New Anchor for 340

[Hampton]

I have anchor envy. I'm not completely satisfied with the size/performance of my stock anchor on my 2005 340. Is there a better anchor that will fit the bow without changing anything around? This is for sand anchoring in N Florida.

 

[estebanj]

What is your stock anchor, and what about its performance don't you like?

Also, what is your anchor rode? Chain only? Chain/rope? How much chain do you have?

And, what is your normal scope when anchoring?

Esteban

 

[Hampton]

I'll have to check on the stock anchor specs. The anchor is attached to about 20 ft of chain, the rest is rope. I lay out more scope than most. From the bow, it slopes down at about 15 degrees below the horizon, maybe a little more. Probably 100 feet in 15 feet of water.

We anchor out at the island with two stern anchors and the stock bow anchor. The sterns don't move, but they don't have a lot of pressure against them. Waves can't work their way up into a frenzy in 20 feet. The bow anchor seems to slowly track in the sand when we have 25 mph winds off of either front quarter.

I'm judging from lining up a bunch of boats in a row, with about 20 feet in between each boat. Under windy conditions, mine seems to drag a little so that by morning, all of the other boats are still lined up, but mine has drifted a little closer to our leeward neighbor. By taking up some slack off the bow, the problem is solved.

Come storm season, I'm going to hide way up in a bayou and throw out 3 - 5 anchors off the bow, but I'd like to count on the one on the windlass as the star performer.

Anyway, I wan't more anchor up there. It's one of those wedge-shaped ones that comes with the boat.

 

[Alex D]

I have a 22 lbs. Delta Fastset plough anchor and it is fantastic,

 

[Asureyez]

So many anchors ?

Basic rule is never use two anchors when one will do. I guess that old saw would apply to five anchors as well.

Perhaps the reason you are swinging closer to the neighbors is because you have more scope out than they do?

Also consider this. Nylon rode will stretch up to 15% of the length while under load. It's this springing trait that makes nylon desireable for dock lines and rodes as it acts as a shock absorber.

If you are in 20 feet of depth and have out a 7 to 1 scope which would be advisable in 25 knts of wind, thats 140 feet of nylon that can stretch nearly 20 feet while under stress! That will move you around quite a bit, this is amplified by the neighbors rode acting in similar manner.

Your main anchor should be sized for your LOA and weight and the most typically encountered bottom conditions. Note that no one anchor type is good in all types of bottom conditions. Then the anchor should have an chain rode lead (with swivels) sized to the anchor and the gypsy in the windlass. The rode should be matched to the LOA and weight of the boat.

If your anchor is always dragging it maybe undersized but check the other factors first. It maybe better to obtain an "anchor Sentinel" which is a lead weight that snaps onto the rode and led down the existing rode with a separate ligght line to the sea bed and causes the boats shock loading to be transfered to a lateral pull on the anchor stock instead of an upward pull. This small addition to ground tackle can double the holding power of the existing anchor and simplify the amount of gear carried and used.

Your considering the deployment of three bow anchors is over kill in my opinion for the conditions described, and using two stern anchors I don't understand the need for either unless all boats are simply anchored too close to each other. I'll trust that this is local knowledge of the anchorage and all boats make similar practice. If you are the only boat so set, you will never swing with the fleet.

The effect of the setting of the stern anchors is going to put a lot of lateral pull on the bow anchor stock in effect "banjoing" the rode and pulling the anchor stock sideways which is what you can do to get a well set anchor free.

Typically, SR supplies either Delta Plow type anchors or in smaller boats Fluke type. If you decide to go for another main anchor you might consider keeping it ready to attach to the main rode replacing the existng one when the bottom calls for different type and still use the center bow roller and rode. This of course would be done with only an extra galvanized shackle and some stand by stainless wire.

 

[Hampton]

WoW MoM WoW!

That's some good info. 3 bow anchors will be for named storms that come blowing through. - Definately not overkill. We all use 2 stern anchors. You'd have to see our lay out to understand why. 1st - we're all too close to one-another, which is kind of nice around here.

Stretchy rode - Good point.

 

[LMBoat]

FWIW, I have used Danforths of various sizes with good results. I changed to a 22# Delta this year as I was in the Bahamas this summer and I wanted something that did better with a shelly/rocky bottom. I have been very pleased with the results. It holds great, but one big plus is the Danforth came up with most of the bottom with it, which required lots of cleaning and the hose at the pulpit <which I installed because of this problem>. The Delta comes up clean every time. <I have an all chain rode>