Is a 45 Pound Delta Big Enough for a 40' Offshore Liveaboard ?

[steveebryant]

Hi All, Steve here, new to the site. I hope I am not interupting too badly. My question is simple: I would like to buy a Rocna anchor if they have resolved the controversy concerning bendability, quality of construction issue. Does anyone have any information concerning the future of Rocna anchors . . . when and whether or not I should buy one?
Thanks,
Steve

[dennisail]

Originally Posted by Factor

The specs look fine dennis, just one thing - is there any chain on the 40lb danforth? If there isnt I suppose you could use the chain from the 22lb?

I assume the reason the 22lb has the chain is because it was regularly used as a stern anchor and the 40lb is just a spare. If I had to use the 40lb I would use the chain from the 22lbs. I will have to check it out to see if it is readily changeable.

Steve. The issue you are mention has been done to death on pretty much every boating forum. If you search you will find info. Rocna has just been sold to another big metals company so it is all up in the air at this point.

[Charlie]

I bought a 44lb Delta for $100. My boat is 21.5 empty and I have it loaded. Don't know what it weighs. We have 300' of 3/8" BBB. If I had an extra boat buck to throw away I would get a Manson in the 55lb range but I must say that the Delta has held well on both short scope and long.

[Dulcesuenos]

Just curious jon, would a 35lb danforth hold that much better then a 35 lb manson

[Dulcesuenos]

Just curious jon, would a 35lb danforth hold that much better then a 35 lb manson for storm use? or would the manson perform as good or better inost conditions? Id be worried about the danforths ability to reset in a shift.,

[teejayevans]

Originally Posted by klem

While this works for some boats, it does not work for others. If your boat is very well behaved at anchor and does not veer a lot, it will probably work. However, with many boats powering ahead will actually make things worse since the boat will start veering more and shock loads will go up. The US navy actually used to recommend (maybe they still do?) backing on the anchor to reduce veering and lower peak loads during storms. These are significantly larger boats but even they have problems with this.

Mine is a well behaved, but I think most people panic and give too much motor, I start out at IDLE speed and increased until boat stopped dragging, which was just a little more than idle, its all that I needed. The key is never let the rode go slack, you still want the anchor rode holding the boat. Once you stopped dragging, go forward, check the rode is still tight, back off it not.
I only did that because I was in a tight spot, otherwise I lay down a second anchor (Fortress) on a shorter scope, usually much shorter (3:1), gives me enough extra even on shorter scope to put a stop to the dragging in soft mud. If expecting storms, I have it rigged and ready to go. YMMV as always.
Tom

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by dennisail

I just heard back from the previous owner of my boat. Delta is 55lbs! Jim would you still upgrade this 55lbs anchor? I had a manson supreme on my last boat and it was great. I had planned to get one for this boat, but costs are already blowing out, but one area I do not want to save money is the anchor. However if a 55lbs delta is a good anchor I will not get a supreme. If I had a CQR style I would replace as I do not like them. I have never used a delta but I have read where people sware by them so I am not sure if I really require an upgrade as this seems fairly large and decent design. However if you would not feel comfortable with this setup I will certainly consider chaining it since you have enormous experience in the areas I will be going.



Seems a decent anchoring inventory already? Thoughts on adequacy?

Dennis, while that isn't what I would have done if starting from scratch, I think that you will be ok, especially with the big Danforth as backup if things go pearshaped. And as someone else has suggested, in dire conditions you would switch the short chain to the 40 pounder.

I think that you are good to go as is.

Cheers,

Jim

[dennisail]

Thanks Jim. I would have gone a supreme if I were starting from scratch but as you say if it is good to go I will leave it. Anchoring is not something I wanted to skimp on the the previous owner appears to have paid good attention to this matter already. He was a member of the coast guard so has done well on many areas of this boat.

I will make sure to that the 40lb danforth will be readily available with the chain should the need arise.

[foggysail]

DO YOU REALLY LIKE TO SLEEP???

Been there done that but did not sleep with a Delta.

I have a 40' Silverton aftcabin, displaces somewhere around 25K. I started with a 44# Bruce....sucked in ell grass, just would not hold, moved to a 55# Delta that plowed so I said to self, "damnit, I am going to get this boat to stay where put!" So with that commitment, I move the 55 Delta to my basement and purchased a brand new 88# Delta from Defender last year. OH, I have an all chain (5/16HT) rode.

I had to wait until this season to try the new Delta. I had GREAT expectation, I thought all my friends should be able to raft in storm and calm with all getting great sleep. Well a funny thing happened on the way to the forum! Wifey and I were anchored with a scope of about 6....the most we could put out in our crowded harbors. There was a strong tide because where we anchored, Lagoon Pond, Vineyard Haven is long and narrow. There was also about a 20K breeze blowing. Things were great until about 3AM. The boat was slipping/plowing as proved by my GPS. We were in danger of tangling some unoccupied moorings.

Anyway, I pulled the anchor in (windlass) and picked up one of the empty moorings.

Mr. 80# Delta now rests comfortably in my basement next to little guy, Mr. 55# Delta. I now have an 80# Maxwell Supreme hanging from my bow. Proof of its holding in ell grass will wait until next year.

Foggy

EDIT: Personally, I think you should have a MUCH larger anchor on your bow than a 44 Delta or any thing for that matter regardless of your rode. It only takes one occasion where your anchor fails to hold your boat securely to make you a believer!

[Dhillen]

Anchors and anchoring - one of the most controversial and favorite subjects of sailors everywhere. If you are a monohull you will end up anchoring in some deeper spots, especially near atolls in any ocean. In the Maldives, we saw depths go from 450 feet to 20 feet in half a boat length! You will need all chain for coral and 300 feet is a good amount. That is what we always had and on occasion we used it all too. Get a single shot. Don't splice it together.

One thing to keep in mind is your windlass. Make sure it can handle the load. You might want to check the wiring to the windlass at the bow and get extra heavy guage wire. Our wiring melted while we were being blown on to a reef in the Maldives as we were trying to pull up 300 feet of chain. This slowed me down a bit. Another idea if you have room is to get a chain stopper. I had this on my first boat, a Cape Dory 33, with 300 feet of chain and a 45 LB CQR, I had no windlass and pulled that up by hand all the time. Couldn't do it without the chain stopper.

Cheers.

Dhillen

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Dhillen

Anchors and anchoring - one of the most controversial and favorite subjects of sailors everywhere. If you are a monohull you will end up anchoring in some deeper spots, especially near atolls in any ocean. In the Maldives, we saw depths go from 450 feet to 20 feet in half a boat length! You will need all chain for coral and 300 feet is a good amount. That is what we always had and on occasion we used it all too. Get a single shot. Don't splice it together.

One thing to keep in mind is your windlass. Make sure it can handle the load. You might want to check the wiring to the windlass at the bow and get extra heavy guage wire. Our wiring melted while we were being blown on to a reef in the Maldives as we were trying to pull up 300 feet of chain. This slowed me down a bit. Another idea if you have room is to get a chain stopper. I had this on my first boat, a Cape Dory 33, with 300 feet of chain and a 45 LB CQR, I had no windlass and pulled that up by hand all the time. Couldn't do it without the chain stopper.

Cheers.

Dhillen

+1 on the chain stopper, windlasses really aren't built to carry anchoring loads, having them rip out of the deck is a serious possibility in heavy weather. The chain leading to the top of a horz wildcat gives it a decent lever arm to work with. A vertical drum windlass is better in that regards since the chain leads a lot lower to the deck. A vertical still has a twisting failure mode that I would think is less likely to occur than the overturning of a horz drum, but a chain stopper eliminates both of these potential problems.

Windlasses are built for lifting the anchor up to the boat. If the wind is blowing the boat should motor forward to the anchor as the chain is retrieved. If the anchor won't breakout easily, the rode should be made fast with the stopper or a chain hook and nylon snubber led to a cleat.

[dennisail]

Update. We purchased 200 feet of chain. Which I have let all the way out a few times now in the Marquesas. The 55lbs delta does not seem to grab well in mud. Its usually possible to drag it with the 50hp motor in reverse for quite some distance. Our boat was moved about 100feet in a squall which lasted 2 hours while we were on shore in Taiohae. Not very reassuring.

[Pete7]

That's a bit worrying, not quite sure what you can do about it given your current location. The Manson Supreme is probably the answer if you can find one.

Pete

[Hud3]

The one time my Delta dragged was in an enclosed basin that had a thin, soupy mud bottom. A thunderstorm passed over with 35 knot winds. There was nothing substantial for the anchor to get purchase on, so I spent 20 minutes using the engine to keep us off the bulkhead to lee. It worked fine in all other situations, including the sticky black mud of the creeks off the Chesapeake Bay.

[speedoo]

Originally Posted by Hud3

The one time my Delta dragged was in an enclosed basin that had a thin, soupy mud bottom. A thunderstorm passed over with 35 knot winds. There was nothing substantial for the anchor to get purchase on, so I spent 20 minutes using the engine to keep us off the bulkhead to lee. It worked fine in all other situations, including the sticky black mud of the creeks off the Chesapeake Bay.

Hmmm. What would work best in that kind of bottom? A larger Fortress, set for mud? Something with a large surface area to pile up mud to create purchase?