[PCW] anchors

[Candy Chapman and Gary Bell]

JONAH SAID:

looking for feedback on ground tackle.

Will have a single winch on 48ft cat and rocna type 40 kg anchor.

REPLY:
Sounds good.  You didn't specify how much and what size of chain and/or nylon
rode.  You also didn't stipulate what size and kind of windlass, so I will
pass on those subjects, for the most part.  Nor did you describe the bottom
conditions over which you will anchor, which has a huge influence in choice of
specific anchors.  Get lots of local advice -- bring lots of grains of salt of
course, you can easilly enough filter out the baloney peddlers from the really
experienced folks.  Walk lots of marinas and take a census of the ground
tackle on the serious boats.

I offer very different advice to a catamaran owner vs. the typical
displacement trawler or large sailboat.  Traditional displacement boats
benefit from having primary anchors on their bows which are so huge that even
your friends start asking what the #$%^ you are thinking.  Cats are
tremendously more sensitive than displacement monohulls to both overall weight
and to the distribution of that weight as well.  With the cat's propensity to
hobby horse pitch and corresponding resistance to roll, additional weight in
the boat should ideally not be placed very far forward or aft of the center.
To my thinking, the overall weight issue argues for as much of the rode in
nylon as your anchoring situations will allow, and for the possible addition
of a kellet.  I am unwilling to trade off primary anchor holding power for
some pitch resistance, knowing how I would hate myself whenever I dragged it
across some anchorage and into something particularly expensive or sharp.  I
favor the school of thought that the size of an anchor, rather than it's
weight is the most significant factor, and given the abundance of clever
designs, there are lots of choices that go well beyond simply dropping a big
anvil. Your Rocna should give you fine holding, and I will not tempt the fates
by getting into the endless arguments about which anchor is better than which
other.  There seem to be armed camps of followers for each design.  I own a
large CQR that I intend to demote to backup statusupgrade to a huge Bruce.
Then the CQR will be a backup, kept on it's original rode in a 'basket' added
to the original chain locker.  I use a smaller Bruce for a quick lunch
hook/stern anchor(which is carried in a basket to wherever needed from it's
storage in a forward locker), and plan on a large Fortress aluminum anchor
aft, with an aft windlass, and a centerline towing chock with samson post
which will handle its mostly nylon rode.

The moment issue (distance from the boat's center of gravity a particular
weight might be, multiplied by its weight) suggests to me that we will be
better served when whatever ground tackle aboard is stowed as far aft from the
bows as possible, consistant with still being able to readilly get the rig
into the water whenever it's needed. I know that argues against the jaunty bow
anchor platform festooned with tons of salty looking ground tackle, but ya
gotta choose between lookin' good or workin' better. In my case the chain
locker and windlass are mounted well aft on the fordeck, with just the anchor,
its roller, a seven foot chain gutter and six feet of chain lead forward to
the forward lip of the bridgedeck.  If I upgraded to two bow anchors I would
cut a hawse hole in the foredeck just inside each hull and as far aft as the
structure permits, with two winches aimed diagonally outward from a central
chain locker.  That would require fabricated stainless pipe and sheet metal
rode protectors for each bow, but they would also serve to deflect logs (a big
issue here in the PNW, don't ask how I know).

JONAH FURTHER ASKED:
What best as back up anchor(s)

REPLY:
Get the most holding power you can for the weight.  I strongly favor the
Fortress aluminum folding anchor, which is actually light enough to hang from
a handrail (factory suggests 15 pound model for your 48 foot boat, you could
double that if you liked).  These aluminum anchors enjoy a fabulous reputation
for holding in a variety of bottoms, particularly when compared pound for
pound with steel anchors, but they are subject to bending, so this is the
ideal second anchor, but not primary anchor.  This second is deployed aft or
to the side with the primary (either or both with bridles) when you need to
control your position in a crowded or difficult anchorage, or is brought aft
and snugged up to boost the holding power of the primary.  The light weight
will handle well in your dinghy, so it can be deployed at any time, and
sometimes even set with the dinghy motor or by hauling in the primary if you
don't have a dedicated winch.  I will store mine off center, from a handrail
aft.

JONAH ALSO ASKED:
and will I miss having a second winch system on a cat?

REPLY:
Of course you would!  My plans call for a second anchor windlass fitted for
both chain and rope together with a towing chock and samson post all mounted
as low as possible on the centerline AFT.  This gives me lots of options in
setting a second or storm anchor, for adjusting anchorage positions for wind,
waves and neighbors, also to be set well before beaching so I can run up the
beach on the bows and later kedge off without risk to props, water intakes and
such (trying to back off under power and potentially filling my raw water
system with sand).  The nylon portion (most) of the rode will also be
available as a towing 'cable' when the anchor and chain are dismounted.

If you deploy a forward anchor from the centerline, a bridle lead back to each
bow (or even well down one side), will be very handy for adjusting the
attitude of the boat to wind and waves, and if made from enough light stretchy
nylon line you can get some great snubbing in bumpy conditions.  If the rode
is deployed from either port or stbd bow (or stern), then a single snubbing
line lead to the other bow (or stern) will give you a similar effect.