Stern Anchors

[M. Shul]

In my boating area, which is Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands the use of a both bow and stern anchors to anchor close to a beach or to keep the northerly ground swell on the bow is very common. What surprises me is the very few, if any, vessels that come with a serious stern anchor. I was wondering if I am missing something and that there is something inherently dangerous or just wrong about have a stern anchor that is robust as a bow anchor?

 

[psneeld]

Stern anchors can cause problems but inherently dangerous is a stretch. Size of vessel, design of vessel and environmental conditions used in are major factors in determining risks.

It is something I personally don't have a lot of experience in, but I can definitely see where personal experience with a particular boat and setup is necessary to determine the safe limits of use.

 

[O C Diver]

I use a stern anchor occasionally to hold the boat parallel to a waterway and close to shore. My choice is a much lighter anchor (Fortress FX11) with a stretchy 1/2" 3 strand nylon rode and 10:1 scope. This is for lighter winds or minimal current. I have no desire to anchor my squared off stern into seas or strong current. If I had a canoe stern, I might feel differently.

Ted

 

[Pete Meisinger]

A stern anchor is not really an anchor. The bow anchor does all the real work of keeping your boat safe and comfortable. The stern anchor just eliminates "drift", it can be much lighter and can have a rope rhode as opposed to 30 or 50 feet of chain. Therefore it is easier to handle and stow. Keep it simple.

pete

 

[Hippocampus]

Not part of PR navy(lol) but know what you’re referring to. Have on occasion run a line and tied it to shore to effect the same thing. See people carrying tape on a roll attached to a stern rail as it takes up less room.
I’m a wimp. Always been nervous about a stern anchor thinking with one out it would take me longer to get out of Dodge quickly. Tying to land seems more common is some places. Perhaps one of our Pacific Northwest folks could give more information.

 

[rslifkin]

A stern anchor (or shore tie) is sometimes the only way to anchor in a given place. But I'd generally advise against using either method unless it's necessary (due to extra complication, holding power concerns if you're taking wind on the beam, etc.)

 

[ScottC]

Use of a stern anchor in Scandinavia is common (think bow tied to a tree or a steel peg driven into a crevice between two large rocks). I have a collapsible Fortress for a stern anchor. It's light weight and compact, even though it is over-sized for my boat. I also consider this to be a backup anchor, should I ever be unfortunate enough to lose my bow anchor.

 

[jungpeter]

In my boating area, which is Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands the use of a both bow and stern anchors to anchor close to a beach or to keep the northerly ground swell on the bow is very common. What surprises me is the very few, if any, vessels that come with a serious stern anchor. I was wondering if I am missing something and that there is something inherently dangerous or just wrong about have a stern anchor that is robust as a bow anchor?

Hi M. Shul. Nothing inherently dangerous about using a stern anchor that is a robust as a bow anchor. However, there are very, very few recreational power boats equipped with anchor handling gear at the stern capable of handling typically more-robust bow anchor gear to be deployed astern. Hence, stern anchor gear is virtually always only as large as can be handled by one crewmember by hand, off the transom. Light anchors, short chain, rope rode.

And yes, there are anchor handling practices that can accommodate significant rode and anchor weights astern. Not difficult nor dangerous, but usually a PIA.

Anchoring practices are usually regional. As others have noted, here in the PNW common practice is a stern tie ashore, vice a stern anchor. In SoCal, in the few anchorage areas available, stern anchors are the norm, typically to increase the packing factor in an anchorage area. And as noted, stern anchors and/or shore ties are typically not used in extreme weather or tidal conditions. Hence, little need for robust stern gear.

Regards,

Pete

 

[jungpeter]

Not part of PR navy(lol) but know what you’re referring to. Have on occasion run a line and tied it to shore to effect the same thing. See people carrying tape on a roll attached to a stern rail as it takes up less room.
I’m a wimp. Always been nervous about a stern anchor thinking with one out it would take me longer to get out of Dodge quickly. Tying to land seems more common is some places. Perhaps one of our Pacific Northwest folks could give more information.

Hi Hippocampus. As you note, stern ties are standard practice in the PNW, usually due to the silly-deep and steep anchorages in our fjords, and ease of shore access. Everybody around here has his/her own rig, optimized for their vessel, their crew, and their level of hassleation they're willing to put up with. How to rig 'em and how to use 'em stern tie articles are all over the WWW.

Piece of cake to "get out of Dodge quickly" using a stern anchor. Simply tie a bumper large enough to float the tag end of the rode to the stern anchor rode, dump the whole mess overboard, and return later to recover off either end of the boat, whichever is easier. Just like how you bail out of a bow anchor that's hung in a pinch.

Regards,

Pete

 

[ancora]

On our annual yacht club raft-ups, stern anchors are needed to keep the raft-up from swinging. We alternate with one boat putting out a bow anchor with the next boat deploying a stern anchor.

 

[Giggitoni]

A stern anchor is not really an anchor. The bow anchor does all the real work of keeping your boat safe and comfortable. The stern anchor just eliminates "drift", it can be much lighter and can have a rope rhode as opposed to 30 or 50 feet of chain. Therefore it is easier to handle and stow. Keep it simple.

pete

Occasionally we will use a stern anchor in an area with reversing tidal current. Therefore, we use a stern anchor of equal holding capacity as our bow anchor.

 

[porman]

We will use a stern anchor when at the head of a narrow inlet and no other boats are around. It keeps us from swinging into a bank when the tide changes. We use a Bruce anchor with 50 feet of chain and I forget how much line. It's kept in a plastic bin that I throw in the dinghy and take out after the bow is set.

 

[Lepke]

Any anchor is part of your safety systems. Your stern anchor needs to hold in any condition you might encounter. It's better to have too much anchor than too little.

 

[jclays]

Good morning
I have a Mainship 350. My stern/backup anchor is a 22lb Danforth copy modified to open to 45 degrees to be a mud anchor. It has 150ft of 5/8 three strand line with 15ft of 5/16 chain.
My main is a 44lb genuine Bruce with 100ft of 5/16 HT chain and 300ft of 5/8 three strand New England line.

 

[fgarriso]

In open water we always run a bow only with 1/2" chain, The boat can swing on the hook as the current, winds, and tides change.

For anchoring in close we will use bow and stern to stop the swing, and hold the boat in place.

 

[RickyD]

I used to almost always deploy a stern hook in my 32ft sailboat. My favorite anchorage was under Long Point Light on Catalina Island So. Calif. Don't yell at me but I'd motor towards shore and when I got a depth of 45' I'd let the bow anchor go while continuing to motor forward. The chain drop kept it away from my prop. When I got to about 10' of water I'd snub the bow anchor line. My inertia would set the anchor and spin me around. Then I'd toss out my stern hook and then pull in the bow anchor until I had enough scope to set the stern. Happy as a clam being in the nook under Long Point with my bow facing any wave or wakes. In Aquarius I try not to use the stern hook much because with a much larger boat even my Fortress FX37 stern anchor with chain requires some effort. When I do, I set the bow anchor then motor my stern hood out for setting. When we fight a cross current or wind it is a long heavy pull to get that Fortress to release from the bottom. Generally I feel like it is permanently stuck but constant pressure SLOWLY pulls it out.

 

[Bmarler]

I used to almost always deploy a stern hook in my 32ft sailboat. My favorite anchorage was under Long Point Light on Catalina Island So. Calif. Don't yell at me but I'd motor towards shore and when I got a depth of 45' I'd let the bow anchor go while continuing to motor forward. The chain drop kept it away from my prop. When I got to about 10' of water I'd snub the bow anchor line. My inertia would set the anchor and spin me around. Then I'd toss out my stern hook and then pull in the bow anchor until I had enough scope to set the stern. Happy as a clam being in the nook under Long Point with my bow facing any wave or wakes. In Aquarius I try not to use the stern hook much because with a much larger boat even my Fortress FX37 stern anchor with chain requires some effort. When I do, I set the bow anchor then motor my stern hood out for setting. When we fight a cross current or wind it is a long heavy pull to get that Fortress to release from the bottom. Generally I feel like it is permanently stuck but constant pressure SLOWLY pulls it out.

I had a buddy the used to set his cqr like that. Worked very well for him. I always ran a Bruce, and that technique didn’t work for me. I found the Bruce needed a softer initial pull and then a hard pull after it started to set.

 

[DavidM]

I used a stern anchor to anchor out in Catalina a few times. There the swells are often crosswise to the wind and a stern anchor keeps you pointed into them. It can be very uncomfortable being hit with crosswise swells, so the stern anchor solves that.

But a stern anchor in that situation doesn't need to be as heavy as the bow. In Catalina you are often anchored in as much as 100' so you need lots of chain and at least 300' of rode. My stern anchor was half the weight of my bow anchor- Bruce vs a Rocna and 200' was enough to keep me pointed into the swells without dragging.

David

 

[porman]

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.

 

[GoneDiving]

Don't yell at me but I'd motor towards shore and when I got a depth of 45' I'd let the bow anchor go while continuing to motor forward....

I had a buddy the used to set his cqr like that. Worked very well for him. I always ran a Bruce, and that technique didn’t work for me. I found the Bruce needed a softer initial pull and then a hard pull after it started to set.

What's your reverse process to pull up and move on?

 

[guy with a boat]

While it apparently works for some, I would’t use a stern anchor with a reversing current. That seems high on the list of situations that would call for swinging on a single anchor.

Also I think it makes sense for the stern anchor to be smaller in most situations. In addition to being more manageable, consider what happens when bad weather happens unexpectedly. I would want the small anchor to drag/pull before the main anchor and keep the pointy end into the weather. Its not hard to imagine a scenario of hanging stern-first into weather on a big stern anchor and that wouldn’t be great.

 

[jleonard]

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.

I've seen that method many times, always by sail boaters.

 

[psneeld]

Drop and spin...do it every so often myself, been doing it less so with all chain rode though. Guess your scope versus speed wrong and it is more jolt than necessary.

Guess it comes from my sailboat hotdoggin' days and emergency anchor drops when the engine quit a lot for a few years (in both trawler and assistance towboat).

 

[Mako]

Of course, drop and spin. That was the only way I could anchor back when I sailed without an engine

 

[mvmahal]

We are also in the USVI/PR area. We have a Fortress anchor that we used alot in the VI. We used it once or twice here in PR as well as a 2nd anchor but not for the stern. Think its great to have. Just make sure you have a strategy for launching and retrieval.

 

[Mlhess86]

The anchoring setup is a preference in my opinion. I think the stern anchor tends to be lighter weight often because it is not setup easily to deploy. But that is probably the only reason. I often anchor in a narrow channel where the current run both directions. I use a 60 lbs Bruce on both ends in that situation. There are parts of the world that is more typical to “med more” with the bow facing the beach and a stern anchor deployed and the bow tied to the tree or ring.

 

[gilbertpark]

Stern Anchor

I have always carried a "stern" anchor, used it to anchor in a tight spot in combination with the main. However, on one occasion I was anchored in Totland Bay (Isle of Wight UK) on a calm windless evening and put down my Bruce with 20m of chain and 10m nylon put my new (to me) boat into reverse and the stainless bow roller immediately cut through the nylon rode! I watched it disappear over the side. Fortunately, I had a "stern" (read spare) anchor (a Fortress) that I put together and spent the night nice and secure. Lesson learnt, nylon is easily cut through by a not so sharp piece of stainless.

 

[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.





Ted

 

[Mako]

Ted, that setup makes sense. Lots of fishermen anchor from the stern. I wouldn't in open ocean, like those guys who went down tied stern-to at the oil rig. BTW, even though no chain on that rig, the Bruce looks to be way-way oversized for the boat, so short scoping probably isn't an issue for the few hours they are setup.

 

[Bmarler]

i bet there's a cable drum hidden within.