Ground Tackle

[Shaun]

Hi,

Was wondering what others have in the way of anchors, chain or rope etc?

Currently i have 35Ib Manson plough onto 60M of 8mm chain, as the primary anchor,
& a huge Danforth with 6M of chain onto 30M of rope as a secondary anchor.

Clearly the primary anchor set-up is overkill, but it does give an enormous feeling of security. But in an attempt to reduce weight im thinking about cutting the 60M of chain in half & adding 30M of rope(& keep the spare 30M of chain at home).
If i ever needed to, Could the spare length be added back later, being joined with a shackle?

cheers
shaun
"Night Cap" MkIII

[auriga]

Shaun

Ive got a 27lb plough on 10m of 10mm chain with 50m of rope as a primary. I also carry a reef anchor with separate 10m of 10mm chain as a back up/alternative.

Am yet to have a problem with the set up. I always monitor for transiting/slipping for the first few hours till i get comfortable (though have to admit checking on it periodically throughout the night!)

I imagine the 60m of chain you've got would probably weigh in close to 100kg, i guess the question is how much difference are you going to see for loosing such weight, probably not a lot and probably not of huge concern unless you're racing or going long distance.

Would be nice to have as much chain as possible onboard for those dodgy anchorages.

Regarding joining the chain back together via a shackle, cant see if being too much of a problem, would choose the shackle carefully and possibly have something as a backup, anything added in is just another weak point in the system

Must be a bugger pulling up when you've been in deep water!!!

dan

[petevic]

Hi Shaun,
I agree with you, I think 60 m of chain is highly desirable but too big of a weight penalty. I have been studying the new Rocna anchors and they really look to be a huge breakthrough in anchoring technology. I am currently lookingt at purchasing a new top hat MK1. I would definitely add an electric anchor winch. I am 64 now, and found that pulling up the anchor in 20 knots of breeze on my old top hat was way too much work. I have had manual winches on bigger boats before, but they are way too slow. Once the anchor has broken out from the bottom , you want it up and stowed in the roller as quickly as possible, especially in a crowded anchorage.

Cheers

Peter Vickerson

[Tales]

Hi Shaun,
I have been using an Oceane 4 (kg) anchor for the last 5 years in Port Phillip Bay with 8 metres of 8mm chain and 50 meters of 12mm nylon rope.
The anchor ALWAYS digs in first time and resets by itself with a change in wind direction.
The new version is a Sword 5 which should be more user friendly according to the web site
http://www.bluewatersupplies.com/oc.htm
The Oceane anchor was not available in Australia so I had it flown in and it was worth every penny. It stows in the anchor locker (just).
There is a lot of anchor information on the website and links from it.
Happy to discuss further if anyone interested.
Cheers,
Tom

[Miker]

Tom, your Oceane and Sword anchors look like they're a much better solution than simply adding more weight. Can you tell us how much you ended up paying to get one shipped out?

Michael

[Tales]

Hi Michael,
Freight in 2005 was 32 pounds Sterling.
The next size up from the 5kg unit is advertised as suitable for 4.5 ton and is much bigger.
My research at the time led me to this site
http://www.dulhunty.com/dmp1.htm
If you follow it through to page 6 you will see that a 5kg Flook is recomended for a Top Hat size boat (and the holding power is similar to the 5kg Oceane.)
I have a 5kg Flook as well but have never used it so can't verify the claim that it would hold a Top Hat in 60knots with a safety factor of 2!
There is a lot more to anchoring than numbers however and most sailors are loth to recomend a specific type or size of anchor to anyone lest it give way and they are blamed.
Cheers,
Tom