On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 20:59:41 -0500, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Sailboats are different.

Been there, done that.

After several lessons learned the hard way, I began backing down with
my Atomic 4 and puny little Martec folding prop. Believe me, it can
make a difference. If the anchor is not firmly set at that point, you
have *no* chance of holding in a squall.

"Wayne.B" wrote

After several lessons learned the hard way, I began backing down with
my Atomic 4 and puny little Martec folding prop. Believe me, it can
make a difference. If the anchor is not firmly set at that point, you
have *no* chance of holding in a squall.


The heave method, which admittedly is only applicable to smaller gear (one
of the things I like about cruising in a 32 instead of 45 footer) gets a
pretty good set. First heave I often feel the tips skipping over rocks or
tearing through weed, next I can feel them digging a small furrow, then they
grab but feel spongy, then the anchor takes solidly. After three heaves
that feel like I'm pulling on a mooring anchor, I'm pretty sure it's in
there.

Your anchor can hook a tip on a rock and hold until it bends or breaks the
rode but yet be ready to slip off and let you go at the first swing even
though it feels solid. The nice thing about the hand set method is tactile
understanding of what is going on at the other end of the line and chain.
(Remember that, up here in the Northeast, you can't see as deep as your
keel.) In a tough spot with threatening weather, I might do both hand set
and power. A "set" anchor is oriented so that it digs deeper with
increasing strain. The important thing is to make sure it is in that
configuration and not just hooked in weed or on a rock.

My point isn't actually that one method is better than the other but that
utilizing all the information and understanding all the factors will keep
you safer than just putting the engine if reverse everytime you anchor.

I'm sure you know all this and I'm not arguing or preaching to you but just
keeping a discussion going that may be useful to the OP and any others who
are experiencing a little anchor anxiety.

I've been anchoring since 1969 although with a 15 year gap. I have never
dragged in the sense of waking up hitting another boat or the bottom. I
have woken up in a different place a couple times though due to strong
winds. In both of those cases, the anchors were clearly pulling a furrow
through the bottom because the felt like I had to pull them up through about
five feet of mud and could barely break them out with the rode led to a
winch. Those anchors were firmly set but the forces were simply overcoming
the strength of the bottom material. Backing under power wouldn't have made
any difference on those nights. The anchor doesn't know whether it is wind
or engine that is pulling on it.

In rough conditions, you need to be up and checking when conditions change.
In a tight spot and strong winds, the engine should be warmed up. In really
bad conditions, you may want to take some of the strain off the gear by
going slow ahead.

--
Roger Long