CD 26 anchor suggestions

[Ken Textor]

Hi all,
Just wondering what CD 26 owners think is the best anchor to use. My CD 26 came without any anchor and that tiny little bow roller doesn't seem suited to any particular style. I used a 22 lb plow on my CD 27 but that was a much heavier boat than the CD 26. I used to be a dedicated plow advocate but am now open to other ideas. Thanks,
Ken

[Astronomertoo]

Hi all,
Just wondering what CD 26 owners think is the best anchor to use. My CD 26 came without any anchor and that tiny little bow roller doesn't seem suited to any particular style. I used a 22 lb plow on my CD 27 but that was a much heavier boat than the CD 26. I used to be a dedicated plow advocate but am now open to other ideas. Thanks,
Ken

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Ken, I do not see many CD26 owners out here, especially a shame as I admire them on paper but have never seen one in person. I consider my anchor system to be among my best insurance for better sleep in a crunch. On my old 27 ft I used a (real) Bruce 22 on a big Windline BRM-4 bow roller, connected to 33 ft of 1/4" HT chain hooked to 200 ft of 5/8" rode as primary anchor thu all kinds of weather, and never a problem with resets with Florida tides, in all bottoms. I have straightened most of that out once in a severe storm with sea smoke.
I also carried a (real) Danforth 13 vertically at the stern with only 6 ft of chain and 100 ft 1/2" of rode as a backup, which hardly ever got used. (I did carry new 100 ft sets of additional 1/2" nylon for backup, that were never used). Why? Because the bow roller was so easy to use. But for your 26 I would suggest a Rockna 13 such as I am installing on my own CD 25 on a similar roller, using whatever chain you feel comfortable using. It really is a personal thing, and a good system is not cheap until you needED it. I would not recommend small rollers without good side control. Beware of cheap copies of Danforths and the rounded front corners on the Lewmar's (Chinese?) copy of the better real Bruce anchors.

[Bob Lascelles]

Hi Ken,

For what it's worth, I have a 22 lb Rocna with 1/4 inch chain on my 25d, (it mostly lives in the anchor locker & it definitely doesn't store well on the standard bow roller. I opted for the 22 Rocna versus the 13 since the 25d, (like your 26) is a fairly big 25/26 footer. It may be overkill, but I'm pretty risk adverse. I do think the Rocna 13 would have worked fine. For a lunch hook I use a Danforth, I think it's a 9 lb.

[Bob Ohler]

On our CD 30, we have been through blows and wind shifts that scared us. I don't know why we were scared. Our 22 pound Bruce plus 30 feet of chain have never failed to hold or reset. If it were me on your 26, I'd go Bruce 22 and 26 feet or more of 5/16" high test chain.

Bob Ohler
CD 30
Aloha Spirit

[Steve Laume]

Raven still has a 35lb CQR that never fails with the possible exception of being hard to set in very soft mud. That said I would go with one of the latest anchor designs if I was starting from scratch. The one thing I would never skimp on is chain. Raven carries 90 ft of 5/16 chain so that she has what amounts to an all chain rode in most anchorages. Rocks, debris or coral will all cut right through nylon in a very short time so that no matter how well set your anchor may be you might find yourself drifting away while trailing a tattered piece of line. The weight helps too but it is the chafe resistance that I cherish with chain, Steve.

[Astronomertoo]

Raven still has a 35lb CQR that never fails with the possible exception of being hard to set in very soft mud. That said I would go with one of the latest anchor designs if I was starting from scratch. The one thing I would never skimp on is chain. Raven carries 90 ft of 5/16 chain so that she has what amounts to an all chain rode in most anchorages. Rocks, debris or coral will all cut right through nylon in a very short time so that no matter how well set your anchor may be you might find yourself drifting away while trailing a tattered piece of line. The weight helps too but it is the chafe resistance that I cherish with chain, Steve.

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BC Second comment,
Good healthy conservative opinions here. The chain does take the worry out of rope abrasion, and keeps the catenary low for better scope angle, optimizing the anchor design. The road is there to take the shock out of the anchor string. If you travel long enough you will have a bad event which may include shallow water behind you, in darkness or 0 visibility, and possibly steep short seas which will test every connection in your ground tackle all the way to the bow connection. For a 27-28 ft boat with more hull and bigger rigs i would definitely use a modern 22 lb with Lots of chain, and 5/8 3str twisted nylon for stretch. But for lighter boats up to the 26 ft, I would feel good with up to a 16 pounder. Remember, on easy days you do not have to put it all out, and the rope never touch bottom. Makes it easier to recover. But if push comes to shove, you may save your boat, and life.
Bob C

[John Stone]

I was a long time user of the CQR. I had a lot of success with them. They are tough long lived anchors. They are still great anchors despite what many "experts" claim. They require a certain unhurried finesse to work properly. I think the mistake many sailors make with them is they try to set them to fast.

But, I have transitioned to a galvanized steel spade. I have never seen an anchor set so fast or hard. I like the spade over the rocna, which by all accounts is an exceptional anchor too, because I can't mount an anchor with a roll bar on my bow sprit. I also like the spade because you can take it apart and it stows nearly flat. I remove the anchor from the bow and stow it in the bilge during offshore passages.

[Steve Laume]

I have considered stowing my anchor for offshore passages but decided against it. My passages have been relatively short at 6 to 8 days. If I was planning on closer to a month I would probably stow it. My reasoning is that I might need it if something unforeseen and dastardly happened in the first couple or last few days of the passage. That would only leave me with a couple of days in the middle where I would want it stowed away. It just didn't seem worth the effort.

So when do you put your anchor away and then retrieve it again in case you might need it near shore? How do you secure it when stowed down below that if you should get knocked down it doesn't go bashing into something? I know my anchor will contribute to some hobby horsing or making the bow a bit slower to rise but it is also very secure in the bow roller with some extra lashings. It is also ready to deploy if the first sign of land is a lee shore and I find the motor reluctant to start.

There are pluses and minuses to every decision we make. From what anchor to chose as well as where we chose to stow it and when.

I would definitely like to have a place to keep my anchor down below that I felt was safe and secure for longer passages but haven't quite figgured out where that might be just yet, Steve.

[Astronomertoo]

I have considered stowing my anchor for offshore passages but decided against it. My passages have been relatively short at 6 to 8 days. If I was planning on closer to a month I would probably stow it. My reasoning is that I might need it if something unforeseen and dastardly happened in the first couple or last few days of the passage. That would only leave me with a couple of days in the middle where I would want it stowed away. It just didn't seem worth the effort.

So when do you put your anchor away and then retrieve it again in case you might need it near shore? How do you secure it when stowed down below that if you should get knocked down it doesn't go bashing into something? I know my anchor will contribute to some hobby horsing or making the bow a bit slower to rise but it is also very secure in the bow roller with some extra lashings. It is also ready to deploy if the first sign of land is a lee shore and I find the motor reluctant to start.

There are pluses and minuses to every decision we make. From what anchor to chose as well as where we chose to stow it and when.

I would definitely like to have a place to keep my anchor down below that I felt was safe and secure for longer passages but haven't quite figgured out where that might be just yet, Steve.

–----------
Wise thoughts which I am sure many dreamers like me have likely entertained. Long ago when I dreamed of buying a new CD30k, I thought about building a box for the large primary anchor, with a latchable lid on the floor in the v berth. It was something we could also use for the wife to step up on to get into the tall berth. There is something very satisfying to know your bow will respond quicker to increasing seas. We never bought the bigger boat, or did those kind of journeys. Still believe in strong anchor systems.
Fair winds.
Bob C

[John Stone]

I stowed our 33 lb spade in the bilge anchor locker on the afternoon we took our departure from Cape Lookout. The seas were smooth. It would not have been fun, but if the weather came up and for some reason I had to turn back I could have got the anchor back on the roller. We sailed the whole way with it stowed. When we crossed the north bank of the BVI I pulled it out of the anchor locker and reinstalled it on the bow roller where I left it till I sailed home five months later. On the way home, I reversed the procedure and stowed it the day after I departed St Maarten. I reinstalled it on the roller the day before we made landfall at Cape Lookout. During the 120nm passage between St. Thomas and St Maarten I did not stow it. But I made sure it could not move around on the roller.

I built a special rack in the bilge under where the engine used to be located. I removed the holding tank as well so there is a lot of room. I have a dedicated rack for the 70lb Luke and a spare 35 lb CQR. When I took the spade apart, I padded it and tied it to the stock of the other two anchors which are securely tied into their storage racks. I also keep our parachute drogue and extra anchor chain in the locker along with seven 30 lb lead pigs I cast to trim the boat since I removed the 400 lb Perkins 4-108. The solid walnut floor boards are locked in place. The anchors can't come out even if we were, God forbid, ever rolled over. I am inclined to purchase a 44 lb spade to use as my primary anchor, sell the CQR, and use the 33 lb spade as a back up. I would modify the rack that holds the CQR to hold the 33 lb spade in it's assembled, ready to use condition.

All of Steve's questions are worthy of consideration. I don't think there is a thing wrong with leaving the anchor in place as long as it can't do any damage to the boat if you encounter wild conditions--plunging the bow in green water. I have a tremendously strong anchor roller system but it's hard to protect the bowsprit itself (I have a much longer and more traditional sprit than stock Cape Dories) and spritsh'ds from the anchor in big seas and a plunging bow. Plus, I knew I had a 1,600 nm upwind sail ahead of me and it just made since to stow the anchor and secure the chain pipe to keep seawater out of the boat. So, that's why I remove it. It's not a big difficult thing to do, especially with a spade.

I think the issue of hobby-horsing is overplayed. In fact, I think you can argue that some weight forward and aft it good. It's the same argument that supports some weight in the rig and less ballast to displacement ratio (35-40 percent)--it slows the roll and pitch of the boat and makes it more comfortable and because the motion is a little slower there is less snap and shock loading on the boat and rig. There are trade offs off course. These are not race boat. They are big, heavy, full keel cruising boats. They need to be comfortable and easy to manage. Of course, I work extra hard to ensure the FR is as fine a sailing machine as I can make her but there are always compromises.

I can't seem to locate a current photo of the anchor locker. But, attached below are a couple of pictures of the locker as I was building it. In the photos, I had not yet drilled or installed the 5/16" line that secures the anchors in place. But you should get the idea. The wood racks are glassed in with epoxy and biaxial tabbing. They have since been painted grey like the rest of the hull below the cabin sole. I realize that if you have an engine and holding tank there it would be more difficult. In that case, I would build racks in the cockpit lockers to hold the anchors. Or perhaps under one of the settees. I made a lot of modifications to the FR to support all these kinds of issues. Stock boats don't have special design considerations that allow for the stowage of spare anchors, drogues, extra warps, storm sails, dinghies, boarding ladders, fenders, etc, etc. We have to figure that out ourselves.

[fmueller]

John or anyone ... can you suggest how I might fit a bow roller of some kind on my stock CD '27 (with a non stock Harken roller-furler right in the "wrong place" complicating things).

When I got the boat the smaller of two Danforths that came with the boat was hung from a pretty minimal s.s. bracket from the pulpit, and the shank just beating around on the deck ... not a good solution even for the primarily day sailor kind of guy I am. I'd be willing to pick up a Spade, or whatever if I thought I could fit one on a roller and dog the shank down to the foredeck somehow, even a few inches off the centerline (to starboard probably, the furling line runs on port side), but I've never seen what looks like a proper piece of hardware to do this. It's all very crowded up there and I can't see how I'd avoid obscuring the starboard chock unless the roller was way off center (and then the boat would ride at an angle?).

But I'd like to have the bow anchor at ready most of the time. 10 ft seas / green water is not my thing - I prefer placid gunk holes, paying out the rode with the right hand, Bass Ale in the left hand.

thanks

Fred

[tjr818]

Have you seen this link:
http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=34794
It is for a Guthrie Roller that you can install on the bow fitting. I have one on Slainte, our 27. It will enable almost any plow type of anchor to be mounted on the bow. You might have to raise the furler an inch or so for shank clearance, we did not have to for a 25# CQR. You will also have to provide protection for the deck where the shank rests. If I can find a photo I will post it.

[Astronomertoo]

Beautiful boat! I could not see the link either.
Check out "Windline anchor rollers and mounts" to see if any of them will work for you. I added one of the larger SS mounts to my old 27, and plan on doing similar on my current smaller 25 during this major refit, but in my case it will take a lot of modifications.
Bob C

[fmueller]

Tim,

A photo would help - that link no longer carries the posted images

thanks

Fred

[Steve Laume]

I have never thought it was a great idea to stow too much in the bilge. My reasoning is that anything you put in there will take away from the volume of water that it may contain. No only that but it does tend to get nasty down there.

However, I am going to see if my CQR will fit in there. That would be the perfect place to stow a heavy anchor and it will not displace too much water. If it got a bit grungy so be it. I am hopeful but am thinking the opening might just a tad small.

Thanks for the idea even if I can't make it work, Steve.