Re: [OMC-Boats] Lets talk about anchoring...

  I have a number of boats, the largest currently being 32', and often go places we anchor overnight, or longer. I never go 10:1 or even 7:1. I judge scope by the angle of the line, usually looking for roughly 30 degrees (or a bit more if there is swing room) between water and line. One thing I always do, is check the recommended size anchor for a particular boat, then get at least one size bigger. Also important is chain. Estimate what your usual anchor depth will be, divide by three, then get that amount of chain (up to around 20 feet). What size depends on your anchor/boat size.
  I almost always use a Danforth. One place it will not work is where there is a lot of grass (seaweed). If you anchor in a lot of grass get a plow type, rocky areas try a navy anchor.
  When you anchor, lower it (don't throw) and back away while feeding out line. An anchor will not hold if the chain or line winds up wrapped around the anchor. Backing away also helps set the anchor, but be sure you back in the direction you will drift (i.e. down wind or down current, which ever will control).

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From: omc-boats-bounces@... [mailto:omc-boats-bounces@...ultimate.com] On Behalf Of ANDY PERAKES
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009 11:20 PM
To: Evinrude & Johnson Boats of the 1960's and 70's
Subject: Re: [OMC-Boats] Lets talk about anchoring...

I've not heard the 10:1 rule. I've heard more about having the right anchor for the bottom type and getting the right angle of pull for the anchor type -- and you have to be especially careful on steep shorelines because the aspect ratio pulling up hill will be dramatically different than pulling down hill. I go by different rules depending on the circumstance. If I'm with the boat and don't mind a little drift, I just feed out until it seems to hold about right. If I'm running up for lunch or leaving the boat for short (1-2 hours) periods, I'm more careful. I've only left the boat out overnight once and I'll probably not do it again because I didn't sleep well worrying about it! (It meant I had to leave the windows open on a hot night so I could listen for any wind picking up...instead of sleeping in air conditioned comfort.) I should also add that I anchor almost exclusively in loose sand where it is nearly impossible to get a guaranteed anchor bite. If everything works out perfect, the anchor will "borrow" deep into the sand, but it is very difficult and almost never works out perfect, thus my reluctance to leave the boat unattended for long (we're lake front so its pretty easy for me to keep an eye on it from the house). Boat US has done a several articles on anchoring recently. I did a search for "anchoring tips" on their website (http://www.boatus.com/) and got a mess of good hits. Most of their articles are geared more towards ocean usage and surviving a huricane, but there is a lot of good general knowledge to learn there too.

Andy

PS Congrats on getting her running. Sounds like things are going great!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Justin DeSantis" <duc1098desmo@...>
To: "Evinrude & Johnson Boats of the 1960's and 70's" <omc-boats@...mate.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2009 9:41:38 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [OMC-Boats] Lets talk about anchoring...

Ok, this isn't Johnson specific, but it is boat related, so I hope
it's ok to discuss. When I was younger, I didn't pay attention to how
things were supposed to be done. I just took my boat to the river and
played. If I wanted to anchor, I'd drop my anchor and when it hit the
bottom, I'd tie off. Now, I've read the "proper" way to anchor, and I
have to say, it doesn't seem practical. If I understand it correctly,
I drop anchor, then allow 10 times more slack than the depth of the
water? So if I drop anchor in say 20 feet of water, I need to have 200
feet of anchor line? That seems like a lot of excess for me to drift
on. I get the idea behind it, to keep the anchor line as horizontal as
possible, but it seems like it would allow me to drift quite a bit on
anchor. Not to mention how much line I have to keep on the boat. If I
want to anchor in 50 feet, I need 500 feet of line on board? And if I
want to use 2 anchors in 50 feet, I need 1000 feet of line? I'd need
to tow a row boat behind me just to keep my anchor line in. So what's
the deal with anchoring?
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Received on Friday, 4 September 2009