I'll bet few if any of you have what is commonly called an "old-fashioned"
anchor/kedge anchor/sailing ship anchor/etc, etc.  I do.  It's the style
anchor that artists and jewelers always use in their creations, if that
helps you visualize it.  My 40-pounder has a folding stock making it easy to
store.

I think I picked it up at a marine flea market in San Diego.

After 20 years in the lazarette, emerging every few years during hurricane
preparations, it has finally made its way to the place of honor on the
pulpit.  Why, you ask?  Simply because it works so well.

Its stock MAKES it lie down and insert one of its flukes into whatever
bottom we are over, and its thin shank allows it to plunge right through
soupy bottoms in search of something substantial to cling to.  In the Keys
over a grassy coral sand bottom, I could see it clearly, and it had only a
several-inch scar behind it as it immediately penetrated right up to the
crown and held us in 15-knot winds at Dry Tortugas.  In our mucky bayou
bottom at home, it grabs every bit as well as any one of my three Fortress
anchors set on "mud."  In a reversing flow, reset is a given.

One reason I have hesitated to use it over the years is that it is awkward
to retrieve, especially over the stern if used there.  Another reason it has
not seen lots of service is the slim looking flukes as compared to the
expansive looking flukes on all my other anchors.  I just couldn't believe
it would work as well or better than its modern cousins.

I have more or less resolved the deployment and retrieval issues off the
pulpit, and just plain old experience over the years with its impressive
grab and hold characteristics has allayed my doubts about this old codger.

As to anchoring this vessel in general, the boat is VERY ill-behaved in
windy weather when anchored.  With all its sail area mostly forward, it yaws
around like an untamed horse on a tether as if trying to yank out anchors
(my steadying sail is useless), so I am prone to toss a couple of anchors in
the water in order to sleep better when the wind is up a bit.  With the
old-timer in the bottom, I didn't bother with a second anchor in the
Tortugas until forecasts showed 15-20 knot winds coming overnight.

Just one man's experience.  If I knew where to get one, I'd tell y'all to
get right on it, but I don't.

Rich Gano
CALYPSO (GB-42 #295)
Southport, FL (near Panama City)

As Rich says, this anchor falls under the kedge category. It is sometimes
referred to as the "Yachtsman" anchor. On  the Defender website, they can be
found under the Kedge category where they have a version made by Manson (a
Canadian company, I believe) which is more like a stockless Navy anchor and
one called a "Storm" anchor made by Paul Luke and fits Rich's description
perfectly. The bad news is that they are made from bronze and are very
expensive. N.B., that to hold a particular size boat, the "Storm" anchor has
to be of greater weight and other anchors. I have an unused galvanized
"Yachtsman" anchor awaiting a rocky bottom.

Personally, I prefer the Rocna anchor and use a SS Northill type anchor as
my storm anchor. In both cases my anchors are one size larger than
recommended by the manufacturer. Fortress anchors aside (the boat came with
one of those too) WEIGHT is an important factor in an anchor's grabbing and
holding performance.

Ron Rogers

-----Original Message-----
From: Rich Gano

I'll bet few if any of you have what is commonly called an "old-fashioned"
anchor/kedge anchor/sailing ship anchor/etc, etc.  I do.  It's the style
anchor that artists and jewelers always use in their creations, if that
helps you visualize it.  My 40-pounder has a folding stock making it easy to
store.

Just one man's experience.  If I knew where to get one, I'd tell y'all to
get right on it, but I don't.

At the recent San Francisco Boat show, one anchor vendor had two sandboxes set
up, one with sand, the other with pea gravel. For his anchor demo, he had same
size mini anchors of all types. I spent a fair bit of time playing in the
sandbox and concluded that the fisherman had, on a pound for pound basis, the
least holding power of the lot. Useful in rocky bottoms, no doubt, but I have
taken it off my list as a worthwhile anchor for SF conditions. It did dig in
rapidly, one of the fastest.

Also interesting was how the new style anchors
with the roll bar clog because of the roll bar and will not dig in as deep as
the same anchor minus roll bar.

What I found interesting elsewhere in his
booth was the webbing on a reel for anchor rode. Easy to store,  and
lightweight. One material was especially strong and light but I don't remember
what it was.