Looking for recommendations on supplies

[RussGW270]

So, curious about a few things:

Based on a boat at least like the Islander,

1 - How much rope do you keep onboard for an anchor? How much chain?
2 - Do you keep a spare anchor?
3 - windshield wipers - any particular brand blades you like and sizes? The wipers are "okay"...i.e. once in a while one stops.. just have to turn them on and off a bit, but.. tbh, they seem sorta silly. The windows are below my field of vision anyway heh.. but.. eh.. may be useful.
4 - How many of you have a 2nd chartplotter that is either attached to the dash or hanging from your electronics box, and do you have a photo?
5 - Thinking of adding at least 1 extra house battery in the transom, maybe two.. but, there is certainly enough room for a 2nd. Who has done this and/or maybe somewhere else?

By the way, good morning

Just getting to work, drinking coffee, and these are my topics of the day

R

 

[seasick]

The amount of chain depends on your anchor and where you drop anchor. Some say, there is no such thing as too much chain. That said, I have a boat that has no chain. It came that way for some odd reason but with its plow anchor, it sets fine. With a danforth type, no chain can mean no setting. The deeper you anchor, the more need for longer chain. I operate in 15 to 40 feet of water
I carry a 'second' anchor. It is both a backup and used it for two anchor situations. It is rigged and ready to go if needed
I prefer marine/commercial grade ss wiper blades. Anco makes them. your intermittent wiper is eventually going to stop working altogether
I have two displays in my Grady. Although the two displays are plotter/sounders, I use one for maps and the other for sonar. If one were to die, I can bring up split screens on the other.The electronics box is small so I have twp 5 inch displays side by side. 7s would also probably fit.
Can't comment on batteries. There are too many factors that can affect the plan.

 

[RussGW270]

Yea, I do not mind the chain. I sorta like having a few feet of chain, to protect against possible rocks etc.

I seriously doubt I would anchor in 165ft of water.. heh. The rigs, I would just troll or tie off, so.. figure, worse case.. 50ft of water, so I am figuring having 200-300ft of rope would be plenty. Not sure, never really anchored much out there lol.

I figured to have some spare rope and a 2nd anchor too, but would not need near as much. If I lose an anchor or if I was going to need 2, I sure as heck would not be that far out.

I agree on the wiper.. I plan to take a closer look at the entire thing when I get it home.

I wanted a 2nd screen specific to the radar, but if one goes out, I can swap over to it for the day.

R

 

[seasick]

The purpose of the chain is to lay down on the sea floor, angle the anchor shaft flat to the bottom and help it drag over the floor to set it. If using a danforth type anchor and no chain the anchor shaft will tend to lift up and the prongs won't be at the right angle to dig into the bottom the bottom.

 

[nodima]

thought the rule of thumb on chain was to be about the length of the hull? But yes, chain really does help with Danforth, not only the angle, but will also absorb motion from the boat -say from a wake, without disturbing the anchor.

I had almost 300 feet in my 23 Mako, never needed all of it, but it was nice to have. I have a second anchor, but mainly for use when beaching the boat, to control the stern towards the beach.

Currently don't have a second plotter, but if I come across another one which will network with my Raymarine, I'll add it in the upper electronics box so that I can easily see it from the cockpit when drifting for fluke. It will also be nice to have when running so that crew can help to view radar as needed.

 

[ElMar]

These blades from NAPA were direct replacements on my 1999 Islander. Cheap too.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I start out with 300 ft of rode and 10 ft of chain fishing the Gulf of Mexico. While it's true that more chain is better, it is a PITA to stow more chain in my little anchor locker. I use a ball to pull the anchor since I don't have an electric winch. I've used a 9 lb Danforth style anchor for many years but I've recently switched to a 4 lb Fortress with good results. I hear less whining from the crew.

I say that I start off with 300 ft because usually carry less after cutting the rode when an anchor gets stuck on the bottom. When I get down to 150 ft I'll either replace the whole rode or splice in another 150 ft.

I always carry a spare anchor and chain.

I would have a second MFD screen if I had enough space. But I don't. Redundancy is a good thing offshore.

I have only a starting battery and a single house battery. They are connected via an ACR, which keeps them both charged. I had the starting battery fail on me while 60 miles offshore this past Sunday. The ACR protected the house battery and I was able to use the "combine batteries" function to start the engine. Batteries are heavy or I would add another one for redundancy.

 

[Lsquared]

i have 30' chain and 300' rode with a danforth. i have three batteries, 2 for start and one house hooked in parallel off the starboard battery.

I have actually 3 displays 2 lowrance and 1 that came with the boat which is a raymarine. The raymarine has the radar attached to it and that is all i use it for. I dont use radar that much so i didnt feel the need to spend 2600 on a new unit.

attached are the pics of the two lowrance one is at the helm and the other in the overhead electronics box on the port side. I use it when fishing, i can see that unit from the cockpit.

 

[Hookup1]

1 - How much rope do you keep onboard for an anchor? How much chain?
300'- of 1/2" 3-strand and 20' 1/4" chain. Rarely put it all out but has to be put away carefully to fit.
2 - Do you keep a spare anchor? Not on boat. 13-lb West Marine tapered flute. Bend one up irreparably every year in FL.
3 - windshield wipers - any particular brand blades you like and sizes? The wipers are "okay"...i.e. once in a while one stops.. just have to turn them on and off a bit, but.. tbh, they seem sorta silly. The windows are below my field of vision anyway heh.. but.. eh.. may be useful.
NAPA "schools bus" blades. Not terribly useful but I do sit down sometimes and use them.
4 - How many of you have a 2nd chartplotter that is either attached to the dash or hanging from your electronics box, and do you have a photo?
I use two Garmin units: 4210 flush mount at helm (special rework to get to fit) and 4208 up top on special mount (also a tough fit).
For fishing I run sounder up top and chart plotter below. One MFD isn't enough.

5 - Thinking of adding at least 1 extra house battery in the transom, maybe two.. but, there is certainly enough room for a 2nd. Who has done this and/or maybe somewhere else?
Group 27 house, two group 24's engines all aft. I have room for a fourth (removed old 2-stroke oil pump) but too much weight aft.
Just added a bow thruster and group 34 AGM (25 lbs less then group 27) up front. This battery does thruster and windlass but may also do bait pumps and electric reels.
Because of all the power draw (electronics and bait pumps) I never shut my engine down - its my generator.