What Anchor to use?

[Downhilldai]

A small folding grapnel anchor, around 3kg, with around 8'-10' of 6mm chain will be fine.

[m chappelow]

Originally Posted by MikeP

Here's a noddy question then: why is the length of chain important ? I've read a couple of times about having an anchor at the end of chain and then rope, but no explanation as to why...

to anchor proper you need as much horizontal pull on the anchor for it to set or dig in , longer the line the more horizontal the pull , chain is heavier than rope so you need less of it as it falls better and flatter on the sea bed ,unlike rope where it has a tendency to float or get caught in a current and is much lighter .hence the ratio of chain 3 x depth water ,,,or just rope 4 to 5 x depth water ,,however most calculations have been done over the years using traditional displacemant or deep keeled boats yachts ect in average sea conditions ,,,so you perhaps could anchor a much lighter boat with a bit less,,,,,,,having a few meters of chain helps the anchor set better and if anchoring in rocks or near a ship wreck it stops the rope chaffin or wearing though ,,,,,,,,,, in order to get the anchor up you need to be above it as much as possible ,,correct term short scope the anchor .

[LanceB]

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

A small folding grapnel anchor, around 3kg, with around 8'-10' of 6mm chain will be fine.

Sounds good to me :-) that was what I was looking at but I thought it might be an idea to ask those of you who have had all the experience.

Cheers

[chris123]

Sorry, another vote against grapnel anchors from me, as in my experience they are not very effective.

I think you would be better off with a Bruce / Danforth / Delta / CQR anchor (or copy)

Cheers

Chris

[BumbleAbout]

I use a 6kg Delta (copy) for overnight solidity (overkill, but I would quite like the boat to be there in the morning) and a small Danforth for a couple of hours anchoring - both with about 4m chain in sand/ mud.

The small Danforth was about £15 and is only about 3kg, but it holds a 4.2m SIB with an attached 3m tender quite happily against tide and waves in most weathers - whereas every grapnel I have tried has moved in sand (insufficient surface area to hold).

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by LanceB

Sounds good to me :-) that was what I was looking at but I thought it might be an idea to ask those of you who have had all the experience.

Cheers

I have a 7.5kg grapnel which is huge - I can pull it through the sand with one hand. It's all about surface area - the flukes are very small and only 1 is biting at any time.

I suspect Dai's chain is doing more of the work!!!

In rock it's a very different story.

I use a 5kg Bruce without chain which will hold my 9m RIB even in a fast tide so it's great for short stops. I wouldn't leave the boat with this though. For more secure anchoring I use a 6kg Delta and some heavy chain.

[adrianflint]

Would a 2.5 Sentinel Anchor be any good to hold this boat or would a folding anchor be best.

I ask as I have a similar setup (3.8 SIB with 15hp) and need to anchor the boat whilst taking the family to a secluded beach. Therefore would only use it during fairly calm conditions.

[chris123]

Originally Posted by adrianflint

Would a 2.5 Sentinel Anchor be any good to hold this boat or would a folding anchor be best.

I ask as I have a similar setup (3.8 SIB with 15hp) and need to anchor the boat whilst taking the family to a secluded beach. Therefore would only use it during fairly calm conditions.

By Sentinel, I assume you mean one of these:

http://www.marine-super-store.com/po...tedpartno=SENT

Which is a Danforth copy - should be fine I would have thought. I'd say 2.5KG was the minimum size you would want.

The only downside may be the shape of the anchor - I switched to a plough type anchor solely because it fitted better into my SIB.

Cheers

Chris

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by chris123

By Sentinel, I assume you mean one of these:

http://www.marine-super-store.com/po...tedpartno=SENT

Looks like what I'm using (purchased through West Marine, marketed as their "Traditional" anchor.) Mine is (I think) 8 lbs.

Works well in most substrates. A bit on the bulky side, but I've got more room than a small SIB. Enough that I carry spare ground tackle (anchor and rode) and another spare anchor line that is generally used as a tow rope.

FWIW, I also had a Hooker (brand name) knockoff, which was made of stamped sheet metal welded to 1/4" steel wire. Don't waste your money on those.

jky

[adrianflint]

Thanks Chris, that is the type I was referring to. Either that or a
Plastimo Britany Anchor 2kg from Marinestore.co.uk. which seems a little more compact as space is always short with a family of 5 in the boat.

Either way it must be better than tying up to rocks as we still last time!

[chris123]

Just remembered, the plough anchor I got was the 'Kobra 1':

http://www.plastimo.com/catalogue/in...ngID=1&catid=6

Cheers

Chris

[LanceB]

Originally Posted by chris123

Just remembered, the plough anchor I got was the 'Kobra 1':

http://www.plastimo.com/catalogue/in...ngID=1&catid=6

Cheers

Chris

Sounds to me like there isn't one answer..probably need to get a plough, Danforth or similar & then perhaps a grapnel for other conditions.

I used to do a fair amount of boating with my Dad years ago but never really took notice of kit like anchors as it was always there on the boats...Just used it!

Now having a boat myself after many years I need to get some practical experience..I do rememebr we had Danforth, plough & grapnel come to think of it.

Thanks for the links, afvise etc from everyone

[MikeP]

Thanks, Cap'ns Polwart, Chappelow and JSP, for your sage explanations of the chain/anchor/rope interface and raison d'etre. Yet again ribnet shows its strengths.

Thanks guys.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by MikeP

Thanks, Cap'ns Polwart, Chappelow and JSP, for your sage explanations of the chain/anchor/rope interface and raison d'etre. Yet again ribnet shows its strengths.

Thanks guys.

I'm the weakest link in the chain though

[phillnjack]

A 2.5 kilo stainless bruce anchor can hold a 20 foot sports cruiser in sand.
so anything like this will be best choice for mud/ sand,/ silt or shingle.
if its rocks then grapnell.

Mine is stainless with 4 meters of stainless small link chain.
Being stainless it looks fantastic as well.


phill