Hi Jeff, Anchoring 101: The type of anchor you use depends on the character of the bottom, which you can get from your nautical chart. Sand, mud, rocks, gravel, ..... For general use on my previous M15, I used a small Bruce, about 10 feet of chain, and had a 100 foot rode as my working anchor. I also had an aluminum Danforth with chain and rode that I just used as a lunch hook. I also carried a 7 lb Fortress, with 10 feet of chain and a 150 foot rode as my "back up" anchor (insurance policy if you will) Always have at least two anchors. If you should loose the first one, and you don't have a second available (with chain and rode - ready for use) - then what do you do .....? Anchors are lost by motorboat yahoos running over your rode and cutting it with their propeller(s). You can also loose an anchor if someone gets your rode in his propeller while trying to anchor too close to you, and he has to cut it to free his propeller. For a good night's sleep, under any but flat calm conditions, (and can you guarantee that it will stay flat calm....) two anchors out, gives enormous peace of mind. These are set at about a 30 degree angle to each other and the boat. Use all the rode you can........... There is nothing wrong with anchoring in 6 feet of water and using 100 feet of rode. You are not anchored if you are in 6 feet of water, at low tide, have 8 feet of rode out, and have a 4 foot tide coming in .... The name of the game is to only have a horizontal pull on the shank of the anchor, and that is achieved with the chain that keeps the shank on the bottom, and the 100 feet of rode.......... That keeps the anchor in the bottom, digging deeper as the pull increases. Any vertical pull on the anchor rode, lifts the anchor out of the bottom; e.g., the anchor isn't holding on to anything, but is just a weight on the end of the rode. Anchoring is an art form, and you keep learning new tricks and solutions to anchoring problems every time you do it. That's part of the fun of sailing. It's a never-ending learning process. Happy, and uneventful learning. Connie ex M15 LEPPO
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