Anchoring (overnight)

Moderator: GreenLake

Anchoring (overnight)

Postby TIM WEBB » Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:49 pm

While on the subject (maybe a new thread?), any and all advice on anchoring overnight is more than welcome. This will be a new experience for me. At the 120, I just beached the boat and tied/anchored the bow off to something onshore, since I was not sleeping aboard. On this trip I will either anchor bows out, with the stern tied/anchored ashore, or I will anchor out away from shore. I had one #5 danforth anchor before, now I have a #7 as well. Both have 5' of chain and about 75' of line. Sailing area will be at and around the spoil islands of the East FL intracoastal waterway at Sebastian. Bottom is mostly sand and mud, with depths from a couple feet to 15-20 feet. Currents will change with the tides, as it's pretty close to Sebastian Inlet. I guess one has to see if the forecasted wind is higher than the current speed in order to predict which way the boat might swing around?
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby GreenLake » Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:46 am

Well, here's your new thread.

A small Danforth anchor can be used to anchor the DS. I know a DSII owner who keeps his boat on such a small anchor for weeks (unattended) in a relatively sheltered bay in tidal waters around here. The reason I got to know him is because I saw his boat dragging when the wind picked up at night and rowed after it at night so he wouldn't have to collect it on the other side of the bay in the morning. When I pulled his anchor he had a bit of chain that had wrapped itself around the shank. Hard to tell whether that is how he set it, or whether it happened as result of the tide reversing direction. After he reset the anchor the next day, it was fine for several days -- in fact as long as I could observe it.

My take is that getting an anchor one size larger would have given him a bit of a reserve, just from the weight. I have a Danforth that's approximately 15" across (not the flukes, but the cross bar thing). Don't know what numbered size that makes it officially. It's larger than what he was using. I tried it only once in the same bay, and with the mud/clay/sand mix on the bottom I set it so hard I could hardly break it out later. I had a length of old chain that I used with it (but most of the anchor rode was rope).

In sheltered conditions with reasonable holding ground I would imagine that some variation on that theme might fit your needs - even in a tidal area.
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby Salty Dog » Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:29 am

How deep is the water you will be anchoring in? recomented 7' of rode to 1' of depth. That makes for a wide swing. If you went by that you could not anchore in deeper than 10'.
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby TIM WEBB » Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:42 pm

Thanks guys! Anchoring depth in the ICW should be less than 10', since I certainly won't be overnighting in the middle of the channel! 8)

Did a little more digging, and there's some good info here:

http://sailing.about.com/od/learntosail ... anchor.htm

There sure is more to it than just tossing the anchor overboard and hoping for the best ... :o
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby GreenLake » Tue Feb 05, 2013 5:54 pm

Tim, that's a nice summary.
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby GreenLake » Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:11 pm

Tim, according to this selection guide for Stanford anchors, one weighing 5lbs should be marginal for the DS, and the next one up, weighing 9lbs should be fine for your purpose. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find any reference that relates the weight to the numbering system you used (and there don't seem to be true Danforth anchors made with weights in pounds equal to the numbers you give - so I can't tell what you have). From memory, as the anchor is not stored near where I write this, I probably have either a 5lbs or the 9lbs.
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby TIM WEBB » Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:28 am

Not sure if the numbering system directly corelates to the weight? It's just what's stamped on the flukes ...

The #5 is a Happy Hooker brand (who doesn't like a happy hooker? :twisted: ), and it's about 4 lbs, with an 11.5" "crossbar thing".

The #7 is an Attwood brand, and it's about 6 lbs, with a 13" crossbar.

Now, granted, these are not name brand Danforths (great link BTW!), but similar knock-offs, so, in your most eloquent words GL, "my mileage may vary" ... :P
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby GreenLake » Wed Feb 06, 2013 1:13 am

Some brands have shorter crossbars relative to the same size/weight anchor. That might matter most if you have strong tides.
All explained in this video.

Mine is probably some kind of knock-off as well. However, (and this is from very uncertain memory as I won't be able to verify the actual size of my anchor for a few weeks) your 6lbs and 13" might be in the ballpark of what I have (or just a bit smaller). From the sizing chart, it should be just above the size recommended for 17' of boat. If you have good holding ground (sand or firm mud) that might be all you need. What that other DS owner had looked pretty small to me, and his held once it was set properly.

Also, if the shore is sand, drifting ashore wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world, especially if you are on board and ready to take action (that cot thingie might be a problem in that it might be in the way until you've cleared it.)

Make sure you add 6-10' of chain. That keeps the shank flat to the bottom. Just as long as you don't wrap it around shank and flukes before the anchor had a chance to dig in. That's how I found the anchor on that other boat, with the chain all wrapped around flukes and shank.

Good luck and let us know how things turned out.
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby TIM WEBB » Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:00 pm

Yeah, I figure the "Danforth knock-offs" have shorter crossbars in order to get around any kind of patent infringement ...

Not too worried about drift, as long as my alarm plan works. But, yes, it would most likely be into a sandy shore. The cot doesn't interfere with using the "electric wind"! :P

One of the things mentioned in the article I linked to before is the importance of lowering the anchor slowly while drifting backwards until it sets, then checking it before tying off, rather than just tossing it overboard (how chains get wrapped around shanks/flukes).
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby GreenLake » Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:02 pm

I don't know about patents, could also be an attempt to make them less unwieldy for storage. I note the that fortress which otherwise has similar geometry can be disassembled.

If you get into a blow above 10kn I would expect little in terms of help from electric wind. Unless you have a super beefy one or a Torqeedo. Especially, if you have a large cot-shaped wind catcher rigged. :D

But a workable scenario in case of a dragging anchor due to tide reversal etc.

About setting the anchor. If you don't have a strong engine to try to set it, it may be difficult to be sure it's set. That's because gentle drifting may be stopped by chain and anchor weight alone, even with the anchor not dug in. I guess the best you can do is trying to give the anchor rode a sharp tug or two and see if you accelerate the boat towards the anchor that way.
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby jdoorly » Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:29 pm

I anchor a lot and I always set the anchor by backing down on it with the 56 pounds of thrust (1/2 hp?) in my trolling motor, and the water at the stern is roiling away but the boat is obviously stopped. I use a 4 pound Danforth knock-off now and I haven't had any problems. I used to use a 9 pound claw which worked great also but switched to reduce weight on my bow sprit. Now I keep the anchor, chain, and rode in a plastic tub in the cockpit and put it over the side from there and then walk the rode forward to belay it (I solo sail).
DS2 #6408 "Desperado"
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby GreenLake » Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:37 pm

My trolling motor only has 40 pounds of thrust. The extra 16 pounds make a difference, I bet.
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby Salty Dog » Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:30 pm

Sometimes an anchore will be less likly to drag to shore than to drag off shore due to the grade of the btm. If the grade is steep and the wind is comming from shore you might try to find a shallower grade. Which may be hard to tell with out a depth sounder. You would have to study the shore topo. and feel with your anchore. or anchore with a leward shore. and check the weather for any shift in wind.

Just what I've noticed Thanks SD
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Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby TIM WEBB » Thu Feb 07, 2013 5:51 pm

All great advice, and greatly appreciated! Will report back after next weekend.

My troller is 45 lb thrust ...
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
TIM WEBB
 
Posts: 1208
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 10:28 pm
Location: RIVERSIDE, CA

Re: Anchoring (overnight)

Postby GreenLake » Thu Feb 07, 2013 6:59 pm

Enjoy your trip!
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