Anchor experience

Mildred Rose · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:13 am

Posted for ne-ts member Alex Morgan

Last winter I was overnight anchoring my MacGregor 26M up against Elliott Key in Biscayne Bay. I threw out my eight and eleven pound Danforth anchors at an angle to each other w/100 feet of 1/2" three-strand line. Depth was about six feet. Went to sleep at one, and at three am a williwah hit me. Rigging singing, boat jamming against the lines, and lots of pelting rain & lightning. I could see seven other anchor lights as my boat swung back and forth. We all seem to have stayed put, although the radio announced that there was a boat adrift in the Bay. Reported winds to 55mph. I think this storm took the weather people by surprise. Later I learned that the West Marine store nearby my house had its air conditioner cover blown off. Weather returned to normal calm about eight am.

I studied all the anchoring blogs in the Net for a couple of months. Decided to get a copy of the Rocna andchor for $200 cheaper... it's the Manson Supreme. It comes in all weights, so I got the 25 pound model. Around $300. It digs into the grass, sand, or whatever substrate with its pointed blade. Instead of being convex like the plow anchors, it presents a concave shape to the bottom as it buries itself. Plows seem to plow and drag and are always on their sides until a diver sets them by hand, I'm told. Lots of weight on top.

Shortly after my storm experience, I encountered another blow as I was going home from North Biscayne Bay to my ramp in the south. I threw out my two Danforths, whereupon they just skipped across the bottom as my boat presented itself sideways to the wind. No control at all. I decided that I can't have Danforths dragging again. It seems that this monster pointed blade shape of the Manson type anchor has the best chance to "penetrate the weed" as the British say. I also do carry a thirty-pound Danforth on my rear stanchion as a backup in case two are needed. Hopefully it would set because of more weight this time.

The leader of our MacGregor club and I anchored nearby each other a couple of weeks ago. He has a 29' Erricson, anchored by a 25-pound Danforth. There was a stiff wind overnight. When I woke up in the morning he was nowhere to be seen. As it turns out, his anchor broke loose and he drifted all the way across the bay from just south of Key Biscayne onto some shallow waters. I told him that for his birthday, I was getting him an anchor like mine with a good point on the front of it. If the wind had blown the opposite way, he would have drifted onto corral shoaling and ground a hole in his boat. The three people aboard could also have checked the anchor at intervals, it also seems. Doesn't somebody make an anchor alarm buzzer in connection with their GPS?

I found out that the "flat" anchors - Danforth, Fortress, etc.- do not set well in grass. The Bruce, or "claw" anchors will lift up and skip across the bottom, trying to reset. and , as noted above, the plow anchors are often found lying on their side and plow throught the ground, or they drag on their side after breaking loose. I don't think anybody expects the plow anchor to reset itself after being turned around.

Has anybody else noticed deficiencies of a particular type of anchor?

---- Alex Morgan
Cutler Bay, Florida
miamijibs@yahoo.com

Mildred Rose · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:37 am

I have found proper anchoring technique the best practice. This includes matching the anchor to the bottom.

I LOVE danforths for anything other than grassy and rocky bottoms. They do well in mud , sand, etc. Soft mud though, you need to remove your chain and shorten the scope a bit. You CAN have too much scope on a danforth in soft mud. This will cause the shank to sink and the anchor to come up. It is in the Fortress manual. This was also noted in Practical Sailor. Also the Fortress has adjustable flukes for soft mud as well. Look at Fortress' website, especially #8 about soft mud bottoms. If too much scope is put out, the anchor won't set in soft mud.

For grass, a plow (or some of the newer style you mentioned) are a must.

Also setting the anchor by backing down with the motor is a must as well. It will tell you if you didn't get a good bite to begin with.

On our Mac, I carry a danforth (fortress FX-11) and use it 90% of the time and it is wonderful. IF I know I will be in grass, I bring my 9# delta plow, which works quite well in grass. I have found it sets perfectly 99.8% of the time, and never breaks free. It resets perfectly everytime the wind has shifted in my experience.

It is more than the anchor, it is the entire process. Many times sh*t happens, despite your best efforts..and an anchor will break free.

Many hard wired GPS' will have an alarm output trigger to sound an external siren (use a relay, as it is not designed, at least Garmins are not, to power a siren directly) for the anchor drag alarm.

Here is a guide on how to set 2 anchors. Got to be careful still, that the rodes do not cross each other.. or eventually you will have no set anchor and a twisted mess!

Also, here are some free articles from Practical Sailor (worth subscribing to!) about anchor tests http://www.practical-sailor.com/boatus/anchors/4rhod4598/

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Anchor experience

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