Anchor Questions

[jmagel]

I like to power down the chain and let the boat come back on its own without power. Do a gentle and quick reverse once about 50 ft are on the bottom. Then continue to come back naturally as remaining needed rode is let out. Let the boat sit there for a few minutes. (A friend of ours, who anchored out at least 300 days a year when he was cruising full time described his technique as follows: "Let out the rode. Pour yourself a drink.") Then put on the snubber and do a power pull in reverse, at idle throttle. Let off the power just before the chain comes all the way up. See if it holds and pulls the boat around when the chain tightens. Then one more idle speed back down with a few seconds of power with chain/snubber tight. If the darn thing doesn't hold, start over, moving if need be; it's like getting a penalty in football, you don't like it, but its part of the game and you just run the play over again.

This is also very helpful - thanks, George. Good to hear others techniques.

 

[jim rosenthal]

I too would like an Ultra. But their swivel costs more than my anchor.

What anchors work well in the Montauk area? I have not done any boating up there. Fortresses or other Danforth types work well down here in the Chesapeake, but I don't know if they are effective in the different bottom conditions in Montauk.

I think for that boat you need a bigger anchor. I also wonder if the Bruce design is the best one for that area, but local knowledge trumps everything else. Have you asked around to see what other folks are using? It might be worth asking folks with trawlers and sailboats what they have found to be effective; also look on their forums to see what they've written.

interesting that the boat came with 1/4" chain rode. That seems light to me for such a big boat, but I have never used all-chain rode.

 

[jmagel]

I too would like an Ultra. But their swivel costs more than my anchor.

What anchors work well in the Montauk area? I have not done any boating up there. Fortresses or other Danforth types work well down here in the Chesapeake, but I don't know if they are effective in the different bottom conditions in Montauk.

I think for that boat you need a bigger anchor. I also wonder if the Bruce design is the best one for that area, but local knowledge trumps everything else. Have you asked around to see what other folks are using? It might be worth asking folks with trawlers and sailboats what they have found to be effective; also look on their forums to see what they've written.

interesting that the boat came with 1/4" chain rode. That seems light to me for such a big boat, but I have never used all-chain rode.

The Bruce was recommended by a local captain that anchors a 60+ ft cat almost every day in the summer. His experience was the only anchor that would hold in the mud/weeds of lake Montauk and rocks in fort pond bay was a Bruce. I've had no trouble with my previous boats using both danforth and plow anchors, but none were close to the weight and windage of this MY. And not sure why the boat came with 1/4" chain, but I really want to avoid replacing it. I have too many other projects I need to put money into.

 

[jim rosenthal]

I agree with that. I guess trying a bigger Bruce anchor, then. And lots of scope, and a lot of trial runs. I think it's harder to anchor up there than it is here- there generally aren't a lot of holding problems here, although at least one of my friends on this forum finally gave up on a plow anchor in these waters and switched to a Fortress, with no further problems.

 

[Pascal]

Te Bruce is a nice all around anchor which offers great value. As mentioned earlier I ve used it from cape code to the Bahamas and it has not let me down in the past 6 years and we anchor a lot!

But the key is scope, like any anchor. So before rreplacing the 66 pounder, check to make sure you use enough scope. I bet that will solve your problem.

When space is tight and you can't use enough scope, set it with normal Scope and then reduce to 4:1 or 5:1 to reduce swing radius.

 

[jmagel]

Anchor update...

Thought I'd report back on this since I've had a few weeks with the boat. As most of you predicted, scope was our problem. I thought I was letting out enough, but wasn't actually measuring the amount. With proper scope the boat doesn't move an inch. Rookie move! Thanks for all the advise and saving me from buying another anchor!