I was out earlier this week and had a chance to test a brand new anchor rode. It turned out to be a good time to test because winds in the Delta were 15-25 MPH with higher gusts during afternoons and evenings. Also had the usual current and tidal effects of the Delta. The wind didn't fall off until 11 p.m. or so.
I kept the old anchor, my Danforth Standard 1300. It's scratched up and and brown now, (seems to weigh a lot more than 13 lbs. too). A roller or windlass would mess up the look of this boat, so I anchor by hand.
Old combination rode: 10' 5/16 G2 chain (whatever the heck G2 chain was?), 1/2" X 100' 3-strand nylon line. Marked with numbered tags every 30'.
New combination rode: 35' 5/16 3B chain (weight: 42 lbs.), ACCO 5/16 swivel, 1/2" X 150' Samson Proset 3-strand nylon line. I marked every 10' with heat-shrink tubing, and additional numbered tags every 10' from 50-120' and at 150', 170', and 180'. (Very colorful rode.)
The difference in setting this rode was unbelievable. I lowered the anchor into the Delta mud in a light breeze and let out full scope in 15' of water. I had the line in my hands when the boat drifted to the end of scope and felt the line come taught with a sudden jerk. Never had an anchor set like that! It felt like the anchor end was tied off to a piling.
A friend with a wind gauge was anchored several hundred yards away. He said the evening winds did a sustained 20 knots with higher gusts. My anchor didn't budge for the three days I was there. The boat did a couple of 360's around the anchor, too.
At 35' and 42 lbs., the chain is just about the limit I'd want to work with by hand. It takes a pretty good pull to haul it up. (No problem with a windlass, though.) If I was a little less fit or a little more adverse to physical labor: I'd say 25' of 5/16" 3B would be a more reasonable haul by hand, but I don't know if the rode would work as well.
It was fun to keep an eye on the colored tracers in the new Proset line. I could watch the line flex with the gusts. The fresh line is nice and stretchy compared the stiff old stuff that I had before.
Test results: More chain is better. 10' of chain in a combination rode just didn't perform as well.
edit: If I can find a nice small stainless windlass and a roller that can clear the raised toe rail and fold away, there may be an anchor windlass in my near future.
I kept the old anchor, my Danforth Standard 1300. It's scratched up and and brown now, (seems to weigh a lot more than 13 lbs. too). A roller or windlass would mess up the look of this boat, so I anchor by hand.
Old combination rode: 10' 5/16 G2 chain (whatever the heck G2 chain was?), 1/2" X 100' 3-strand nylon line. Marked with numbered tags every 30'.
New combination rode: 35' 5/16 3B chain (weight: 42 lbs.), ACCO 5/16 swivel, 1/2" X 150' Samson Proset 3-strand nylon line. I marked every 10' with heat-shrink tubing, and additional numbered tags every 10' from 50-120' and at 150', 170', and 180'. (Very colorful rode.)
The difference in setting this rode was unbelievable. I lowered the anchor into the Delta mud in a light breeze and let out full scope in 15' of water. I had the line in my hands when the boat drifted to the end of scope and felt the line come taught with a sudden jerk. Never had an anchor set like that! It felt like the anchor end was tied off to a piling.
A friend with a wind gauge was anchored several hundred yards away. He said the evening winds did a sustained 20 knots with higher gusts. My anchor didn't budge for the three days I was there. The boat did a couple of 360's around the anchor, too.
At 35' and 42 lbs., the chain is just about the limit I'd want to work with by hand. It takes a pretty good pull to haul it up. (No problem with a windlass, though.) If I was a little less fit or a little more adverse to physical labor: I'd say 25' of 5/16" 3B would be a more reasonable haul by hand, but I don't know if the rode would work as well.
It was fun to keep an eye on the colored tracers in the new Proset line. I could watch the line flex with the gusts. The fresh line is nice and stretchy compared the stiff old stuff that I had before.
Test results: More chain is better. 10' of chain in a combination rode just didn't perform as well.
edit: If I can find a nice small stainless windlass and a roller that can clear the raised toe rail and fold away, there may be an anchor windlass in my near future.