Hi Bill,
I am not surprised by the situation you describe. The Bruce has the highest percentage set on first try of any anchor (all the new ones included). It also has the lowest drag value (meaning lowest holding power),particularly if it catches a rock or gets blocked with hard substrate as you describe. Many people recommend overspec-ing the size of a Bruce for that reason. Steve Dashew was one such proponent, until he switched all his boats to Rocnas. The new generation scoop-type anchors (Rocna, Manson Supreme, Spade, Ultra) dig very deep and are far less prone to pulling out. They are engineered to allow the substrate to pass over them rather than catch and pull.

Vice Commodore, OCC 

On Easy Go we have set Bahamian Moorings, two chain anchorage moorings, two chain v moorings and my favourite a Moitessier Mooring. The Moitessier mooring is simple to set and retrieve, does not allow the chains to get tangled on each other and has incredible holding power. We have successfully sat out a couple of Cat 1 hurricanes with this mooring. We were once blown ashore after setting a v two chain mooring.

We set the Moitessier mooring by putting down our main bower which is either a Bruce or Fisherman 's Anchor. We set this well giving it the entire scope required for the depth. If we have anchored in less than 25 feet we will then retrieve the chain until we have about 60 feet remaining in the water. We attach a second anchor, out little bruce usally, to 30 feet of chain and attach this chain to the main chain rode with a shackle and swivel. We set this anchor down carefully and again let out all the chain we need for the anchorage we are in. This places the anchors about 30 feet apart. We have only one chain over the bow roller, no tangles and if the wind gets up we can let out more rode and even put a float on the rode to act as a hydraulic damper/snubber. We have swung around on this system without dislodging the anchors and have never had a foul up even in kelp.

We have yet to drag anchor with this method and Easy Go has been known to sit to this anchor system for four months.

To retrieve we bring in the chain until we get to the connection of the two chains then bring in the 30 feet and small bruce, while staying connected to the bottom, put this all away then finish getting our bower up and stowed.

To be clear, the smaller Bruce is set in line with the main bower?

Easy go, great idea. Much like a tandem anchor setup but better because it doesn 't attach to the crown. Still achieves 100:1 scope between the two anchors, doesn 't it? I 'll have to re-read Moitessier 's books. I have to say though that I 'd rather use two scoop anchors rather than a Bruce or a fisherman or a plough.

Vice Commodore, OCC 

I 'm a better sailor than an artist. I hope the sketch I have drawn explains the anchoring method. Unfortunately the image is not loading to this message. If you would like the image email me and I 'll send it along.

Use whatever anchors your comfortable with and are appropriate for the circumstances.

Easy Go has a junk rigged schooner sail plan and tends to wander around quite a bit in strong winds in an anchorage. I have found that the Moistessier set dampens that somewhat. I 'll often put a second small anchor over the bow roller on its own chain to the depth of the water plus another fifteen feet. This drags around the bottom and stops the boat from wandering as much. If the wind shifts it is easy to raise and allow the boat to swing.

If send me the diagram by email I will work out how to save it on the Forum.
Simon
Simon@medex.org.uk

Great the pictures are back on! Below is the Moistessier method

[attachment=63]image.jpg[/attachment]

Hi Daria,
Has anyone else documented your observation that a Spade needs more scope than a Rocna to set? I pay a good deal of attention to ground tackle and anchoring techniques and this is a new observation to me.
I am uncomfortable with casual asides of a critical nature from those whose advice will likely be heard and followed without an attempt at balance. Many casual readers will read your statement:
We have aboard and use the Ultra as our primary and the Rocna as our storm anchor. We also have the Spade but find that it needs more scope than the other two. (After all, we write about anchors and anchoring so we have lots of them.)
As an endorsement of Spade over Rocna. You may mean that to be the message, but there are some concerns over Rocna’s design (and occasional problems in action) that leads many thoughtful sailors/experts to endorse a Spade over a Rocna.
That said, I believe both to be superb anchors, far more effective than older generation anchors.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Hey all,
Some thoughts on deploying 2 anchors:
One consideration that leads me to suggest that one should lean towards seldom deploying 2 anchors is the occasional need to up anchor and move in the middle of the night under adverse conditions. I attempt to anchor any time we overnight ready for gale conditions with only one anchor and I always know a bearing for departure from the anchorage. In 3 -10 minutes (depending on scope) I can be free and gone (faster if I do it by hand which I had to do a back wrenching time on the Thames River 2 years ago). With 2 anchors, quick departures becomes far more difficult.
Handling 2 anchors in adverse conditions can also be dangerous.
Deploying anchors in a “Y” formation is an invitation for dragging boats to “funnel” into your bow and get pinned there making considerable damage likely and extraction dangerous to people.
Far better to devise your primary anchoring system to be robust enough to rarely call for a second anchor.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Hi Dick,
In one of the better comparative tests of anchors published in SAIL magazine in October 2006, the effect of scope on holding power was evaluated. That test showed that the holding power of the Spade was excellent at 5:1 but significantly reduced at 3:1 scope. That was not the case for the Rocna, Manson Supreme, Fortress or Wasi(Bugel). Anchor tests always have their own issues but we have found that more scope is better for the Spade in our own experience.

We all know that more scope is better in general and we normally would never use less than 5:1, but sometimes (crowded anchorage, deep water) there is no other choice. I agree that the Spade is an excellent anchor. This finding is just something to be aware of.

[attachment=257]Picture1.jpg[/attachment]

Vice Commodore, OCC