Chesepeake anchor/East Coast set up?

B

bshillam

Member
As a transplant from the PNW I am purchasing a new anchor set up for our Dory. The anchor that is currently on the boat is a joke. I wouldn't trust it to hold a tender let alone our Dory overnight. :sad
With that said, what do you have for ground tackle?
Anchor
Chain
Rode?
I am going to be using the boat 90%+ in the rivers and bay here in the Chesepeake so I'd like to hear from locals too.
 
I use a Lewmar knock off 14 pound anchor 20' of 1/4 chain with 200' of three strand 1/2" rode. I have a profish Lewmar series 700 windless with a self deploying bow roller. It's what came with the boat from Wefings. My shackle pins are safety wired so they can't fall out. For a backup I carry 20' of 1/4 chain 200' of three strand 1/2"rode with a aluminum Fortress anchor that only weighs about seven pounds but it can be carried disassembled.It has pretty large flukes and looks like it would hold us no problem in a sand or soft bottom situation. The Chesapeke is mostly a sandy muddy bottom. There are rocks but by and large it is made up of mostly soft bottom like sand and mud.. The Fortress is rated for a bigger boat than our 23'. Some say the chain used on an anchor setup should be as long as your boat. Happy Trails.
D.D.
 
We boated the bay for many years in small cruisers. The best set up we had we
as a Fortress with about 15 foot of chain. You must use the mud ears on the Fortress to get it to dig into the soft bay mud.
We always slept soundly after we backed the anchor into the mud.

We also had good results with a standard Danforth with about 10 foot of chain. With our soft bay bottom you do not need a lot of chain to prevent rode wear.
 
bshillam-

This may be an overkill for the Lower Chesapeake Bay area with a 14# DELTA, anchor swivel, 15' 1/4" chain and 300' rode with markersand a remote LEWMAR Windlass, H600. I do not like to go forward on the bow of the CD25 in a single op situation and frankly, I can't without unsnapping my camper back.

I also carry a backup Danforth 12# with 300' 1/2" rode.

The one thing abt the anchoring here is the mud and other stuff that you bring aboard when retrieving, especially after a nite on a back water creek. A wash down back in port or swinging the anchor under the bow to drive the mud, etc., off the rode and chain; else add a wash down system to your wish list with a long hose to the bow. Most of the time it comes off, but what a stink and mess if you do not take care of it.

Art
 
bshillam":3aaaxko8 said:
With that said, what do you have for ground tackle?
Anchor
Chain
Rode?
I am going to be using the boat 90%+ in the rivers and bay here in the Chesepeake so I'd like to hear from locals too.
Click to expand...

We sailed the Chesapeake Bay for more than 20 years (32-foot-long sailboat). We began with a faithful Danforth hi-tensile 12-pounder, but then switched to a 22 pound Bruce -- that we really liked, and which never failed us.

Our CD-25 came with a 22 Bruce (which is a hurricane anchor for Muse) but we use it routinely. I bought a new rode (10" of 1/4" G4 chain and 150' of 1/2" 8-plait
rope) which fits our Simpson-Lawrence windlass perfectly and matches the anchor's capabilities.
 
teflonmom":3r67vop8 said:
We boated the bay for many years in small cruisers. The best set up we had we
as a Fortress with about 15 foot of chain. You must use the mud ears on the Fortress to get it to dig into the soft bay mud.
We always slept soundly after we backed the anchor into the mud.

We also had good results with a standard Danforth with about 10 foot of chain. With our soft bay bottom you do not need a lot of chain to prevent rode wear.
Click to expand...

The length of chain being equal to the boat is not so much to prevent rode wear, but to add weight to keep the anchor bite down and into the bottom. That weight keeps the pull on the anchor low, and parallel to the bottom.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
The Chesapeake has a lot of mud, so the question is: what anchor is best in mud? ALL anchors are good in sand.

We've tried a CQR, a plow anchor anchor, and it plowed in Cheaspeake/Deltaville which is mud. We tried a Manson Supreme in the PNW and it plowed in mud, though it's great in rock or seaweed/grass. I've tried a small Fortress in Weed, and it wasn't heavy enough to set.

So, I'd get a Danforth, which works in mud as well as rocks and grass, as well as being strong. We also use a Bruce/claw which is good in mud/rocks, but doesn't have a sharp edge to set in grass. The Danforth also has the advantage that it's cheap. Overkill is better than small, size matters.

Also, we use about 50' of 1/4" HT chain, which our Lewmar windlass accepts. More chain than most, but it really sets. Speaking of winches, if you get one, get a horizontal winch, as opposed to a vertical. Several (me included,) have had trouble with mud/sand leaking into the gearbox/motor through the top seal.

Boris
 
I think I'd be safe with the set up on my CD-22 below:

1. Fortress FX-16 Danforth style anchor of aluminum-magesium alloy with Mud Paws rated for up to 33-38 ft boats. Shank angle adjusts from 32 degrees for sand to 45 degrees for mud. Anchor weighs 10 pounds and replaces 14-18 pound steel anchors. Thataway Bob has said that the Fortress was the best anchor he has tested in mud, and is excellent in sand.

2. 100 ft of 1/4 inch G-40 High Test galvanized chain.

3. 200 ft 1/2 three-strand nylon New England Ropes rode.

4. Quick Aires 500 winch for safe retrieval from the cabin.

IM001970.jpg
 
I think another bit of good advice for anyone anchoring in mudddy bottoms is to rig a trip line to the anchor to help in retrieving it after it has worked itself deep into the heavy goo. there is usually a hole at or near the base for this purpose. I use to use a bruce on a sailboat we had in the SF bay and delta and after just about having to cut it free after spending a couple nights anchored up in the delta mud, I always had a trip line to help pull it free base first. It wasn't caught on anything, it had just dug into some very heavy, thick mud until it was so heavy I had to use a sheet winch and a lot of sweat to free it.
Rich
 
Seawolf Joe said:

"....1. Fortress FX-16 Danforth style anchor of aluminum-magesium alloy with Mud Paws rated for up to 33-38 ft boats. Shank angle adjusts from 32 degrees for sand to 45 degrees for mud. Anchor weighs 10 pounds and replaces 14-18 pound steel anchors."
Click to expand...

Joe, is there a good reason to not leave the shank angle set at the 45 degrees in stead of at the 32? I'm thinking you might get a quicker bite, and less chance of drag with it at the greater angle.

Curious,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
hardee":dqnl7ldy said:
Seawolf Joe said:

"....1. Fortress FX-16 Danforth style anchor of aluminum-magesium alloy with Mud Paws rated for up to 33-38 ft boats. Shank angle adjusts from 32 degrees for sand to 45 degrees for mud. Anchor weighs 10 pounds and replaces 14-18 pound steel anchors."
Click to expand...

Joe, is there a good reason to not leave the shank angle set at the 45 degrees in stead of at the 32? I'm thinking you might get a quicker bite, and less chance of drag with it at the greater angle.

Curious,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
Click to expand...

Harvey-

My understanding is that the steeper 45 degree fluke angle is intended to get a greater bite in soft mud, where the shallower 32 degree angle would drag through the soft, viscous, somewhat liquid like mud matrix.

The shallower 32 degree angle setting works better in true sand, which is quite dense, and, apparently, set that way, the anchor buries itself and holds fine according to the Fortress manufacturer's tests.

I'd guess that the 45 degree fluke angle in dense sand would try to penetrate too deeply, too quickly, and instead would drag across the surface rather than penetrate.

Most anchor tests I've read do rate the Fortress either the best or right near the top in sand and mud.

The Fortress is, of course, just a refinement of the Danforth anchor, made out of hardened alloys, sharpened, and refined in several other ways, including the adjustable fluke angle and added mud paws.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
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