Choosing the right anchor for your boat

A number of variables affect anchoring. In choosing the anchor for your vessel, give consideration to the following: Type, displacement, draught and windage of vessel; tidal conditions; type of sea floor; wind strength.

Suggested sizes in this website considered for average boats under average conditions with a minimum of 1.5 boat lengths of appropriate sized chain fitted in addition to the anchor rope. Final selection should be based on personal experience. If in doubt select one size larger.

Not all anchors perform in the same way. The Sarca Anchor has the highest holding power (top right) followed by the traditional Plow anchor (middle right) with the lowest holding power coming from the budget priced Sand ancho r (bottom right).

Finally, don't skimp on the amount of anchor rope you use. At least 5 times the water depth should be deployed and doubling that will also double the holding power. Therefore anchoring in 10m of water requires a 50m minimum anchor rope.

Now with all this rope to put out and retrieve can become tiresome. Not any more! The Stress Free Anchor Winch enables the rope to be deployed and retrieved with the flick of a switch!