2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

[djalexg82]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 1993 27? Sea ray Sundancer 270, I want a secondary anchor to minimize drag and to anchor overnight sometimes.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to brand size I would need for my boat?

Here is a pic of the boat (not mine, just a similar one)



thanks

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

so much depends on your anchoring conditions, because generally stern anchoring is dangerous; if you get current or waves against the stern you can swamp, or beam seas/currents, so often one wants a lighter anchor that will "fail" before the boat does.

However with a boat as large as yours, that generally will not be an issue, assuming you are not trying to anchor against stormy conditions.

So then the question is: how important is it for the anchor to hold? One strategy is a firm anchor at the bow and a lighter one on the stern that may or may not pop loose, say on a cross wind or beam sea/current; the other strategy is to have the second anchor as "big" as the primary bow anchor (in fact, forces against the stern anchor will be stronger than against the bow anchor since the boat is designed to ride bow to.) Where you moor, then, how bad is it if you swing?

 

[JoLin]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

Only 2 situations come to mind that I've deployed a stern anchor.

1. Anchoring near-shore when I'm wading to shore and back. I always anchor bow out, with the stern anchor deployed to keep the boat perpendicular to the shore.

2. A multi-boat overnight raftup, when we had 4 bow anchors deployed for 7 or 8 boats. With the wind forecast variable, we anchored near shore and ran a couple stern anchors up toward the shoreline. You don't want that many boats taking a 180 deg swing- all the anchor lines will get tangled.

Unless you have a situation where swinging at anchor will cause a problem, you WANT to let the boat swing. On an overnight you use a lot of scope (7x or better), and set the alarm on your GPS if you have one.

As for the stern anchor itself, I carry a 7 pounder (about half the weight of the primary) with a few feet of chain on it.

My .02

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

I use a stern anchor often on my 25 foot boat, but typically just at sand bars where everyone else does the same. I have found that a tiny anchor works quite well for this purpose and use a 4.4 lb Lewmar claw anchor with 4 feet of 3/16" chain and about 75 feet of 3/8 three strand nylon for a rode. The entire package fits in a very small space and being so small and light, is pretty handy for kedging too.

It will drag pretty easily in a stiff wind if set in sand, and I think that's a good thing. I do not want the stern anchor to keep the bow from turning into a stiff breeze.

 

[spdracr39]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

Kedging : to move (a ship) by means of a line attached to a small anchor dropped at the distance and in the direction desired.

So when would be an example that you would need to do this? I'm trying to learn here

 

[alldodge]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

Agree with all-yall about stern anchoring. If you really want to do it you can always add a bit of safety to it just in case and use a pelican hook. Secure one end of the pelican hook to the cleat and the other to the anchor rhode with a bowlin. If things get bad release the keeper and let it go.

Sea-Dog Pelican Hook - Plated Steel,Pelican Hooks,JMSOnline.net Marine Supply and Boating Store

 

[JoLin]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

Kedging : to move (a ship) by means of a line attached to a small anchor dropped at the distance and in the direction desired.

So when would be an example that you would need to do this? I'm trying to learn here

It can sometimes be used to move a boat into deeper water if it runs aground. I stress the 'sometimes' as I've never seen it successfully used on a boat bigger than a small runabout (my father's, when I was a kid). In that case he tossed the anchor out as far as possible and dragged the boat to the anchor. A few repetitions and we were free. If you have a larger boat and a dinghy, you could take the anchor out far enough to bite in deep(er) water, then try hauling the boat to it.

My .02

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

it's more fun to watch than to do.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

Perhaps I'm looking at this differently than others, but I'm reading this as the OP wants to throw a stern anchor as a secondary one to the bow anchor, just to minimize swing. If I'm correct, I'll continue...

This can be done safely as long as the bow anchor is of proper size, scope, and has locked into the ground well enought to hold the boat. We'll assume that is all correct and in place. Let out the appropriate additional bow rode and deploy/set the stern anchor as appropriate, then take back in the bow anchor line, getting back to your 7:1 scope. This stern setup should be a smaller anchor than the bow (approx 11# for the boat of your size). If one has to break loose, you'll want it to be the stern.
This is best done in calm conditions where rising tides and constant current changes aren't expected. Lakes are great, small rivers are acceptable, inlets would be terrible.....

I have had to do this many times when the swing might put you into contact with another boat. It has always worked well, given the right circumstances.

A better option would be dual bow anchors. Both of roughly the same size, place one anchor and have it set securely. Swing the boat to one side and place the second anchor at a 45? angle to the other and set it. Equal out the anchor lines. These lines should be tied off to separate bow cleats near the bow, not to the same midship bow cleat. This minimizes swing to approx 25% of a single line.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

X 2. Only once have I used a stern anchor along with my bow anchor in over 40 years. Two off the bow as described above is best for every size boat unless the swing with put you in contact with another boat or the shore.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

Kedging : to move (a ship) by means of a line attached to a small anchor dropped at the distance and in the direction desired.

So when would be an example that you would need to do this? I'm trying to learn here

With my little stern anchor, I can stand on the swim platform and toss it 50 feet, get it set, and move the boat at least 30 feet toward the anchor before it breaks free. Once the boat is where I want it, I can toss the anchor 50 feet out and get it set nicely. This is my normal technique when anchoring in water too shallow to operate the stern drive without trimming it way up and sucking sand into the engine.

 

[spdracr39]

Re: 2nd Anchor Suggestion (Stern)

Great examples I hadn't thought of that I can probably use someday thanks !!!