Second (stern) anchor worth the weight?

[earthbm]

1. Do you have it?
2. If you do, have you used it?
3. If you have, what were the circumstances?

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by earthbm

1. Do you have it?
2. If you do, have you used it?
3. If you have, what were the circumstances?

Yes, we have a Fortress FX-35 as a stern anchor. It’s too small as a primary, but large enough to hold well in the right circumstances.

We’ve used it several times to hold us stern to in tight spaces - the attached photo is in a shallow lagoon with a deep gully near the shore (there was 1.5m under our sterns and 0.5m under our bows). No room to swing.



We’ve also used it in a harbour to keep our boat from off of the jetty to which we were tied during an on shore wind. We took the anchor directly off our beam and used two lines - one to bow and one to stern - to attach from the short (5m) chain to the boat.

Not too heavy or big means you can more easily manage it, especially in a dinghy.

[wsmurdoch]

We have a FX-16, 25 ft chain, and 250 ft 1/2 in nylon on our stern. We have used it as a stern anchor for bow in Med mooring. We have used it for a stern anchor in a current ridden narrow creek. And, we have used it to return the boat to water deep enough to float. For that last, this year we are carrying 160 ft of 12 mm Chinese UHMWPE rope (so far unused) because the highly stretched nylon scares me.

[Fore and Aft]

We have a Fortress FX23 on our 32 foot yacht, its mounted on the toilet bulkhead with some custom brackets. We use the anchor mainly for when we are swimming and want to hang stern towards the beach. I just have an all rope rode and one of the kids paddles the anchor out and dumps it. Surprisingly it digs in real well in the sand with no chain. When we are ready to leave I swim to the anchor. I then release it while hanging on and the family tows me back to the yacht. There has been more than one occasion where I have had both feet on the seabed lifting hard to free that anchor.
Cheers

[Don C L]

I have one. Always ready. Use it every time. But this is because of local conditions ( small coves) and customs. Still, if and when I go farther afield, I will keep it rigged and ready. I have not needed it yet in an emergency, but I am glad it’s there in case.

[mako]

Regards to tying to the beach, I used to always do so but found that instead of using a small Danforth copy, my buddy and I both started just hammering angle iron into the sand. This was fine for 20-25ft boats in pleasant weather.

[HankOnthewater]

I like to have an anchor to use from the stern. On my previous I had one setup there with a small danforth. Never used it though. On my current boat I have available for that purpose a fortress with 5 mt of chain and 70 mt of rope.
One day I might set that up on the stern ready for rapid deployment.

In my dinghies I have always 2 anchors, for use when there is swell on the beach. I anchor then bow out, away from the beach and the stern anchor goes then in shallow water or on the beach. Dinghy does not get bashed around by the waves, or gets damaged if the beach has pebbles/rocks.

[GordMay]

'Clothesline' Beach Anchoring [Dinghy]
There are numerous iterations, of this basic theme.
I usually tied both ends to the bow.

[goboatingnow]

I carry a Fortress as a spare anchor and occasionally use it as a kedge. Round here kedging is extremely rare as long lining is preferred.

[catsketcher]

Absolutely. There have been two times when the stern anchor (or kedge) saved me from damaging or losing my boats.

Way back when I was 21, I dragged anchor onto a beach in a small harbour. I moved the boat along the boat from the rocks but there were rocks up the beach and the tide was flooding and the wind increasing to gale force. It was dark and cold and no one was able to help me quickly.

I rowed the Danforth anchor out as far as I could and I winched the boat back off the beach. Saved her from being holed by the rocks.

Decades later, I ended up on a sandbar in a gale with my 38ft cat. I ran the Danforth out to the end of my 100mm nylon line and winched her off after a couple of hours effort.

I would never, ever go cruising without a lightweight kedge or stern anchor. Without one, you are seriously susceptible to bad things going worse really quickly. I now have a Guardian ally anchor (a cheaper Fortress). Get one and get a reel of nylon. It may save your boat one day.

As for tossing it off the stern - sometimes. Cats don't have the same issues monos do with lying side onto swell, so we don't use stern anchors like they do. I mostly use it when I can't tie to a mangrove when drying out, but the Guardian waits in the locker, ready to be thrust into action when needed.

cheers

Phi

[JebLostInSpace]

I carry a second (FX-23) anchor. I very rarely deploy it though. I have used it in a "Bahamian Mooring" configuration a couple of times when there was a strong reversing current and I didn't want to ask my primary anchor to rotate and re-set repeatedly. I have also deployed it once off the stern in a narrow creek where there wasn't room to swing around.

I keep the Fortress up at the bow on brackets except on crossings. I like the knowledge that it can be deployed quickly if I am dragging, but I've never actually used it that way.

Many of the responses so far, including mine, are Fortress or similar designs for the secondary anchor. I suspect this is because these designs give the best holding power for the least weight. This allows for setting the secondary anchor from the dink if necessary, and reduces the extra weight you have to carry around for a rarely used piece of equipment.

OP, you have framed your question as being about a "second (stern) anchor." I think most of the responses so far align with my view that a second anchor is definitely worth having. But I wouldn't pigeon-hole that into being a stern anchor only. The other advantage of the lightweight second anchor is that it is easier to change how and where it is deployed. As I said, I keep mine on the bow, but I have used it as a stern anchor. It was very easy to carry the anchor back to the stern and attach a different (rope) rode in that situation.

[Alistair242]

Gotta have one. What do you do if for some reason you lose the primary anchor? We have a fortress too. Easy to handle back up and stern anchor.