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I use a dry bag to carry 100' of 1/4" line, 8' of heavy 3/8" chain, and a lightweight fluke style anchor. Heavy chain lets you get away with a smaller/lighter anchor. BUT I should note that this package is only in my skiff when I plan to use it.

On a normal trip I don't carry an anchor, and yes I run single engine boats 50 miles offshore, but I agree with those that said those are two totally different things. :confused::cool:
 
It is a very comforting feeling when an anchor grabs and the boat spins into the wind and tide, especially after an engine or other mechanical failure. I have had a lot of experience with anchors and my favorite is a mushroom style. I was once in a 37' Novi Boat, heavy ebb tide off Canada Creek Nova Scotia, not far from the world's highest tides in Truro, Bay of Fundy. I threw out a 50lb mushroom with about 10' of half inch chain attached to 5/8" nylon, as the old Canadian laughed and said it would never hold. When the nylon came tight, the boat spun on a dime and faced Northeast into the tide. The anchor settled in and he ate his words. Another time, on the Eastern side of Libby Island, I threw out a 100lb mushroom anchor in a 60 mile per hour westerly breeze in the same boat, except rocky bottom. As soon as the anchor found a hole to grab onto, it held just fine. We laid there several hours, behind/in the lee of a gravel bar, cleaning up the boat and stowing and tieing things down, before working out way down the shore toward home. The anchor only holds so much, but the chain as well as nylon rope are shock absorbers. The nylon stretches like a rubber band during wind gusts and hopefully will correct the boat before the shock hits the anchor. However the chain is the second line of defense. It lies on the bottom, stretches straight in heavy weather, but lifts and falls with the surges and hopefully the anchor never ever feels any shocks that might break it clear from the bottom. As for rope length? Depends on where you are headed. In that 37' boat I took 200 fathom, not to mention other odds and ends that could be used if need be. In my 15' Skiff, that I rarely venture beyond 30' depth, I probably have 100' or about 3 times my anticipated water depth. Also remember, in rough conditions, a short rope can either lift your anchor or pull your bow under. You do not want that rope standing straight up and down, but rather lying horizontally, but again, limit the rope to where it is mostly in the water, and not chaffing on the bottom. My father always said "better to have too much and not use it, than not enough and wish you had it". He also said in respect to clothing, "You never know what the weather will be and it is better to take an extra jacket or two off, than to get cold and wish you had another jacket". Words of wisdom from the experienced.
 
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