Dropping vs lowering anchor

[donradcliffe]

I almost always power down. I agree that putting a foot on top of the anchor chain while setting let's you feel the texture of the bottom. With experience, you can tell the difference between firm and soft, rocky, weeds, and hard pan. You can also distinguish between a good set, hooking a rock, or dragging.

[noelex 77]

One other point is after the anchor is on the bottom the aim is to lay out the chain in as straight a line as possible, but to also to avoid placing any force on the anchor until a reasonable scope (for example 3:1) has been reached.

In most conditions this can be done with the power out feature or the clutch, but in strong wind the boat will move more rapidly downwind than the chain can be powered out. In these cases using the clutch is better due to higher chain deployment that is possible.

There are a small number of windlass models without a clutch facility. In this case in strong wind you can try to use the engine to reduce the drift speed to match the max power chain deployment speed. However, this is not easy, as the bow tends to be blown more downwind.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

One other point is after the anchor is on the bottom the aim is to lay out the chain in as straight a line as possible, but to also to avoid placing any force on the anchor until a reasonable scope (for example 3:1) has been reached.

In most conditions this can be done with the power out feature or the clutch, but in strong wind the boat will move more rapidly downwind than the chain can be powered out. In these cases using the clutch is better due to higher chain deployment that is possible.

There are a small number of windlass models without a clutch facility. In this case in strong wind you can try to use the engine to reduce the drift speed to match the max power chain deployment speed. However, this is not easy, as the bow tends to be blown more downwind.

In that case you can also drop the anchor while still going forward, like single handers do anyway (they free the clutch though).

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

One other point is after the anchor is on the bottom the aim is to lay out the chain in as straight a line as possible, but to also to avoid placing any force on the anchor until a reasonable scope (for example 3:1) has been reached.

In most conditions this can be done with the power out feature or the clutch, but in strong wind the boat will move more rapidly downwind than the chain can be powered out. In these cases using the clutch is better due to higher chain deployment that is possible.

There are a small number of windlass models without a clutch facility. In this case in strong wind you can try to use the engine to reduce the drift speed to match the max power chain deployment speed. However, this is not easy, as the bow tends to be blown more downwind.

I typically use the engines to limit boat speed in that situation, as I don't want the boat moving too quickly when I'm done paying out rode. Having a fast windlass is good if you want to power down in this situation. With a slow windlass, using the clutch would be a good idea, as it would be hard to slow the boat enough, particularly in deep water where you need to drop a lot of rode.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

One other point is after the anchor is on the bottom the aim is to lay out the chain in as straight a line as possible, but to also to avoid placing any force on the anchor until a reasonable scope (for example 3:1) has been reached.

In most conditions this can be done with the power out feature or the clutch, but in strong wind the boat will move more rapidly downwind than the chain can be powered out. In these cases using the clutch is better due to higher chain deployment that is possible.

There are a small number of windlass models without a clutch facility. In this case in strong wind you can try to use the engine to reduce the drift speed to match the max power chain deployment speed. However, this is not easy, as the bow tends to be blown more downwind.

This is a really good point. As probably everyone, our anchoring technique has changed over the years. Mine is somewhat copied off the French, which when watching them at the time made me laugh. But over time it became our standard of using the boats inertia to straighten the chain and pre-set the anchor. It's so effin easy. Apparently contrary to others, once the anchor is down and we have moved away from it a bit, I really let it rip. That way I can leave the anchor locker, head back to the helm, and control the boat from there.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

We always lay ours down with power, and if wind or current isn't moving the boat I'll usually go ahead and bump it into reverse to make sure the chain doesn't pile up on top of the anchor. We've never had a problem, I just suspect there could be a big one so take simple precautions.

Hmmmm. I stopped laying out anchor and chain when we ditched the CQR for the Rocna. Dump it all at once and drift back. As I mentioned above, the Rocna swims forward when it hits the water so the great big pile of chain is behind it. It’s set when the chain goes straight and the bow whips around.

[boat driver]

Whatever suits works.
On deep an charges control may demand engaged winless as chain weight may burn brake band. On shallow anchorage precision placement of the anchor requires open brake dropping. When free dropping, particularly with chain, be sure bow is moving so to avoid piling chain up.

[Fuss]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Hmmmm. I stopped laying out anchor and chain when we ditched the CQR for the Rocna. Dump it all at once and drift back. As I mentioned above, the Rocna swims forward when it hits the water so the great big pile of chain is behind it. It’s set when the chain goes straight and the bow whips around.

Exactly, that’s the way to do it

How to anchor your boat on a nice afternoon.....
Dump the anchor down, don’t care about anything, it flys forwards anyway, it’s not like in the air. If it’s blowing, just run the rode out and snub it off at the right scope, the bow comes into the wind, give her a ton of astern and wait till the bow dips and check all is ok, take the power off gradually and switch off.

How to anchor your boat at 3 in the morning in a huge storm when your motor does not work and the rocks are coming closer.....
Dump the anchor down, don’t care about anything, it flys forwards anyway, it’s not like in the air. If it’s blowing, just run the rode out and snub it off at the right scope, the bow comes into the wind, fix engine, give her a ton of astern and wait till the bow dips and check all is ok, take the power off gradually and switch off.

[Hudson Force]

I control the drop from my manual windlass in order to keep the chain from jumping out of the gypsy. I rarely do anything fast!

[garychurch]

I drop the Vulcan anchor which allows its tip to dig in some and creates a faster surer set if the bottom can be penetrated. Although it is dropped the amount of chain that runs out when the anchor is dropped is not excessive and I have never had a problem fouling the anchor underneath the chain.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

I Always use a sounding lead. Cannot imagine anchoring without it.

Doesn't that take a lot of time when the boat is being blown away from the spot you wanted to anchor? BTW they make these electronical devices now so you can actually read the depth w/o having to use a lead line. Some claim they can even tell you what the bottom materials are, such as grass, sand, mud, rocks.

I ask my wife to call out the depth reading from that electrical thing just before I lower the anchor. Sometimes I can't hear her so I run aft and quickly check. It's a long run when the boat is being blown away from where I wanted to anchor. Maybe the lead line is faster after all :-).

[thinwater]

Lowering fast to "break the surface." The problem is, the anchor does not drop point first. It will land on the back of the fluke and this will have zero effect on setting, which takes place at least an anchor length away... except the chain may foul the anchor. Diving and observing the process may help clarify this, if it is not obvious.


Even new gen anchors can foul with the chain if you drop a pile on them.



Time to motor down. I think this depends on depth. I generally anchor in 5-7 feet. Allowing for freeboard, this is 3-4 seconds. This allows me to just touch the bottom, drift a few feet, tip the anchor, and then lay out the chain faster. I deeper water I see the point. In 15 feet it would take an unbearable. 5-6 seconds. [Just playin' with you ]


As for setting over the exact spot, I never lower the anchor unless I am moving, at least very slowly, down wind. Setting is much more sure and fouling prevented. We're talking a drift of 1-2 ft/s, so I hit the spot.



No, I have no problem with lowering chain fast, but ONLY after the boat has moved 5 feet from the anchor.

[Montanan]

Dropping the anchor can be fun to watch.

W
A
T
C
H

O
U
T
!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRyyuI8A5Lw

[waterman46]

If you do a proper reverse pull on the anchor to set it, it probably doesn't matter exactly how you lower the chain. But it may not set the first time or may take a while of dragging before it all straightens out. So what I do:



60lb genuine CQR and 3/8 chain. One-way horizontal Ideal windlass. Take brake off gypsy. Wear gloves. Approaching anchor location, pull out about 40' of chain on deck. Keep my feet away from the pile. Brace feet on deck cleats. Lower anchor hand-over-hand until I feel it hit the bottom (pull on the chain decreases). Make sure boat is drifting slowly away from anchor, then lower another 10 feet of chain slowly. No pile of chain on anchor. After that, back up another step and let 'er rip. Anchor has not failed to catch on first try, that I can remember.

Always try to anchor in less than 40' depth. That's at least 95% of the time. If water is deeper than 35 or 40' then I can't hold weight of anchor and chain and I just have to ease the chain out with the brake. That is hard to do gradually - its either run like H or not going out at all. On the project list is adding relay box for operating windlass in reverse.

[noelex 77]

Some posters have pointed out that new generation anchors will normally set very nicely even with very little care.

I would agree with this completely, but not in difficult substrates.

For example, in thick weed if you drop the anchor while going backwards at a faster rate than the chain is deployed, the anchor will initially drag along the seabed. The scope is too short in these early stages. The anchor cannot start to bury until a reasonable scope has been deployed. If the anchor is dragged backwards the anchor will become clogged with weed (this still applies to convex anchors although they are more likely to shed the weed when raised, so the evidence is lost). Anchors treated like this may struggle to subsequently set.

On the other hand , with the opposite error, if you drop a big pile of chain next to the anchor as the boat moves backwards it may develop significant momentum. The anchor will be unset at this stage. The sudden high force as the chain becomes straight will slide the anchor backwards before it has a chance to dig in. When unset it will have little grip to enable it to cope with a sudden high force. Once again, the anchor may become clogged with weed.

So the message is that modern anchors are generally reliable even when subject to poor technique, but ideally any anchor will have an easier time if you place little force on the anchor until a reasonable scope has been deployed and then ideally a slow progressive increase in force will allow the anchor to set in a progressive fashion. Once the anchor has started to set it will generally have enough grip that any extra force will just drive the anchor deeper. The initial stages are the most critical.

While a good technique is only needed in difficult substrates for new generation anchors, it is worth adopting these good anchoring practices as a routine. The exact substrate is always a mystery. One drawback of new generation anchors is that most substrates provide little feedback that the technique is poor. This accomodating nature can lead to the development of bad habits.