anchor breakaway

[bevis]

does anyone use a breakaway on the anchor in case the anchor gets hung up in the rocks ? i am installing a new anchor and want to do it right . we bought a 22 lbs plow we have a lot of sand and mud hear in fl . hope it was the right choice .

 

[Pilotnavigator]

At what level would you like the anchor to break away? I suspect you would not want it to be just below the worst a storm could cause. Normal practice is to ask others that regularly anchor in your cruising area. The key word is how often! Some I see have an Anchor but only anchor for a swim or lunch and never have needed to stay put at night in a blow. My recommendation is the most 1/4 inch chain you can afford to carry, for my 21 ec I have 30 feet and 150 ft of 1/2 inch three strand spliced to it. You can work up from there for your boat. I anchor at least 25 days each summer. I use a 13 lb rocna and have a 11 lb Bruce on 10 feet of chain and 150 feet of line as a back up. If you are in sand you could use a fortress as a back up. I had one but it was not good for the bottom we have up here, mainly soft mud and weeds, with lots of clay.

 

[R Baker]

I attach a retrieval line to the anchor. In the case of the supplied Claw anchor there is an attachment point for a line. I run that to an anchor buoy which shows to others where the anchor is, and can be retrieved wth the boat hook if the anchor is stucK. The plow I think also has a point to attach a line.

On a related subject: both the std claw and plow are now considered inferior anchors? The newer designs; Ultra or Rocana are far superior - but it depends I guess where you anchor and how much you are prepared to pay for an anchor.

 

[Pilotnavigator]

I caution on the use of a trip line and float. There have been cases where I have looked over the side of my boat and seen the anchor right below you boat. If I had a trip line it most likely would have been wrapped on the rudder. Now if this all happened at night and then the wind picked up. What do you supposed would happen to the anchor? This has happened before and it is not recommended that a trip line be used in this way unless you are sure the boat will stay away from the anchor and not drift over it. As in anchored for and aft or tied to shore. Or anchored in an area with current that is in a constant direction.

 

[R Baker]

You need to set the trip line length in accordance with the depth (range) of the water.

 

[Scuffy]

We use a 35 pound Manson Supreme on our R27. The anchor has a slide slot for unsticking. The problem is that using the slot requires helping the anchor over the bow roller. We just use the fixed point for attachment on the anchor now. We thought the 17 pounder that came with the boat was a little light for my idea of a fitful sleep. We don't usually anchor in that deep of water so I don't think for me a trip line necessary. I would carry a 4' piece of chain with a shackle to be able to slide down the rode to pull the anchor out backwards with a line attached to the loop of chain. Everyone has their own idea of what works for them. In our house more is usually better.

 

[Nellie Too]

I built what I call an anchor thimble which I used a few times in Desolation Sound B.C.. It works well and either you can copy it or use a small link of chain for which goes around the anchor line, replacing the thimble, and you pull backwards for retrieval. I think its easier than a permanently attached line. You can look at my photo album on page 17 under Nellie Too and see what it looks like.

(360) 293-0003

Bob