Using your stern anchor before the main anchor.

[Talbot]

You sail in Norwegian waters, you will find a lot of people on day anchors, using their stern anchor only. I never got a consistent answer to why, but a lot of people claimed that it was much easier to operate when short handed. 10ft of chain would be the minimum, but very dependent on the bottom. If it is rocky go for a longer chain to avoid the rope chafing through on a rocky obstacle.

[nofacey]

Fortress is a great choice as a stern anchor, though I’d put 20ft of chain on it.
- we too usually rowed stern anchor out after setting bow. Anchor into dinghy, followed by chain in a milk crate (easy handling). Crew fed us rope rode as we rowed out, then held snug as we paid out chain, and stretched all before dropping anchor - minimized drag before stern anchor set that way.

Having said all above, I don’t believe we used the stern anchor cruising NZ.
- we did use it fairly frequently cruising the tropics, either to limit swinging in crowded anchorages, or in bohmie infested areas to avoid chain fouling. Might have used it twice in 5 years to reduce rolling at anchor (usually we just moved).

[Lightwave99]

We use our stern anchor all the time in small anchorages. We also used it once in an emergency when our engine quit as we were transmitting a pass of rapids. It was the quickest to deploy and it bit in quickly. It is very important to have a good stern anchor ready to deploy.

[Cynara]

When we did bow and stearn we put the stearn anchor first because the bow was all chain. We couldn't back up with all chain. For thse reason when we med moored we went bow in.

[Rumrace]

Great Lakes years of Georgian Bay. Two anchors short chains 20 degrees apart on spring lines and an anchor sail. In a power boat I anchored in front of White Falls to catch bass. Used 2 anchors at 60 and dropped a stern anchor with the dinghy. Tossing a stern anchor slipping into raft can be helpful if you are contributing to the rafts hook. I’ve always thought of the stern anchors as emergency hooks. Anyone passing your stern would not expect to cross a line and pick it up with a prop. The anchor should be marked on the surface

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by lauriel

Apart from mediteranean moorings which are pre-planned, when have cruisers used their stern anchors? I am particularly thinking of occasions when a manually deployed stern anchor is used before the forward anchor has been dropped from a windlass rather than as additional holding in a challenging location.

Our previous boat was a Hunter 26 and we would often use a stern anchor near the beach to control swing and to keep the stern of the boat in shallow water where less confident swimmers could still reach the boat with their feet on the riverbed. Typically we would also set a bow anchor, but sometimes not when the winds were favorable. We did not typically have a dinghy with this boat due to its small size so we would swim ashore.

At present I am thinking an aluminium Fortress with 10ft of chain then rope will allow ease of use.
All comments will be welcome. Even the humourous. Thanks in advance.

Good choice. I like the Fortress and have one in my 14' aluminum fishing boat/dinghy. I have a Danforth HT with my Tartan because that's what it came with.


Regarding chain, as a stern anchor I prefer to use it without chain to simplify the process of rowing or carrying it out. I prefer 8 plait nylon rode for ease of coiling and storage, which is important for an anchor that is rarely deployed. Without chain there is some risk of damage to the rode due to chafe. I doubt whether 10 feet of chain will make a meaningful difference in this risk. The Fortress may set more reliably with a little chain due to improved direction of pull before the flukes are fully dug in.