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PGuignabaudet
United Kingdom
97 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Jan 2004 : 10:10:29
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Hi,
Happy new year to all! I need to buy an anchor for my Stratos. Has anybody got any recommendation in terms of anchor type, weight, chain size & length, rope size & length?
Thanks,
Pascal
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jonsallis
7 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2004 : 07:34:30
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Ask a big boat sailor, and you will get complex answers for months.It does depend on how deep/sea bed/stowage etc. If you want an easy to handle,small anchor.The small 4 prong grappel anchor fits inside a fairy liquid size bottle,2 mtrs small chain galv. and 3/4mm line 4 times longer than the water depth you sail in.
should all fit in the grey bag on the bottom. |
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DBurnett
38 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2004 : 09:44:05
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I have bought quite a number of anchors for the club over the past few years, for race marks and rescue boats..
There are 5 basic types..
1. The Bruce (lots of clones, often called claw)
2. The CQR
3. The Danforth
4. The grapnel type
5. The fishermans
The Bruce ( and clones ) are a cast one piece type with incredible holding power in sand and mud. A small, lightweight version can hold a Stratos no bother. Downsides are it is difficult to stow because of its one piece casting.
The CQR (stands for secure!) is another legendary design. Excellent in sand and mud, and is hinged at the joint between flukes and shaft. The fluke is shaped like a plough. Genuine CQR's are expensive, but last forever. Clones are available. Downsides are again stowage ability.
The Danforth, and clones are a flat design. Hinged at the flukes, it again had good holding on mud and sand. As it is flat, it stows quite easily.
The grapnel type has 4 folding flukes held down by a collar which slides up/down the shaft. IF.. and it's a big IF.. the flukes lock properly, it should have moderate holding ability in sand and mud, and be able to hold in rocks also due to the "pick" design of the flukes. Since all the flukes can be folded in, stowage ability is a strong point.
The fishermans anchor is very traditional, has moderate holding in sand and mud due to the narrow flukes, but works well in rocky and weedy holding due to the "pick" design of the flukes.
Chain is AS IMPORTANT as the anchor itself. As I have demonstrated, all anchors offer at least reasonable abilities in sand/mud, but only if the pull on the anchor is horizontal. Only then will the flukes dig deeper as pull is increased.
A rule of thumb used for yachts, which is pretty good to follow is chain should be 3X depth and rope should be 5X depth to provide the correct catenery curve on the chain/warp to provide the horizontal pull on the anchor.
All of our club rescue boats, and my own 5.4m searider are equiped with Danforth design anchors. Mine is about 3Kg's. The flukes are quite large, and provided it is well dug in, by reversing to bed the anchor in, can be used for mooring for a week or so in sand. I weight the warp with a dive belt lump of lead to keep the chain on the seabed.
For all of our club race marks, which are left out all season. ( 4ft diameter bouys) I use a mixture of 5 and 7.5 KG "Bruce" designs with 30metres of chain. I spend considerable ammounts of effort in digging them in, and once done, they don't move again all year.
Mailspeed marine have quite a good selection to look at on their website.
Ultimately the choice of ONE anchor for a small boat will fall to ability to stow and availability of a lightweight design.
My advice woulf be to look for either a small "Bruce" or "danforth" design... and avoid a grapnel at all costs. I have found them to be pretty useless.
Cheers
Dave |
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DBurnett
38 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2004 : 10:14:50
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Forgot to say..
Nylon rope is good because it sinks.. same sort of diameter as spinaker sheet should be plenty.
Chain diameter is often governed by the size of shackle you want to use... and being the weakest link.. use stainless shackles
You can often get anchor kits, which include chain and rope etc.. generally OK, although a bit short on chain. You caould always get another length to supplement the kit though. |
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SophieJezierski
United Kingdom
48 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2004 : 12:15:20
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| We have a grapnel type which is fairly hopeless - it stows neatly but it's hard to get more than two prongs in to grip at once so it often drags and if you're using it to moor on a beach you also have the hazard of the two exposed prongs waiting to spike the unwary passer by. We'll probably get a plough type eventually. |
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Which anchor?
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