Anchoring questions pertaining to a CD 27

[RonE58]

There's a lot written on old post about anchoring and storage. But I am particular interested on anchoring questions associated with a 27. I am presently experimenting with a light danforth, a lunch anchor, hanging on the bow pulpit. I also have a much heavier danforth that was stored by the previous owner on the cabin top. I have a CQR as well and that is stored inside the cabin.
I don't have a lot of experience with anchoring but it appears to me that the CQR sets a lot easier then the light weight danforth, I haven't attempted the heavy danforth has of yet. If one wanted to store a CQR on deck or around the bow how would one go about doing it? I believe its to heavy for the bow pulpit.
Thanks,
Ron
CD 27 #181 (windrush)

[marka]

Hi Ron,

We have a 22lb Bruce (knock off) that we store in the aft lazarette. We keep it in a plastic tub so it doesn't shift around and beat up the inside of the boat. It's a bit of a hassel pulling it out since it gets covered up with lines and other junk but it works for us.

We also have a heavy danforth we hang from the stern rail.

A bow roller would be wonderful but I've yet to figure out how to mount one without interfering with the bow chocks, roller furler etc.

[Clay Stalker]

When I sailed a CD27 and now with my Sea Sprite, I use a Fortress FX-16, which is sized for a 33-38' boat, but weighs only about 12 lbs. Some say it doesn't set well, but with 30' of chain in front of the 250' of line, I have never had it not set on the first try. And once it sets, it will hold a 27/28 foot boat in almost any wind. Bear in mind that I sail mostly in areas with mud bottoms. In grassy or hard sand bottoms, you will always be better off with a CQR or Bruce. As for re-setting, I have only pulled out once, and the Fortress re-set itself quickly, but I am sure that is because of the chain. The Bruce is the best anchor for re-setting itself, but does not have the holding power of the Fortress or CQR. Of course, you need a bowsprit to store the CQR or Bruce in a "ready to deploy" manner, but the bucket idea works fine, just takes a bit longer. Personally, I like to have my anchor ready to go very quickly....it is a safety thing for me. If my engine were to quit and I'm drifting or blowing toward a lee shore, I want that anchor to be deployed quickly. Hope all this is helpful.

[Bob DuPont]

Ron,

The Fortress FX-16 works great on our 27, which rolled out of the molds right after yours (hull 182). On our regular anchor, I have 6 feet of chain, which I am planning to increase to 10 feet. I also have a second FX-16 with 15 feet of chain that we save for hurricanes. For those we tie the bow off in the mangroves and put out two stern anchors. We have to be careful that the one with 6 feet of chain sets properly. The other one sets right with little effort.

[Dean Abramson]

We had a Fortress (I think an FX-16, but maybe an FX-11) as primary anchor on our 25D, with 15-20 feet of chain. Never dragged once. Great anchor. They are so lightweight, you can buy one for a much larger boat, store it easily (sort of) on the pulpit, and sleep well at night. I now use this same Fortress as secondary anchor on our 31 (mounted on pulpit) with about 25 ft. of chain; if not too much wind is predicted, I opt for it, because it is a lot easier to get up than our larger Bruce with more chain. For our muddy bottoms here, the Fortress is super.

Use all the chain you can comfortably pull up. The chain is important.

Dean

[Warren Kaplan]

I have a fortress FX-16 anchor also. I have 30 feet of chain and what seems like and endless supply of line behind that. I've found it to be excellent for my needs. The light weight is a godsend when you are not dealing with a windlass to do the heavy work!

[Andy Denmark]

As her primary anchor system Rhiannon has a 22 lb Bruce anchor with 30 ft of 3/8" standard chain and 110 ft of 5/8" 3-strand nylon. IMHO, while the Fortress anchors hold well they are absolutely horrible to stow. The Bruce fits nicely into the stock CD-27 bow roller with the stock secured on the anchor well cover with Spartan lock-pin fitting mounted thereon. I have never had the Bruce drag and it has held Rhiannon through every hurricane that's hit here (in conjunction with the Danforth 12# secondary anchor, also with 30 ft of 3/8" chain & 110 ' of 1/2" rode).

I think the key to any anchoring system is a sufficient length of heavy chain. The chain should be at least as long as the boat and as heavy as you can comfortably handle. Standard chain is more than sufficiently strong. It's the weight, not the tensile strength that's important. High-test or proof coil chain is pretty gross overkill as the loads from anchoring don't come close to the max loads the chain can handle. Another consideration: this length of chain is pretty much twist-proof so you don't need a swivel, the weak link in any ground tackle system.

FWIW .............
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Nevada Dispensary

[Clay Stalker]

I agree completely with Andy. A sufficient length of heavy chain is what makes any anchor lay down and dig in....without this, any type of anchor will have more trouble setting, won't reset well when breaking out, and just won't display the holding power it is capable of.

[Sandy D.]

Hi Andy......
Blind Faith doesn't have a roller,however it is high on the list.
Would you be so kind as to describe your setup.

Thanks
-Sandy

[marka]

I think some CD27s came with a roller integral to the bronze forepeak, Linda Jean (1981) does not.

[WAYNE A.]

I am also curious to see or hear about the bow roller as it was done on later models. Thanks,Wayne

[Andy Denmark]

Sandy, Mark, Wayne,

Somewhere in the distant past there was a picture of a cool anchor setup on an older CD-27 (prior to the stock anchor roller on the last iteration of 27's). You should be able to find this with the search function --- meanwhile I'll see if I can locate it. This was a teak sprit that protruded ahead of the stem fitting and had an anchor roller (probably Windline) on each side. It looked to be a professional job but seemed relatively simple for an average woodworker to do.

In the meantime, I will try (again) to see if I can figure out how to post pictures to this board (computer challenged here). That failing, send me your email by PM and I'll attach a pix or two to an email message. Right now it's pouring rain here so taking pictures outside is not a good option but I'll get a few as soon as the weather permits.
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Vapolution

[Andy Denmark]

Check out the threads (archives) by Bill Goldsmith, Mike Thorpe, and "David, Jr." on this. I could only get one picture to come up (on an Alberg 30) but the idea is the same. If we could access Bill's pictures somehow I think many questions would be answered.

I searched using "27 bowsprit" and "27 anchor" - there may well be other key words that I didn't use.

Bill's (ex) "Second Chance" evidently had a sprit that was so professionally done that it was mistaken for a factory option. I don't believe Cape Dory ever offered this as an option but you'd have to check with David Perry to find out for sure.

Anyway, this is what I could find on a brief look-see.
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MAGIC FLIGHT

[RonE58]

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[RonE58]

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