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How many anchors do you really need?

8K views 23 replies 21 participants last post by  blt2ski 
#1 ·
Just bought a boat from somebody and going through everything.

The boat has an anchor on the bow with chain & rope rode in good shape in a locker.
In a lazarette there's bag with chain & rope rode and anchor
Got another bag with chain & rope rode and anchor
Spare anchor in anchor locker in bow
Huge tub of rode under the vberth
An old rope rode in the bilge at the stern

So that's 3 complete setups with extras (To top it off I found an anchor in my dock box (just moved to a new slip)

So my thoughts are to just keep the nicer bag/rode/anchor setup (can use for bow & stern or storm (at bow) or spare. We mostly day sail and occasional weekends up to a week, most of that time is on a mooring, in southern california. Is there any reason not to get rid of the extra bag setup and spare rodes/anchors?
 
#2 · (Edited)
It is not the number of anchors but more the type of ground tackle you have for your cruising area. If you anchor on mud bottoms then you need an anchor that will perform well there. Different anchors may be needed because your bottoms vary. Also, size does matter.

I would suggest you list the following: type and size of anchor, type/size/length chain, type/size/length of rope rode.

There are plenty of folks here and some are sure to be in your cruising area that can help to know which works best.

I presently have 3 anchors on board(coastal Maine)

45lb Manson supreme, 100ft of 5/16 chain, 300ft. 3 strand nylon
44lb original Bruce, 100ft 5/16 chain, 275ft. 3 strand nylon
15lb Danforth for kedging, 8ft. 5/16 chain, 200ft. 1/2" braided rode
 
#3 ·
I would probaby get rid of one of them if I were in your shoes (weekend cruising/primarily on mooring buoys) I would keep two anchor systems on board though and I would have both of them big enough to handle the typical circumstances for your area on their own. That gives you something you can use if you lose one, or two anchors in more extreme conditions.
 
#4 ·
There are a lot of coves were you can do a three point moor with all three anchors. Or have the two bower anchors out and use the two rodes tied to trees or rocks on the shore. This is pending on how long you are going to be in that cove.
The light anchor in the lazarette is probably the keging anchor for pulling yourself off the beach, if you lightly grounded out.
 
#8 ·
I usually go with four anchors on longer cruises (a week or more) when far from my home mooring. A 60lb manson and a fortress 35 as storm anchors, a 44lb Spade as a working anchor and a light fortress as a lunch hook/kedging anchor, all with appropriate chain and line rodes.
 
#9 ·
I have had an anchoring system for cruising around New England...cape cod to Maine...so I could sail the boat somewhere, leave it at anchor, come home and go back in a week or two and feel confident that it was secure and still there. It is as follows: I have a Bruce 22 and a Danforth. The Bruce has 20 feet of chain (on the bow) followed by 50 feet of 3 strand, follwed by a swivel where you can connect the Danforth with 30 feet of rode. When I leave the boat unattended, I hook the Danforth rode to the swivel. After that swivel, I have another 30 feet of chain (that acts like catenary) followed by 100 feet of 3 strand. Believe me, the boat is not going anywhere once set. It's almost as secure as a mooring. The swivel prevents twisting, etc.

Anyway, hope this helps.

Moe
 
#10 ·
You only really need one anchor. But you have to be sure it will hold. So people carry more than one, because, as noted above, not all anchors hold well in all situations. We carry two, but focus a lot on racing and use moorings a lot when we cruise.
 
#11 ·
The Bruce has 20 feet of chain (on the bow) followed by 50 feet of 3 strand, follwed by a swivel where you can connect the Danforth with 30 feet of rode. When I leave the boat unattended, I hook the Danforth rode to the swivel. After that swivel, I have another 30 feet of chain (that acts like catenary) followed by 100 feet of 3 strand. Believe me, the boat is not going anywhere once set.
Have you ever had trouble with the Danforth pulling out and not resetting? If it did, then you would just be down to a Bruce 22. I like the idea of being comfortable enough to leave the boat at anchor for an extended time, just not sure what that setup would be for me.
 
#12 ·
I would keep 3 ( 2 handy, one backup ) and set yourself up for anchoring in Catalina; ( different bottoms and depths ) a plow type is good all around with 1' of 3/8" bbb chain/boat length ( 40' boat=40 foot chain ) and then several hundred feet of 3/4 rode; depths of 20 - 100+'. @ 6:1 is a boat load of rode

Do that and you should be good at any anchorage in SoCa & Mex
 
#13 ·
Our boat came with a 22.5 lb CQR-style anchor, 30 feet of chain and 200 feet of double-braided 3/8 line. We kept the anchor and line as a backup, then bought a 25 lb Bruce style along with 300 ft of line.

The backup gear takes up space, but you never know when it might come in handy.
 
#17 ·
You guys are too parniod, I took the 35# off the boat and replaced with it with a 60# Manson Surpreme. So I now have only 1 anchor on the boat. If if can not hold me I have bigger issues.

When it comes time to cruise off farther afield I'll add a danforth type.
 
#19 ·
The 15lb anchor is nice as a lunch hook. Easy to set and retrieve. Other than that, as has been said, have a minimum of two heavyweight anchors (each for different bottom conditions - I have a Bruce and CQR) and for redundancy.

Even if mainly daysailing, you may need a heavyweight - imagine wind gets up, engine fails, being driven towards beach/rocks.....
 
#20 ·
I won't give you advice since I don't know you or your cruising grounds.

I mostly sail my own boat around Chesapeake Bay (principally mud bottoms) on weekends and the odd week-long excursion. Once a year we head off for a couple of weeks to the Bahamas or New England.

I carry a primary anchor on the bow (a Rocna 25 - 55#) and a secondary (another Rocna 25) in the sail locker. I have a Breeze (a Bruce copy) that is about a 25# anchor on a dedicated stern anchor fitting. I have a couple of real small Danforth-style anchors for the dinghy. I use one of the big anchors when I have to kedge off. The secondary is on board in case I lose the primary due to a snag or other foul.
 
#21 ·
"It is, of course, presumptuous of me to claim that I know the answer, but looking around I certainly can say that I have seen a great many people who presume to know the answer and do not." Col. Jeff Cooper

For a racer, the minimum required by the rules. For a cruiser, as many, as heavy and as diverse of type as you can carry. My friend's forty foot racer carries one five pound danforth and 100 feet of rope. On my 27 foot cruiser I have 5 anchors of three different types, 300 feet of chain in 100 and fifty foot lengths and 900 feet of 3 strand nylon. Is it enough? One hopes.
 
#23 ·
I have five anchors, three of them main anchors, two smaller for kedging. When I go on a voyage they're all on board, stowed but ready to go, not on the rollers.

When I'm sailing around my home area, I have just one, the others are in the garden shed. When you're out day sailing and the conditions get bad enough to need more, then you need to look at your decision-making skills, not your multitude of anchors.

Just my opinion, ignore it if you wish.
 
#24 ·
Type and style needs to depend upon the boat size too. As one said, a 15lb anchor is a lunch hook. But for my 30'/7000 lb boat, I use a 7.5KG/16.5 lb bruce with 20' of chain, 250' of 5/8" line, and it is just fine! BUT, I admit, if the boat were bigger, I would want an appropriately BIGGER anchor.

how many and size depend upon where you go, winds, currents, as mentioned racing rules..... 4-5 lb minimum for me!...........

I've been looking into some of the aruminum anchors and leaving the galv bruce behind while racing, pulling out when cruising etc......for some, my plan would be sacrilegious, others perfect sense.

marty
 
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