Proper ground tackle for long island sound and new england

[jasonr575]

I am the person who started this post. i did make it to block island and flet it is only right for me to share my experience with those who took the time to give me advice. Due to lack of time and funds i did not yet get more anchor chain or buy a new anchor. I have two cqr (35 and 35) and a 55 fortress. this is what i experienced.

After a great sail from mystic river we arrived a great salt pond and knowing there were no morrings we tried anchoring. It took us a total of 1.5 hours to set an anchor. i was there a year prior and used my main anchor a cqr 45 and after 2 attempts it held fast and stayed till we fought to pull it up. so i arrived confident that it would hold again. This time we dropped and pulled it up 6 times, couldnt get it to set. tried different areas with not luck. This was a tedious task as i do not have a windless. My anchor man decided he needed a break. i decided to get my 55 fortress out of the closet, assemble it and give her a try. at the second attempt she set and held strong. i stayed up till 230 am that night on anchor watch and watched as 2 other boats hit. In that time we did swing 360 degrees due to wind gusts. From what i hear that is when a dansforth style anchor will break free and need to be reset. We held secure!!! the next day i got a moorning but was thankful and felt lucky. When i pulled up the anchor there was lots of hard black clay on it. No wonder it is hard to set an anchor. i have to say the 55 fortress was an invaluable asset that night.

[Maine Sail]

I have yet to find a spot that I can't set my Rocna on the first try & according to my anchor log I have 52 sets 100% first try. I'm sure I eventually will but hell even if I need to try twice it's a lot better than NO set with a CQR. Heck I even tested my Rocna on my very thick, dense and health lawn with my car. Although my wife was not happy with me the lawn healed up just fine. It set and buried in 3.5 feet.

By the way my CQR did not even damage the surface of the lawn so I don't get how they call it a plow cause I tried plowing my lawn and it didn't work. For sh&t's & grins I tried it with both my 25lb CQR and my 35lb CQR & both had the same peformance with not even a scratch or divit in the lawn.

[camaraderie]

I am gonna get of the which anchor is best theme for a moment and partially disagree with CD's anchoring technique of using his motor to back down on his anchor hard.
I've seen lots of people doing this making multiple stops and hauls before their anchor sets. I think a hard backing can tend to pull out a lightly set anchor in softer bottoms.
Our preferred method is to let out 1/3 of our planned rode and then snub up, letting the wind/current drive the boat back on the rode OR in the absence of current...to lightly back down until the bow snubs up in line with the anchor. After we feel the boat catch on the anchor, we let out the remainder of the rode and again let the wind and current do their work in setting the anchor or lightly back down until the rode comes in a straight line to the bow. Our experience is that it takes time for an anchor to fully bury and applying too much force too early just makes for multple attempts. This is the way we anchor in all bottoms...but find it to be particularly helpful in soft mud.

[sailingdog]

I'd agree with Halekai... I have a Rocna too... my only real complaint with the beast is how much of the bottom comes up with it every time I retreive it. At least 15-25 lbs. of mud or sand usually ride the anchor up...

[Maine Sail]

SD..

I have the same problem! I usually just cleat it off with the anchor about three feet below the surface and tow it at a knot or two for a little while then finish hauling it up once it's clean!

I've been messing around, and doing a lot of experimentation with mine, and I can get this thing to set hard at a 2:1 and I've never owned an anchor that would set at less than 3:1 not even the Manson. It is a beast and I feel very secure but pulling up sea bed the size of Mini Cooper's is not much fun. If it can set in my lawn it can set just about anywhere!!!

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by halekai36

SD..

I have the same problem! I usually just cleat it off with the anchor about three feet below the surface and tow it at a knot or two for a little while then finish hauling it up once it's clean!

LOL... the Rocna is the main reason I spent a week installing all upgraded ground tackle on my boat.




I just got tired of hauling it and 30' of 5/16" G4 chain by hand... with a huge pile of mud on top...

I've been messing around, and doing a lot of experimentation with mine, and I can get this thing to set hard at a 2:1 and I've never owned an anchor that would set at less than 3:1 not even the Manson. It is a beast and I feel very secure but pulling up sea bed the size of Mini Cooper's is not much fun. If it can set in my lawn it can set just about anywhere!!!

If I could set it in my lawn, I could set it anywhere... since my lawn is an asphalt parking lot... However, I think that's a bit beyond even its capabilities.

[donradclife]

New England has pretty good holding ground and shallow anchorages, but can still test your anchor system. I was in Atlantic Highlands this week when a nasty frontal thunderstorm hit. The wind reversed direction and the first blasts were probably 35 to 40 knots. The boat next to us was on a rope-chain rode with a danforth type anchor, and was unattended. It immediately started dragging, fortunately away from us and out of the harbor. Amazingly the anchor reset, even though the boat was doing about 4 knots, and when the rain let up, it was sitting about 200 yards further away, and about a boatlength in front of a power boat. The owner came back in his dinghy about an hour later, and you could see him looking at his boat, then the other boats, and then at his boat...

The holding was good, and the water was only 15 feet deep, so we and the other anchored boats had no problems, but that reversing gust is why you don't leave your boat unattended unless you have some serious ground tackle. If you have danforth or fortress type anchors where the chain can foul on the bar when the current or wind reverses, it eventually will and the anchor will never reset (Note--this comes from sad personal experience).