Anchors & Anchoring, Part 3

By Capt. John N. Raguso

In the first two installments of our three-part series on Anchors & Anchoring, we discussed the most popular types of anchors used by coastal recreational boaters, along with how to properly match the size of your hook to the length of your boat. Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, let’s put that anchor to good use.

Stowing Your Anchor

The optimum size anchor that’s best for your boat for the majority of situations you are likely to encounter when out on the briny depends on a variety of factors. We discussed anchor types in detail in last month’s column, so I won’t rehash that here. But no matter what style of hook you prefer from the Danforth, Plough, CQR, Delta/Wing, Bruce, Claw, Grapnel, etc. types, you’ll have to choose a specific size that will work best for your boat.

Before you actually get your anchor setup wet, you’ve got to figure out a way to keep it secure when underway, but ready for seamless and immediate deployment when it’s time to make things happen. There are a number of proven techniques to keep your anchor chain and line out from underfoot, but ready to be called on in a moment’s notice. One of the classic “old school” setups mounts the anchor horizontally in a trio of chock mounts, where the hook (usually a Danforth-type due to its flat shape) is kept in place with chrome/brass or stainless steel deck-mounted hardware that captures the crown and the two forward fluke tips, keeping them firmly in place when underway. The chain and line, a.k.a. the “rode”, usually is accessed from an anchor locker down below via a deck fitting/lid, also called a hawse pipe. This proven method is simple, sturdy and cost-effect. The downside is the hardware weathers extremely fast and it’s a potential shin-knocker. Yet another method to stow your anchor is the bow pulpit approach. The anchor is either set at the very end of the fiberglass or wood structure, or located somewhere in the center of it, employing an opening with a roller to cut down on the unit’s overall length and nuisance factor. Anyone who has ever backed into a slip in a cross-wind, surrounded by the neighboring boats’ bow pulpits with sharp flukes, shanks and stocks facing in every direction dreads these like the plague.

One of the more contemporary methods of stowing your hook is via a built-in vertical cradle in the forepeak of your vessel, accessed by a flush hatch. Many center consoles, walkarounds and dual consoles feature this anchor locker setup that will store anywhere from 300-to-600 feet of rode, along with a Danforth-type anchor in the 8-to-15 lb range. Yet another popular anchor setup is the stainless steel anchor roller, which is a fraction of the size and liability of the typical bow pulpit. It essentially operates the same way, but with a much smaller footprint. My EdgeWater 228 CC has this type of a setup, which was originally supported by an electric windlass. The stock windlass metered-out line too slowly for my tastes (it wasn’t “free fall”), so I ditched it after the second season and replaced it with a large hawse pipe, which will release the rode out of my roomy forward anchor locker as fast as my 14-lb Delta wing anchor and 12-feet of ¼-inch chain can sink it to the bottom.

A next-gen anchor storage and release setup that is one of my favorites is the “through stem” anchor chute that is becoming more popular on the higher-end outboard sportfishers like Grady-White, Pursuit, Regulator, etc. This approach offers the lowest profile of any of the aforementioned pulpit or roller setups and is usually combined with a winch, remote electric control, a freshwater washdown hose to clean up the hardware at the end of the day, plus some sort of anchor safety clip. The chute hardware includes a stainless steel protector plate that wraps over the outboard section of the fiberglass bow to protect it from any potential dings when snugging up the anchor for the ride home. Low-profile Delta wing-type anchors typically work best for both the mini bow rollers and the through-stem chutes.

Tips On How To Deploy And Set Your Anchor

1-Determine the depth of water where you want to drop your hook.

2-Look at your paper chart or electronic chart plotter to ascertain the seabed type where you want to hold your ground. Sandy bottoms will usually give you the least amount of headaches. Mud, grass and/or rocky bottoms make it more challenging to stay put.

3-Once you have identified your fave beach spot, idle uptide the appropriate distance to drop your hook. For example, if I want to end up in 10-feet of water near a nice beach or quiet cove, the optimum 7-to-1 scope that we discussed in last month’s article (recommended by at BoatUS) dictates that I need 70-feet (7 x 10) of rode to get the job done. I would pick a spot approximately 70-feet or so uptide of my intended anchorage, gently release the anchor from the roller, wait for it to hit bottom and let the boat drift down current.

4-About halfway to my intended anchorage, I would wrap the rode around a cleat, giving the rode an occasional tug to promote a quick set.

5-Once the anchor bites in, I will slowly release the remaining rode to achieve my desired depth/scope ratio and perform a figure-8 knot around the forward cleat.

6-To confirm that the anchor is not dragging, I’ll either hit the save button on my chartplotter or take two visual land ranges to determine if the anchor is holding fast or slipping. Either method will let you know if you are tight or drifting away. Periodic checks on your position are always a good idea.

7-If I am concerned about changing tides or shifting winds, I will deploy a smaller “lunch hook” anchor that is rigged with minimal rode and chain, tying it either amidships or off the stern in the shallower end of the hideaway. This should keep you fast, even if environmental conditions change a bit.

Retrieving Your Anchor

If your boat is equipped with a windlass, retrieving the hook at day’s end is fairly easy. Start up the boat, idle towards where the anchor is set and use the windlass to pick up the rode in route. This modus operandi minimizes strain on the windlass motor, but be careful not to motor forward too fast…you can potentially wrap the anchor line around your prop! If you don’t have a windless, the classic anchor ball retrieval technique works with a minimum of fuss. To execute this approach, tie the anchor line around a mid-ship cleat; snap a ring and A2 float over the line; head uptide at a 30-degree angle to the opposite side of where the rode is tied off (don’t run over your line). Once you pass by the anchoring spot and head upwind, the buoyancy of the A2 float will pop the anchor up off the bottom, creating a big surface commotion. At that point take the boat out of gear, hand line the “weightless” anchor and chain back to the boat, stow the anchor and rode and head back to home port.