Second anchor questions

[phil0044]

I’m planning on buying a second anchor for my 26M but not sure what would be best for the San Juan Islands here in the NorthWest. I have the standard Danforth that came with the boat and it fits nicely in the anchor well. Can anyone give advise on there experience? What works well? Where is the second anchor kept? How often used and any other advise? Thanks.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

If you look around most any marina up here you will find well over half the boats carry Bruce style anchors.

The Danforth style anchor is good in mud and sand, but does poorly in grassy, rocky, and shell covered bottoms; we have a lot of these in the islands. You will be best served by carrying two different style anchors that cover the range of bottoms.

There was a time I carried only two Danforth style anchors and I would have problems in anything but mud. We have very little sand up here, and when the bottom is sand it is usually covered with eel grass which will foul up a Danforth.

I now carry a lightweight aluminum Danforth style anchor, a Guardian G16, and a steel Bruce style anchor the Lewmar 16.5lb Claw. Between these two I can cover every bottom type. Both are on the bow for easy access. The anchor locker is divided to keep each rode separate so I never have issues with tangles as inevitably happens when you lay one rode on top of the other.

In general we use the Bruce more than the Danforth. About half the time we will actually use both set in various ways to limit our swing.

[Wind Chime]

I've heard it said on this site "If the anchor fits in the anchor locker ... it's too small", and, "The Anchor Locker should be renamed the Rode Locker". I agree.

We carry a similar set up as Duane (thanks to his and others members advice). We have a 16 lb Bruce, a Fortress F-11, a Fortress F-7, and an emergency folding grappling hook and sea anchor on the stern.

The Fortress F-7 does fit in the locker and is fine for a lunch hook, but that's about it. The smallest bit of weather or current and we drag it. We even dragged our F-11 in the shelter of False Creek in downtown Vancouver BC.

Since we added the Bruce, anchoring is a much more relaxing experience both day and night. No Drag, No Worry, and Lots of Sleep at night. I used to check and recheck my transits during the day, now I can enjoy the day. I road out a storm this spring in winds that averaged 27 knots on my Windscribe. Every hour I would do an anchor check and I did not move. The wind changed directions twice and the anchor rolled and re-set instantly.

My feeling is, if we are going to go to all the time and expense of getting to a nice place to anchor, save the worry and anxiety by spending the money to drop a 16 pound Bruce. Use at least 26 feet of 5/16 chain. Use the proper scope, check your swing for hazards, set the anchor alarm, and sleep well.

Also, do a search for where to tie the rode to the bow so as not to dance as much. I make fast our rode to our pulpit stanchion. (Below where the life line is attached) and works it better than straight off the bow cleat. It off sets the bow to wind, which should not be as good but it works for us. Others have said they tie a line ten feet down the rode and run that back to the winch.

The San Juans and Gulf Islands are our cruising grounds as well, and I have never felt safer since we added the 16 pound Bruce. When I go to sleep at night now, I think about "what I am going to have for breakfast", not ... "where am I going to be at breakfast"

[opie]

Ditto to above, but I use a 22 lb Bruce. Never has drug yet. Original Danforth often mis-set. When anchoring at night in any wind, I cleat the rode off and then run the anchor line thru the bow eye on and put in two half hitches. I like the way the boat swings better into the wind that way.

[Rick Westlake]

I've heard it said on this site "If the anchor fits in the anchor locker ... it's too small" ...

I don't quite agree ... as I noted back in July:


But I will grant my 16-lb Raya Tempest is a special case.

My feeling is, if we are going to go to all the time and expense of getting to a nice place to anchor, save the worry and anxiety by spending the money to drop a 16 pound Bruce. Use at least 26 feet of 5/16 chain. Use the proper scope, check your swing for hazards, set the anchor alarm, and sleep well.

... I have never felt safer since we added the 16 pound Bruce. When I go to sleep at night now, I think about "what I am going to have for breakfast", not ... "where am I going to be at breakfast"

How many nights' lodging in a decent hotel add up to the price of a really great anchor? Less than a week's worth. A 16-lb Bruce-type, or spade-type, anchor will hold better than an equivalent-size Danforth-type in some bottom conditions - and the Danforth-type is better-suited to others. Or so they say.

Last Sunday night was my "experiential proof" of the value of a good anchor ... three little Macs, all in a row, all in a blow. Chinook's 16-lb Bruce set immediately and held hard in the Chesapeake mud. Bossa Nova's 16-lb Raya Tempest did the same - and was a beast to get out the next morning. Sea Dreamer's Danforth -- nominally a great mud anchor -- dragged as we were finishing supper aboard Chinook, and Mike took Jim out in his Porta-Bote to re-set it in the dimming twilight.

I have the Raya Tempest, disassembled, in the anchor locker - and a Fortress FX-11, assembled, on the starboard transom. Either one is rated to hold a larger, heavier boat than Bossa Nova. I've had good success with both of them, but only (so far) in the Chesapeake mud ...

Also, I set them hard by backing down on them: first at idle (while I go up to the bow and grab the rode to feel if the anchor is dragging), then at 1500 RPM (and another trip to the bow, to be sure it's not dragging), and finally at 2000 - 2500 rpm (with a final trip to the bow before I ease back to idle and shut down the engine). In light winds, this has pulled the Raya Tempest so deep that I found I was swinging from the top of the chain!

[vkmaynard]

16-lb Raya Tempest cost?

[Rick Westlake]

16-lb Raya Tempest cost?

$280 U.S. plus shipping - and insurance - direct from the manufacturer: http://www.ancoralatina.com

The model I have is the Raya Tempest 800. Weight is 7.5 kg - a bit more than 16 lbs, actually.

Here's the original thread: http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... 22&start=0

The "ordinary" Raya is built up as one piece, and I'd say it's comparable to a Rocna but without the roll bar. The Raya's stock is configured so it doesn't need a roll bar to pull itself upright and dig in. The Raya Tempest's stock slides in from the underside of the fluke, with a tight interference fit so it doesn't need to be bolted together. (I usually have to thump it once or twice, upside-down, to get the stock back out of the fluke.)

João at Ancora Latina worked with me "above and beyond the call of duty" - he sent me an AutoCad blueprint of the anchor, to help me determine if it would fit the locker; and when the first anchor he sent me got lost in the "U.S. Post Awful," he shipped me a second anchor at his expense. I definitely appreciate all his help.

Hope this helps -
Rick

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

16.6 lb Lewmar Horizon Claw (a clone of the Bruce now that their patent has expired) is only $54.99 at West Marine. Save some money and get a nice big and long chain.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... assNum=212

[Rick Westlake]

16.6 lb Lewmar Horizon Claw (a clone of the Bruce now that their patent has expired) is only $54.99 at West Marine. Save some money and get a nice big and long chain.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... assNum=212

And a suitable roller.

(Heck, I got my Raya Tempest to be "the first kid on the block.")

[Kelly Hanson East]

Hurricane Bill comes through at Cuttyhunk with me on anchor - 45 kts at 0100 hours...

Bullwaga dug in on 15 feet of chain and 100 feet of rode - (5 feet of water)

Morning light - all is well

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I've always liked everything about the Bullwaga except the price.

It would be a great 'Do All' anchor here in the Northwest.

[March]

Yep, Bullwagga is great. It tends to pinch your fingers if you're not careful, but hey, that only goes to show it's a real grabber

[DaveB]

Cuttyhunk was one of my favorite anchorage back in the 70's-80's and some times I couldn't get enough swing room useing all chain in the inner harbor so I am assumeing you were on the outside and not in the mud muck of the Inner Harbor.
Back than I had some Cherry Stones at the local restaurant and got a bad case of food poison when I arrived in Block Island the next day. Spent 4 days there with temps of 103-104 and deleated our block Ice cooling me down.
So no raw Cherry Stones or Oysters for me in Cuttyhunk!
Do they still have that large Wind generator standing, back than it was a trial and error thing and the folks liked the free elect. but they hemed and hollared about getting it there.
Dave

[Kelly Hanson East]

Dave - there are great Mac areas inside the pond on the NE and NW corners, respectively. No one else can draft back there, so you are alone with other Macs..I typically run out 50 feet of chain plus rode for a good scope. After a couple of days on the Bull, I dont worry about it breaking out even on a swing on the wind since it gets dug in so well.

The Raw Oyster boat delivers to your boat, but I stick with the Clam chowder and the Stuffies - the cooked stuff..

The wind generator is gone - they have a diesel generator on Island, but power is 0.50 USD per kWhr!!!!

[Kelly Hanson East]

The 17# Bull is on Nav Store for 238 USD...I thought I paid more than this some years back??