"Jere Lull" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Doug Dotson" wrote:

I have to dissagree. Lighter anchors tend to float and flutter so
that getting then to set where you want is harder. Heavier anchors
drop quickly and tend to stay put while paying out the rode. I have a
Spade anchor that is rated for a boat that is far larger than mine.
It won't set reliably in sand and grass.

I believe you're the one report I've heard of a Spade not hooking well.
I tried ours (aluminum 80) in every "tough" spot I'd found in my travels
and it hooked every time, though I had to go slow in one hard
current-swept sand spot. One or two of them were weedy, and it hooked
without any trouble.

We found it very reliable in everything we encountered until
we got into the Bahamas. Then it was hit or miss. Had to resort to the CQR
several times.

Then again, I've got oversized chain (30') hooked to it. That's twice
the weight of the anchor. Where it hits, it hooks.

We have 3/8" all chain.

I'm also of the "kick it overboard and let the boat settle back"
mentality, which could be a difference. I'll only back down after a few
minutes, and then not very violently.

Same here, although I have to lower it using the windlass. Then I pay
out chain while the boat drifts back. Once it settles in I back down on
it gently severla times until I get a set.

Last weekend, we were rafted up with 10 boats, about 100k pounds (we're
7k) with the two 40+' big boats. After a wind shift, our anchor, put out
only to angle the raft into the waves, held everyone quite nicely in 15+
knot winds for a couple of days. One poor sod not looking where he was
going, was quite surprised when he was slingshot backwards after trying
to run his outdrive through that line ;-) The big boats' anchors didn't
do squat most of the weekend.

(yeah, hauling anchor was a bear: As far as I can tell, the anchor was
buried in 5 or so feet of that lovely Chesapeake Bay mud on Monday.)

The bay is a forgiving place in terms of anchor. I've never dragged
anchor anywhere on the bay. Same with the ICW and FL. Only
started having trouble with the Spade in the Bahamas and then pretty
much only in grass.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/