Guess I was wrong

[Chrisc]

We are 6 weeks into a 3 month cruise around NZ in our H28, and so far the winds have been pretty fresh with a sub tropical low thrown in for good measure. I have always favoured the low tech approach in nautical matters and admit that when it comes to anchoring, did not see the need to progress too much beyond a rock tied to a bit of rope.
I got a bit tired of plowing up the bottom of a few bays with my Bruce when the wind got up to the 40 knot mark, so I went and bought a state of the art high tech Manson Supreme.
I have to admit, they're really pretty darned good!!

[Neptune's Gear]

Yep, just wait till you get 70knots over the deck somewhere down south! Hope you bought a decent chain as well!! All the modern anchors (Manson Supreme, Rocna, SARCA etc) are very good. Have you made or bought a decent snubber? Should be nylon, and long - 5m. In strong conditions it makes being at anchor way more comfortable, and takes the load off the anchor winch. Most people make them too short...

A trip around NZ in an H28 will be an adventure! Have a great time. A report on crew.org.nz - the online home of New Zealand sailing of your story would be great!

[JonJo]

Originally Posted by Neptune's Gear

Yep, just wait till you get 70knots over the deck somewhere down south! Hope you bought a decent chain as well!! All the modern anchors (Manson Supreme, Rocna, SARCA etc) are very good. Have you made or bought a decent snubber? Should be nylon, and long - 5m. In strong conditions it makes being at anchor way more comfortable, and takes the load off the anchor winch. Most people make them too short...

A trip around NZ in an H28 will be an adventure! Have a great time. A report on crew.org.nz - the online home of New Zealand sailing of your story would be great!

I'd go a bit further a 10m snubber either 3 strand or anchor plait nylon and for a 28' yacht I'd look at 10mm or 12mm - much thinner and it will not be strong enough much thicker and it will not stretch (and absorb the load). Tie off the snubber to a strong point on the yacht, have enough slack chain to allow the snubber to stretch and ensure you lock of the chain as well - snubbers do break. You do not want any load on the windlass. If you are going to enjoy 70 knots across the deck (then you are not anchored in someplace I'd call an anchorage) but you might want to have a storm snubber as well, say 14mm - same length. And if being exposed to 70 knots is common place and your Supreme is correctly sized (whatever that means?!) then you might want a storm anchor and you cannot go past a Fortress for holding capacity in sand or mud.

Jonathan

[noelex 77]

NZ does get some tough weather. NZ sailors are always very competent as a result of this exposure.

The Manson Supreme is a great anchor. Bruce anchors seem to work much better in larger sizes so owners of smaller boats, in particular, should notice a big improvement. A detailed report of your experiences of the change would be great.

I agree with call for a longer snubber especially in these extreme conditions. I tend to break a lot of snubbers, but getting some better quality line and taking a lot of care over chafe seems to have solved the problem. Some boats seem to manage successfully with quite thin snubbers (such as the 10mm climbing rope used on Estarzinger's 47 foot boat).

Replacing snubbers in very strong wind (or even getting to foredeck) is much more difficult and slower than it sounds, so a couple of snubbers are a good idea. It also avoids the sudden snatch if a snubber breaks. This short of shock loading risks breaking something even if does not dislodge the anchor.

Soft shackles are making attaching and removing snubbers a bit quicker and easier.