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What is the best all round anchor used and wight and how much chain and rope would you say you need to take in most conditions at sea and lakes etc cruising stuff.
The size and weight of the anchor are less important then the chain. As long as the anchor buries easy and quick and it stays buried even under heavy load it is an OK anchor. But it can do its job only when pulled parallel to the sea floor. This is where the chain comes in.
I have been using an Aluminium Fortress anchor for years, proving the anchor’s weight is unimportant.
A heavy weight knotted to the anchor’s rode, some yards away from the anchor does the same job as a chain. The thing to look for is that the boat does not lift the chain or the rode from the sea floor where the anchor sits. To meet this criterion you need two things: Weight and length of your chain/rode (3 to 5 times the water’s depth).
as a non-expert reader of many peoples advice I would add the following:
no-one appears to make anchors lighter than 2kg and so this is a good SIZE (rathe than weight) to go for so long as you use enough chain as described above
there is endless discussion on different anchor shapes, but I wonder how much translates down to our scale, except there is universal agreement that a folding grapnel anchor is as much use as a chocoate fireguard.
lots of cruisers carry bruce anchors. I notice that they have less pointy angles than most other designs and seem to grip most bottoms (!)
many people carry rope rodes of gigantic lenghts. we settled for two 30m lengths thinking this means you can add 30m if you are anchoring in very deeper water but giving a manageable lenth of rope to stow good for the shallow anchorages you generally use with the wayfarer. Opinions will vary though
Similarly advice about chain length varies from 1m to 6m. so guess what, have 3m for each anchor
anchoring is an art (I’ve yet to master) so its worth practicing a fair bit before you have to do it “in anger” as managing the rode, chain and anchor is a small space presents the odd challenge and its worth being very familiar with this (and anything else) you might need to do quickly at sea.
lastly
come to the cruising conference!: great fun, and endless wisdom, advice and beer on tap. (also to discover the achoring song in the Wayfarer song book : best left unposted here)
Boris, Delphy W6330
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