A 22lb vs a 33lb Rocna anchor

[RonE]

To follow up on my previous anchor inquires..
I like the idea of a 33lb Rocna anchor, my concern is that I will have trouble raising a heavy anchor plus its chain, manually. I do not plan on installing a windlass anytime soon. Although I have been sailing about ten years, I never felt comfortable anchoring, I always went for the mooring.  Now with a C34 for my first full season I would like to experience that independence of anchoring. I see some C34 sailors get away with 22lbs while most others use a 33lb.

[Footloose]

Ron,

I am currently using a 33 lb Bruce with 35 ft or 3/8 chain.  Although it is heavy at times, my 54 yr old back manages to retrieve it.  It also can be helpful to have more than on person pulling.   I will also add that I am looking for a new anchor and the 25 lb Manson or Ronca seem to offer all the holding power I will need. As the Admiral and I age, lighter is going to be better as long as I can sleep at night.

[Albreen]

I upgraded to a Manson Supreme 25 lb. anchor with 50' of 1/4" chain and couldn't be happier. I recall the C34 was at the high end of the range for the 25 lb anchor but I've no regrets with the setup. And, it comes up without too much strain - I'm usually seated on the bow to put some back into retrieving it.

[Footloose]

Paul,

You are making me feel better about my upcoming decision.

[Stu Jackson]

I see some C34 sailors get away with 22lbs while most others use a 33lb.

Ron, given that earlier discussion, it appears that YOU are the one who HAS to make that decision, not us.  Based on the anchor system sizing charts I linked for you, you have to decide what wind strength you are designing the SYSTEM for.  If you can guarantee that you won't go out in winds over 42 knots for a 40 foot boat or 60 knots for your boat, then go for the Rocna 10 (22#).  If, however, you are like the majority of folks who sail back east with afternoon thunderstorms that are highly unpredictable, then you should use the 15 (33#).  As I mentioned in that thread, I sized MY system for MY use, Steve sized his for his use, and folks back east were somewhere in the middle.  It's not "getting away with...", it IS sizing the SYSTEM for its intended use.

Your boat, your choice, what's your entire boat worth to you?

This came from here:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7453.0.html

[RonE]

I hear you Stu, I read your posts, and I have been on a mooring swinging in 60+ thunder storm winds, I do feel the 33 pounder is the way to go for those unexpected storms that roam thru in July and august. My main concerns was lifting that larger anchor without a windlass. I am 54 as well Footloose, and not the strongest upper body.

[Stu Jackson]

I hear you.  But, there's always that, right?, you ONLY have to lift 11 more #s!     And, of course, you're aware that you should be right above the anchor when you start to lift.  Many of the anchor threads you've probably seen here or read elsewhere suggest sitting down when doing the heavy lifting.  Actually I've found that our boats are among some of the best in terms of the ergonomics of the anchoring gear.  I keep our anchor on the port side and the big midship cleat is perfect for tying the rode off.  I also bought an anchor hook and tie it off to the port side cleat I added years ago with a short line, and it makes keeping the chain on board much better than trying to loop the chain around the big cleat.  So much of the "work" is eliminated with good technique.

Good luck.

[waterdog]

I broke a windlass shaft in the Sea if Cortes and had to go back to hand pulling a 20kg anchor with 100 feet of chain.   I don't recall it being fun.  I believe that may have been the point where I told 12 year old Foster that he was now a man and it was time to pull his own weight.  

If you are trying to optimize for hand pulling, the shortest length of the stongest chain (ie light weight for the load rating) combined with the heaviest anchor you can live with will provide the maximum sleep to back pain ratio.  To a point - if you need 30 feet of chain for abrasion and you typically anchor in 25 feet, it doesn't matter how long your chain is from the standpoint of the pulling effort required.  

[Ron Hill]

RonE : As previously mentioned you only have to lift the weight of the anchor and length of chain when you are directly over it (and it's broken out). 
You might look at you windless installation in WiKi/Projects/Mainsheet tech notes!! 

I did something similar to Steve.  I went for the heavier anchor and the smaller 1/4" chain (the 1/4" chain however is High Tensile strength).

We can tell you what we use, but you'll have to choose what you'll be comfortable with.  A few thoughts