Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
While returning home from a fishing trip last summer we had a fuel problem that shut us down just outside of the inlet. With the tide rising and the current rushing in, the last thing I wanted to do was drift into the inlet and anywhere near one of the stone jetties. So despite all the Saturday afternoon boat traffic I made a quick decision to drop anchor so we wouldn’t get into any more trouble than we were already in.
With a pulpit up on the bow holding an anchor that’s always rigged and ready for quick deployment, the process of getting us hooked onto the bottom and the boat safely stopped took less than a minute. Knowing that our predicament could have been a lot worse if we had to fumble around with our anchor before sending it to the seafloor, I was surprised the other day when I was aboard a friend’s boat whose grounding tackle (anchor, chain, line) was in a compartment below the deck beneath lifejackets, fenders, and a water hose. “All we do is fish offshore, and I never anchor my boat,” was the excuse he gave me when I questioned his storage decision.
If only for emergencies, every boat should have an anchor rigged and ready to be used at a moment’s notice. And just as none of us know if or when a problem might arise, we’ll never know until it happens when a quick drop of the “hook” to the bottom could save our vessel from a catastrophe.
Boaters can’t be properly rigged for anchoring if they don’t have the right grounding tackle in the first place. Anchors come in many different sizes and types. The size that any given anchor needs to be is dependant not just on the length of a vessel but also its design above and below the waterline because those factors will affect how wind and currents push on the boat and, therefore, how much stress will be put on its anchor. Most will agree that the basic Danforth type anchor is the best all-round design because they’re relatively inexpensive and will hold well in most types of bottom material. Boaters should be aware that the holding power of a Danforth anchor is in its “flukes”; not the physical weight of the anchor. That’s why even lightweight aluminum anchors can be effective, although a bit pricey.
All anchors need to be rigged with a length of chain between them and their rope to help the anchor set and hold properly. Chain size and length can vary a lot but (very) generally speaking; small boats requiring small anchors can often get away with 3-4 feet of relatively light chain, while bigger offshore type boats should have heavier and longer chains in the 6-12 foot range. The longer and heavier the chain, the better the holding power of an anchor. I’ve never been a big fan of the plastic coated anchor chains, because they’re usually expensive, too stiff, too short, and over time the coating cracks and the chain rusts from within. A galvanized chain is the only way to go.
For anchor “line” the best to use is simple 3-strand nylon in diameters that are appropriate for the size of the boat. Nylon is best because it will stretch and provided a bit of shock absorption when the boat snatches on it, making it more comfortable aboard and less likely that the anchor will be broken free from the bottom.
How much line a skipper needs to carry depends upon the nature of the water they plan to operate on. Naturally the deeper the water - the more line will be needed. The ratio of 7:1 (that’s seven feet of line for every one foot of depth) is often used to describe how much line should be used for a given depth. But realistically that’s much more line than the average boater will use in most anchoring situation. Boaters who have enough line aboard to allow for a 5:1 ratio for the waters they travel will find that they have more than enough line to get the job done.
When it comes to actually setting the anchor (or “dropping the hook”) I always get a kick out of folks who I see literally “throwing” the anchor out from the boat – like the extra two feet they get it out is going to make a difference where it comes to rest on the bottom! Throwing is NEVER the correct way to deploy an anchor; it only increases the likelihood that the anchor will twist-up in its own chain or line on the way to the bottom. The same can happen if the anchor is allowed to freefall all the way to the bottom. Anchors should always be carefully let down to the water from the bow of the boat and then lowered all the way to the bottom with enough resistance on the line that anchor and chain stay in a straight line.
After the anchor hits bottom, the boat should be allowed to drift back as the line is let out. Getting close to the desired scope, tension on the line should be increased until the anchor starts to dig into the bottom and eventually sets itself. If the anchor doesn’t want to hold, a little more line can be let out until it grabs and then the rest of the desired scope should be allowed to slip out. The line can then be secured to the bow cleat. NEVER should the anchor be tied to a side (spring line) cleat or to the stern as either location could cause the boat to swamp in a strong current or from an unexpected wave.
Finally, raising the anchor should be a simple matter of slowly motoring ahead as someone on the bow pulls in the slack line. When the boat is almost over the anchor it should be put in neutral and the line tied off to the cleat. With a very short scope, the gentle rocking of the boat should break the anchor free of the bottom. After the anchor is raised a few feet, if the boat is slowly backed up, the anchor will plane itself to the surface and allow the person on the bow to easily pull it into the boat for recovery.
The need to anchor a boat goes far beyond wreck fishing or beach parties. Regardless of its intended use, every vessel of every size, on every body of water should be equipped with adequate grounding tackle that can be quickly deployed and safely hold the boat whenever and wherever necessary.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
