New anchor

[JD-MDR]

I sold my Plath windlass along with the South coast tailing winch so I plan to buy a new anchor. I got 300' near new 5/16" BBB chain. I have plenty of nylon rope but will not need it often. I always try to anchor in about 5 fa. I want to get the best anchor. Don't know which one. I don't like the bolt together type like Mantus. I'm thinking Spade or Rocna probably about 33lbs. Also I don't see why I should use a swivel. If the chain is on the bottom why would it twist. Any comments or suggestions where to buy. Thanks. By the way after the wheeling and dealing with the windlass and the tailing winch. The 300' chain and the one bronze tailing winch that I kept for my mizzen halyard ending up costing me $240. The chain has a shot of nylon with a expert rope/chain splice. Not like my sloppy splice in the photo. Once in a while I get lucky.

[Jim Walsh]

You may not see many replies because this is posted in the “For Sale” section. I have had a Spade for several years and it has performed admirably. I have the 33 pounder and it is backed up by 92 feet of 5/16 BBB and 161 feet of 5/8 three strand nylon. I would not consider the use of a swivel. I use only galvanized Crosby load rated anchor shackles.
The Spade is my bower. I have a 25 pound Mantus as my kedge. I have found both outstanding performers.

[JD-MDR]

You may not see many replies because this is posted in the “For Sale” section. I have had a Spade for several years and it has performed admirably. I have the 33 pounder and it is backed up by 92 feet of 5/16 BBB and 161 feet of 5/8 three strand nylon. I would not consider the use of a swivel. I use only galvanized Crosby load rated anchor shackles.
The Spade is my bower. I have a 25 pound Mantus as my kedge. I have found both outstanding performers.

Thanks Jim. It is kinda in the right section I am looking to buy an anchor and I did sell that stuff. I didn't want to cover up the great posts in the project section. Anyway those who recognize my handle and follow might read it . It's not important and your input is good enough for me.

[Steve Laume]

I can't help you with the anchor selection, as I am still happy with my 35# CQR.

I have anchored hundreds of times without a swivel and only see them as an added failure point, Sieve.

[JD-MDR]

I like the CQR too and will be keeping mine for a spare. I wonder if these kedge anchor would be any good they don't cost much the 45 lb. is $160.https://www.seamar.com/item/AFT-SZ/ANCHOR-KEDGE/

[Steve Laume]

Fisherman type anchors are not typically carried on smaller yachts. That doesn't mean they are not suitable but I believe there are lots of better anchors these days. They are known to set well or better than most in weedy bottoms or rocks. You would want a trip line on it if you knowingly put it down in a rocky bottom. Stowing one of those things presents it's own problems. They also rely on weight fro holding power so there are going to be easier anchors to use.

If cost is a major concern and you don't feel you need the latest and greatest new anchor on the market, then you might look at consignment stores. CQR and spade anchors seem to be selling pretty cheap, Steve.

[JD-MDR]

Thanks Steve, I ask because the "Luke" is like that. There is one made here in CA like that. I can't find the name. I've seen two on C-List that sold right away (collapsible like Luke's). When I search storm anchors they show up. I don't have plans to be going to hurricane areas but its pretty common to get grounded in Alaska. Usually just wait for the tide. I lost a boat when I went dry on some rocks. I didn't even think of trying to kedge myself off while the tide was still up.
I think my heart is set on the Spade. I'm just making converasation.

[John Stone]

John
I recommend the 33 lb Spade for a CD 30. No questions. I think the Rocna is a fine anchor too. I used the 33 spade my first trip to the West Indies. It was a little light for my 18,000 boat. We dragged once In a big wind storm. I was never convinced it was the anchor. I think we were on some junk on the bottom. I liked the anchor so much I bought another for the second trip to the West Indies. This time a 45 lb one better sized to the Far Reach.

No swivel. It’s a weak link in your system. Too many tests and real world failures show that. Practical Sailor has repeatedly reported the same.

I will leave my CQR behind this time(Both trips I carried it as a spare. The 44 spade as the primary and the 33 spade as a back up. We have the Luke as a spare/storm anchor and a 14 lb danforth as a kedge.

All the anchors are good. The CQR is a good anchor but can be fussy to set if you are not patient. It is unfairly maligned by some who just never took the time to learn its peculiar manners. I due think the latest generation of anchors set faster and perhaps a bit deeper in most conditions.

In the end it’s your boat. Other than your brains and some luck your ground tackle is the most important thing between you and disaster. It’s more important than insurance if you carry any. I hate being anxious when a nervous wind comes up on a black night with the clouds scudding low overhead and the bower starts to stretch tight. I’d much rather be out in big waves with trys’l up and double reefed main. So what ever anchor and supporting ground tackle you need to feel comfortable with is the right answer. As the old Crusader said to Indy, “Choose wisely.”

[JD-MDR]

Thanks John. I will get a Spade but not for a while. They are expensive. I was routing new water lines and wiring yesterday and got rambunkous, I pulled the reverse gear and V-drive and took them in for service. I ordered the Blu Seas Add- a- Battery kit with the Auto charging Relay from Defender. I'm gonna do some painting and varnishing. I ordered bilge coat. I'm getting inexpensive stuff from Jamestown D. I want to make the combing caps like you did. How wide are yours? 3/4"x 1-1/4" ? Do you have the cleats bolted to the combing for the winches. I'm thinking of putting a solid block of wood at the corner where the combings attach to the cabin or maybe just a solid cap.I don't like that crevice open. I have gone thru your site (FarReachVoyages.com) and can't find the answer to those questions.

[John Stone]

Thanks John. I will get a Spade but not for a while. They are expensive. I was routing new water lines and wiring yesterday and got rambunkous, I pulled the reverse gear and V-drive and took them in for service. I ordered the Blu Seas Add- a- Battery kit with the Auto charging Relay from Defender. I'm gonna do some painting and varnishing. I ordered bilge coat. I'm getting inexpensive stuff from Jamestown D. I want to make the combing caps like you did. How wide are yours? 3/4"x 1-1/4" ? Do you have the cleats bolted to the combing for the winches. I'm thinking of putting a solid block of wood at the corner where the combings attach to the cabin or maybe just a solid cap.I don't like that crevice open. I have gone thru your site (FarReachVoyages.com) and can't find the answer to those questions.

You are a busy man.
1. The teak cap is proud on both sides of the coaming. About 3/16" on each side. By being proud it serves as a "reveal" and requires no taping for varnishing the coaming. Saves time and better protects the coaming below.

2. Over the last few years I have experimented with the coaming cleats. Yes they are screwed through the coaming. They are primarily for the jib and stay'l winches. But, they are self tailing so normally I don't use the cleats except when necessary. But, all winches, ST or not, should have cleats. I use the cleats for other things too like towing a warp or Jordon Drogue, etc.

Originally I just installed bronze FH screws flush with the coaming on the inside and into the cleats on the opposite side. But, since then I have installed bronze plates inset into the coaming on the inside and counter sunk into the coamings. I don't have to remove the plates for varnishing...just the cleats which I bed in dolphinite. You can just varnish around the cleats by taping if you want but the less stuff on the coamings the easier to varnish. There are other ways to do it--it's just the way I chose.

3. I am not a fan of the open sided coaming return block either. It is difficult to varnish. The problem with a solid block is the bigger the wood the more it moves when exposed to hot/cold/wet/dry. Because the way the aft end of the cabin truck is made you have to get the coaming return block further forward than you might think to get fasteners into from inside the boat. So if you go with bigger return blocks you need to keep them painted or varnished.

4. Here is the link on the cap-rail for the coaming. http://www.farreachvoyages.com/projects ... mings.html

Keep going.

[John Stone]

I found these pictures of the cleats and backing plates.

[JD-MDR]

E177695D-A7B9-480F-BD3F-CE9E53DCB4DA.jpeg (2.15 MiB) Viewed 920 times

The combings look so nice like that. Thanks for the photo. I wish these were in the projects category so more would see. I have the other kind of cleats they mount on the side but the cleat is at a 90 degree angle. https://www.spartanmarine.com/all-produ ... ing-cleats. Mine combing cleats are a little different than these in the link. I see they are all using backing plates. Mine don't have them.

[wikakaru]

I agree that there are much better anchors available today than the CQR. We had one on our first cruising boat and found that the plow-shaped CQR tends to plow through the bottom rather than digging in and grabbing, especially in soft mud. We replaced it with a Bruce, which set more easily and held better. But there are better anchors than even our much-loved Bruce these days, too.

When outfitting our second cruising boat we looked at both the Spade and the Rocna Vulcan, which I would characterize as part of the modern generation of concave dish-shaped anchors. Here is the key about which one to choose: get a PDF anchor template file from each anchor manufacturer for each size anchor you are considering and build a cardboard template of each one and see how it fits on your bow rollers, and with where your windlass is located. Every Cape Dory is going to be different even among the same model because the windlass would have been installed after market (someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this). Go with whichever one fits your bow roller setup the best.

We found the Rocna Vulcan was excellent, but had one weakness (common to all burying anchors)--very soft mud. In this kind of bottom good holding is about surface area and angle of attack, and the Fortress assembled at its "mud angle" setting is a better choice. I recommend that you carry one of those, in addition to your primary burying anchor. The Fortress can be disassembled and stored below until you need it. Some parts of the U.S. East Coast that experience little or no current flow have this kind of soft mud bottom (think parts of the Chesapeake Bay or the tributaries of North Carolina's Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds).

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[Joe CD MS 300]

I have never owned CQR but used a couple on some charters, never in bad conditions. I did read every anchor review I could get my hands on back in 2005-2006 when I first purchased our MS 300. It was around the time that Rocna’s and other new generation anchors were becoming more popular. I don’t recall a CQR performing well in any test. It’s been a while since I have read any anchor reviews so maybe there is a test out there where a CQR does perform well, just haven’t seen it. There was always an argument that tests weren’t real life conditions and that there are a lot of world cruisers using CQR’s or the testers didn’t know how to correctly set a CQR. I never bought that argument. There used to be some pretty good anchor debates here years ago. It’s been quite a while since there have been any good debates here.

[JD-MDR]

Thanks Steve, I ask because the "Luke" is like that. There is one made here in CA like that. I can't find the name. I've seen two on C-List that sold right away (collapsible like Lukes.

I found a photo. I guess it's not like Lukes at all.