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| Anchor Advice for a J-36
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June 24, 2002
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There are many factors to choosing an anchor, and not all situations are ideal. Bill Ehmann writes in with just such a problem.
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Hi Bob,
I recently purchased a J-36 racer cruiser sailboat. (Displacement 12,000 lbs, relatively low profile, no windlass). It came with a Danforth, but originally had a Delta 22. I will be cruising the Gulf Islands, San Juans and anywhere around Vancouver Island. I have looked at the “suggested” sizing for different anchors, along with the appropriate size and amount of chain, but the recommendations are all over the map. The boat seems to be in-between sizes for many anchors. What would you suggest for this boat?
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Response
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With no windlass, you’re looking at a maximum anchor weight in the 25-pound range. A 33-pound Bruce or a 35-pound CQR gets to be heavy for the poor guy trying to pull it up.
The sizing chart says your 36-foot sailboat should take a 33-pound Bruce, but the sizing chart doesn’t know that you have low windage and low total weight. Figuring windage and weight you’re at the top of the 22-pound Bruce range. Close, but not over it.
In a perfect anchoring world you’d install a windlass and use at 33-pound Bruce. One look at that setup and people would say, “That’s a well-anchored boat.”
But no windlass. So use a 22-pound Bruce or 22-pound Delta (a good anchor). With Bruce, cut your chain length to 10-15 feet of ¼-inch high test chain High test chain has the same strength ratings as 3/8-inch BBB chain. We use ¼-inch high-test chain on our 37-foot powerboat.
Between the chain and anchor install a 2-foot length of stainless steel wire rope, the kind used for sailboat rigging. Have your rigger make it up. The wire knifes into the bottom easier than chain, and will improve the holding power of any popular anchor design-Bruce, CQR, Danforth or Delta. This is for non-windlass applications only. Most windlasses are mounted so close to the raised anchor that the wire rope wouldn’t work well.
Being a better short-scope anchor, Bruce doesn’t need as much chain to work well. We used 10 feet of chain with our 22-pound Bruce. Other designs, such as CQR, Delta and especially Danforth need more chain to work properly. With Danforth you might want 25-35 feet of chain. Chain is heavy, and every added foot of chain adds to the weight the man on the bow is pulling up. This is one reason I like Bruce for non-windlass applications. With Bruce you don’t need as much chain.
If you decide on Bruce, I still recommend genuine Bruce, not the knock-offs. I know the Claw knock-off geometry is different from genuine Bruce, and the casting quality certainly is lacking. I see Sea Dog Bruce knock-offs on the shelves now. I haven’t had a chance to compare geometry, but the casting quality is poor. I’m haunted by the thought that if companies don’t care about how it looks on the outside, how much attention did they pay to what is inside.
Bruce, CQR and Delta look good on the outside. Go with the good stuff even if it costs more-and it does.
--Bob Hale
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