appropriate kedge anchor

[boogiediver]

I am planning to raft up with a*few boats soon and would like to have on board a kedge anchor for that (and for use as required*when we are anchored on our own).

I've already got a CQR-type anchor of about 20 or 25 kg up front. What should I be looking for in way of a kedge? Hopefully something much lighter and stowable! Are kedge anchors those grapnel-type things?

BTW, my boat is 34' and somewhere between 7,000-10,000 kg (the Chinese builders say 10,000, but the original design without flybridge and without the 2' hull extention is supposed to be 7,000 kg.... I doubt mine is really 3,000 kg heavier than the base model).

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Marin]

I've not heard the term "kedge" anchor applied to an actual anchor type. Kedging is the process of taking an anchor out in a ship's boat (or your dinghy), dropping it some distance from the parent ship or boat, and then setting and pulling against this anchor to haul the main vessel off the bottom. Any anchor that will set and hold in the bottom type will work as a "kedge anchor." At least that 's the way I understand it.

A Fortress sized to be the main anchor for your boat would be a good choice for light weight and holding power....IF..... the bottoms you boat over are conducive to using a Danforth-type anchor. If you anchor in sand or mud a Fortress would be ideal. If you anchor over rocky bottoms or weedy bottoms I don't think a Fortress would be the best choice.

Our yacht club has cruises to a few locations during the year when we raft up to 15 boats (or more). In addition to bow anchors being deployed by every fourth or fifth boat, we also put out some stern anchors and some anchors angled off from either end of the raft. The anchors that are used for the stern and "angled" anchors are regular anchors. We "donate" our Fortress and stern rode for use as one of the angled-off anchors. I've not heard the term "kedge" used for this function, but perhaps that is another use for the term.

The grapple-type anchors are good for dinghies and perhaps for "normal" boats in extremely rocky bottoms where they will snag and hold against boulders or whatever on the bottom. But I can't see them holding any substantial weight in sand, mud, gravel, etc.

 

[Nomad Willy]

The Kedge anchor is what they used on pirate ships and most other ships of the day. Now it's usually called a fishermans anchor. Also the Hereshoff anchor is a relatively modern version of the kedge. The cross piece of the kedge folds along the shank so they can be stowed flat on deck. Holding power is about half that of most modern anchors but works fine on hard and weed bottoms as well as rocky. It requires very little chain and holds fairly well on short scope. A beautiful Hereshoff anchor in bronze is availible but only up to 22 lb. The common use today of the kedge anchor is for long line fishing. Most of these anchors are sorta crude looking cast iron that are quite inexpensive. I learned this stuff while shopping for my XYZ anchor. I forgot about the anchor topic I started last spring and will tend to that now.

 

[boogiediver]

Thanks for your replies. A very salty English sailor used the term Kadge to describe a stern anchor which - yes - is to be rowed out for the purpose described by Marin. I suspect that if its purpose is to stabilize ONE boat against changing wind or tide, it shouldn't really have to be as big as the main anchor, unless you are expecting the wind/tide to change direction by 180 degrees (or almost that much). I'm trying to convince my self I should go out and buy a second anchor for this purpose, but - as much as wanting to save money - I want to save on weight!

 

[Marin]

That's why we dumped the heavy, awkward (and bent) Danforth knock-off our boat came with as a stern anchor and substituted a Fortress. Even though the Fortress is sized to be the main anchor of the boat if needed, it's light enough (less than 20 lbs) to be easily rowed out in the dinghy and deployed as a stern anchor. And since it's so light and easy to handle we are much more inclined to use it as a stern anchor when conditions warrant rather than not bother because the stern anchor is too heavy and cumbersome to manhandle around, and thus suffer the consequences of not putting out a stern anchor.

 

[FF]

And since it's so light and easy to handle we are much more inclined to use it as a stern anchor when conditions warrant rather than not bother because the stern anchor is too heavy and cumbersome to manhandle around, and thus suffer the consequences of not putting out a stern anchor.


The trick with Danforths is to only use the H series.

On our 90/90 we use a 12H as stern anchor , and on the 50 ft'er an 20H does the trick.

To me the big advantage of the aluminum Fortress is the ability to carry a biggie with ease.

On the 90/90 a 60H was the storm anchor , since replaced with a similar sized fortress.

Loads easier to bring up from below.