Stern Anchors

[jclays]

Sitting in the slip next to me is this large fast center console. However, what caught my eye is the stern anchor. IMO, it's wrong in so many ways (stainless, no chain, wrong style anchor, hidden drum or winching device, and makes it near impossible to use the port stern platform), but an interesting concept non the less.

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Ted

Nothing wrong with stainless. He wants bling with that boat. Will work as well as galvanize.
Some chain would be nice but not necessary if he is only using it to keep him in place.
Why is it a wrong style anchor? A Bruce style anchor works just fine in most situations.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I wish I had such a nice anchor and nice set up as the picture. I keep my stern anchor in the lazerette and it is a bit of a hassle to get at .

pete

 

[Nomad Willy]

When you have two anchors w a boat in the middle the beam wind will more than double the tension on each rode.

I’ve never anchored w an anchor out at both ends for this reason.

 

[SteveK]

When you have two anchors w a boat in the middle the beam wind will more than double the tension on each rode.

I’ve never anchored w an anchor out at both ends for this reason.

Why would anyone anchor like that on purpose?
Dual anchors have a place when needed, similar to stern tie when swing room is limited.

 

[hollywood8118]

I have been lots of places where a stern anchor was necessary, its not rocket science.
Often the stern hook does nothing but keep the boat pointed into the swell.
Hollywood

 

[SteveK]

I stern anchored at the foot of Chatterbox falls in the current from the outflow so that we could sit in the cockpit of out sailboat and look at the falls.

 

[Benthic2]

When I ran the skiff ( in my avatar ) and took the family to the beach my stern anchor was up on the beach in dry sand, so no chain needed.

 

[psneeld]

There are often many reasons to do things other boaters would "never" do.

Usually because they have never experienced them at all, not enough or actually believe what some other inexperienced boater told them or boating magazine write has written.

Cruise in different geographic regions, talk with owners of boats for different reasons other than putting around, discuss things with boaters of different levels of experience, etc, etc. and learn many new and useful things.... never think there is an end to learning new tricks.

 

[O C Diver]

Sitting in the slip next to me is this large fast center console. However, what caught my eye is the stern anchor. IMO, it's wrong in so many ways (stainless, no chain, wrong style anchor, hidden drum or winching device, and makes it near impossible to use the port stern platform), but an interesting concept non the less.

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Ted

Regarding my reasoning:

Stainless is for people who don't plan to use their anchor.

Chain helps with short scope and often keeps the rope from getting cut on debris or rocks.

While I like an original Bruce and have one as a second anchor on my boat, they're not a good short scope anchor. When stern anchoring (bow and stern), the stern anchor is often line (scope) limited and helps to use a short scope anchor.

Can't imagine having to fix a winch or drum problem in a closed compartment when trying to recover an anchor.

A good anchor deployment system shouldn't become a trip hazzard to getting on and off the boat. Also don't want to be tripping on it when working on the Port outboard.

Ted

 

[Mako]

There are often many reasons to do things other boaters would "never" do..... never think there is an end to learning new tricks.

Well said. A few years ago I posted how when I was in the Persian Gulf I anchored exclusively with polypropylene rode. Wow, imagine the negative feedback.

However, that area around Doha and The Pearl were rife with large limestone outcroppings. Looked like the surface of the moon down there and was sharp as coral. Floating my line off the bottom with poly worked fabulously. I only had one instance of another boat nearly fouling my floating line, but that was my screwup as I drifted my boat back to the beach and wound up anchored on like 40:1 scope. Ha!

 

[rgano]

RickyD, I watched a sailboater in Canada do the same thing, except he didn't drop a stern anchor. He motored into the anchorage at a decent speed, dropped the anchor, and continued on until the anchor caught and spun him around. I've never seen anyone do that.

That's how we set "beach gear" from my 1600-ton Navy salvage tug. First, we surveyed the grounded vessel and its environs to find and buoy the 20-foot bottom contour (we drew 16 feet). With several hundred feet of heavy wire cable secured by light manila line in loops draped over the side from the 4000-pound Eels anchor near the stern leading forward to the hawse pipe we headed toward the beach at five knots. Everything, including my Navy career, depended on that anchor being let go at just the right place (waaay pre-GPS). If it failed to go over the side and dropped late, we were stuck heading to the beach with all that cable snapping off the sides hopping we might be able to reverse the single 14-foot diameter prop without getting it snarled in the wire. Soon after the anchor went over the side and with the wire pulling free of the side, I'd go to all stop, and let the anchor and cable whip us around 180 degrees as we came to the end of the cable. Had enough fun for the day, captain? Oh, no, we buoyed the first set of beach gear and went out and did it again off the other side with our second Eels anchor to end up with our stern grazing the line of buoys we had set at the 20-foot contour and the whale boat bringing us a line to the buoy of the first set of beach gear. Both sets were connected to a nine-part wire tackle laid out on deck used to hep us exert about 90 tons of straight line pull at high tide with the engine going ahead full. We had a saying often shouted at other ships' companies, "You may be in the Navy, and you may be on a ship, but if you ain't salvage, you ain't sh*t!"