How to Choose Boat Anchors
You would never drive a car without brakes, and you should not operate a boat without an anchor. An anchor seems like a simple device: You put it over the side when you want to hang out somewhere for awhile. The choice of anchors and anchor types might seem mind-boggling, but simply base your pick on your boat and destination.
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Instructions
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How to Choose Boat Anchors
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Determine what size anchor you need. How long is your boat? What's it weigh--not the gross register tonnage, but its displacement weight. Anchor weights for small boats vary from four pounds to 100 pounds, depending on the type of anchor selected and the length and weight of your boat.
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Check the charts of the waters in which you will be anchoring and determine water depths at those locations. Good anchoring depends more on the weight of the anchor rode deployed than it does on getting a good "bite" into the seabed. Standard practice is to pay out a length of anchor rode that is five to seven times the depth of the water.
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Look at the charts again and determine what bottom types you will be anchoring in. Are your usual anchorages in places where the bottom is primarily mud? Gravel? Rocks? Sand? Where a plough anchor might be ideal for a mud bottom, a fluke anchor would become mired. Likewise, a plough anchor skids across a gravel bottom, where a fluke anchor gives good holding power on gravel in high seas.
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Check what types of anchors others are using. Ask fellow boaters what kind of "hook" they carry. If they go to the same anchorages as you do, ask if they have encountered any anchor problems.
Keep in mind that there are only three types of anchors: fluke, plough and mushroom. Fluke and plough anchors dig into the seabed; the mushroom does not. The mushroom style is usually used for moorings; it's a weight that sits passively on the bottom. Even so, a small mushroom type won't foul the rode and cause problems when you weigh anchor. -
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Talk to manufacturers. Most of them offer some variation of each of the three anchor types. The Danforth anchor and the Fortress anchor are both fluke-type anchors; in fact, "Danforth" and "Fortress" are trade names that have become generic labels for any fluke anchor. But the Danforth and Fortress companies also make a line of plough anchors and of mushroom anchors, even though these are not their primary product lines. This means that anchor selection, once past the bottom condition of the anchorage and the anchor size, is largely a matter of comparing prices.
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Tips & Warnings
Always remember to lower the anchor--not drop it--over the side; taking a bit more care helps prevent fouling and, in some areas, damage to coral.
Boating is a wonderful activity, but it can be hazardous. So observe all safety precautions and navigation rules.
