Don’t assume that it’s buried!
While having a bad ass anchor will help to keep your boat off the rocks, and I’ll go on record to say that our 85 lb. Mantus anchor is very bad ass, if you don’t know how to deploy it, the anchor’s not going to work as well as you would like. Take the following anecdote shared by our friend John:
“There I was, snorkeling along, minding my own business when I come across an anchor (a Rocna, still with the price tag on it) that is on its side and not dug into the sand in the slightest. So I look to see which boat it is attached to and swim across to share my discovery with the owners. Well, Sheila (red ensign with white stars, so her name must be Sheila) glares at me as if I am some demented boat-boy from Dominica* about to board their boat for some light entertainment, including rape & pillage and tells me to mind my own business (my ears were full of water, so perhaps I didn’t hear her correctly) in a manner that you would expect from the mouth of that other Australian, Rodney Rude. I was tempted to reply that since she is Australian, she should be using a Bruce and not a Rocna, but thought it was safer to swim off.”
Anyway, as you can see, even a next-generation anchor like a Rocna won’t set itself in light winds, or if it is dropped at a funny angle. Don’t believe me? Check the before and after pics of our own “big dog.”
Our anchor two nights ago, before backing down on it.
Same spot, after backing down on the anchor. Much better, wouldn’t you agree?
Last night, after setting the anchor, in even better sand.
*Addendum: The boat boys in Dominica are awesome!
Haha, I like John’s story, though depending on her age, her name could have been “Shazza”, the more recent replacement for Sheila……. The fact that it wasn’t a Bruce anchor makes me think the ensign was stolen, or the anchor, or both…. Can’t trust the people from the penal colonies, it is part of our breeding. 🙂
🙂
Hey mike… what happens when the wind/current shift and the boat float over and yanks the anchor the other way? does it reliably reset? If not… how do you sleep!? I always wondered that about anchoring!
I think the ability for the anchor to reset is entirely dependent on the type of anchor, and the makeup of the bottom it is set in. I have never been underwater when this occurs to say exactly what happens but I do know that our anchor/boat has stayed put. As we don’t have to contend with strong reversing currents around here, most times when the boat shifts 180 degrees it is because the winds have dropped to almost nothing. Passing storm cells would obviously be the exception to this.
So right Mike. I also think it’s really important to know how to set and test in water that is too deep, cold, muddy or weedy to dive on the anchor and check. I’ve spent time on night watch and I’ve dragged an anchor occasionally (any sailor who says their anchor has never dragged spends too much time in marinas and/or is lying) – but I’ve had far more disruption from other people’s boats dragging on lousy anchoring.
It may be bad karma to say so but we have never dragged anchor and as you know, we anchor out a lot. I hope that statement doesn’t jinx us. 🙂
Haitian maybe, never Dominica…
What does the phrase ‘bad ass’ mean?
Mike I think you are just so lucky to be in an area of small tidal range, small currents, no strong reversing flows every 6 hours and good bottom (apart from coral heads).
The best that I can get with my Rocna, when I can see it, is rather worse than your image of one not set to your liking. And with the right amount of chain, it holds. And it reverses with no problem.
I have never seen one bury the way yours does.
Once again, I’m deeply envious of you! 🙂
Mike
Bad ass: Awesome to an extreme level, thereby leveraging unquestionable authority. Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bad+ass
What is the composition of the bottom are you anchoring in? Rock?
Loose stones, shale, hard sand, glutinous soft mud and thick seaweed!
Not ideal. But I didn’t put it there. 🙂
Mike
Definitely not ideal.
My girlfriend had a hard time sleeping before we started using an anchor alarm. It won’t fix bad anchoring practice, but it does give some piece of mind that if you move outside the set zone then it will wake you up. We use Anchor Watch by Luky soft. I tried a few others but like this app best and the add on maps are a nice feature. We also run it on two phones for backup. It has a nice feature where you leave one phone on the boat and it will call, email, or text the other phone if the boat moves while you are on shore. We anchor in a lot of areas with tidal swing and it works well. I think it is only on iPhone. After over 50 nights at anchor, she now sleeps fairly sound. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/anchor-watch/id389011510?mt=8
Sounds great. Glad it’s working for you!
Hey Mike… great pics. 85lbs? Must feel safe with that monster. I have been looking into the Manson and have been wondering what size I would get. After seeing that you have the 85 pounder it had me thinking. Our monohull is 22,000lbs dry weight… I think it is safe to say heavier than your pdq? What made ya go with the 85 pounder? Seems like overkill, but then again… I am sure you sleep well… thanks in advance for any input. Also, did you go stainless or galvanized?
Hi Matt
First, the 85 lb. anchor is not on our PDQ, it is on the Leopard 4600. Yes, we do sleep well! I don’t think you can go to heavy on an anchor. If it fits on the boat and your windlass can handle it, what’s the harm?
When sizing anchors for cats most people look at the anchor manufactures recommendation for weight and then upgrade it by one size to deal with the additional windage of the vessel.
As for stainless vs. galvanized, ALWAYS galvanized.
As for your choice of a Manson, check out the Mantus anchor, that’s what we have and we’re very happy with it.
http://mantusanchors.com