How many anchors do you carry?

[DBreskin]

Re: How many anchors do you carry?

Is a scope of 5x a general rule of thumb when deploying anchor line?

The general rule I learned is 7:1 scope. Up to 10:1 in bad conditions and down to 5:1 in calm.

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: How many anchors do you carry?

I have one Danforth 12lb anchor with 100' of rope and I also have a 10lb mushroom anchor for the aft of the boat although I still need to get rope for it. We also have a bungie rope for anchoring close to shore when camping which sure helps keep the prop from being banged up on the shore.

 

[coreybv]

Re: How many anchors do you carry?

I've normally only carried one, but the lakes I did most of my boating on were generally fairly calm and I didn't find the need for an anchor very often unless I was overnighting. I've also done a lot of boating with no anchor at all on board.

However, I moved last summer and my boating will now take place mostly on the upper Mississippi. I'll now be carrying at least one spare. I have nightmares about a stalled engine and the current carrying me down river until I smash into a dam. If worse come to worse I want to be able to at least stop the boat and stay put. So from here on out I won't be pulling off the trailer without at least 2 anchors on board.

 

[JoLin]

Re: How many anchors do you carry?

The general rule I learned is 7:1 scope. Up to 10:1 in bad conditions and down to 5:1 in calm.

Right- Ricohman, the '5:1' example I used was just to illustrate how to calculate scope. The general rule is 7:1 as DBreskin stated- can be more or less depending on the conditions you expect to encounter. I haven't personally laid more than 7:1, as I wouldn't stay out overnight if extreme conditions are forecast... but you never know for sure what might pop up.

 

[ricohman]

Re: How many anchors do you carry?

Right- Ricohman, the '5:1' example I used was just to illustrate how to calculate scope. The general rule is 7:1 as DBreskin stated- can be more or less depending on the conditions you expect to encounter. I haven't personally laid more than 7:1, as I wouldn't stay out overnight if extreme conditions are forecast... but you never know for sure what might pop up.

Thanks for this valuable information. I may not spend nights out when its going to storm, but you never know.