Windlass Anchoring

Theres a full sizing page on Rocna's site to properly fit for dimensions.
If you read further down the sizing chart these Rocna ratings are for 50 knot winds in medium holding conditions so they are already over spec’d. If you go up one size, I did, then you are really sure.
I am pretty sure they have PDF’s you can download the size and cut it out. I made a cardboard cutout before I purchased to make sure it fit in my anchor roller.
 
I have a 25 ft Northwest and haven't been able to find a bow roller which will properly hold the the Rocna. Does anyone have any suggestions? Pictures?
 
lot of good info on this topic. i think we all agree on is that what we all want to do is to able anchor safely. one thing I do suggest is spend a day practice testing your anchoring in different anchorages and different bottoms with what ever anchor you get. get to know your anchor and your boat. after setting your anchor give it a pull test, if it drags or pops reset it. not saying my way is the best way or right way but it works for me. at least I know how my anchor holds and how my boats swings on the hook for the best angle for the dangle.
 
I had to modify my stock Bayliner roller for the Rocna @dmurph . All it needed was a new retainer (?) piece bent up because the other one was too short. Super simple.
 
So I just got a new half circle made up that was taller?
Exactly. I think I ended up wrapping the end of the anchor as well because it ran past the end of the roller so it would scratch the gel coat. No biggie though.
 
Ok which one of you guys is gonna pop for the rocna in stainless steel? Only 4x the standard cost lol
 
I think a rag? The plan was to stick a piece of stainless on the deck to protect it but it never happened.
K. My Rocna comes Wednesday. I’ll have to check the fit and see if I need to modify. I just installed the roller a couple weeks ago. Hopefully I can make it work. At that time I was planning on using a Bruce as I have a couple.
 
This pulpit is pretty common and seems to accept the roll-bar version of the Rocna. The Vulcan has a pretty aggressive bend in the shank and I wasn’t sure it would clear the gelcoat of my bow so I went with the roll-bar version


No doubt ...there are other anchors out there that perform as well the Rocna. Anchors easily become a heated debate among boaters, especially among the sailing crowd....I just stick with what has served me well.....with maybe over 100 nights on the hook over the years, some nights in Talk To Jesus weather, my Rocna has never dragged.

The downside of Rocnas:

In mud, they bring it back to your boat—-you have to wash them off or your bow gets pretty scummy

Around vegetation, they bring that back, too. Last summer I got caught in a 30 knot S. Easter for 3 straight days . I was in a bay that produced huge williwaws, day after day after day. The boat spun in endless circles (but the anchor stayed put). When I finally pulled the anchor on Day No. 3 there was a 2 meter ball of kelp that had been spun up into a ball on the Rocna. I go to the bow with a gaff to clear stuff like that off. That was one of those storms where I probably had 7:1 scope once I threw all my bridle into the set

Another thing: they are a pretty big foot-print on the pulpit, especially with the roll bar. I learned an important lesson—-when launching on a big low tide, especially out of Pt. Hardy, I remove the Rocna prior to launching.....Reason: on a steep drop-off, the Rocna will hook my tailer winch tower. First time that happened I thought it would really damage the pulpit—lesson learned

And Last but not Least: you DO NOT back down on a Rocna like you do on a Bruce or a Danforth. That’s not me talking—-that’s the instructions that will come with your Rocna. People have been known to back down on a Rocna the way they would on say, a Bruce, and it will severely tax your tie-off spots on your deck. They really do stick

I drop mine then let the wind pull me back until the rode is taut. IF there’s no wind, I might just fire up my kicker and use that just to get a bit of reverse momentum to straighten out the chain


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I thought I’d also include a picture of my stowage mod for bridle and snubber—-the mod keeps that stuff close to hand. I also keep my Lewmar wrench in that box in case the free-wheel hub jams on the Lewmar.

I also sometimes hand-pull my anchor and chain and stow it in that tray (part of the reason I only use 30 feet of chain).

Reason: Lewmar’s use valuable amp hours. When I’m boat camping, sometimes I’m only using the kicker all day long, then coming in to my anchorage by kicker. With the SCotty HP’s and the ridiculous amount of electronics I’m running, I’m on high-alert regarding battery usage. So that stowage-tray keeps the Lewmar use to a minimum. Just something I use....thought I’d throw it into the boat-camping picture as it can be a handy way to keep stuff you need right at hand

And one last part of that mod—-the orange shock cord has a carabiner on it that I clip to the shackle on the Rocna....it’s PLan B in case the gypsy doesn’t lock and you forgot to put the retaining pin in to hold the anchor (I’ve read stories of people who deployed an anchor at 25 knots. (unplanned deployment)

I also use that orange cord to wrap around the spring-loaded fair-lead that keeps tension on the rode against the gypsy—-when you hand-pull, you pull back the fair-lead and lock it in place with the cord and a bungee while you hand-stow the braid back into the locker and lay the chain in the tray

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I had to modify my stock Bayliner roller for the Rocna @dmurph . All it needed was a new retainer (?) piece bent up because the other one was too short. Super simple.

ok thanks for that, really don’t wanna start having to modify stuff, if that’s the case would maybe start thinking a delta, but then I feel I would haunted by the ghost of rain city telling me I should of bought a Rocna
 
ok thanks for that, really don’t wanna start having to modify stuff, if that’s the case would maybe start thinking a delta, but then I feel I would haunted by the ghost of rain city telling me I should of bought a Rocna
You can literally take some stainless wire and put a loop over it where the old strap was. Hardly modifying lol.
 
And Last but not Least: you DO NOT back down on a Rocna like you do on a Bruce or a Danforth. That’s not me talking—-that’s the instructions that will come with your Rocna. People have been known to back down on a Rocna the way they would on say, a Bruce, and it will severely tax your tie-off spots on your deck. They really do stick
I drop mine then let the wind pull me back until the rode is taut. IF there’s no wind, I might just fire up my kicker and use that just to get a bit of reverse momentum to straighten out the chain
At the risk of thread drifting this one away from the OPs original question, i think the above needs to be corrected a bit - testing the set of ANY anchor is absolutely critical to ensuring a good nights sleep. As mentioned, you want to find out if the holding is poor now - while the motor is running, while you are fresh (and sober :)) - not at 0 dark 30 when you are woken by dragging into your now very angry neighbor.
There are several reasons an anchor can drag (and yes, while the Rocna is good, it's not perfect, not magic) - a large flat rock (think Grace Harbour, Desolation), or more likely a large bed of kelp leaves - we all know those things can be tough and leathery - and they collect in a pile - so while your anchor can land on them and even dig in a bit, once the wind picks up, off she goes like a crazy carpet on snow.

And if the "how" of the set is done correctly, there is no additional shock loading during the process - once the anchor touches bottom, you SLOWLY back away, paying out the rode until the desired amount is out - the boat should then come to a nice gently stop - THEN you slowly apply power, slowly increasing the revs over a period of a minute or two - trying to simulate the worst case wind conditions (there are actually charts out there that equate wind speed to force for various types of boats).

And finally, if your whole setup - cleats, snubber, anchor, rode can't take a simulated 25kt condition (or whatever number you chose) probably best to correct that - that is a deficiency and unsafe. Any cleat with a modest amount of backing should be well able to handle the several hundred pound force an anchor can generate.
 
Good advice, mayday...I should have clarified....I use the “wind-drift” method when setting an anchor only in my KNOWN anchor spots where through trial and error over the years, I know where the sand/mud ends and the rocks begin etc.

I also cheat. I have bottom descrimination in two of my sonars that, through predictive software, provide a pictorial representation of the bottom beneath your boat so when you’re dropping your anchor, you have a pretty good idea as to the substrate it’s landing on.

As to kelp...I agree, no anchor is perfect, but in my experience, during years of boat camping, the Rocna is a very sticky anchor on kelp and if I know it’s under my boat, I have confidence that I don’t need to power in reverse to get it set. Again, results will vary on boat length, boat weight, amount of chain, weight of anchor etc.

But your comments are an important addition to any conversation about anchors and how to set them

Here’s the pictorial representation of bottom descrimination that is quite useful when anchoring in a new spot:


Definitely NOT a spot I’d want to drop any anchor:



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All this talk about anchoring made me drop mine the the driveway this weekend. Pressure washed the chain, cleaned the anchor locker, checked connections and rode. Just need to service windlass and paint or mark chain and rode. Need to get a bridle as well. I rarely anchor but I'm thinkking a few over nighters will be in the cards before I go back to work.
 
...Definitely NOT a spot I’d want to drop any anchor:
Good post and also good advice, SH.
Reminded me to respond with another caution:
Be careful of where your try to anchor in certain spots on the coast that are or were past logging operations or past canneries or even sometimes past anchor buoys. Often large cable or chain left on the bottom or even sunken logs. If you get your anchor hooked into any of these - you're not getting it back.
 
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