Anchor Chain

[34Hatt]

well now that we all told you go buy a windlass when you are buying it add a wash down pump to the list to clean the chain and anchor on the way up. It make anchoring a breeze instead of a chore. We anchor mostly and have no problem to drop the hook even for a hr or two. I run the boat with control of the windlass at the helm and the admiral goes to the bow and point to the direction of the rode and washes it. Then when done attaches Safety Hook!!! The only complaint I get is she get's sprayed because you are always going into the wind. So I tell her don't worry your not going to melt then I get some sort of dirty look that I just don't know why

 

[bobk]

I've been following this thread as a non, but maybe soon to be Hatteras owner. My observations of the 48 series I MY's we have looked at is Hatteras did not build anchor platforms, or install chain and windlasses for folks who anchor out. With one exception, the 48' series I MY's I have seen have 1/4" BBB chain, which I would not use on my 41' trawler let alone a much heavier 48. 5/16, or better yet, 3/8 HT seems to me to be the minimum. All you need to do is experience anchoring in the wrong place and having 35KT winds hitting you with an eight mile fetch to get religon.

Has anyone tried to get a big Super Max onto the pulpit of a Hatteras? That will be my coice if I ever find a good boat. We cruise 3000+ miles a year and anchor most nights.

Bob

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Bob,
I know what you mean. When I had our GM windlass rebuilt last year to accept chain, I went with 200' of 3/8 HT. Then I walked down the dock to look at a 61 Hatt to see where to install the hawse pipe. I was shocked to see 1/4" BBB on that 61cmy! I had been surprised that my 53ED had no wildcat on a boat her size, but even more surprised to see that light chain on a 61.

 

[garyd]

Chain is very heavy, so in many cases less is more. I bought my boat and calculated previous owner had about 800 lbs of chain "all Chain" 800 lbs dead in the nose "bow" that much weight will move the CG and did, the boat performance improved noticably after removal.

A windlass is great, do get one, figure about one (1) day of a major PITA project if you already have the wiring up in the bow, if not maybe a day and a half.

Compared to a doctor's bill it is not that expensive.

I also would recommend dying the rode different colors every 50' 50' 50' then 100' 100' 100' with 20' red at both ends. This works great and makes anchoring much less stressful. Plus you can leave the last 10-15' in the water and power in reverse to clean everything up before brining in the last of the rode.

Keep the chain to a necessary minimum.

Have Fun Boating garyd

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

I have 40' of 3/8 chain with a 60+ lb Bruce as my main. (got the anchor for $30 at a yard sale!!)
Mostly use my secondary unit, 30' 3/8 chain on my trusty Fortress when just stopping during the day.
Both have 3/4" line (300' on main, 200' on secondary).
Also have a 35lb plow onboard that I will interchange as needed.
When I had my accident last week, had I not had a windlass, would of had to just cut the line and left everything on the bottom!!!
Here in N. Fla 90% of my anchoring is in less than 25' of water.
Oh, also have another line I keep as a spare, 20' of chain with 150 of line in a dunnage box onboard.
Then in my mini storage locker I rent down the road from the marina, have 3 danforths, a spool of 300' 3/4" line and 2 40' length of chain.... I am in Florida, and hurricanes are always in the back of one's mind so when ever I find a good price on a used anchor, I pick it up...

 

[Paul45c]

Jaxfishgyd, I couldn't agree more about us FL boys having to worry about anchoring and securing for a blow. After much consideration, instead of doing the normal tie-across-the-canal routine to allow for flood surge, I figured I'd deploy 3 anchors outboard of my boat. The funny thing is that my storm anchors (Fortresses on 3/4" line w/10' stainless 3/8" chain) held better than my main (CQR 45# hinged plow that used to have all 3/8HT chain rode). The canal bottom is silty, nasty ooze kind of mud -- not real dense at all. So even the light Fortresses had no prob getting a good set right away. You can believe their press, because man did they bite. Hardly budged an inch, and when it was finally time to lift them (and I've had to secure good and hard for about 3 good blows in the last 2 years) I almost had to give up and go strap on the dive gear to dig them out. I guess a 45,000# boat being pushed by 90-110 mph winds can really dig an anchor in, eh? And when I finally got them to break free, they pulled up a Volkswagen-sized pile of mud.

I'll tell you what -- it was a new experience seeing 3-5' seas in my canal when the biggest thing I had to worry about before was some SeaRay driver putting up a big wake!

-- Paul

 

[Traveler 45C]

I can’t believe the good fortune some of you had had with your Fortresses. Preparing for the last Fl. hurricanes, I dropped an FX-23 and an FX-55 into soft mush and could not get them to set. I tried adjusting the fluke angles and using short scopes with no luck, and I had substantial chain on there as well. Granted this was anchoring in my marina and a very mucky bottom.

Danforths and Deltas set fine for me in that muck. In sand I never had a problem with the Fortresses.

I’ve since gotten rid of the FX-55 (WM took it back!) and will use the FX-23 as a backup to my new 44 Delta and 35 Danforth, My working anchors.

My storm anchors are a 55 Delta and 60 Danforth and I will use all 5 to anchor my bow when the next blow comes.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

When we bought our 86 36C, it had a factory supplied danforth plus 8' of chain and lots of 3/4" rope. We had the Galley Maid rope winch, which when used with chain, tears its chrome off. I replaced the winch with the same brand, but with a chain gypsy. I mounted a substantial flip over chain lock, the up and down button system with relays, and a chain pipe. The chain pipe goes on the port teak strip of the pulpit. I hole sawed a hole large enough for a 2' pvc tube which we epoxied into the hole. The job is a major bitch in all respects, but the result is wort the effort. Cost about $1500 including the 5/16 BBB chain for an all chain rode. I asked the Hatteras rep why they supply such small anchors. We use these boats to run sailboat races. Sometimes the wind is howling and the waves are 3 feet or so. He said that Hatteras never figured that anybody would want to anchor in those conditions and that their ground tackle was meant for overnight anchoring in quiet coves. Now I see.

 

[bobk]

Re: Anchor Chain (Super Max question)

Coming back to my Super Max anchor question, has anybody tried to mount one of these on the Hatteras bow pulpit? We find it the most reliable of anchors for the reversing currents in the creeks along the ICW.

Bob

 

[Beckytek]

BobK
I don't have a super max anchor but am considering to buy one in the future.
I don't know anyone who has one but have been reading some good reviews. As far as mounting goes I don't see any difference in mounting one than a bruce or plow and they are no problem. Ron

 

[OVERSPRAY]

There are a million different opinions on anchoring techniques. The meathod I have allways followed on my boats(any size) is 1 foot of anchor chain for every foot of boat. (36 ft boat = 36ft of chain) and so forth. I use fortress anchors and have rarely had anchoring problems unless the fluke sgot fowled. I do not have a windlass and have never really needed one. I use an anchor retrieval ball. Any one ever use one? there great. Just put the boat in gear and drive over the anchor off to one side and wait til the ball starts bobbing. then its just a matter of pulling the (floating) line back in. the anchor will be hanging at the ring on the ball. The only thing I dislike about it is the big orange ball that is allways on the deck. Also a high quality anchor swivel is a big help too. thats my 2 cents

 

[jim rosenthal]

I have had good luck with Fortress anchors as well, but they will be the first to tell you that they don't set in some bottoms. Chain and changing the fluke angle helps a bit. I really think, though, that folks who are serious about anchoring should be carrying two different types of anchors- a Danforth type like the Fortress, and a plow of some kind. I have an aluminum SPADE but have yet to use it. I also have a small Fortress lunch hook which actually gets more use than any of the others. With the kind of small anchoring systems I am using, I don't require a windlass but if my boat were bigger I would want one. Just curious, does anyone on this forum have a hydraulic windlass- I have heard good things about them but never seen one up close.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

This from Practical Sailor......
Just more info to muddy up your thinking...



" We take the guesswork
out of boat & gear buying


In Mud, the CQR and Barnacle Rank at the Top of 17 Anchors
Only two, the Hans C-Anchor and Nautical Engineering Titanium, fail to hold the minimum 400 pounds.


If you spend time over mud bottoms, the anchor to have, according to Practical Sailor’s latest round of anchor tests, is a good old CQR or a strange-looking anchor called a Barnacle.

Right behind those two leaders were the Spade and Bulwagga, two relatively new anchors that dominated the earlier sand tests.

Practical Sailor has completed the third round of what has become an annual rite, the summer anchor tests. This latest was the mud test.

The first round of testing (reported in the February 1, 1998 issue) had to do with setting in sand. There were nine anchors, plus two prototypes not yet on the market. The Bruce anchor was the clear winner, followed by, in the order of how they performed, the Super Max, Claw, Fortress FX-11, West Performance2, Delta, Danforth 20-H and CQR.

The second round (in the January 1, 1999 issue) was concerned with holding power in sand. The number of anchors in the test had grown to 15. The clear winner was a new anchor, the Spade, followed by another new anchor, the Bulwagga. Then came, in order of their tested holding power, the CQR, the Delta, Fortress FX-11, the West Performance2, the Super Max, the Danforth Deepset II, the Bruce, Vetus, Claw, Nautical Engineering Titanium and two with little or no holding power. "