My current setup is a 10kg Plough anchor with 26m of 8mm chain and 11m of rope. I feel this is inadequate for extended cruising around Europe. I wonder what others have with consideration to the size of the locker and the weight of the rode?

I am considering a modern 12.5kg Sarca Excel anchor with perhaps 36m of 8mm chain and 19m of 14mm Octoplait rope.

I would welcome any comments, particularly from those who have done much anchoring around Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.

Mike

Shemar - Parker 335

We carry a 12.5 kg Rocna Vulcan with 40m of 8mm chain and 40m of 14mm polyester octoplait.

This has served us well except on thick weed and in a few places in Scotland where more length would have been useful.

The Rocna certainly gives me more confidence than the 10kg Delta which we had before.

Martin

P335/50

Hi Mike,

I have a 325 and feel your set up is very much on the light side! I have a 15Kg Bruce, with 45m/8mm chain and 45m of rope braid spliced on.

In Europe, two main areas have different needs (i.e Tidal / Non tidal):

Med (Non-Tidal) I found one is often anchored out in very high winds, sometimes gusts of 30kts+ and rarely in winds above this! For this you do need a lot of chain. I made a rule that I would try not to drop anchor in greater depths than 10m. (My rule, as beyond this depth, a recovery of a trapped anchor becomes really difficult!). Even then, assuming a sandy bottom (i.e. good holding) sometimes, I felt needed more chain in higher winds to feel safe. However, rarely did I ever have to run out some extra braid too. Actually 45m of chain did the job!

Northern Europe (Tidal and North France / Channel Islands) one needs a lot of chain to cope with the potential 10m tidal rises and also in sometimes very strong currents. Here, I've often found myself running all the chain out and sometimes quite a lot of braid too! I think the recommended figure is 5 to 1 chain to boat length - that's a lot of chain! But to be honest, I feel 5 to 1 is pretty bomb proof in lighter weather and is actually often difficult to achieve when in a tight bay or crowded anchorage. Everything is a compromise.

When I fitted my windlass, I was thinking about length of my 8mm chain in terms of weight? I was concerned about having too much bow weight forward and in a choppy sea. How much weight could a 325 take, I wondered? I had to make a guess, as you will! Hence, my mix of braid and chain above. Braid does not weigh much, it's the windlass, anchor and chain. However, in hindsight, I think I would have reduced the length of my braid slightly and and added maybe another 5m of chain, i.e. take it up to 50m from my current 45m (i.e. to 5 to 1 ratio). (My view!).

There is no right answer to this Mike and your best guess is as good as mine, but I would also advise you to think about what kind of sailing you are likely to be doing? Are you unlikely to be anchoring in relatively exposed places in high tides or high winds or will you be mostly harbour bound? If so, trim it back a bit! But 36m is too light!

I found Jimmy Green to be very helpful in getting this right. Speak with them.

Hope this is a help?

Best Regards,

Stuart

Pegasus 325/37

Thank you Mike for asking the exact question I have been asking myself, and to Stuart and Mike for answering with such experience. I too have a distinctly 'Solent ' set-up with only 15m of chain and 30m rope, which will not do for Scotland/Ireland/Brittany. I am bracing myself for yet another larger-than-expected chandlery bill but I'm very concerned about weight - the Jimmy Green website tells me that 45m of 8mm chain plus 45m of Octoplait will weigh in at 75kg plus my 10kg Rocna. That feels like going to windward with a prop forward standing on the bow after a good lunch. Did either of you experience any bow-down issues when you loaded up? Or is the 325 so well-designed that she can cope with appropriate ground tackle? I know my SuperSeal wouldn't, but that is why I changed boat...

I'd be pleased and hopefully reassured to hear from you.

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I suspect the answer is that the 335 is big and heavy enough that you don't have to get too concerned about the weight of appropriate ground tackle.

We did a round Britain trip with kit for 4-5months on board, including a fairly heavy tender on deck as well as 200kg of water and another 80kg of fuel. Certainly the boat's performance gave us no anxiety at any time, in spite of some pretty brisk weather such as close hauled in 30+ Kts in open sea.

Martin

335/50

Thanks Mike that has reassured me on chain - now I am worrying about water and fuel! At some point I might need to touch you for advice and experience on all such things, but will do so privately. I wonder how much your old mainsail is looking forward to doing the trip again? I will keep my voice down in case he hears about the plans...

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Sorry Martin not Mike!

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Nosey's original set up was a 10 kg faux Bruce with less than 10m of 8mm chain, then about 30m of nylon rope attached to 25m of multi plait. Lots of rope scope which of course I never used. The Bruce dragged quite a lot, even in mud. I used to set it by going astern quite hard; I suspect it unsettled on the turn of the tide, but of course having dragged and reset it was a pain to retrieve!

Now replaced with a 15 kg Rocna, and a friend's 45m of 10mm chain passed on to me, which does the job admirably, especially anchoring in shallow(-ish) water with nearby boats. Chris Turner would recommend an Angel - basically a lump of lead lowered down the anchor rode to ensure an almost horizontal pull in all but the most extreme conditions. Something I haven't tried is to shackle another anchor on to the bower. Good luck with avoiding gel coat damage as you retrieve that lot! I haven't bothered with swivels etc as I don't (yet) have a windlass!

I think there's sufficient volume in the bow; as an experiment I had people on the foredeck and haven't noticed any change on the waterline. I just remember to flake to all out when I'm laid-up ashore.

Some stuff on the Jimmy Green website:

https://jimmygreen.com/83-anchor-warps 

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On the bow weight question I think you will be ok! Distance sailing too and from, and in the Med, Pegasus was carrying a lot of weight, water (200lts including tank) & extra fuel (50ltrs) excluding tank, particularly in the North Aegean. I gradually learnt the best distribution around the boat, particularly the extra fresh water which is really heavy and to get this below the waterline. Found weight of boat took it well, with my tackle and some 30trs jerry stored water in the forward cabin.

Stuart - 325/37 Pegasus

A final thanks to everyone for the advice. I now have 45m x 8mm chain and 45m x 14mm Octoplait. There is still acres of space in the anchor locker for various jerry cans and the kedge too, and the boat is floating on her marks perfectly. I feel a chump for worrying! Now if only I could get the windlass to work...

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