"jeff" wrote in message
. ..
Ernest Scribbler wrote:
"Capt. JG" wrote
Well, this is a newbie asking, so I don't like to get so complicated.

Thanks, this newbie appreciates forebearance. What I find is that I might
learn a few things that I can personally use from a typical sailing book,
but the bulk of it tends to be stuff that I can't find much use for
considering I do all my cruising on an inland river. For example, knowing
how to maintain optimum catenary on my anchor rode is not nearly as
useful to me, in my circumstances, as knowing how to hug the bank as a
coal barge goes by.


I'm glad you understand that much of the advice will be overkill. People
here like to discuss how their boat is setup for world cruising. Being
prepared for one hurricane is not enough; you half to be prepared to
handle 3 in one week!

Or, even better yet, stay out of the way. :-)

For instance, invoking the very concept the "catenary" is pedantic and not
relevant to practical anchoring. The problem is that once a chain has
completely assumed the catenary shape, it is virtually fully extended and
about to be broken out. The purpose of an all chain rode or a kellet is
to minimize the catenary and keep as much of the rode as possible sitting
on the bottom.

Yep... nice explanation Jeff.

Likewise, the advise to have a duplicate of the primary anchor on hand may
be appropriate for the world cruiser who must be prepared for anything,
but is perhaps overkill for the "weekend warrior." Better advice might be
to size the primary anchor one size up from the store recommendations, and
have a second anchor that at least matches the recommendations. (Most
boaters only have what cruisers would consider a "lunch hook.")

I have a small Bruce and a small Danforth. While in Belize on a rental cat,
I found that their secondary anchor, also a Dan, set better than the much
heavier plow.

Some people will advise only using all-chain, but if you don't have a
windlass this could be a problem. And, on some bottoms chain can actually
prevent anchors anchors from setting. The only thing you, as a beginner,
can do, is find someone knowledgeable about anchoring your type of boat in
your area, and pick their brain. Even then, you should take all advice
with a grain of salt!

As for books, there have been a number of good recommendations.
Personally, I often advise Chapman's Piloting & Seamanship for beginners.
It covers many aspects of boating, and although the advice is not very
sophisticated, it is a sound foundation for the novice.

Yup.. you can get an older version for a very modest price... no need to
spend the big bucks on the latest.



--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com