Digging Into Ground Tackle

Anchor Evaluations and Anecdotes by Associate Editor Marty Loken

Much of the time, while denying an interest in speed, we focus attention on how to keep our small boats moving, or moving faster—stewing quietly over whether we have the most efficient sails, rigging hardware or even electronic devices to help improve performance. We like to make the most of what we’ve got, whether sailing a Potter 15 or a racy little catamaran. Less often do we seriously consider how to keep our boats completely stopped—anchored properly and safely, with the best equipment for the job.

When it comes to anchors, it turns out we are creatures of habit—maybe including some old and unhealthy habits. We rely on the tried-and-true, the familiar, and maybe even the unreliable…simply because the old standard is what we grew up with.

A few months ago we polled Small Craft Advisor readers on the subject of anchors used, along with related equipment, on boats up to 22 feet on deck. We asked about types and brands of anchors; the kinds of sea bottoms you’re typically setting your anchors in; the boats you’re rowing, sailing or motoring; whether you’ve changed your ground-tackle preferences through experience, and what kinds of war stories you might be willing to share on the anchoring subject. And more.

Congratulations—you came through with a trove of responses. Some were surprising, many about what we expected, and all of your comments were fascinating. The central message coming out of the survey might be that too many of us continue to rely on older-design anchors that in some cases might put us and our boats in danger. Without overdramatizing, it might be time for many of us to take a fresh look at anchors we’re using and consider upgrading to designs that score higher in comparative ground-tackle tests.

Here are some basic results of our survey:

BOATS OWNED BY READERS

Before we get to anchors themselves, it’s important to know the kinds of boats SCA readers are anchoring, since a survey of much larger, heavier boats might produce wholly different results. Boats owned by survey respondents ranged from 12 to 22 feet overall, averaging 16'-6" on deck. Most of our boats have light displacement—they’re often manufactured trailer sailboats with a healthy smattering of homebuilt wooden boats. Few of them weigh more than about 1,500 pounds, fully loaded, and many are down in the 600-900-pound range.

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The most prevalent sailboats owned by readers taking part in the survey were, in top-to-bottom order:

Com-Pac 16

O’Day Mariner 19

West Wight Potter 19

West Wight Potter 15

Sea Pearl 21

Scamp (11'-11")

Montgomery 15

Peep Hen (14'-2") and Mud Hen (17'-4")

Montgomery 17

Welsford Navigator (14'-9") and Pathfinder (17'-4")

Wayfarer 16

San Francisco Pelican (12')

Dovekie (21')

Cape Dory Typhoon (18'-6")

Core Sound 17

CLC Northeaster Dory (17')

Drascombe Lugger (18') and Longboat (21'-9")

Sage 17

Devlin Nancy’s China (15'-3")

…and scores of other designs, builders and models.

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FAVORITE ANCHORS

Our readers are using everything from the most expensive, high-tech anchors on the market, down to coffee cans filled with concrete (one brave respondent). We’ll get more deeply into the characteristics of each anchor type a bit farther down, but here are SCA readers’ most-often-deployed anchors:

Anchor Brand or Type / % of Respondents

Danforth, or Danforth-type 53%

Bruce, or Bruce-type claw (some Lewmar) 17%

Rocna, Manson, Mantus, other spade style 7%

Delta or similar plow type, fixed shank 5%

Mushroom type 4%

Folding grapnel type 4%

Fortress aluminum alloy (Danforth style) 3%

CQR articulated plow 3%

Fisherman type 2%

Navy type 1%

Other 1%

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EVALUATING DIFFERENT ANCHORS