GP14 Sailing Forums Forum Anchor for cruising

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    • #6971
      WhereItStarted
      Participant

      No doubt this is a well documented topic but opinions seem to vary.

      For coastal cruising or even on inland waters, what type and weight of anchor would be  suitable? The general answer seems to be 5kg  with 2m of chain and a min of 30 m of non floating rope (8 mm) or a minimum of x3 depth of water.

      So far I have not need one but the type of sailing I intend to carry out makes it part of the essential equipment to carry.

       

    • #6973
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      I think you are just about spot on, except that you may not need as heavy an anchor as 5 kg.

      A great deal depends on the type of anchor you choose, as well as on other factors such as the type of bottom, and the circumstances in which the anchor is deployed.

      When I started sailing GPs, in the sixties, with a home base in the Mersey (where spring tides run at up to 6 knots, and wind against tide can produce vertical walls of water), the usual standard for GPs in my club was a 4-1/2 lb Danforth and 15 fathoms of rope. In round terms that translates to 2 kg and 30 m. Few owners if any used chain as well. I never knew of one of those anchors dragging.

      When I had my present GP built 10 years ago I bought a 2 kg stainless steel generic Bruce, with perhaps 2 m of chain, and 30 m of warp. That arrangement has been nominally on trial ever since, and I also carry a “Commando” system which comprises a demountable 1.2 kg Guardian with chain and warp. However I have never yet used the Guardian for any purpose other than as a second anchor when I have wanted two anchors in opposing directions, and the “trial” of my nominal Bruce has continued for 10 years (and effectively become permanent) because it has never yet let me down. I do carry, but have never needed to use, an emergency extension anchor warp, which is a further 30 m. Should I ever need to use that, the two warps are joined by interlocking eye splices (already spliced in), as I won’t trust knots in slippery synthetic ropes under water if my life might depend on it, and I say that as someone who has many times taught ropework.

      Other points: be cautious of cheap “copies” of established designs. Although there are exceptions, many of them differ slightly (in order to avoid patent infringements) in details which make all the difference to either holding power or even structural strength, and do not hold anything like as well as the originals.

      Some owners swear by fisherman anchors, others swear AT them! I think the fair assessment there is that they may be the best all-round anchor for a very wide variety of bottoms, including rock, but only if large enough, and that you would need one AT LEAST twice the weight of the Danforth that you would otherwise need to hold the boat; say a minimum of 5 kg for a GP14, and preferably larger. Then they are cumbersome to stow aboard unless dissasembled; if disassembled they are fiddly to prepare for use; and because the settle on the bottom with one sharp fluke sticking upwards they can be positively dangerous in shallow water. You wouldn’t want your boat (or someone else’s boat) to dry out on top of that spike, nor would you want a swimmer to suffer injury on it.

      Avoid folding grapnel anchors; they are utterly notorious for not holding.

      At the 2 kg size, one of the best is the steel Danforth, or the equivalent Guardian (a top quality Danforth-type in aluminium). Guardian (and Fortress) anchors are aluminium equivalents to the steel Danforth, and beccause their design is such that the area of the flukes is of more relevance than their weight they have very similar holding power to the steel Danforths but are very substantially lighter..

      CQR anchors are excellent in yacht sizes, but I have found them unreliable in dinghy sizes, even on soft mud (which is possibly the easiest bottom for most anchors).

      Independent comparative test results indicate that the Lewmar Claw, a Bruce-type in stainless steel from a very reputable manufacturer, performs surprisingly badly, so that tends to suggest that if choosing a Claw you need one perhaps twice the weight of a Danforth. Nonetheless that is effectively what I am using, and I am very well pleased with it.

      “New generation” anchors are excellent. On my bigger boat I use a Rocna, and this and the Manson Supreme are arguably the best all-round anchors available, but the minimum size of the Rocna is 4 kg. I don’t know the minimum size of the Spade and the Delta anchors, which are also “new generation” anchors.

      Oliver

    • #6984
      WhereItStarted
      Participant

      Thanks for the informative reply.

      There is certainly a large price difference between a 2kg Danforth “type” with rope and chain (around £40) and the newer designs like the Rocna 4 or even the Fortress FX7. One in an acceptable price range is the Guardian G-7 but as you mentioned, you only use it as a secondary anchor. I guess I need decide whether the cheaper anchors can be relied upon. The aluminium designs also seem to be bigger in overall dimensions and so with that comes the issue of storage?

    • #6998
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Some good further queries.     I will get back to you shortly,  when time is less pressing.

       

       

      Oliver

    • #7000
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      By coincidence,   some months ago I wrote an article on anchors for my club’s Newsletter,  which is derived from material that I developed for the Seamanship Course that I periodically run for the club.   Checking through it today in the course of editing the Newsletter I realise that this article answers many of your queries.

       

      If you care to email me,  via the Association,  I would be happy to send you a copy of the article.

       

      Oliver

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