OK, I'll start this one up. What type of anchor do you use and what type of bottom are you dealing with. I use a 35lb CQR in the muddy Chesapeake Bay. Not that happy with it.
I love my Bruce mud & sand.
35 Lb. Delta with 100 ft of chain, and 150 ft of line. The Delta has never let me down.
45lb Mason Supreme with an all chain 275ft 5/16th rode. I absolutely LOVE the mason. We still carry our "45lb Drag-Q-R" as a secondard anchor.
We have anchored out almost every night of our cruise so far and have great confidence in our ground tackle.
#35 Delta on 50' 3/8" BBB chain with 5/8" nylon primary
#22 Delta on 35' 5/16" BBB with 1/2" nylon secondary
Other anchors ar various sizes of Danforth anchors and chain/nylon
Our botton is mostly mud/sand with some shell
Sea Tiger manual windlass
Galveston Bay, Texas
35# CQR with 150ft chain. Have used this in Chesapeake for years (on this Pearson 365 as well as previous boats.) Have used this set-up very successfully all up and down the East Coast, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and South America. Been in some pretty good blows too. The most reliable for me. Have a Bruce as backup but rarely use it. What's your concern with a CQR in the Chesapeake?
Jerry Bayer S?V SARA
We have 45 lb CQR on 150 ft of chain for our main anchor & a 35 lb Bruce. This allowed us to sit nicely in many different types of anchorages.
Manson, Delta, Bruce (Claw) and CQR. Pretty much what I expected. I have 50' of 5/16" chain with 200' 9/16" 3 strand rode tied to a 35lb CQR. I have drug this rig several times during heavy thunderstorms and now have no confidence. Probably operator error. I just bought a 33lb Bruce (Claw) and shall try out this weekend. From the looks of it, it should dig in and hold well. Will report findings next week. I never had any problems with the CQR before, but have just lost confidence in the thing and can't sleep nights concerned I will drag. Not a good feeling in a tight anchorage. As always, thanks for all the input.
I guess we are going to look like the seagoing version of a cruiser's swap meet. We have a 30lb. Quickset plow on 200' of 5/16" chain, a 30 lb. Bruce on 50' of 3/8" chain and 200' 5/8" nylon on the bow. In reserve we have a 35 lb. CQR, 2- 20lb Danforth hi tensile, and a 13 lb. Danforth for the stern. We have a pair of new 5/8" X300' nylon rodes, still need chain for them. We are on Matagorda bay, just down the coast from Galveston with similar bottom conditions.
I have a 44 pound Rocna anchor, you can check it out at rocna.com. I had a QCR and now use a Bruce, fortress and hydrobubble anchors as a back up. The Fortress and hydrobubble break down so it is easy store.
While we were outfitting THIRD DAY for cruising people would ask me,
"Hey Rich, why do you have two big 45lb anchors on your bow roller?"
My response:
"Because I can't find room for three!"
I think I have 50' of 3/8" chain with 200' of nylon line.
I am thinking of going to all chain. what type, length, and size of chain would everyone use? ideas?
If it were me, I would look at windlasses and decide which one of those I would purchase if you ever decided to purchase one. You may not want one now, but a few years from now or one back issue, that maybe a different story. If you choose something like an IDEAL windlass, they haven't changed in 30 years, so that model will use the same size and type of chain forever. This way, you will not have to replace the chain if/when you purchase a windlass, or have the added expense.
Dale
I am going to buy a windlass next month.
Then what chain you want is the chain you need for the windlass.
No decisions needed.
Dale
Geez....thanks for the obvious tidbit
I think Dale has a valid point matching windless to chain.If you are going to the Caribbean I think you can do well with 5/16 G-4 chain 160 to 200 feet with a 45 lb. CQR or another good plow anchor as your number one hook and 50 feet of 3/8 inch chain on 200 feet of 3/4 nylon with a #22 Danforth.carry another hook with you just for insurance.I wish my CQR was a 45 ponder but it's a 35# I would sleep better with the 45.Now the Pacific,I have never cruised there I my boat.I think the big difference is depth in anchor areas.I would think the anchors from the Caribbean will work well but,double the length of chain and nylon and carry an extra 300 feet of nylon.Now 5/16 chain is about 1.2lb per foot (480 lb.for 400 feet)I don't know about you but hauling 200 feet of 5/16 is more than want.G-4 160 feet about 600 boat bucks and don't forget the windless a good electric one new 2500.and up.A good new manual 1500 and up.So study well,you can make some costly mistakes is you don't make the right choices.I hope this gets you thinking.Allen
yes...valid info....thank you
Sol came with 45 and 35 plow and a large and small danforth type anchors. I keep thinking about replacing the 35 with a 45 Manson Supreme or a Bruce once we move to the San Juan's. From what I'm reading I should be ok with what I have if I go with more chain. But then again having a different type of primary anchor may be a good idea. There I go again...
As usual I over think/worry about what needs done on Sol. That has lead to just about everything being rebuilt or replaced. Winter gets expensive around here not enough sailing and too much time thinking of sailing.
Leo
While you are deciding... do you really want to invest in galvanized chain? That is a lot of money to end up in a rusted mass in your chain locker. With stainless chain you have half a chance to retain your investment, it is like money in the bank. Spend once or several times? Fresh water wash down won't help unless you wash your chain all the time.
This adds yet another wrinkle to the equation. Not all types of chain are available in stainless. If you decide that stainless is the way to go, that might be the gatekeeper when it comes to windlass selection.
Dale
I use a 35 lb Delta with 50' of chain here in the Chesapeake Bay. Works great in the Bay's soft mud and sand bottoms. I also carry a Fortress 23 as a backup. Boat came with a 35 lb CQR, which is, in my humble opinion, an outdated peice of crap. I gave it away.
Randy,would you happen to have a 45 lb. CQR that you would like to give away.Allen
I'll take that 45' CQR!!/
Journey came with 35# CQR on 80' of (rusty!) 5/16HT + 9/16 rode
Back up is 35 bruce on 50ft 3/8 BB
We've been cruising the Caribbean for 3 months now. In all that time we have NEVER anchored in over 20 ft of water. 95% of the time in sand. Been in some horrendous blows and haven't dragged it yet. Always put out at least 5 to 1 scope.
We will be changing to a 45lb anchor on 200ft of 5/16HT for the Pacific next year. Will carry a couple hundred feet of rope for the deepest anchorages.
That's the only way to use a CQR. Oversize it ! If you put enough weight down there, it will hold for a while.
All anchors are not created the same... thank goodness. Each is designed for a different application, bottom condition, storage situation and price point. CQR's are not that effective in hard mud or flat shale stone. I have dragged a Danforth in weeds for boat length after boat length. How about a Danforth or a Fortress in baseball sized stones... not good. I have never owned a Bruce but I am sure it has it limitations and strengths as well.
I suppose this is why a good sailors carry an assortment of tackle, assess the bottom conditions, space available around the vessel and select and appropriately set the best choice or selection of the best choices. One man's pond is not the same as anothers.
It is the prudent sailor that learns and then applies what they know about each piece of ground tackle good, bad or indifferent. This is what separates the boat from the beach on any given night.
Dale Tanski
Very diplomatic Dale. Thanks for the good words.