Anchor choice for typhoon

[seadug]

I'm trying to finalize my list of things I need. I have a danforth anchor now but I want to have 2. I'm thinking of getting a bruce anchor in either 16 or 22 pounds. Is that a wise choice for new england waters or should I consider something else? Thanks Doug

[Neil Gordon]

I use a Lewmar Claw, 22 lbs., on my 28. It's overkill on a Typhoon, so think smaller. That said, my Claw has performed well in mud and sand... it sets easily, trips easily on short scope and stays put following a 180 degree swing.

[Klem]

The real question is, what do you want your anchor to do? Do you anchor overnight ever? Is there a chance that you might get caught by a severe thunderstorm and anchor in 50 knot winds? What types of bottoms will you anchor in? How weight sensitive are you? How cost sensitive are you? How will the anchor be stored?

There has been a huge leap in anchor technology in the past 20 years. Many people refer to these anchors as "new generation" and they include the Spade, Mantus, Manson Supreme, Rocna, etc. The great thing about these anchors is that they set easily in most bottoms that you will run into and they will stay set during a wind shift or something like that. They also have quite good holding power for their weight. If you decide to go this route, a 15 lber should hold a typhoon through just about anything that you would want to be aboard for and if you don't venture from home and truly never expect bad weather, you might get away with smaller.

Another group of anchors is the more traditional cruising anchors. The CQR is an incredibly popular anchor but most people find that it is very difficult to set, personally, I would stay away from it. The delta is a huge improvement on the cqr and it is much easier to set although there are plenty of bottoms where it will struggle. The delta has limited holding power in some bottom types so I would go a size up from a new generation anchor if you go this route. The claw anchor is a knock off of the Bruce anchor which set well veered well but had very limited holding power for its size, if holding power is an issue you probably need a size larger than a delta. The trouble with the claw is that there are many options and some are very poor quality.

The last group of anchors that I think is worth mentioning is the danforths and the fortresses. You already have one danforth so you are clearly familiar with them. These anchors have the best holding power to weight (especially the fortress) when properly set. One problem with them is that they can be hard to set well in a lot of bottoms and since you already have one, you probably want an anchor that works well in the bottoms that your current one struggles in. Additionally, they do not do well in a wind shift and your boat can end up on the beach.

Not knowing how you use your boat, if I had to recommend anything I think that I would say a 15 lb Mantus.

[seadug]

This will be my first year sailing so I have not used my danforth anchor. It looks small to me maybe 10-15 pounds.

I think I'm leaning towards a 16.5 lb lewmar claw anchor.

The Mantus anchors jump from 13lbs to 25lbs. The 13 is rated for 14-20 foot boats under 2000lbs. The 25 might be a little overkill and it cost twice as much as the Lewmar.

[Jim Walsh]

I recommend you go to Mystic Marine Consignment to see what they have in stock. They may very well have something suitable for a bargain price.

[seadug]

I will try Mystic Marine when I get home. Thanks for the tip

I'm at work now about 125 miles up the Mississippi River laying at anchor. Think the anchor we have out now is about 1800 lbs.

[Dick Kobayashi]

My suggestion, for what it is worth, is to hold off on that 2nd anchor purchase.

Use the Ty in the Spring, experiment with the danforth and gain familiarity with how the boat performs and how the anchor performs. In these parts a lot of bottoms are covered with eel grass, and danforths do not do well in eel grass. danforths do not do well with 180 wind shifts either.

But how often will your boat be at anchor with a wind shift without you on board to make the adjustment.

When I owned a Ty I left it anchored, well anchored, I thought...and when I came back the boat was on the rocks (eel grass was the problem - not the anchor per se).

I vote for a little experimentation before buying another shinny piece of metal with a string attached. Good Luck

[Neil Gordon]

But how often will your boat be at anchor with a wind shift without you on board to make the adjustment.

Consider reversing currents, too, which are fairly common.

By the way, to make the adjustment, you need to not only be on board, but you also need to be awake! I sleep better knowing the anchor will reset without my help.

[seadug]

Thanks for the recomendations. My danforth anchor looks small to me and I would not sleep well if I was using it. My plan is go to the marine consignment shop by me when I get home and see what they have. If nothing looks good there I can buy a new 16.5 lewmar claw for 55$.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Doug:

The February 2013 issue of Practical Sailor has an article on "Small Anchor Reset Tests". PS tested 12 different types of anchors for "anchor performance when the boat position changes under the forces of wind or tide . . ." PS (2/13) at page 12.

The Lewmar Claw (19.4 lbs) was rated "Good" for holding ability but "skated" over hard sand/clay seabeds but apparently did well in just "sand seabead". Go figure.

You can subscribe or just get the 6 page report by ordering the February 2013 issue of PS [800.829.9087 or 800.424.7887].

[seadug]

Thanks Robert, I subscribed to the magazine and ordered the February issue. Unfortunetly for me I had all my nautical books on Staten Island in storage when Sandy hit.

[Markst95]

I've been using a Fortress (smallest one) with my Ty for the last 4 years and it has never let me down. I've used it from the Ct river all through Fishers Island Sound and over to Narragansett Bay.

[Klem]

This will be my first year sailing so I have not used my danforth anchor. It looks small to me maybe 10-15 pounds.

I think I'm leaning towards a 16.5 lb lewmar claw anchor.

The Mantus anchors jump from 13lbs to 25lbs. The 13 is rated for 14-20 foot boats under 2000lbs. The 25 might be a little overkill and it cost twice as much as the Lewmar.

Seadug,

I just want to point out that comparing a 16.5 lb claw anchor with a 13 lb mantus you will actually get much better holding power out of the Mantus even though it is lighter. The holding power of an anchor is determined by the surface area, depth of penetration, blade shape and bottom type. The claw anchor does not have a lot of surface area for its weight, does not penetrate terribly deep and does not have an efficient blade shape. This does not make it a bad anchor but it means that you need a much heavier anchor for the same holding power. For example, in the West Marine anchor tests using ~35 lb anchors, they generated an averaged holding power with the claw anchor of 500 lbs and both the Rocna and the Manson were just shy of 5000 lbs. This test happened in a bottom that I believe really favored the new generation anchors but still the results are an order of magnitude different. It might be that you never need more than 200 lbs of holding power ever on your boat or you might need 1000 in a storm. The absolute champion of holding power to weight is the fortress anchor but it does not reset well in a wind shift and I could never recommend it to anyone for anything other than a lunch anchor or a secondary anchor for deployment in a storm, I would never use it as my primary if I was going to anchor overnight. It would be helpful if you can determine the absolute worst case conditions that you expect your anchor to work in. As it sounds like you are just starting to sail, let me suggest that you want to be comfortable being anchored in a 50 knot severe thunderstorm very occasionally.

Part of the confusion always comes from anchor manufacturers recommendations which are horrendously inconsistent and not transparent. Most anchor recommendations are based on 30 knots of wind and good holding bottom which makes for a reasonable lunch hook but doesn't give you the confidence when that front comes through at 2am or you get a thunderstorm. Rocna makes their recommendations based on 50 knots of wind and average holding bottom which I feel is a very good sizing for people who might see those fronts and tstorms. Mantus is a bit less clear and they say that their sizes are for cruisers who will sit out storms at anchor. As the wind speed increases, the static load on your boat goes up proportional to the square of the wind speed so 60 knots will have 4X the force of 30 knots. Also, the peak loads will be from dynamic forces not static ones and they are almost nonexistent below 20 knots and rapidly build as the wind speed increases so it is even worse.

I am not trying to talk you out of a claw anchor but I think a 16.5 lb claw will be undersized if you want to sit out a 50 knot storm. If you can tell us what conditions you expect your anchor to be capable of holding in, hopefully we can provide some good guidance as to the relative sizes of each anchor. I hope that all of this makes sense, anchors are a huge source of debate for sailors and far too many people have a lot of problems with them.

[seadug]

I will have a mooring in Wequetequock Cove (Stonington CT) this summer as my home port. My plan is to sail Long Island Sound to the west and east to the Cape. I work 3 weeks and then have 3 off so I plan on spending a few nights on the boat and I'm sure I will get caught in some bad weather. Hopefully I can plan enough to be in a good location for those.

I realize a typhoon is pretty small but I think I could spend a few nights on her.

[Klem]

I will have a mooring in Wequetequock Cove (Stonington CT) this summer as my home port. My plan is to sail Long Island Sound to the west and east to the Cape. I work 3 weeks and then have 3 off so I plan on spending a few nights on the boat and I'm sure I will get caught in some bad weather. Hopefully I can plan enough to be in a good location for those.

I realize a typhoon is pretty small but I think I could spend a few nights on her.

Sounds like you will be having a wonderful time, thanks for providing the context of what your anchor will be required to do. You are in a great cruising location but beware that mid summer the anchorages can get pretty crowded so have enough rode to be able to anchor out in deeper water or get comfortable with your depth sounder and vision and sneak into the skinny water where the other cruising boats can't go.

I totally agree that you can spend nights on a typhoon. It will be closer to camping than what most cruisers are doing but it is definitely doable. As a teenager, I spent a lot of nights camping on small boats and those are some of my fondest sailing memories. Hey, if you really like it but decide you need a bigger boat, you can always do that. One trick with a typhoon is going to be finding anchorages that the boat sits calmly in, they are active little boats on the hook and the rolling and pitching can get old quickly.

As you point out, you will definitely need to be prepared for some bad weather if you are venturing that far from home. If going with a claw, I would personally want a 22lb one. I know that Lewmar says that it is for boats of 31-35' but their recommendations are extremely optimistic (in my opinion the most optimistic out there). I quickly looked at prices and a 22 lb claw goes for around $90, a Rocna 6 (13 lb) goes for around $200, a Manson Supreme 15 lb goes for around $200 and a Mantus 13 lb goes for $130 so the claw would definitely be your cheapest choice even using the heavier weight that I gave to give it enough holding power.

I hope that this helps.