we were discussing with our crew to get some weight of the boat and the anchor was mentioned.
I never took it off during racing because I felt uncomfortable.... for what?
Do you racing guys take out the anchor during racing?

Well, it's required for one design, and it's on the YRALIS list for all three categories of races. (Offshore, inshore, and day) I'd consider it to be pretty mandatory safety equipment.

- David

We have an aluminum Fortress anchor. It's weight is negligible. The anchor rode is stored below in the middle of the boat, so doesn't hurt performance too much. An anchor is required for the racing I do.

I agree it's a pretty basic piece of safety equipment.

I always keep my anchor on board, but when not class racing, it is under one of the settees to keep the weight low. Definitely safety equipment.

Ed Austin
Chinook

I have something of an opposite question... involving increasing weight. (Yes, I know, not racing-friendly.... ;-)

I recently tried anchoring without much luck. I've been told I need to get about 20' of chain; then the anchor will practically set itself. Thoughts?

Also, the anchor locker looks like it could hold a substantially larger anchor than what I have. I don't see anything about anchor weight in the class rules. What did the J/30 originally come with? I haven't weighed mine, but it looks pretty small for a 30' boat.

Chain will help reduce the amount of scope needed to have the anchor hold. Make sure you have an anchor that will hold well for the type of bottom. When not using chain, or very little chain, put out lots of scope. I use 7:1 as a guide and have about 6 foot of chain on my anchor.

In response to rdpierce's inquiry: J/Boats states on the J-30 page that the anchor locker was designed to hold a 20# Danforth.

20' of chain would be double what I have, & it works nicely.

Anchor setting tips, works every time:
1 - secure bitter end to cleat
2 - zero forward way, as you begin to reverse
2 - sensing the beginning of reverse way, toss anchor & chain overboard
3 - play out plenty of rode, till you are about 3:1 scope, minimum (ex: 30' rode per 10' depth)before applying any tension to rode
4 - tug on rode, somewhat gently to begin to align anchor in correct direction
5 - pay out more rode as you reverse, to increase scope, which increases chances of anchor holding, and sets it better too
6 - when you get to the end of the rode, get some real good reverse way on, and set the anchor hard (manually) with such a solid tug of your arms that you have forward way. Drop rode in water, enjoy. Dive on anchor for fun, just to see the flukes buried up the shank, for peace of mind. Once you see it, you can more easily visualize what needs to happen in the future without seeing it.