Anchoring Problem in the Bahamas

[Bear Essentials]

Hi again

First, thank you all for the wonderful and varied responses provided to our Bahamas Anchoring Challenge.

I still would have thought that 75 to 100 feet of all chain, 15 feet above the bottom (my mistake in the first post: 10 feet of water, 5-6 feet above the water - 15 feet total), attached to a 15 foot rope bridle that kept the chain pressed against the bottom - all hooked to a 45lb Manson Supreme would have held far better than it did.

A few folks mentioned the mistake I made regarding the weight. Sorry, just took it off the documentation. Didn't know there was a differential (learn something new every day). The 23 tons quoted was Gross Weight, again according to the documentation. Realize it's not an accurate weight to determine actual weight.

Also, some people expressed concern about the size of the hook. I used a 45lb Mason Supreme. I had thought that it was sufficent - especially concerning the much smaller Delta that came with the boat. What's ironic is that at my home marina, they refer to my Mason Supreme as 'the monster' - most everyone I know with similar sized boats have a hook about 35lbs hanging off the bow. These are mixes of Bruice's, Danforth's, Delta's and CQRs. I'm the only one with a Mason.

This situation places me in a really challenging situation. My windlass (Maxwell RC800) will only accept a 5/16'' chain rode. To upgrade to 3/8ths I would need a new windlass. Couple that to a new chain and even larger Mason, I'm looking at something in the vicinity of $3K - not to mention the reconfiguration of the bow (glassing it over, then redrilling for a different windlass). Appears to be a daunting undertaking, to say the least!

Yeah, I know, welcome to the wonderful world of boating!

Grins

[CaptHead]

Funny this thread is still going. Yesterday i was doing laundry in the Marinas laundry room and there was a Sail magazine with an anchor test. It was from last year and I don't remember the month but in all the anchors tested, they never tested a Danforth. They had the aluminum version made by Fortress and it was the winner. Beating the Manson and the others but not by a huge margin. They were all close. They ended that article saying get three. A Delta, Fortress and the other one that looks like the Manson.

The hurricane heading into the gulf this weekend will be testing Danforths on oil rigs. They hold.

They did have that cheap West marine look alike version of the Danforth and it sucked bad. But serious cruisers don't buy those.

[imagine2frolic]

When I was rearranging my anchor system. I decided I would go with a second windlass. I called Maxwell, because I had a Maxwell..VW800. I wanted to change the gypsy from 5/16 to 3/8. After a detailed discussion the representive of Maxwell told me 5/16 was plenty for my boat, so I ended up getting a duplicate windlass. Have you talked to any windlass companies to get some of their thoughts?

[Talbot]

My research suggests that there is a difference between anchor practices in USA and in UK.

In USA you tend to have really heavy anchors and very light chain. In UK we tend more to a balanced medium weight anchor and heavier chain.

The heavier chain keeps the pull from the boat on the anchor at a lower level, and thus helps keep the anchor dug in. Thus this aspect probably balances a heavier anchor and a lighter chain.

Where the heavier chain really makes a difference is in significantly reducing the tendency of some boats to swing - this is psrticularly true of a cat. Thus 30m of 3/8" chain + rope, is better than 60m of 5/16" chain.

[harryrezz]

I feel like I'm kinda just recapping what's already bed sain, but: 1. Your anchor is too small for the windage on your boat for the area concerned. the weight of the boat is a factor, but the pull it registers against the anchor is mor a facor of it's windage - the mass above the waterline which catches the wind - than of just weight. You have LOTS of windage, so you need LOTS of anchor! 2. Your chain is too small - you need heavier chain so that it stays more on the bottom so that the strain on the anchor will be horizontas as opposed to vertical. 3. You didn't have enough scope out: I, too, always use a bridle like yours, and theyn are great, but if you don't have at least 6 or 7 to 1 out, you will drag, period. My boat weighs about 36,000 to 38,000 pounds, and, for a sailboat, she has a lot of windage. I use a 60 lb CQR on all 3/8 BBB chain pulled in by a Lorfans Tigress windlass. I sleep well at night, until some bareboater drags down on me because they thought they could anchor for the night like they do for lunch at home! You've got to ask yourself a couple of questions: Do you want to stay near home or go cruising? If at home, stay with the ground tackle you have. If you want to go cruising, get proper gear! Second, which is less expensice - biting the bullet and getting proper gear or dragging onto an inhospitable shore or into someone else's boat and sufferijg VERY expensive damage? Hey - set it up right once and be done with it.

[theonecalledtom]

We're pretty new to this whole anchoring thing but every time we've set the hook we give it some wack in reverse to check it out, I mean really get the water flowing back past the boat from the prop wash.

I have difficulty imagining how, without either rotating the pull direction or some distinct conditions change (wind, current, swell) that anchor would drag too far to fast. Is it common for anchors to become unstuck or more of a freak occurance?

[CaptHead]

Seas and weather will be the determining factor. To put it in other words, wind and current or both can pull hard on the anchor and even dislodge it if the scope is insufficient. The way those forces effect your boat is determined by several factors such as the draft and amount of area above the water.

In my case, I have a 48" draft and sit pretty high above the water with a flying bridge so I need to size my anchor the next size larger for my sound sleep at night.

Then there is shifting winds coming from another direction which changes the direction of pull on your anchor. Most anchors will hold unless the pull is strong enough to pull it out and cause the anchor to drag. This causes problems with a lot of anchors as they can't reset while dragging.