Re: Anchoring at night - questions

Mac Davis (mcmd@innet.com)
Wed, 23 Jun 1999 10:32:23 -0400


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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Hi Scott:
Here's my take on anchoring in a P19, FWIW:

You need 2 anchors, but not usualy at the same time. I recomment the
Guardian line from Fortress. They are danforth style, aluminium, and in the
3 (lunch hook) and 7 pound (over night) size, more than adequate for a P19.
Get maybe 20 feet of ¼ chain for the big one and 5 feet for the little one.
They stow well and don't rust.

The danforth style depends more on fluke area than weight, and I've had
good luck holding in Florida muck and mud with the optional mud palms (no
charge, just fill out a card and send it in). No problem in sand either.
Where I anchor, the water is very shallow (<20 feet) and if you use 5:1
scope and set well you'll be OK. Setting the anchor in weeds is a problem
(true for almost all anchor types). Shouldn't anchor midst sea vegetation
(or coral) anyway. Find sand or mud. Oyster bars will fool you, as the
anchor hangs but does not bury. With a wind shift, it will then free
itself.

With a tide shift, the danforth type anchor, if set well, will pose no
problem. In Florida, keeping the boat oriented a particular direction is
often desirable, and with a second anchor off the stern, if the first
anchor unsets, the load will transfer to the other anchor. Unless you are a
particularly heavy sleeper, you wake up as the boat swings anyway.

I fine that moorings are almost always private; unless signage says
otherwise and someone charges you for using it. You can always consult an
appropriate cruising guide, even though they're usually out of date by the
time they're published. My take on moorings is that if you don't have
positive permission to use it, you shouldn't. To me, using the mooring that
someone else went to the trouble to set out and maintain is no different
than someone fishing off the dock in my yard, because they "didn't think I'd
mind."

Hope this helps,
Mac Davis, Kelpie, WWP19#804, Aripeka, Fl

----- Original Message -----
From: Scott F <sfoshee@yahoo.com>
To: West Wight Potter <wwpotter@tscnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 1999 9:39 AM
Subject: Anchoring at night - questions

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> West Wight Potter Website at URL
> http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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> We would love to anchor out overnight, but have never
> done it and have a few questions.
>
> 1. We have a P19 and one anchor, an 11 lb (I think)
> Danforth. Should we get another anchor and put out
> two, or should this one be OK?
>
> 2. Will a Danforth be OK when the tide changes 180
> degrees, or will it tend to dislodge when we rotate
> around? Is there another anchor type you might
> recommend to compliment the Danforth for a variety of
> bottom conditions? In Charleston I think we have
> sandy, muddy, and weedy bottoms. No rocks I believe,
> unless you count oyster beds.
>
> 3. How can you tell if a mooring is public or
> private?
>
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