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Kedge (Secondary Anchor)—Recommended Type and Size

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So far in this Online Book we have written about two best bower (primary anchor) types and sized them. With that out of the way, what’s the second anchor we should buy?

Let me answer that by telling you a story.


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More Articles From Online Book: Anchoring Made Easy:

  1. Introduction
  2. 4 Vital Anchor Selection Criteria and a Review of SPADE
  3. SARCA Excel Anchor—A Real World Test
  4. SPADE, SARCA Excel, or Some Other Anchor?
  5. Rocna Resetting Failures and Evaluation of Vulcan and Mantus
  6. Some Thoughts On The Ultra Anchor, Roll Bars and Swivels
  7. Specifying Primary Anchor Size
  8. Kedge (Secondary Anchor)—Recommended Type and Size
  9. Third Anchors, Storm Anchors and Spare Anchors
  10. Anchor Tests—The Good, The Bad, and The Downright Silly
  11. Making Anchor Tests More Meaningful
  12. We Love The Way Our Anchor Drags 
  13. Things to Know About Anchor Chain
  14. Selecting a Chain Grade
  15. Anchor Chain Catenary, When it Matters and When it Doesn’t
  16. Anchoring—Snubbers
  17. Anchor Rode Questions and Answers
  18. Q&A: Hybrid Rope And Chain Anchor Rodes
  19. Anchor Swivels, Just Say No
  20. A Windlass That Makes The Grade
  21. The Perfect Anchor Roller
  22. Install A Wash-down Pump—And Save Money!
  23. Anchoring—Kellets
  24. Anchoring—Chain: Stoppers, Termination and Marking
  25. 20 Tips To Get Anchored and Stay Anchored
  26. Choosing an Anchorage
  27. Choosing a Spot
  28. 15 Steps To Getting Securely Anchored
  29. One Anchor or Two?
  30. Two Anchors Done Right
  31. It’s Often Better to Anchor Than Pick Up a Mooring
  32. Yawing at Anchor, The Theory and The Solution
  33. Yawing at The Anchor, an Alternative Cure
  34. How To Use An Anchor Trip Line
  35. ShoreFasts—Part 1, When to Use Them
  36. ShoreFasts—Part 2, Example Setups Plus Tips and Tricks
  37. ShoreFasts—Part 3, The Gear
  38. Gale And Storm Preparation, At Anchor Or On A Mooring
  39. Storm Preparation, All Chain On Deck
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Dick Stevenson

Hi John,
This agreeing with you so consistently is getting a little old, but once again, from my point of view, I feel you have nailed it.
On my Valiant, a Fortress FX 37 has been lashed to my bow anchor platform (fore and aft aligned so it presents the least profile to oncoming seas and wedged into the anchor platform for security) for the 15 years we have sailed her. The Fortress is backed by 12 feet of 5/16 inch ACCO G4 and 300 feet of 5/8 inch nylon braid. (Braid because the rode may be called upon to work with a drogue or parachute.) In a fire drill, two swipes with a knife drops the anchor straight into the drink (or dinghy) or, with time, a few minutes of untying.
We have used the kedge to bury our portlights in the sea in a successful midnight effort to get off a grounding (a “rocking” actually) on a falling tide (rode to mast head as you describe) and also in the more common rowing the kedge and rode to windward. Come to think of it, I do not believe I have had to do this since we switched to a Spade bower 7 years ago.
You emphasise an area which, again to me, shows you have been there and done that, and which many writers either miss or neglect to mention. That is the likelihood of getting injured in a fire drill such as you described down in Bequia. The longer I hang in there in this cruising life, the more I shift toward asking myself, at the beginning of some sort of fire drill, “How do I stay safe?” rather than flying to the rescue. Do I need pants, shoes, gloves, light etc etc.? And making sure the essentials are ready at hand whenever the boats is commissioned?
I suspect, if records were taken, that the majority of fire drills have left me with an injury of one kind or another and feel fortunate that none have stayed with me in any permanent fashion. I actively attempt to slow myself down, to move slower and think more, and find things go just as well or better.
Next you are going to say that a Valiant should have an 80 pound Luke in the bilge, especially if she lives in hurricane country or goes wandering in the higher latitudes.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Serge

Thanks for the great article and yes I would like to see an article on anchor testing.

Flemming Torp

Dear Phyllis and John,
Just a short – “confirming comment” from Denmark.
In three years (2011 – 2013), I have been sailing up and down the Norwegian coast, well assisted by the NCG (!).
I used to have a 10 kg SS Bruce in the bow (was delivered with the boat – an X-342, 34 ft., 5,2 t) with 80 m of 8 mm SS chain. Some years ago, I bought a F-23 Fortress as my “reserve/kedge anchor” – mounted in a special made SS bracket on the boat’s stern/transom (easy and fast to prepare, but does not look nice or pretty …) with 6 m of 8 mm chain and 30 m anchor line of rope with lead inside and 50 m “Ankerolina” – ready at the pushpit.
During these “trips” (> 6.000 NM), I did a lot af single hand sailing and spend many nights at anchor, some at pretty rough weather – and I learned a lot – the hard way … :
In several situations, the Bruce could not hold my boat when the wind or sea increased and had problems resetting when slipped, and the Fortress was absolutely useless, when the bottom was covered with thick weed …
Now, I have mounted the “Mud Palms” on my Fortress anchor, and – based on your thoughts and arguments – I have bought the SPADE S-100 as my new bow-anchor – double weight (20 kg), but now with 50 m of 8 mm chain (to compensate for the increased weight in the bow) plus 30 m. nylon line.
This year I have signed up for the flotilla sailing “Baltic Rally 2015” visiting 9 countries in the Baltic, during which, I’m anxious to test my new anchor. Thank you so much for your on going inspiration. I really enjoy reading your thoughtful articles plus instructive comments, but often, I find it hard to express my gratitude as my English writing skills and experiences are limited. So thank you very much to both of you. I’m really looking forward to your future articles.
Best Regards
Flemming Torp – S/Y Gimle – Helsingør – Denmark – http://flemmingtorp.blogspot.dk/

PS – If the language or grammar is bad, your are most welcome, to make corrections

ChrisW

Ahh, Yep…

Phil

I’ve a Fortress on a weighted line that I mostly use to hold my bow into a swell, burying in the beach for a line ashore, or occasionally for a quick “bows to”. It used to have a bucket’s worth of chain, but lumbering the bucket up and down the deck while holding the anchor in one finger eventually put paid to that. Its now great in the dinghy, but I suspect it would set better with a few metres of chain added back to the rode.

Its useful for such light duty, but we’d no longer bet the boat on it – we’ve a perfectly good Rocna for that, and a (steel) Delta for more serious kedge duties.

On a couple of occasions we’ve been surprised at the Fortress’s holding power. Inevitably, we find it’s fouled under a rock. So I would dispute one of your claims – it can perform great on a rocky bottom!