My 26C came to me with two 20 pound CQR anchors and 20 pounds ( 11 feet) of chain on each anchor along with 150 feet of 9/16 nylon rode. This is over 120 pounds of paraphernalia on the tip of the bow that is already weighed down by a 400+ pound mast. I am thinking of putting a lightweight Danforth style anchor with 20 feet of 1/4 inch chain and 100 feet of 3/8 line on one of the anchor rollers to serve as our lunch hook to use while swimming or just hanging around in protected waters. I will store the second CQR and Rode in the lazarette in case of heavy weather.
This arrangement will take a bit of weight off the bow, but will make anchoring for a swim and anchor retrieval much easier. Am I missing something? My sailing is done in the Eastern Basin of Lake Erie, I will be anchoring in 30 feet of water or less in protected locations.
Randy-
Assuming the holding ground in the area you plan to “lunch” is suitable for a fluke-style anchor (mud or firm sand is best), your lunch hook idea sound fine, and if you’re concerned about weigh, consider a Fortress. But I think you may want to go larger than 3/8" rode or you’ll need to watch the condition of it carefully over time. I disagree with not keeping a “normal” anchor on the bow though. Too many stories of situations where a boat needs to be anchored quickly and securely: engine failure, unexpected squall… Murphy’s law. I have the 30-footer, but maybe others with a 26 can comment about the weight (remember that the mast and boom weight was factored into the design). Also, I’ve seen many Nonsuch listings with 50 feet or even 100+ feet of chain, which is much more weight. Plough anchors like the CQR, while deserving of their reputation, have largely been supplanted by modern designs. If you’re concerned about weight, consider the Excel. There’s a good article about it along with a discussion of modern anchor design (and some weaknesses) in Practical Sailor: https://www.practical-sailor.com/sails-rigging-deckgear/excel-anchor-offers-case-study-in-design . FYI, on my boat I do have two anchors: a lunch hook (genuine Danforth) and a cruising hook (a Plastimo Kobra II, no longer made, but similar to the Excel). I keep them both on my bow without issue. If you search this discussion group for “all chain” (include the quotes), or just anchor, you’ll see there’s a lot of variation in arrangements as well as opinions. I expect you’ll see enough to make your own decision based on your specific requirements.
Dan Weinstein
Look Farther 30C #205
East Greenwich RI
I agree with Dan about having a good, employable anchor ready to drop at a moments notice on my foredeck that is strong enough to hold in most conditions.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
We sailed Lake Erie for a number of years and IMHO a danforth is a poor choice. Bottom is often muddy and the danforths do not survive wind shifts which you get in the frequent summer storms.
You hear the term “lunch anchor”, And yes a light anchor will work but anchoring is a bit of an art and the more you do it the better you get… use the same one all the time.
We have a 33 lb Bruce on our 26 and have anchored a lot with no issues, including some very violent thunder storms. Not a fan of CQR, good for planting corn on the sea bed. There are several good anchors Rocna for example, Size it for a 35 sailboat , add 60 feet of chain and 200 of rode and you’ll be fine.
I have a danforth tucked away in the cockpit laz in case we lose the main one, and a very small one burring away in case we need a kedging anchor, but I’d not sleep well at night with one.
Randy - I would also be concerned with the maximum scope you would get with just 120’ of chain/line - in 30’ of water, that is only a 4:1 scope. Without researching it, even for a lunch hook, I suspect that is pretty short on the scope and leaves you no line to pay more out if things suddenly get interesting.
Our 30U has two rollers for anchors on the bow, but we have never kept two there (there is only one opening for chain/line in the bow). Do others keep two anchors on the bow and drop their chain/line into the one opening? Do you have a divider in the chain/line locker to keep things from getting tangled? How do well do the anchors fit on the rollers? We have a Spade 80 (aluminum at 16#) and a 22# Danforth style by Lewmar. It would be nice to get the Danforth out of the stern locker and put it somewhere more accessible in an emergency (it probably takes 10 minutes to get it out, but that is with worry about the paint job and in an emergency, I might not care as much). We do not have a windlass (my back wishes we did).
This may be unfair but you are NOT getting any younger - treat yourself to an electric windlass as it appears that you do a fair bit of anchoring. Sailing needs to be fun and should not open doors to (serious life-altering) injuries, if it can be avoided. You’ll grin, bigtime, every time you push the button. You deserve this machine.
The rest of the gang -
A thought (from someone who knows diddley about anchoring). Clearly, a Nonsuch 30 was designed to carry two proper anchors on the bow. In my opinion, based on what I’m reading, your everyday (ready to go) anchor should have decidedly MORE chain/rode than less. It’s always “ready to go” for all types of use (including emergencies). Your second anchor should also be sitting there, on Roller #2, ready to drop in (as it’s the EASIEST and best place to store an anchor as opposed to a stern locker). It’s a second, helper, fingers crossed anchor. BUT, you should have, say, 250’ of good anchor line stored in the stern locker that you just attach (??? shackle, length of Dyneema, whatever) to your second anchor. In a rush, you open the locker and grab a big hank o’ line. You go forward to the anchor and “attach” the line to the anchor. You have a predetermined way (???) of attaching the other end to (the Samson Post ??? Rock solid.
Likely, this has taken you 1 -2 minutes as opposed to fighting and horsing a pointy anchor out of a locker at the back of the boat.
It’s just a thought … Store the line, not the anchor. Have plenty of scope on your main anchor tackle.
Ernie A. in Toronto
On Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 5:49:05 PM UTC-4 Julie & Lloyd on Rendezvous wrote:
Ernie - kind of you to spend my money (or perhaps my wife’s money). Alas, we do not anchor all that much so a windlass has not been anywhere near the top of the to-do list. Maybe the next time the mast is down.
That said, people with two anchors kept on the bow, how are you managing the second rode? Are you leaving, as Ernie suggests, just the anchor at the bow and bring the rode to the anchor when needed, or have you come up with a cool way to have the anchor, chain, and line all at the bow for both anchors? Anyone have pictures?
lloyd herman Rendezvous, 30U (w/ one anchor at the bow and the other in a stern locker)
Port Washington, NY
Thank you all for your comments. At the moment I have no anchors on the bow even though I have two rollers. When I rebuilt the bow (due to rotten core) I failed to put Hawser Pipes through the deck. . My bad, I will fix this before the start of the season.
I hesitate to put two Hawser pipes through the deck as all that hardware creates a jumbled mess that is difficult to work around. I feel the same way about a windlass.
Here are my takeaways from this discussion and some other earlier messages on the board.
Replace the CQR with a more modern anchor such as a Bruce, Delta or Ronca.
Use at least a boat length of chain.
Follow the 7 to 1 rule on scope to depth.
People are not big on Danforth style of anchors for sailboats.
Go a size up from the recommended anchor size for our beamy, heavy, Nonsuch hulls.
Get an anchor windlass because you are too damn feeble to pull up an anchor by hand.
One can never have too many anchors, or too much anchor rode.
Randy Gadikian
Phoenix Rising
Nonsuch 26C #37
Buffalo, New York
FWIW, I have two rodes and two hawsepipes on my foredeck. The port one is for a spare Fortress I keep in a lazerette locker. The starboard feeds the over 40 year old electric anchor windless. My forepeak has a divided chainlocker. Photos enclosed
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Only comments . 7:1 is all rode for a storm, 5:1 all chain. 90% of the time you’ll be 3:1 in no more than 30 feet of depth so a 60 feet of chain and 20 feet of rode is fine.. when a storm kicks up let out enough to get to 5:1. So all in all 200 - 250 total should be fine for the Great Lakes.
Anchoring in much more than 30 feet can be challenging, and believe me resetting in 40-50 feet is exhausting so at those depths you better be in shape !
But the 20 feet you’ll be seeing can be done with out a windlass or a manual windlass.
Keep a second anchor and rode in the aft … 20 feet chain and 200 rode.
I’d get 50 feet of 5/16 and 250 feet of 3 strand for the bow and you’ll be fine.