[Rhodes22-list] Anchors

[Bill Effros]

Bill,

Nobody is the expert.  These are things we each try, and report back to 
each other what works.  Your experience with the Fortress validates my 
experiences in less extreme situations, and I am grateful for your input.

This list went through a period of recommending bigger and bigger 
multi-hundred dollar anchors that nobody ever used because they would 
not fit on the boat and could not be disassembled.

Wally (I think it was) almost got hooted off the list when he said he 
used a milk jug full of sand (or something like that) with an empty milk 
jug as a buoy on the other end to mark his place and staked out good 
moorings early in the day, sailed all day, then returned to his spot and 
picked up his line.  What did he have to lose?  2 empty milk jugs?

That seemed a much better solution to me!  It worked.  People don't 
steal milk jugs full of sand.  If you use this idea only to reserve a 
good anchoring spot early in the day it's a good idea.

And so it goes.

People who say mushroom anchors don't have holding power don't know what 
they are talking about.  My boat is permanently anchored on a 300 lb. 
mushroom anchor, as are all the other boats in the harbor.  2:1 scope at 
a maximum.  32 foot maximum length.  As noted in the hurricane 
discussion, there are hundreds of boats and they never drag into each 
other, even during hurricanes.

Last weekend I saw a big power boat grab my neighbor's mooring when the 
tide was roughly 4 feet above low tide.  He could barely get the eye of 
the mooring line around his cleat.  His scope was 1:1.  After lunch he 
couldn't remove the line from his cleat.  It was pulling his bow into 
the water with a force in excess of 300 pounds.  He could have cut it, 
but he wasn't likely to do so with me watching.  He waited for low tide, 
and maybe he learned something.  (Probably not.)

A jug of sand is all you need for a lunch hook most of the time.  A 
vinyl covered mushroom anchor will do just fine if you want to get 
fancy.  A shaped anchor with hooks or plows can be lighter than a jug of 
sand, provided you know how to set it properly.  The same is true of 
shaped mushroom anchors.

Multiple anchors are better than counting on a single anchor resetting.

Where I live you will always get a 180 degree current shift while you 
are asleep.

This summer's project is devoted to finding out how little anchor you 
really need.  I already know you don't need chain--again, I think it was 
Wally who first made this observation, and again to much derision.  He 
was the guy who actually anchored all the time.  Everyone else was 
reading magazines all winter.  It should come as no surprise that he was 
right.  Try it.

When you are just  playing, as I will be this summer, you can throw 
anything into the water and see what works.  If you drift, there is no 
harm done, and you take care of it.  But if you don't drift, and you 
greatly simplify every aspect of anchoring, you will be much more likely 
to anchor more often, and to know you are safely anchoring every time.

Bill Effros






William E. Wickman wrote:

>Bill E.,
>Sounds like you are fast becoming the anchor expert on the list.  I've got
>two Fortress FX-7 anchors (I replaced the 13lb. danforth that I lost on my
>last trip with another FX-7 because I was so impressed with its
>performance).  I am looking at getting a grapnel but wonder what size, so
>please let us know what works well with the Rhodes.  Also, have you ever
>used a mushroom type anchor with any success?  I have heard that they don't
>have any holding power to speak of, but maybe they would be good as a lunch
>hook in calm waters with little current?  What weight would you recommend?
>
>Bill W.
>
>
>
>
>|---------+---------------------------------->
>|         |           Bill Effros            |
>|         |           <bill at effros.com>      |
>|         |           Sent by:               |
>|         |           rhodes22-list-bounces at r|
>|         |           hodes22.org            |
>|         |                                  |
>|         |                                  |
>|         |           06/22/2005 07:47 AM    |
>|         |           Please respond to The  |
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>  >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
>  |                                                                                                                              |
>  |       To:       The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>                                                         |
>  |       cc:                                                                                                                    |
>  |       Subject:  Re: [Rhodes22-list] Anchors                                                                                  |
>  >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
>
>
>
>
>Slim,
>
>Rummy doesn't know me.
>
>Of course I store anchors under the seat. (As well as on the bow and in
>the Laz.)
>
>I can get to the ones under the seat fastest.
>
>I have a long line flaked in a Rubbermaid 11 gallon under the port
>seat.  The line has a snap shackle on the end.  There is no chain on
>this line.  On top of the line are 3 anchors:  a Fortress, in parts,
>inside a nylon bag designed for the purpose; and 2 folding grapnels of
>different weights--either 1 1/2 and 3 lbs. or 3 lbs. and 5 lbs. -- I'm
>experimenting this summer.
>
>I can snap on and deploy either of the grapnels in less than a minute.
>The Fortress takes 3-5 minutes to assemble and deploy.  I can teach crew
>to assemble as we approach an anchoring spot.
>
>The Rubbermaid is deployed toward the bow under the seat where it cannot
>escape from under the seat without first being slid sternward.  It never
>escapes when heeling.  The anchors cannot jump over the lip the
>Rubbermaid and under the lip of the seat at the same time.  There are no
>exposed anchor tines.
>
>I use these anchors most because they are most accessible.  I anchor
>from the stern most of the time because I am lazy.
>
>Bill Effros
>
>
>R22RumRunner at aol.com wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Slimmy,
>>I don't know of anyone who stores an anchor under the seat. If that sucker
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>ever got loose, you'd punch a hole through the hull under the lee seat. I
>>    
>>
>keep
>  
>
>>a  small mushroom anchor in a basket, along with the rode and a few other
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>miscellaneous parts, next to the gas tank in the lazzerette.
>>I keep the anchor rode in a basket under the port seat. It rarely comes
>>    
>>
>out
>  
>
>>by accident.
>>I have an unofficial way to tell how deep I am........I tell by the knots
>>    
>>
>in
>  
>
>>the rode..........and they weren't put there on porpoise.
>>You guys have to feel for me. I woke this morning to discover that the
>>    
>>
>heat
>  
>
>>pump (A/C to all your northerners) took a dive overnight. It will be two
>>    
>>
>days
>  
>
>>before the repair guy can come out and who knows how long before it's
>>repaired.  92 degrees is not nice without A/C. Guess I'll just have to
>>    
>>
>tough it out
>  
>
>>and  drink more cooling liquids.
>>
>>Rummy
>>__________________________________________________
>>Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>>
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>__________________________________________________
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>
>
>
>__________________________________________________
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>
>  
>