On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:22:27 -0500, Harlan Lachman
wrote:

I'm a
firm believer that if I can pull the anchor out with the motor, then a
good blow can do it too.

Absolutely right, and sooner or later it will happen.

Wayne, I hate to betray my ignorance, but I thought anchors were
designed to work so they held due to design and angle of pull and were
simultaneously designed to be relatively easy to retrieve by pulling
them straight up. If such is the case, shouldn't setting an anchor with
an engine be icing on the cake even in a blow (assuming the anchor is
suited to the bottom and weight/design of the boat, the chain is
sufficient to keep the angle correct, the scope is sufficient to
maintain the correct angle, the rode is strong enough not to give, and
the shackles designed for the load)?

Harlan, I'm not sure of your experience level so I'll give you a
straight answer. The trick is to ensure that the anchor is set
properly, i.e., firmly dug in. Having the right anchor, rode and
scope is a good start - but if the anchor is not set properly all is
for naught. The whole reason for backing down under power is to
ensure that it will hold under load.

There are many reasons for an anchor not setting - difficult bottom
conditions, wrong anchor type for bottom, anchor landing in a fouled
position for some reason, etc, etc. Unless you test the anchor by
putting a load on it, you really don't know for sure if you are OK or
not.