In the new catalog Murrays has a small folding anchor that comes with a length of chain, and line in a zippered deck bag. Does anyone have experience with anchors like these on beach cats? I met some guys on larger cats who thought I should try an anchor to prevent hull wear. It's either that, or using boat fenders as rollers as I described in my reply about cruising beach wheels. Brian

That depends on where you will usually anchor. The anchor on Murray’s is for hard bottoms (rocks, reef etc. )
For sand bottoms there's another type of anchor that looks like an mushroom and it's pretty heavy (). It comes in many sizes and weights. This type of anchor tends to burry itself in the sand.

Hope it help

I haven't looked at the murrays anchor but I anchor my boat all the time instead of dragging it up on the beach. Check out west marine. Guardian, (The slighty cheaper version of fortress) Has a 4lb anchor thats light and small. It folds but you have to lossen two small bolts to do so. I carry mine under my tramp bag. You'll find the boat sits best at anchor with the main centered and lighty snugged up.

Mike

Thanks! I will be anchoring in sand, or mud. I suspect I might do as the big cats did when they suggested anchoring to me, and put the anchor on the beach. I gather this would only work with the wind head-on. Do you mean you actually keep tension on the main? I would've thought you'd release the block and let the main blow freely? Thanks, Brian

What will happen if you leave the main free is the boat will start sailing around on the rode. In very light air it doesn't seem to happen but minute you turn your back the wind will come up and....Try it and play around with it and see what happens. I'm not saying make the sheet tight. Just so it's not flopping around. Another thing I do when I'm camping is tie a line around the bar on the anchor. Make the loop small enough so it won't come off. I take the end of this line up to the beach. A retrieval-safety line if you will. At low tide I can anchor out in the deeper water and as the tide comes in I can pull the retrieval line so I don't have to swim out to the boat. This line can be tied to something like a tree on the beach so even if the anchor was to pull the boat is still attached to land.

Have Fun
Mike

Catman,

You should probably point out that you are furling your jib when anchored. Only then will the main help to weather vane the boat so well.

More anchoring questions:

What is the best point on the boat to attach the anchor line? I know the big cats and tris usually rig a rope bridle from the bows, with the anchor line attached to the center of the bridle. Cats and tris tend to "sail" at anchor even with no sails up, just from the way the wind catches the hulls.

Also, should the mast be secured centered, or allowed to rotate freely, when the main is up? When the main is down?

Also, should rudders and boards be all the way up, or what?

True,I figured most people would furl when they hit the beach. And if you have a boat like a H16 you will have to drop the jib so it won't sail around.

Mike

I usually anchor on fix anchor place (don’t know the correct name in English is) on a channel where I sail. I use the main sheeted & jib furled method. If I use this method I have to raise rudders and boards so the boat vane easily. The other method is I unclip the boom from sail & furled jib this way I can leave boards and rudders down. I usually attach the anchor line to the bridles, I'd also attached to the dolphin-striker but never if I'm doing the main sheeted method.

Jaime

I use a bridle. The bridle line or the traingle it forms is a little larger than the triangle formed by the the wire bridles. I use floating polyproplene line. I have replaced the pins at the hull-bridle connection with shackles with the same pin dia. I attach the bridle to the shackles. If I'm out day sailing I put the anchor under my tramp bag. I leave the bridle attached and pull it tight and tie it around my mast base.(the mystere has a fairly tall mast base)This keeps it from dragging in the water and it's easy to launch even from the boat if needed. Our water is fairly skinny so the rode is about 20ft. If you anchor near the beach and it's crowded it's easy to shorten up. If we hit the beach out in the gulf and there is surf I'll beach it and not anchor. Again I center the main and lighty snug up the main. Rudders and boards up,Downhaul off. As Jake pointed out jib furled or down. The boat sits fine with the main down too.

One thing I have had a problem with is forgeting to pull my anchor at the end of the day. I lost a few cheaper ones this way. Since I purchased the fortress I have now the first thing I do at breakdown is pull it.

One other thing ,I have a short length of stainless chain between the anchor and the rode.

Have Fun
Mike

I've had good results with the Fortress Commando anchor system.



It includes the Guardian G-5 anchor (2.5 lbs), 6' of chain, and 150' of 1/4" nylon rode. I attach it to my boat with a bridle on the N6.0's bridle wires. I don't keep the bridle attached while sailing, but rather use a couple of small biners to attach it when needed (requiring a balancing act to walk forward on the hulls).

The anchor holds very securely in sand, mud, or other soft bottoms. It is not recommended for rocky or hard bottoms, as others have pointed out.

I also use the system while leading kayak tours in Mexico/Belize (just returned from one a few days ago). When we snorkel, I anchor my kayak with the Commando system, then tether the remaining 10 boats beind me on a line that resembles a big fish stringer. The anchor has no problem holding 11 kayaks (combined weight of over 600 pounds) in winds up to 30 knots. The anchor is set in sand, typically in water 8 to 15 feet deep.

Thanks guys! This is exactly why this forum is so invaluable! Brian