"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 16:32:57 -0400, " Sir Gregory Hall, Esq·"
åke wrote:

But Gregory, a 30 lb. danforth will hold a boat perfectly well. It
depends on the anchorage and the weather and water.

===

We have used a 30 lb Danforth as a day anchor in some pretty severe
conditions. With enough scope and a good bottom it holds our 70,000
pound trawler just fine (30 kt winds, exposed anchorage with 3 to 5 ft
seas).



LOL! There's a man confident in his luck!

Myself, I'd rather rely on using an anchor that is appropriate for the
heft and windage of the vessel.

We would also but were doing race committee duty at Key West Race Week
at the time and rapid anchor retrieval was a requirement. I was
surprised at how well the Danforth held out there in Hawk Channel on a
*very* windy day.

Hawk Channel has varied bottoms. Some sandy patches and some
hard, rocky areas. If you drop anchor in a sandy patch it will hold
well until you get a thunderstory with an 180 degree wind shift ---
then you have to HOPE the Danforth will reset. Danforth's aren't
noted for reliably resetting themselves as I'm sure you know.

That's why I prefer two anchor laid out Bahamian Style. That way
no matter what the wind does the anchors keep pulling against
each other and don't have to trip over and reset.

But, two anchors would never do when fast anchor retrieval was
the requirement.

For a 70,000 pound trawler, a 45-pounder
would be the absolute minimum. Even so, I'd be sure to use two of them
Bahamian-style so I could feel secure through most any normal weather.
(Not talking tropical storms here!)

Tell me, please, do you set an anchor alarm on your GPS?

Absolutely not. We back down hard with a pair of 30 inch, 4 bladed
props. If the anchor holds with that, it will hold in up to a full
gale.

Unless there is that aforementioned strong windshift . . .


I bet you do? If so, then that pretty much negates your feigned
confidence in your undersized day anchor. And, besides, a
so-called day anchor is a rude operation.

You'd bet wrong.

C'mon? Not even at night? I find that difficult to believe.

--
Sir Gregory