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Anchors .... ?

Denise McDonald

Member II
**Cross posted on Ericson FB pages so apologies if you've read this on social media**


Greetings all, I have an anchor question. Our E27 is moored in a 28 foot slip and our marina is VERY strict about overhang, whether from the pulpit or the stern. We want to get a new, much bigger anchor and chain. There's no windlass. The anchor that came with the boat has a lot of rope rode and is a little under weight for the 27. To the credit of those who had the boat before us, they only anchored on day trips to "park and have lunch". However, we plan to do many overnights and week long excursions. So where I need help> has anyone rigged up a good on-deck pulley/winch system that would allow us (me) to hoist that anchor up? I would much rather have too big of an anchor than too small - or I won't sleep. I need to figure out some kind of roller that doesn't stick out far, and some system to crank it up. We still haven't decided where to store the anchor as there's really no hatch to the "anchor locker." All suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Depends on local bottom material, but I would look at a Danforth 12H. That works great for our 11K boat, with 30 feet of chain and 250 feet of rode. We typically anchor in sand & mud.
(There are probably at least 5 correct answers to this question... ! )

I have seen several boats in your size range with a bracket like this one:

It's just an idea.....
 
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Denise McDonald

Member II
Depends on local bottom material, but I would look at a Danforth 12H. That works great for our 11K boat, with 30 feet of chain and 250 feet of rode. We typically anchor in sand & mud.
(There are probably at least 5 correct answers to this question... ! )

I have seen several boats in your size range with a bracket like this one:

It's just an idea.....
Thanks! That’s a real possibility!
 

nquigley

Sustaining Member
You might consider an over-sized Danforth-style anchor made in aluminum that's way (no pun) lighter than a steel Danforth.
I believe the Fortress anchors can be disassembled for stowing below. There's a comparison chart here:

I bet the Fortress is comparatively expensive, but has a good rep.
You might find this You Tube episode useful:
 

Denise McDonald

Member II
You might consider an over-sized Danforth-style anchor made in aluminum that's way (no pun) lighter than a steel Danforth.
I believe the Fortress anchors can be disassembled for stowing below. There's a comparison chart here:

I bet the Fortress is comparatively expensive, but has a good rep.
You might find this You Tube episode useful:
Thank you !
 

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
On my E27, I stored the anchor on the bow pulpit with the bracket that Loren suggested. Place it so your head sail does not get snagged and secure the anchor down. For the rode, I used an old heavy cloth bag with a shoulder strap to store down below. Makes it easy to carry to the bow when anchoring. The rode was 25' of chain and 100' of rope. To anchor, attach the rode to the anchor and boat and then unsecure the anchor. Not fun in a hurry but can be done easily in preparation to anchor out.
To get the anchor up without a bow roller or windlass takes a little experience and technique. Be careful not to get your hands pulled into the cleat. Gloves are a must but nothing that you don't want to get dirty and nothing that can get snagged on a chain or cleat. The bottom where I sail is mostly mud or peat. So sometimes it's pretty stuck. I would motor or pull the boat up to the anchor pulling in the slack rode until i could see chain. Then, cleat the end of the rope and use the boat's inertia to pull out the anchor from the mud. Once the boat is free, haul up the rest of the rode and wash it off with buckets of water. Oh the bucket - plastic with a strong handle, 6' of 2" webbing attached to the handle so you can scoop up water from the deck. Be real careful scooping. The pull on the bucket will pull you off the boat. Hope this is of some help.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
A dock-walk to see what others in your area are doing could be instructive.

I think there are a couple of old threads here about installing bow rollers. The nicest ones seem to be custom-welded stem fittings that incorporate the headsail tack fitting and perhaps the chain plate. With a claw or small plow-type anchor, they probably won’t stick out as far as the bow pulpit of your boat. Any sort of bow roller may require re-locating the navigation lights off the deck. I found an inexpensive bolt-on roller that’s only about two inches wide that fits on one side of the chain plate. Of course, there are other compromises.

The cheapest thing is probably the bolt-on hanger bracket sold for danforth-type anchors that dangles them from the pulpit. This will add to the overall length, and will draw calls from the marina if it protrudes into a walkway. My boat came to me with such a bracket. My immediate “solution” was to park the boat bow-out. Eventually somebody sideswiped the bow, took the anchor clear off and twisted the pulpit.

Now I’ve got a Lewmar “claw” on the bow that when parked wraps neatly around the stem and barely protrudes at all. The Danforth has been relocated to the pushpit as a secondary cruising anchor, or just left at home in the shed.

When force is necessary, it is possible to run the rode down a side deck and winch it from the cockpit using a primary winch. In muddy areas, this can make a pretty big mess. On the other hand, I’ve kedged the boat off a sandbar that way.
 

Denise McDonald

Member II
On my E27, I stored the anchor on the bow pulpit with the bracket that Loren suggested. Place it so your head sail does not get snagged and secure the anchor down. For the rode, I used an old heavy cloth bag with a shoulder strap to store down below. Makes it easy to carry to the bow when anchoring. The rode was 25' of chain and 100' of rope. To anchor, attach the rode to the anchor and boat and then unsecure the anchor. Not fun in a hurry but can be done easily in preparation to anchor out.
To get the anchor up without a bow roller or windlass takes a little experience and technique. Be careful not to get your hands pulled into the cleat. Gloves are a must but nothing that you don't want to get dirty and nothing that can get snagged on a chain or cleat. The bottom where I sail is mostly mud or peat. So sometimes it's pretty stuck. I would motor or pull the boat up to the anchor pulling in the slack rode until i could see chain. Then, cleat the end of the rope and use the boat's inertia to pull out the anchor from the mud. Once the boat is free, haul up the rest of the rode and wash it off with buckets of water. Oh the bucket - plastic with a strong handle, 6' of 2" webbing attached to the handle so you can scoop up water from the deck. Be real careful scooping. The pull on the bucket will pull you off the boat. Hope this is of some help.
Thank you!
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Of course, for a small (ish) boat, there is no reason that you can't drop the anchor from the cockpit, as long as the rode is lead free to the bow. It could live in a cockpit locker.

I don't seem to have any purpose-taken photos of my anchor set-up, (oh gee, maybe a future blog post...) but found a couple that vaguely show what's going on.

Danforth dangling off the bow (!) as received. Really a hazard. PO's just stuffed the rode down the vent cowl on the foredeck.
danforth.png

Partial view of the current foredeck. Rode wasn't attached here for some reason. I put in that deck plate where the vent was - it's water tight but still needs some work. Basically the nav lights and the anchor switched places.
IMG_2341 (1).jpeg

Basically what the plan is/was. For reference, probably dimensions on an E27 are slightly different, but I'd guess not much.
bow hardware.jpg

One can kind of see how the anchors ride on bow and stern in the recent "tag" post. See how long the shaft of the Danforth is!
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I had a 25-footer in which the stock (crosspiece) of the Danforth was lashed to the pulpit at two points and the shank fit well toward the deck. They make hangers but I found all of them too loose or unnecessary (like the hanger Toddster inherited). Whether lashing works depends on the size and shape of the pulpit and the size of the Danforth. Smaller Danforths can also be stored flat on the foredeck. There are special fittings for that.

I gunkholed a lot in that boat, tossing the anchor over a a couple of times a day in shallow water around Annapolis, and simple worked really well. It wouldn't work in deep-water California.

 
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Denise McDonald

Member II
I had a 25-footer in which the stock (crosspiece) of the Danforth was lashed to the pulpit at two points and the shank fit well toward the deck. They make hangers but I found all of them too loose or unnecessary (like the hanger Toddster inherited). Whether lashing works depends on the size and shape of the pulpit and the size of the Danforth. Smaller Danforths can also be stored flat on the foredeck. There are special fittings for that.

I gunkholed a lot in that boat, tossing the anchor over a a couple of times a day in shallow water around Annapolis, and simple worked really well. It wouldn't work in deep-water California.

Thank you
 
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