We all like to go by the book when it comes to anchoring, but the book-depending on which one you're reading - specifies anything from five-to-one to seven-to-one scope, with a rode that's mostly line and a small amount of chain. That means if you're dropping the hook in 20 feet of water, you should have anywhere from 100 to 140 feet of line out. This makes for interesting debates during the 3 a.m. tide change in a crowded anchorage after you've swung into the adjacent boat that has only 50 feet of rode down.
The old salts who came up with those figures in the last century were living in a less crowded world. Real life in today's jammed anchorages means short scope. So, how do we do this and stay off the beach? The easiest fix is more chain; instead of the obligatory fathom between rope and hook, increase the chain to 20 or 30 feet, or more. Your rode and anchor will lay flat on the bottom and the holding will increase proportionately to the chain/rope ratio.
When things get real tight, you can use a "sentinel." This is a heavy object, like a sounding lead or a window sash weight, bent to the rode at about the depth of the water-if you're in 20 feet of water, you'll tie it on the rode at the 20 foot mark.
Here's the process:
Then I shackle my spare anchor to the rode, drop back and set that one hard (above). With two anchors in line, (Figure 2), the boat isn't going anywhere - unless the wind direction and velocity change dramatically - and that's the book I go by.
This information taken from Seamanship, MotorBoating, March 2004.
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