No Windlass & Roller 240DA Anchoring Advice

I have a contract agreed to on a sweet 2007 240DA (waiting for survey), and have been reading the threads on installing an anchor windlass ... that'll likely be the first project we tackle.

But until then ... let me ask, for those without a windlass and roller, how do you deploy your anchor, and then once you have the proper scope out, how do you secure it to the boat?

Single tie to a forward cleat?
Bridle to the 2 forward cleats?

What seems to work best?
Love to hear what technique(s) seems to work best.

Best, Tom
240DA Owner to be ... hopefully ...

I feel dumb asking this, but if there's not even a roller, does it have an anchor locker and a hawse pipe?

On a previous boat I had a roller but no mount so I bought a Windline anchor mount for a fluke anchor. It held the anchor right smack in the middle up front on the bow rail. Very handy. I dont know if its made for other styles of anchors though.

I had a center cleat so I tied off on that

I've done lots of anchoring but to be secure, you really need the right gear and some skill. A bow roller will prevent chafing on the hull from the rode. You need a really solid cleat, bolted and backed. You need a good anchor, chain and plenty of rode. Anchoring equipment and techniques depend on the weather you are expecting, the bottom material and the depth. Anchoring on a calm day for lunch is much different than preparing for a storm. A windlass is not a necessity - use the boat to break out the anchor and then pull it up.

Read all you can, set your boat up properly, get some anchoring gear and practice, practice, practice.

Awesome guys, totally agree on practice ... thanks so much!

My first mission when getting my boat was to install a windlass. We have had the boat over a year now and we are out all weekend every weekend if nights are above freezing. I have changed my mind about the windlass. What I did do was swap out the 21 pound delta to a 14 pound claw. That made things a bit easier when pulling up on a sunday. We boat on inland lakes with a mud/clay bottom. If that size is a concern, I have personal experience that a 14 lb claw anchor will hold a 240DA, a 40' Regal and a 26' Larson in a storm with 25-35 mph wind gusts. The Larson's anchor got twisted in the ropes and drug. The Regal simply forgot to put his down when they tied up.

I just tie anchor to one of the bow cleats. There is plenty of give for the bow to dive when the cleat is put under stress.

I typically use 3-1 on my anchor line and have 10' of 5/16 chain on the rode. Our lakes are all about 20 feet deep. So, about 50 foot of rode

I also set an anchor drift alarm on the MFD for 100ft. Hoping I can hear it in my sleep if it ever does alarm.

Good luck with your new boat. We love ours and would only get rid of her if we ever find the elusive 2009 310DA with axius, generator and cockpit grill.

RV, don't overthink this one Take your anchor out of the locker (a fluke anchor is lightweight and works extremely well - and you don't need a big one for a small boat), drop it over the bowrail, set the anchor/scope, then grab the line on the anchor side of the bowrail and tie off to one of your cleats (meaning, don't secure the line OVER the rail). That's it. BUT... since you have the line going over the rail, for retrieval, you can stand a couple steps back from the rail (to save your back) and use the rail as a poor-man's roller (until you get to the chain, of course).

FYI... installing a windlass is a big job ($$$ and time). I would suggest using it as is for a while - anchoring a small boat is pretty easy.

No windlass here. I use a Fortress anchor with about 8' of chin, and it holds well and is light weight. I installed a bow roller to help with pulling it up, but you can certainly do it as Dennis describes. Tie off on one cleat and you should be fine.

Not going to lie to you though, I do have 'windlass envy', especially when I raft off on my buddies 280 DA.