Type and Size of Anchor

[Night Sailor]

I think craigsmith's comments are accurate and correct, his rocna anchor a good design for a blue water, go anywhere, do anything, in any type of weather cruisers like himself.
As a new member to the forum and not being a Mac owner, I suspect he doesn't yet realize that by far the majority of present Mac owners are occasional daysailors in small lakes and slow rivers, or coastal shallows who crank up the iron wind and run for cover at 15+ knots when the weather looks nasty. They know the kind of holding ground before they get there or are headed to a dock or mooring. Some can get by with a mud anchor, others a gravel or sand, some require the strength and weight of a good rock or coral design.

Some of us have downsized from larger cruising boats to take advantage of the Mac's versatiity because of where we currently live. We carry with us the experience that Mr. Smith draws upon to design his anchors.

To my knowledge no one has ever tested all the different kinds of anchors in real world bottom conditions, using real scope, real waves, currents and high winds. Steady pulls on an anchor from a beach or tug boat or dock in calm weather give only a very rough approximation of what might be achieved. That is why anchor makers quote conservative figures, and why sailors might be well advised to go up one size over the factory recommendations for rode and anchor.

It is only prudent to prepare in advance for any voyage, day sail or cruise, including having on board ground tackle appropriate for the intended anchorages, and a emergency, heavy duty all purpose type for the unexpected. I'm convinced the rocna Mr. Smith endorses is a good solution for the latter. I'll certainly consider a rocna when planning my next long cruise, though my Danforth Hi Tensile has never slipped under any conditions, except the one time it hooked a log on the bottom and dragged it 50 ft. during the night. Any anchor can do that.

I've been fortunate for the last 50 years, however, to not encounter 50 knot winds while at anchor. (That I knew about. Sometimes you don't care how hard it is blowing at 2am, only that everything is okay) Nowadays my NOAA all hazards alert radio is always on, in additon to satellite observations of wind, waves, etc. in the planning stages. But I always have the emergency anchor ready to go if the worst happens. Loks like to me a rocna would qualify.

[Brian Russell]

I have a 16 lb Bruce, a Super Hooker ( cheapo, but holds well) and a Guardian( just in case), in a bag, stowed. The Racna looks very interesting, great web site presentation. One of the testimonials on that site brought up a very good point about anchoring: Technique has much to do with a successful hook. Backing down HARD to set the anchor is extremely important! And I would also second ( or third...) the notion that chain helps keep the angle of the anchor properly oriented. I use 20 feet of 5/16 chain on the Bruce with 1/2" nylon rode. I'm merely a lake sailor, but I like to sleep at night, so when the weather looks iffy, putting a second anchor out provides, uh, double the holding power.

[craiglaforce]

For normal anchoring, east coast, mud or sand, it is hard to beat a 13# superhooker, some heavy chain, and 100 feet or more if you like of 1/2 inch 3 strand rode. Hang the anchor on a PM windlie mount off the rail.
Give over 5:1 scope and back down hard to set the anchor and you aint movin unless the wind or tide reverses. Superhookers are cheap and mine has worked very well since 1998. Has held in at least 35 knot winds, in unprotected anchorage with 4 foot choppy waves.

For cruising, I would probably add a 20# plow or something that will penetrate weed, dig in and reset if wind reverses. But you would need to add a bow roller or at least a plank to hold it as many have done. THe added weight at the bow might also help the boat balance better, if the bow is light and tends to blow off course when sailing upwind.

A lightweight anchor like a little fortress would be handy to put in a dingy, if you want to place an anchor by hand. This might be kept in a 5 gal bucket with the rode, to protect an inflatable, and keep it from getting stolen by putting in the cabin, as these anchors are more money.

Rather than carry anchors that will hold in all types of bottoms, you can always move a bit to a different spot, to improve the bottom. By the way, some claim you can determine the bottom type with experience reading certain types of fish finder/ depth sounders.

For overnight, where wind can and probably will shift, I would set a 2nd anchor, either at 180 or 120 degrees also led from the bow.

By the way, a light throwing grapnel is often handy and I might add one of these at some point. A marina owner always had one handy, and it was used a lot to retrieve lines in the water and for all sorts of stuff. Just a great all round tool and not that much weight or cost.

There is a good book that has about 80 pages devoted to anchors, called "modern seamanship". The book covers a bunch of other stuff (not so well, and some info is dated), but does a good job on anchors.

[James V]

I just bought a Super Max 12. An 18 pound anchor.

http://creativemarine.com/catalog/text/anchor.html

I tried this out in Bimini and it held well and it did not drag in strong winds. It will require a new bow roller as it needs 6 inches clearnace. It did not foul and it set well with a short scope. It also set in grass.

[mtc]

I've been very happy with my ROCNA anchor. The materials, workmanship, and design are all excellent. The anchor mounts perfectly on the bow with a bruce roller I installed in place of the stock roller.

When this anchor digs in, it sets fast and deep - though not too deep to make a problem to dislodge. Using 30' SS 1/4 chain and a HD SS swivel.

Besides the utility of this anchor, she is simply a work of art! I've actually carted it around to my boat friends showing them this marvel of simplicity. Pricy, but consider the cost when you're dragging. . . that's what sold me.

Will post some images of the mount.

[Catigale]

ON sizing anchors - the Mac is a very light and high windage boat for its length...I would recommend going up at least one size from most manufacturers tables when selecting an anchor, unless they can point to specific experience with the Mac through references ...

ALso the Mac moves a lot on the anchor (up to 120 degree swings reported here on this board) so the fact that the anchor will get jerked at +- 60 degrees might be worth considering as well.

Ive been happy with my Bull on the Bow...buts it a pricy Cow of course...

ON edit - to be consistent, the 'very light' part would imply you could size down, while the 'windage' would imply you should size up of course.

If you are anchoring where it is known to be windy, definitely size up. I was carrying my bias towards known windy anchorages in my original post.


Other than cost and stowage, of course, there isnt a penalty for too much anchorage perfomance.

[mtc]

At anchor, you're so right!! She moves like crazy in the wind with her high profile.

I went up to then next size ROCNA for just that reason. I was going to get the Bull and even had one ordered to compare both side-by-side, but alas, the Bull was on back order with a month or two wait for production to catch-up with demand. So, when the R came, I fell in love with it instantly and cancelled the B. Not being rich, I couldn't afford both. I have a Fortress as a 2nd.

The Bull looks like one fabulous anchor. Seems like it'd grab instantly and not let go!

Michael

[Frank C]

The Bull looks like one fabulous anchor. Seems like it'd grab instantly and not let go!

Michael,
That's exactly one experience I had with my Bull - after pulling it free one morning I asked the helm to motor very slowly. I wanted to let it hang to hopefully wash some mud off, but I was foolishly hand-holding it. We went shallow (yep, pretty dumb of me) and it grabbed again while hanging straight down! ... and nearly pulled my arms from shoulders and almost yanked my thumb into the aft bow roller! Lesson: it's very dangerous to be hand-holding an anchor, especially while the boat is moving.

Second observation, regarding sailing on anchor: I had marvelous success when "side anchored" off Alcatraz last fall to watch the Blue Angels (and since also posted this in other threads, apology for redundancy). My 26X moved no more than surrounding keelboats when bridled off the starboard fore-quarter. I did so using a bridle line from the port bow cleat, thru the boweye, then back to the stb winch. The rode was tied to a mid-bridle loop.

I think one could also just add a line chock to each side of the deck, just past the pulpit's aft rail - in other words - add chocks at the ends of a beamwise line drawn across the deck, just behind the pulpit. This line would also (approximately) cross the mast-raising padeye. Seems to me that the anchor line could be "cleated" at the padeye, then led across either chock, your choice of a anchoring on either "hull-tack."

I hope someone else will test my experience, hopefully to confirm. I think it might work, as a test, by simply tying-off the anchor rode at the pulpit's aftmost rail - as in using a slippped hitch around that rail. Good luck! ... I think you'll like it!

[mtc]

Frank,

I've had the rode in my hand too as the anchor was deployed, because I wasn't paying close enough attention to our depth, and same thing happened - she dug in and yanked me forward. Gotta always focus. All's it takes is one moment being at the right place at the wrong time. Can't even imagine your hand going into the roller.

Your anchoring plan sounds interesting; I'm going to try it out. And, oh yea, by the way, I've watched the Angels from Pensacola water, and it was wonderful. We just come back from our trip out west and still can smell the San Francisco bay salt. Simply gorgeous. It just hit me where you are when you mentioned Alcatraz.

On the Bay on your Mac - You lucky dog. I miss California. Consider a switch for a couple of months?

Michael