On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:53:38 -0600, Geoff Schultz
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.

In article ,
Wayne.B wrote:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:53:38 -0600, Geoff Schultz
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

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

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.

Geoff Schultz 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.


All depends how you set the anchor as well as how you try to pull it out
with the engine.

Lew

On Feb 17, 12:32 pm, Harlan Lachman wrote:
I have been intrigued by the discussion of anchoring --


When by my self I flake 4:1 chain on the deck with the 45lb plow in
the cock pit. Slow down and give a toss. On retrieval ? motor
up...... push my black button............ motor up....... push my
black button......etc. with the anchor hanging on the whats-it I motor
away later to secure anchor on boat. The secrect is the magic button
in the cockpit.
Bob

Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:53:38 -0600, Geoff Schultz
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.

And do all you guys start the engine and pull at your anchor
when the tide turns, the boat swings, the anchor trips and
resets? Happens about every six hours where I anchor.

"Wayne.B" wrote

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.

Backing down under power is certainly good a good practice. I do it myself
when the engine is running even though it isn't a very conclusive test on my
boat.

This brings up an interesting historical question which I hope one of the
history buffs among us can answer. What did sailing vessels do before
power? Dragging is even more serious in an unpowered vessel for obvious
reasons.

--
Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
....
This brings up an interesting historical question which I hope one of the
history buffs among us can answer. What did sailing vessels do before
power? Dragging is even more serious in an unpowered vessel for obvious
reasons.

They used proper anchors like these on a small boat:
http://www.sv-moonshadow.com/liveabo..._killicks.html

On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 06:36:02 -0500, "Roger Long"
wrote:

This brings up an interesting historical question which I hope one of the
history buffs among us can answer. What did sailing vessels do before
power? Dragging is even more serious in an unpowered vessel for obvious
reasons.

Interesting question. Those ships had a lot of windage of course, and
my guess is that they relied on wind, tide, heavy anchors, lots of
chain, and last but not least, a constant look out. They had a lot of
man power on those boats and knew how to use it effectively.

The captains of course knew that they would be court martialed and
probably lose their career if the ship was damaged. The look outs
knew that they could rely on a cat-o-nine tails flogging or a keel
hauling if they were found negligent in their duties. Those were
powerful incentives to getting the job done correctly.

Small boats without power can always back their main sail against the
wind by holding the boom out.

Roger ,, what did the sailing vessels do? If your talking large ship, then
your talking big/heavy/anchor.

I watched a couple of the schooners anchor last June [?], up near Boothbay
and the anchor was a monster. Once that thing hit the bottom, that was it.

As for smaller vessels. Like my own.... I try to be very picky about the
ground.

This can be a trying time when single handing.

I try to find a spot with lots of room, very deliberately set the anchor
.............

And then hope like hell the darn thing sets.

The picking up ..??? That is a subject that should be covered.

==============================================
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...

"Wayne.B" wrote

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.

Backing down under power is certainly good a good practice. I do it
myself when the engine is running even though it isn't a very conclusive
test on my boat.

This brings up an interesting historical question which I hope one of the
history buffs among us can answer. What did sailing vessels do before
power? Dragging is even more serious in an unpowered vessel for obvious
reasons.

--
Roger Long