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ANCHORING

An offshore cruising boat spends 80% of it's time at anchor. Not only is this the cheapest way to cruise, it is the most esthetic. It is important to get skilled at anchoring if one is to enjoy yacht cruising to the fullest, even if your cruising area is costal or inland.

A walk along the docks will give you an idea of the average size of anchor gear on the many vessels at your local marina. If you then visit a marine hardware store, you will quickly see that the size of anchor that most owners are selecting is the smallest available, and that the next few sizes up are only slightly more expensive. Alternatively, when you spot an offshore vessel returning from a cruise, you will see several enormous anchors. Are those vessels just anchoring in heavier winds? Not always.

The cost of ground tackle is considerable, but average in comparison to the rest of a yachts equipment. This one system that protects your vessel from disaster, even at times of making a one-day passage, should not be overlooked when it comes time to upgrade a yacht's equipment. Big or small, heavy or light, chain or rope, Danforth or other; Simple principles apply to ground tackle. If you follow these principals, you will have done your best to provide the best holding power for your yacht.

The first detail is anchor weight. The heavier the anchor the better, at least up until the point of back strain (be careful, and use a weightlifting belt) or overwhelming windlasses (the latter a rarity). In some of our anchor tests, we discovered one often-overlooked function of an anchor's weight, which is independent of it's overall size, and rated holding power. It is something of concern with the modern lightweight Danforth-type anchors. This is the ability of a heavier anchor's flukes to sink and re-set under their own weight, as opposed to gliding along the bottom as can occur with lighter flukes on a lightweight anchor. The weight of the remaining sections of the anchor is less important, and can be offset with heavy chain selection, if desired.

The choice of chain or rope is largely a personal and (recently) environmental decision. Both are costly, with chain slightly more so. Both are strong, with chain only slightly stronger in real use (i.e. chain's much greater breaking strength is affected somewhat by it's inability to stretch, causing shock loading). Chain does offer chafe resistance, but at the cost of bottom fouling and subsequent coral reef damage, which is why it is being banned in many tropical areas.

The choice of anchor design can be personal,  however the ever popular Danforth-type anchor normally provides the best performance to cost ratio, with the only drawback being a bulky design that does not stow as well as some others on a vessel's bow.

The concept of using two anchors, instead of a single large one, is not so much a yachting principal as it is a common principal of any safety system. It's first advantage is that of double redundancy. Like rock climbing anchors, the failure of one anchor (be it human error or mechanical failure) will not be catastrophic if the system was doubled. Also like climbing anchors, a double sea anchor system will provide an 'equalization of load' in many instances. Without getting too complicated, you can imagine this as being able to position the two anchors to provide a wider range of overall directional holding and security. This is helpful when the vessel changes position with the tides and wind. The last, often overlooked, advantage to a double anchor system is reduced swinging area. This principal, as well as techniques for deploying multiple anchors, is best demonstrated in a good yachting course. The cons of multiple anchoring are very intuitive in nature. They are the fouling of the rodes, and deployment/retrieval issues. Non of these usually present any problems once a bit of practice is had.

The last important subject of anchoring is the ability to quickly deployed the anchor to save a yacht from fouling in the event of sudden power loss. This is something one hopes will never happen, but if it does, a clean, smooth-running, powerful anchor system will turn a potential disaster into a non-issue.

Since an anchor in use is rarely observed visually (you cannot see if it is properly set and holding) all aspects of it's deployment must be carefully applied and executed by theory. A wider margin of error can be achieved with more powerful and or multiple systems. Keep in mind that a yacht's anchor system is a mandatory safety system, and follow all regulations accordingly.