Best rear anchor

[Rumley]

Hi everyone. I was wondering what everyone would recommend for a rear anchor for my boat. It is an older 19' fiberglass cuddy with 165 mercruiser. 98% of the time I am going to be boating in the north channel of lake Huron around manitoulin island. I bought a 14lbs danforth anchor for the front with 200' of 1/2" line and have bought 100' of 3/8" line for the rear but unsure what style anchor to go with. The three I have been considering are a 20lbs navy anchor, a 16lbs river anchor or a 10lbs collapsible anchor that is sort of like a grapnel anchor. Any insure from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any advice

[Tommy Monsoon]

Hi everyone. I was wondering what everyone would recommend for a rear anchor for my boat. It is an older 19' fiberglass cuddy with 165 mercruiser. 98% of the time I am going to be boating in the north channel of lake Huron around manitoulin island. I bought a 14lbs danforth anchor for the front with 200' of 1/2" line and have bought 100' of 3/8" line for the rear but unsure what style anchor to go with. The three I have been considering are a 20lbs navy anchor, a 16lbs river anchor or a 10lbs collapsible anchor that is sort of like a grapnel anchor. Any insure from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any advice

What about an extra anchor up front? I have an I/O and will not have an anchor for the stern, ever never.

[Rumley]

I am fairly new to anchoring out for the night and was told to have bow a bow and stern anchor. Any advice on if this is a bad idea and what would be better would be appreciated.

[Pez Vela]

Who told you that you needed a stern anchor? Did they explain what conditions you were likely to encounter that might necessitate a stern anchor? If you don't know why you do or why you don't, you need to find out. I did not see any mention of chain as part of your ground tackle. Make sure you have an ample amount of chain to go along with your line.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...Techniques.htm

Read the above information thoroughly. There will be a test Monday morning.

[timfives]

Hi everyone. I was wondering what everyone would recommend for a rear anchor for my boat. It is an older 19' fiberglass cuddy with 165 mercruiser. 98% of the time I am going to be boating in the north channel of lake Huron around manitoulin island. I bought a 14lbs danforth anchor for the front with 200' of 1/2" line and have bought 100' of 3/8" line for the rear but unsure what style anchor to go with. The three I have been considering are a 20lbs navy anchor, a 16lbs river anchor or a 10lbs collapsible anchor that is sort of like a grapnel anchor. Any insure from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any advice

Wouldn't anchor from the stern, fastest way for your boat to get swamped You want to anchor from the the bow, so that the boat will naturally be pointed into the wind, and thus take on the waves with the bow. If you anchor with the stern, you will in essence be taking wave on with out the benefit of your hull.

I'd spend some time taking an online boating course as that would better articulate the dangers of anchoring from the stern.

T

T

[mphy98]

One stern anchor + water = swamped boat. Cardinal rule of boating,NEVER EVER ANCHOR FROM THE STERN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even on a back bay because you never know when someone will come around a bend doing 50 with a large wake and there you are... all wet.

[Rumley]

I do have chain on my bow anchor I forgot to mention that. I have taken a boater safety course as Ontario requires that. After reading what everyone has posted it makes perfect sense to not have a stern anchor and I will find out why I was told that. I am not a complete new boater but I am new to anchoring for the night. All previous boating was from leaving the dock and then coming back to the dock to tie up.
Thanks for everyones input. Much appreciated.

[izoomie]

Where he is there is NO current. Current would be a big problem for a stern anchor. If you are in a sheltered bay with no current you are only protecting from swinging around in the wind.

I would set the bow anchor by pulling the boat in reverse. and use whatever is convenient in the stern to avoid swinging in the wind.

[Mischief Managed]

I use a 4.4 lb bruce claw for the stern. It's small, light, easy to kedge and has amazing hold in sand.

You only need a stern anchor to keep the boat from swinging around in tight day anchorages near shore. Always point the bow away from shore and you'll be fine. If you are anchoring overnight, I highly recommend using only one anchor and make sure you have enough room to swing on it.

[smokeonthewater]

In protected waters I ALWAYS use bow and stern anchors.... I absolutely hate having my boat constantly hunting back and forth on only the bow anchor.... It's irritating when trying to fish and it's irritatting when sleeping.... If you are in a boat that can be swamped by a wake you are not in a big enough boat to be overnighting where you have chosen to anchor..... I like a cove.... drop the bow anchor and back toward the shore... throw the stern anchor toward shore and pull in the bow line in to center the boat between the two anchors.....

[arks]

Don't consider it a stern anchor- it's in actuality a 'secondary' anchor. Typically it's smaller and lighter ground tackle used only in good weather. We call 'em lunch hooks.
If conditions are calm and the area has negligable current, a secondary anchor can be safely deployed from the stern- but only AFTER the primary anchor is securely attached to both the bow and the bottom.

In the above scenario, there are additional issues that must be considered before setting a stern anchor.
- Are any other vessels anchored nearby, and how are they set? Best policy to prevent collision or entanglement is to anchor away from others and use the same anchoring technique so all boats move the same while anchored.
- Does your primary anchor have good holding power with the bottom in that area?
- Will tides and/or current change significantly while anchored?
- Is the wind forecast to change direction or force while anchored?

If all of the issues are addressed then bow and stern anchoring is fine. I do it regularly with my Silverton. In this shot you can see both anchor lines.
BTW- my primary is a 33# Delta plow, and the secondary is a Fortress FX16, which is light but hold well.

[JoLin]

All of what arks said. Especially important to anchor the same way as everyone else in close quarters so the boats don't collide.

I also anchor often off the beaches at Fire Isalnd and set bow out with the secondary off the stern (set on or near the beach). So does everyone else in the "parking lot."

I carry a 14-lb bow anchor and a 5-lb secondary.

[capt sam]

we anchor bow and stern quite often, you just have to use some common sense. There's a technique I use called Bahamian anchoring, which basically uses two anchors tied off on the bow so the boat will swing with the tide.

http://www.tropicalboating.com/boat-...anchoring.html

[26aftcab454]

my boat has a high profile cabin and catches a lot of wind.
I think you have a couple options:

1.- anchoring near shore- drop primary anchor of the bow- back in to set -set rear lighter anchor on the beach or close to it.

2. I have 2 bow anchors about 45 degree angle apart. I do this to keep from swinging back & forth and stay in a much smaller area.-yet still bow heading into the wind and/or current.

if you look around you can find alot of info in types of anchors- scope- and size.

[kenmyfam]

I am not a fan of a stern anchor. Especially since a family drowned near hear that were swamped by a large fast boat coming out of a channel and swamping them. They had a stern anchor alone.
Just my 2 cents.

[haulnazz15]

I don't understand all of the animosity with the stern anchor. No one, including the OP, was advocating using ONLY a stern anhcor. The question was what type of anchor to get as a stern anchor to supplement the bow (primary) anchor. There is nothing wrong with using a stern anchor in addition to the bow anchor as long as you are aligned with the wind/current. I wouldn't trust a single bow anchor much while on an overnight, simply because the boat swings too much on the currents which could eventually work the anchor loose. The stern anchor stops the sway and gives support to the primary. I would think just about any 10-14b anchor would work as a stern anchor, a small amount of chain would help too.

[Rumley]

Thanks to everyone for their input. Has anyone ever used any kind of fold up anchor. There was one I was looking at that has 4 hooks, weighs around 9lbs and comes apart so that it can be put in a box that is approximately 14"x14"x2" so it really doesn't take much storage space.

[Home Cookin']

I use a mushroom for a stern anchor on my 21'. It's enough to hold it in place in gentle conditions, but light enough that it can't pull this boat down.

[coastalcruiser]

one morning i woke up and my neighbours stern anchor had wrapped around one of his props because the current made it spin i guess anyway lent him my goggles and he had to dive under the boat in cold water to cut the line.

[themaniam1]

To the OP. A collapsible grapple has been a good second anchor when I did not have room in our '16 open bow. A second anchor is good for safety reasons if for nothing else.

If current and or wind change is probable or potential storms with unpredictable winds, then I prefer two bow anchors. You can always face the wind and your circle of drift is very small.

If I do not want any drift then I use a stern anchor. I have a cruiser so my transom is very high in the rear so swamping is not a concern.

Either way I set the anchor watch on my GPS when ever I go below deck just for piece of mind.