My buddy is targeting larger Hali's offshore on the WC.... so he took my Danforth added 30ft chain and 500ft of rope..
Anchored up in 140ft... Did well and lost a biggie the first time trying..
Next time out the tide was running a bit more.. had trouble holding Anchor ( 20ft boat )
He blamed the Anchor but I said its usually more to do with the amount of chain... or maybe both.. or maybe its difficult to anchor in a decent current with any style of anchor...
So what is the prefered style of Anchor? Usually a Sand/Gravel bottom...
He is also running the full scotchman set-up with easy lift system...
Thanks..
It is not the anchor. If that is a real Danforth and not one of those knock-offs (e.g. West Marine), it is probably one of the better choices along with the Fortress for a sand and gravel bottom? You only need to Google the anchor test results for that.
You could add some chain, but you will also be adding weight? The rule of thumb for chain is at least the length of the boat and you want that all laying on the bottom. The more chain the better is correct; however, that is a trade off with the increased weight? All chain is not needed, I personally have 100 feet of chain on my current boat. The weight of the chain laying on the bottom increases the horizontal pull on the shank of the anchor, which increases the overall holding power of the anchor; however, don’t confuse that with the needed amount of scope? Even if you had all chain, it would not just keep increasing the holding power of the anchor. For example, if high water tide is 20ft deep and your bow roller is 5ft above the water, you need 125ft (i.e. 5 times 20 + 5ft) of scope to anchor. Well that 125ft of scope can be with either 20 feet of chain laying on bottom, or all chain. The amount chain laying on the bottom is the only amount that will increase the holding power of the anchor.
In 140 feet of water, with a sandy gravel bottom, with 400 feet of rode out – the anchor regardless of make and amount of chain used - is subject to and it will probably drag. Throw in tides, currents and winds, you can change that subject to and will probably drag, to it will drag! That actually equates to approximately a 3 to 1 scope on the anchor rode, so about the only thing keeping that anchor from dragging is calm water or some rocks it might get hung up on. There is NO anchor designed to hold that type of vertical pull! At 3 to 1 (or less) the horizontal pull on the anchor shank just is not enough to hold much of anything. To insure the anchor will hold you need a scope between 5 to 1 and at 140 feet that is 725 feet or rode. Then based on currents and winds it could take up to 7 to1 or 1,100 feet of rode or more.
At slack tides and on calm waters you might be able to get away with 3 to 1 scope (or less, as some have described) for short periods, but I wouldn’t suggest going down below and taking any naps as you will be woke by the sound of a boat crashing into something! Or, what I actually did - leave the boat unattended while SCUBA diving and come up from a night dive to find my boat gone.
When it comes to anchors, holding power, and wanting an anchor that doesn’t drag, you are better off looking at the independent anchor tests. Stay with those top names and rated anchors listed, such as the Danforth and Fortress.
FYI… Bruce really doesn’t fair well, and if you are caught in high winds and currents – they will work back and forth and drag! Been there - done that (twice) where I am not talking about just a few feet. It isn’t good when you have to check the anchor constantly and see how much the boat has moved. The Bruce is now strictly a backup for the Danforth! If I had to do it all over again, I would just go ahead spend the money and get the Fortress. I personally would not recommend any of those knock-offs especially if you plan much overnight anchoring. They tend to break and bend at all the wrong times
