How much force does it take to break an anchor?
I use a folding grappling hook type anchor for my secondary anchor. I usually heave (lower) it off the stern, or paddle it out with the dinghy, and set it by pulling the primary in, shortening the scope.
Anyway, last week I was helping out at a Boy Scout Eagle project, and we were pulling some small shrubbery stumps, and I got the great idea to use my anchor to hook onto the stumps, and snap. I broke the cast iron shank right at the base. (No, I wasn't pulling stumps with my boat, that would be weird, I was using my 4x4)
So now I'm short my favorite anchor, but more importantly, how much should an anchor hold, and should it break? I didn't think I was pulling that hard on the stump, it seemed to break with little effort.
I'm wondering, of all the times I have anchored using the same folding anchor, and how close I was to snapping the shank and coming unhooked.
I would prefer that things bend and not break when overloaded. Is that too much to expect?
I don't know the answer, but I'm going to take a good look at all my gear, especially things made with cast parts.
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| The shank broke under the locking bell. (btw, I fixed it but I don't trust it anymore) |
Click below to see Roche Harbor
