You do realize you've started what is essentially a religious war...;)

In my opinion, what works for one person may, or may not, work for another, and depends on where you anchor. I sail the muddy northern Chesapeake. I use a 33lb. Bruce, 20 feet of 5/16" HT chain and 150 feet of 1/2" rode. My anchor has never dragged, since 1998. Before the Bruce, I had a 35lb. Delta, which many folks around here use. I could never get it to set; which doesn't mean it's not a good anchor, just that it didn't work for me, in the areas that I anchor. Many will say that my anchor is undersized, and that the newer styles, like a Rocna for example, will work better. My only answer is that, for me, I'm not going to rush out and buy another anchor, when I've had perfect results with my current system.

I plan to go to 90' of 5/16" HT chain with roughly 100' of 5/8" rode, mainly to save my back raising the anchor, which I'll be able to handle all the way with the windlass with more chain. Since I rarely ever anchor in water over 10-12 feet, and most often 6-8', 90' of chain will suffice without the rode ever going into the water.

I'd personally say that I think your anchor may be undersized, but if you were to go up in size, I'd also consider one of the newer types, as they seem to set and hold better than the older types. Others I'm sure will chime in with differing opinions.

Jo, here are a few good reads for you. The last one discusses how to size an anchoring SYSTEM, which includes the anchor, shackles and chain/rode. It all depends on where you choose to sail and anchor.

Anchoring 101 [url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.0.html[/url]

Anchor Selection 101 includes good discussions of various system selections and pictures of new generation anchors on bowsprits both short and extended [url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4457.0.html[/url]

Anchor System Sizing Tables (Reply #6) [url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.0.htmlhttp://c34.org/bbs/index.p...

Well, since you asked...I would not consider a 21 lb anchor and 1/4" chain heavy enough for a C36. But as Gary said, what works for one person isn't necessarily right for another.

We have a 45 lb Manson Supreme, 100 ft of 5/16 G40 chain and 150 ft of 5/8" double braid. Our shackles are high strength Crosby 3/8". We bought a Manson over a Rocna because at the time Rocna had bent shank issues, that problem seems to be cured now. We had a 45 Delta, it's still our backup, but the Manson outperforms it and any anchor I've ever used. I wish I had bought another 50 ft of chain though.

We get a lot of wind and we rarely anchor in less than 20 ft of water, frequently 30+. Most anchorages are tight due to heavy boat traffic and sometimes all you can get is 3 to 1 scope. We have no anchorages with all round protection, they all are open to some degree and unexpected wind changes that leave you exposed to wind and swell are very common, as are thunderstorms with their usual mini-tornado winds. Weather forecasting is abysmal as well. The upside is most anchorages are clayish mud and the holding, when you can avoid the weeds, is usually excellent.

We probably could get by with a 35 lb, but that's the smallest anchor I would consider for a boat with the weight of our C36 (20,500 lbs empty, closer 22,000 lbs loaded for cruising).

It may be a religious war, but I am here and now going to take the first shot:

The Bruce is a TERRIBLE anchor for your cruising area. It's cheap, and that's about the only good thing than can be said in its favor. Here's what's wrong with it. (1) It - that is, yours - isn't near heavy enough. Your boat needs about 30 to 40 lbs for your west coast of BC area; (2) it does a lousy job of penetrating slick and slimy kelp. Just look at its shape. And then ask me, as I have instructed or sailed a number of boats with Bruces in the San Juan Islands. *In that area I have drug more times on Bruces than with all other anchors together.* Mind you, due to high numbers of boats, it is 'standard' to anchor in the popular San Juans at 3:1 scope, but even so, my statistics still show that *I have drug more times on Bruces than all others together.* For your cruising grounds I wouldn't have one on board, even for the dink; (3) It loves to ride to a rock, and then because it has developed such an infatuation with it's granite friend, it brings it back to the boat when you up anchor, expecting you to be pleased like a proud grandfather. One night in Inati Bay, on Lummi Island, my class hung all night to a damn ROCK, with a small calibre stern tie to a tree on shore. Next morning, up comes the anchor, and THERE is a boulder exactly the size of the Bruce laying in it. Two tough guys lying on the bow could barely get that rock out of there - and because Bellingham Bay was white-capped, we HAD to get it out before departing the anchorage and heading for home.

No, sir. Bruces may be great in the Columbia River, or in the sand bottoms of Florida. Good value, there. But up here, they're JUNK.

I just put a 44lb Rocna on board in preparation for an Inside Passage cruise to Alaska in 2015. I expect some good, solid anchoring from that. Check out the price at Fisheries in Seattle, where I got mine at the boat show price.

Above is my humble opinion. (Sorry, but my hard feelings for Bruces and how they have let me down in the Pacific Northwest or on the west coast of Canada are still with me, apparently.)

Gosh, that venting felt quite good.

[QUOTE=bstreet;18941]We probably could get by with a 35 lb, but that's the smallest anchor I would consider for a boat with the weight of our C36 (20,500 lbs empty, closer 22,000 lbs loaded for cruising).[/QUOTE]

22000 lbs sounds a lot to me... mostly loaded we weigh about 8 tonnes (according to the travel lift operator). And we have all kinds of junk on board for our offshore excursions.

We love our 20kg Rocna, the Manson or any new generation anchor will be good value. When the wind gets up at anchor, you won't regret extra size of anchor and chain!

Hal Roth, in his book "How To Sail Around The World", says 1 1/4 pounds per foot of boat length. Sounds about right to me.

[quote=Rob Kyles;18948]22000 lbs sounds a lot to me... mostly loaded we weigh about 8 tonnes (according to the travel lift operator). And we have all kinds of junk on board for our offshore excursions.
[/quote]

Yeah, I think if memory serves it actually is about 19000 lbs empty so likely closer to 21,000 full of gear, fuel, water, groceries, rigging, mast, sails, upholstery, bedding, etc. Takes us 3 trips with a SUV and trailer to load it up in spring. 19000 is not uncommon, there's been some discussion of this over the years on the forum.

But that's still a lot of weight for 21 lbs of anchor.