Anchoring Your Boat
Anchor Types
The first step in anchoring is selecting the proper anchor. The four most popular style anchors all that have several style variations.
- Fluke Anchors: Commonly referred to as a Danforth style. This anchor is available in galvanized steel, rubber coated, stainless, and aluminum. The fluke is also found with solid shanks or slotted with a slip ring installed. The slip ring makes anchor retrieval even easier.
- Plow Anchors: Plow anchors have excellent holding capabilities but are difficult to store without a bow pulpit.
- Mushroom: Mushroom anchors get there name because they look like a upside down mushroom. They are available in the standard mushroom, a river style that has claws, and a Richter that has a slip ring and spikes. Mushroom anchors do not have the holding power of a fluke or plow anchor and should only be used on small, lighter weight boats.
- Navy Anchors: Navy anchors are weight based anchors with short heavy flukes for additional holding power.
Anchoring Tips
Anchors also must have something to attach them to the boat. This is called the anchor rode and may consist of line, chain or a combination of both. The whole system of gear including anchor, rode, shackles etc. is called ground tackle. By adding chain between the anchor and line can significantly help in getting your anchor set.
The amount of rode that you have out (scope) when at anchor depends generally on water depth and weather conditions. The deeper the water and the more severe the weather the more rode you will put out. The key to anchoring is having the proper scope. The term scope refers to the depth to the bottom plus the height of the bow vs. the length of line to the anchor. At a minimum you should have out five to eight times 5 to 1 scope for day anchoring and 6 - 8 to 1 for overnight the depth of the water plus the distance from the water to where the anchor will attach to the bow. For example, if you measure water depth and it shows 10 feet and it is 3 feet from the top of the water to your bow cleat you would multiply 13X(5) = 65 or 13X(8) = 104 to determine the amount of rode to put out. While these lengths may seem excessive these are industry standards by which the anchors have been tested for boat size ratings.
Retrieve the anchor by pulling or powering forward slowly until the anchor rode hangs vertically at the bow. Cleat the line as the boat moves slowly past the vertical. This will use the weight of the boat to free the anchor and protect you from being dragged over the bow. Now you can simply pull in the rode and the anchor.