a stern anchor. In the Windward Islands, you can usually find a mooring or small area of an anchorage where you can do a normal bow anchor.
- - Where the stern anchor comes into use these days evolves from the desire to anchor near to a WiFi source so you can make use of your external amplified WiFi antenna. Usually these spots also are exposed to swells and contrary winds so the stern anchor locks you in a position both to reduce rolling and also to align your boat for best WiFi reception.

[janders]

We keep a Danforth on the stern rail more as a HOLY SH*T option. If we ever lose our engine and need to stop but now I want an anchor near the cockpit instead of running up to the bow and releasing the clutch on the windlass.

In the year+ that we were out cruising, we only used a stern anchor twice and both in the same spot in the same anchorage. However, we used our secondary anchor (a 45lb Spade) rather than the Danforth anchor on the stern rail. We hucked it off the bow, backed down on it, and then walked the rode back to the transom to cleat it off.

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by Island Girl 33

I am considering mounting my Fortress anchor on the stern rail as well as keeping dedicated rode/chain in the cockpit area for use with a stern anchor.

My question: How many times do you actually use a stern-deployed anchor? I will be cruising in the Bahamas and then on to the Caribbean. Any different for Mediterranean cruising?


Island Girl
Pearson 33-2

My new boat is having a stern anchor mounted on a roller ready to go despite the fact that I know it will be rarely used. I want it for all the reasons stated in the above posts. My main bower anchor is 2 sizes oversize with 100m of chain and the windlass is also heavier than standard. As I want to be carrying 3 anchors, I am not wanting all that weight in the bow locker so locating at the stern has some logic to it if balance is an issue. The smaller the vessel the more likely this is to be a consideration.

Greg

[vintageray]

Coud save you from becoming a star on youtube if say you were coming down on a closed draw bridge with the tide running, boats waiting for the bridge to open and your engine quits. Lots more graceful way to stop than a panic run to the bow and then have the boat snatched around when the anchor grabs, if it does.