Anchor Line Sizing

[Liquid Asset]

Since this is the heaviest boat I have ever had to outfit, and the previous owner did nothing correctly I need some help. I am purhcasing new anchor line since we anchor in 200' or more of water sometimes to do bottom fishing here in the gulf. I am not sure of how to determine the correct line size for the anchor. Lewmar recomended either 7/8" or 1". What I want to know is how does the weight rating on the line compute to weight rating on the boat so that I can determine the safe capacity and line size.

I am also going to use 50' of chain on this setup but need to determine the size for that too.

There is 3/4" on the boat right now and that is fine for anchoring inshore at the beach or what not, but it is only in 30' of water. I have not stressed t he anchor line yet and there is only 150' of it on board.

I have a Delta Plow anchor that I will be putting on the end of this setup.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Traveler 45C]

Sorry, I can’t remember which boat you bought. Which one and what size Delta?

For a working anchor, you need to determine your boats wind load in winds up to 30 knots and select your line, chain and anchor to handle that load within their safe working limits. That’s working load not breaking strength.

The Complete Book of Anchoring (I forget the author) is great for figuring all of this out. Let me know which boat you got and I’ll look into it for you.

 

[Nick]

I'll jog your memory?

"Complete Book of Anchoring and Mooring" by Earl Hinz

here you go! Good reference as you will see on this forum!

Nick

 

[Nonchalant1]

Read Earl Hinz' book about anchor rode length too. It'll help you determine rode length, anchor type, anchor size, how much chain, chafing guards, etc. To get an anchor to set in 200' of water with 50' of chain, you'll need about 1000 ft of line for 5/1 scope, or 1500 ft for 7 to 1 scope. We can't help you size your line when you don't mention your boat size/weight.

Doug Shuman

 

[Genesis]

For FISHING in up to 200' of water 600' of rode will be fine. That's how much I carry. If its blowing hard enough for this not to work, I don't want to be fishing.

HOWEVER, this will NOT hold in any kind of serious weather. But - in that situation I ain't anchoring in 200' of water!

I have 3/4" on my 45C with a Delta 44.

 

[Liquid Asset]

Ok, I have a 1982 50C. I think 600' will work, but I am most likely going to get closer to 1000'. I have an enormus anchor locker, so there is room.

I have a delta 55lb anchor.

I dont necisarily want to fish when it is too rough to use 600', but when the tournament time comes around here, you go no matter what.

Where can I get the book about anchoring off the shelf? I dont want to wait for delivery.

 

[mike]

West Marine usually has a copy or two.

 

[Genesis]

If you're tournament fishing, and bottom fishing, you almost certainly should hold station rather than anchoring.

The anchoring when fishing scenario is for when you're having fun.....

 

[Traveler 45C]

I got the book off of Amazon. I highly recommend it. I lent the book to our marinas resident “cruiser” and even he learned something.

I’ll look up what you need @ lunch when I get to the boat and get back to you right away.

 

[Traveler 45C]

From the book:

In a 30-knot wind, in which the ground tackle should be designed to handle safely, the estimated horizontal force on a 50’ boat is 1600lbs., on a 60’, 2000lbs.

The recommended rode for your 50C is 3/8” chain and 5/8” line, Working Load- 1140lbs, Load Limit- 2600lbs.

Since Hatts are heavier than your avg. boat, going up in size is probably a good idea. In this case, the recommendation is for 7/16” chain and ¾” line, Working Load- 1560lbs, Load Limit- 3500lbs.

The Delta 55 is a good selection. Lewmar recommends 3/8” chain for it as presented above. I didn’t see any mention of line size from their website.

If your gonna’ use 3/8” chain, 33’ of it is recommend as it will weigh a little more than the anchor. If using 7/16” chain, 24’ will be sufficient.

Of course it can’t hurt to super size the ground tackle, but its just more weight that you’ll have to haul around.

I have 20’ of 3/8” chain and 550’ of 5/8” line on my 45C, and soon I will be hanging a Delta 44 off my bow. Karl???

 

[Genesis]

I'm out of town but will be back in a couple of days and will run down a number on that Delta.... promise

 

[solanderi]

Does anyone have experience with sea anchors for fishing and as an addition to the safety gear onboard? My application would be kite fishing in S. Florida. The thought is that a person could slow down a drift in the Gulf Stream, thereby keeping the kite baits in the strike zone longer. Any thoughts?

 

[Genesis]

Sea anchors are a pain in the ass to retrieve - I'm not sure that they'd work all that well if you had to deploy and pick them up repeatedly.

I've used an improvised one when drifting OVERNIGHT out in the canyon, to slow down the rate of drift.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Theoretically, sea anchors will not slow down drift casued by Gulf Stream currents. They will slow down a drift from wind, not water?

Doug

 

[Liquid Asset]

The thing that sucks about retrieving the sea anchor is you can't just pull it in like you can an anchor. You have to use the motor and then pick up the bouy that collapses the sea anchor. I have one, and I used it to drift fish when flying kites for fishing. Works good on a windy day when you want the bow pointed into the wind and waves.

But I agree with Genesis, a pain in the ass to retrieve.

check out http://www.driftbag.com

they have a pretty good anchor for fishing.

 

[Genesis]

Theoretically, sea anchors will not slow down drift casued by Gulf Stream currents. They will slow down a drift from wind, not water?

Doug

Correct. They do nothing for drift from current.