Anchoring in Heavy Grass & Weed

[Diamond Life]

UFO - from another WA sailor, Rocna is perfect for WA in most places. I use one and love it. Unfortunately I have to anchor in weed in some of our bays. I have a fisherman’s anchor strapped to my stern with about 5 meters of chain and when in weed I shackle the chain to the Rocna. That way I can still use the windlass, don’t have to disconnect the Rocna and once finished I unshackle and re-stow. Easy to pull up the last 5 meters and fisherman’s by hand. Your second anchor is great for sand in WA but your Rocna is already brilliant at that. If you do further afield it might be worth considering.

[MicHughV]

This thread on the right anchor seems devoid of practical application.

Anchoring in a 5 knot breeze in a sheltered anchorage, while enjoying your sundowner is not the same as trying to keep your boat in one spot during a summer afternoon or late evening 50 mph squall, especially compounded at night, when your visibility is reduced, the waves build and surrounded by other anchored boats.

A brick tied to a rope will keep a boat in one spot under the right condition.

I don't think there is a " perfect" anchor that covers all bases. Better to have a variety of hooks, anchor rodes and know how to use them all is way better than trying to depend on one or other " brand" of anchor.

Anchor manufacturers like to promote their product against other anchors in various and sundry comparisons usually conducted by the manufacturer of that specific anchor, but not necessarily fair to other anchors..

Around my neck of the woods and in the Pacific Northwest, shrimp and crab boats that need to stay put at anchor at night favor an anchor called a " northill". Shrimp boats are usually heavy displacement trawlers of 60-70' length and they swear by these things. You won't find a northill in your local West Marine. True, on a sailboat, stowing one of these is likely to be a problem. But as a storm anchor....worth it's weight in gold.

But....I have one of these. It is a collapsible model made from 316 stainless steel, about 45 lbs in weight. The flukes are armed with a 3/4" solid stainless sharpened rod. When this goes down, in the few times I've used it, it is because I was expecting a hurricane.

I don't know who makes them and they are extremely rare, but let me tell you, when the doodoo hits the fan I would trust this anchor above all others.

The only place to find them is perhaps online.

[captchetco]

Originally Posted by UFO

So I tried to Anchor where the grass is around 2 feet long and the bottom is densely covered with Grass and Weed - No Sand patches at all.


I have a 40KG Rocna and 12mm Chain on a Lagoon 440 - After the 3rd attempt, the conditions were benign, so I decided to snorkel down as the boat was being held on the chain and the depth was only 3.5m.


The Anchor was just sitting on its side, so I got the better half to back down - Under idle it did not move at all, but with a bit of power it just skidded across the weeds.....

So my question is, is there a technique or any tips for anchoring in such conditions?

In the San Juan Is. of Washington State, there are some serious grass bottoms. I have found that if you can hold position, dangle your plow anchor so it is just touching its full length on the bottom, then repeatedly pull it back 8 to 10 ft, until it has "plowed" the grass away of a small patch.

[HankOnthewater]

Originally Posted by GILow

Another vote for the Marsh Stockless, now sold by North Haven marine. Specifically suited to the dense seagrass we see here in South Australia.

https://nhmarine.com.au/about-us/#anchor1

Sets reasonably well, but not nearly as fast as my SARCA Excel. However, unlike the Excel, not at all troubled by seagrass or weed.

Just noticed a boat with one of these anchors on the bow, never seen that kind of anchor stowed on the bow before.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by HankOnthewater

Just noticed a boat with one of these anchors on the bow, never seen that kind of anchor stowed on the bow before.

How good would these anchors be for an all round anchor,

[GILow]

Originally Posted by HankOnthewater

Just noticed a boat with one of these anchors on the bow, never seen that kind of anchor stowed on the bow before.

Very, very easy to stow. Mine sat in much the same way on the roller, didn’t need to modify anything.

Sadly, I sold it in January as I was expecting to leave South Australia. Now I’m tooling around the Gulf St Vincent with my SARCA, trying to avoid the seagrass.

Incidentally, I sold it to a guy on a Swan 54 who needed something appropriate for his recent Tassie trip. Haven’t heard back on how it worked for him.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by HankOnthewater

Just noticed a boat with one of these anchors on the bow, never seen that kind of anchor stowed on the bow before.

Don’t know about those additional weights though...

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Mr B

How good would these anchors be for an all round anchor,

I used it for all anchoring for a few years. Worked everywhere I tried it but after the SARCA it seemed a little slow to set. Not bad, just not as brilliant as the SARCA.

I used it in seagrass (of course), lots of sand, a bit of mud and on some insanely hard limestone over on the west coast of the gulf. I never dragged once, though it wasn’t really asked to do much, I had the luxury of choosing my weather.

My greatest objection to it was the weight. It really was very, very heavy. 40 kg was the recommended anchor for my 42 footer vs 25 kg for the SARCA. (I should say, Super SARCA I suppose, not just SARCA)

[GILow]

Originally Posted by HankOnthewater

Just noticed a boat with one of these anchors on the bow, never seen that kind of anchor stowed on the bow before.

Best photo I could find...

[HankOnthewater]

Originally Posted by GILow

Don’t know about those additional weights though...

I will ask the owner about these weights, looks like a 25 or even a 30 kg anchor, on a ?5 ton alu 34 ft boat.

I never had any luck on seagrass with a Super Sarca, other than that, they are good anchors. I have on my current boat a Sarca Excel, oversized, no problems sofar, even on seagrass/weed , and most stuff here is seagrass.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by HankOnthewater

I will ask the owner about these weights, looks like a 25 or even a 30 kg anchor, on a ?5 ton alu 34 ft boat.

I never had any luck on seagrass with a Super Sarca, other than that, they are good anchors. I have on my current boat a Sarca Excel, oversized, no problems sofar, even on seagrass/weed , and most stuff here is seagrass.

Yep, that weight would be about right. Mine was 40 (42?) kg for a (then) 17 ton, 42 foot boat.

Good to know about your experience with the Excel. I plan to add one to replace the Marsh. My Super SARCA is one or two sizes too small according to Rex so I’ll relegate it backup anchor and put the Excel on the bow.

[MicHughV]

I've attached some pics of the northill.

This anchor came in both fixed and collapsible versions.

This particular anchor has a very long stock, causing one of the blades to always dig down.

Because of these very long arms (stock) there is little concern that the anchor will not lay properly.

The end of the collapsible version has the stainless steel rod blade tip.

Like with any anchor, there is a trick to laying an anchor properly.

If you have the visibility, you can see what you are doing.

The trick is to pay out the anchor chain/rode at the same speed you boat is moving backwards.
You need to lay out enuff anchor chain/rode, so that you will have at least 75' or so laying in a straight line on the bottom, ( this is typically 2 boat lengths for easy math), then another 75' or so back to your boat. This example allows for 150' total line in about 15' of water. Add another 6-7' to your bow roller and you will have a 1:5 ratio or thereabouts, but most importantly, the prime load on the anchor will be horizontal.

Then slowly back down, allowing the anchor to dig in.

Dropping anchor chain in one big dump often means the anchor chain will lie in a clump on top of the anchor often catching a fluke in a link and trying to straighten this mess out will likely cause you to drag away from your chosen spot

There is a scientific reason behind good anchoring technique. This is called line catenary. The short and sweet reason is simply that in order to provide a full load on the anchor the catenary ( curve) of the anchor line must first straighten out. This is practically impossible to do. Let the line catenary do the work of holding your boat in place.

I know that the northill is not made anymore, but I've seen similar style anchors elsewhere. It would also not be that difficult to have one fabricated.
One thing is for sure, this anchor will set and hold in practically anything.

As mentioned before, there is an art to anchoring. Additionally, one should have at least 4 anchors available on your boat. Typically, there will be 2 on the bow, 1 on the stern and 1 below.

There are proponents of all chain, but my preference, gained in 40 years of sailing, is to have the best of both....min. 75' of chain, followed by nylon rode. Like a car, the shock absorber, takes the brunt of any bump in the road, sparing the chassis. Similarly, the nylon rode ( and line catenary), absorbs much of the anchoring load.

[CAVOK]

I’ve had two slightly oversized Sarca Excels. Originally in Sydney in sand and/or mud bottoms. I love it in those conditions, where it usually sets in it’s own length. Now in the Western Med with those grassy bottoms, it can struggle at times in seaweed. I’m not sure if it’s my technique.. or lack of it. I can usually dig it in with some perseverance & I suspect most anchors would have the same problems.
Interested to hear what experienced Med sailors would use in those situations.

[SV__Grace]

Originally Posted by CAVOK

I’ve had two slightly oversized Sarca Excels. Originally in Sydney in sand and/or mud bottoms. I love it in those conditions, where it usually sets in it’s own length. Now in the Western Med with those grassy bottoms, it can struggle at times in seaweed. I’m not sure if it’s my technique.. or lack of it. I can usually dig it in with some perseverance & I suspect most anchors would have the same problems.
Interested to hear what experienced Med sailors would use in those situations.

I too have an oversized Excel as my primary bower and love it. We are full time cruisers who live on the hook and so far in the PNW our excel has conquered every bottom, including weeds, sea grass, kelp, etc.

I think the key to setting the Excel in challenging bottoms is two things-

1. It's sharp tip, which is designed to be sharpened as needed. The combination of the weight of an oversized anchor and the sharp tip will cut through sea grass and bite in most bottoms. Keep it sharp!

2. Setting scope- for the tip to dig down it needs a downward angle and enough scope to make that angle happen, so let out lots of scope before setting and see what happens.

[IanTrail]

We have anchored in the Med with CQR and Spade anchors and my conclusion is that though they are generally good anchors, you just can't rely on them in weed. The issue is not technique; they just can't get a grip through thick weed. Even worse, if you don't realise you're on weed, it can feel as though they have a grip (in the weed) and then drag when the wind picks up.

We carry a large fisherman's anchor which we only normally use when we have to anchor on weed. It's a pain to swap it onto the main anchor chain but it really works; when it digs in it feels like you've hit a brick wall. Also it's a bit of a conversation piece lying there on deck in it's chocks. People ask if it's our 'storm' anchor but it doesn't have enough surface area to do that.

I must admit, I like anchors. We've got lots!