What anchor to get

[rkappel]

I'm the new owner of a 2000 26x and when I bought the boat there was suppose to be 2 anchors on board and there are not. so I get to buy some anchors I picked up a 14lb dansfoth 920 s and want to get a good heaver all around anchor mostly for lakes but will be using them in san juan islands. washington area and north. some reviews say the 14 lb delta plow type and others a 15lb bulwagga . please help me decide???

[kmclemore]

That's like asking who will you vote for... everybody is gonna have an opinion, and they're all gonna be different!

This has been discussed *many* times here before, and there's lots of accumulated knowledge. Try searching using the "Search" button above, and perhaps use the term "bulwugga".... you'll find a lot of hits and it should give you a good head start.

[Night Sailor]

I think you are indeed wise to get other than a danforth type for the San Juans because of the various rock, gravel or combination bottoms coupled with fast currents in places that are neat to visit but not recognized anchorages. A danforth will work in many of the popular anchorages because of mud, sand or combo bottom. I'd trust either the delta or the bulwugga but with plenty of chain to make sure they behaved in loose stuff. What will I buy for my X for the same kinds of bottoms? A 16 lb. Delta.

[Don Chesley]

I carry three anchors on my Mac 26c, I have a danforth, a plow anchor I think is a CQR or a bruce , and a smaller danforth for a lunch hook. I will add this year a sea anchor incase I get caught on the water in a blow and need to slow things down a bit. Don.

[James V]

You may want to get one of them heaver just incase you have to ride out a real blow.

Hmm, is the reason the owner sold the boat is because he kept running out of anchors?

[Russ]

...and others a 15lb bulwagga .

I'm seriously considering a Bullwagga. They pricey but apparently worth it. However I only see a 17# model.

[Terry]

Have a look at some charts for the area to get a feel for the various anchorages/bottoms you will encounter. I get away with using a heavy 15# Danforth style with 25' of chain and 200 ' of rode. I almost could not pull it out of the mud at Sucia one year and when I did it had a large load of mud on it to be cleaned off. Many anchorages will be fine with this setup but a few may require a plow style as many of them are overgrown with weeds. You can get books that describe the various anchorages in the PNW and their characteristics to help you in your purchase decision. I do not anchor as much as others, quite often it is a raft-up or marina slip so I only keep the one anchor set-up.

[Catigale]

I love my Bull and have good experience in sand, mud, grass, and rocky bottom. I think learning to set your ground tackle is as important as buying the right thing.

[Chip Hindes]

The 17 lb Bulwagga is correct and is the one I have is well. There is no 15-lb Bulwagga, or at least there was none when I bought mine in '02.

The Bulwagga is a great anchor and I recommend it, but it is a serious pita to store, deploy and retrieve.

[Shane]

Terry,

Are you allowed to anchor there? I don't know why, but I thought that Sucia had some sort of mooring buoy only stipulation; due to some ongoing sea grass studies or something like that. I did an in and out of False Bay one time because of that. If given that situation again, my preference would have been to drop the hook and stay there.

Regards,
Shane

... I almost could not pull it out of the mud at Sucia one year and when I did it had a large load of mud on it to be cleaned off....

[James V]

I use a SuperMax and it has an eye on the top, just attach a line to that and a float and pull up from the line. It will empty the anchor when lifited.

[bastonjock]

err so is my 22lb delta with 10m of 3/8 chain a bit on the overkill side?

[ChrisP and Pam]

OK,
I actually stumbled on to the right anchor. But I'm going to act like an expert anyway. So here goes:

The 10kg Manson Supreme (or even better maybe is the Rocna). This anchor grabs and holds extremely well. It has a roll bar to turn it up and digs in deep in just a couple of feet and it retrieves easily. It is a bit of a storage issue but we sleep well. I don't think you'll go wrong woth one of these.
Chris

[rkappel]

Would you get the 17lb or the 27lb and let that be your storm anchor as well?

[Catigale]

err so is my 22lb delta with 10m of 3/8 chain a bit on the overkill side?

If you are sleeping on the hook I dont think you can overkill an anchor too much. (you actually can overkill your rode if you use one too thick to stretch for your boat load, but thats another story)

Sleep soundly on that 22# and 10m of chain indeed