Orion Specifications - Ground Tackle
October 2009

Orion's primary and secondary anchors
As we cruise the eastern United States coast, we have encountered a number of mooring/anchoring situations. Ninety-nine percent of the time we have anchored without any problems, but we wish it was one hundred percent of the time. Whenever we have a problem, we do our best to find its root cause so that we can prevent it from reoccurring.
Orion carries four anchors, which include:
1. Delta 35, which is one size larger than recommended for Orion, with 250' 5/16" HT chain and 50' 1/2" 3-strand rope: as our primary anchor, this system has performed well in a variety of situations. We selected this anchor since most cruisers use a CQR anchor, but the Delta is similar, requires less weight, and is generally rated higher than the CQR. People that have used both styles tend to prefer the Delta.
2. Danforth 16H, which is properly sized for Orion, with 20' 5/16" HT chain and 200' of 1/2" braided line: as our secondary anchor, we have only used it once. It worked very well in the 30 knot winds. Danforths have different holding characteristics than Deltas, which improves the chances that at least one of these anchors will hold in any condition. This anchor is mounted on the bow where it is readily deployable.
Orion carries four anchors, which include:
1. Delta 35, which is one size larger than recommended for Orion, with 250' 5/16" HT chain and 50' 1/2" 3-strand rope: as our primary anchor, this system has performed well in a variety of situations. We selected this anchor since most cruisers use a CQR anchor, but the Delta is similar, requires less weight, and is generally rated higher than the CQR. People that have used both styles tend to prefer the Delta.
2. Danforth 16H, which is properly sized for Orion, with 20' 5/16" HT chain and 200' of 1/2" braided line: as our secondary anchor, we have only used it once. It worked very well in the 30 knot winds. Danforths have different holding characteristics than Deltas, which improves the chances that at least one of these anchors will hold in any condition. This anchor is mounted on the bow where it is readily deployable.

Stern Anchor
3. Danforth 14#, which is one size smaller than recommended for Orion, with 10' 5/16" chain and 120' 9/16" 3-strand rope: as our stern anchor it is mounted on the stern where it is readily deployable. This anchor can be thrown overboard should Orion's engine quit while heading toward an object such as a dock or bridge. As a lighter anchor, it's easier to work with and is our choice to use should we have to kedge Orion off a shoal.
4. Fortress 37, which is two sizes larger than recommended for Orion, with 10' 3/8" chain and 368' of 3/4" 3-strand rope: as our storm anchor, this system is rated for exceptional holding power. Since major storms are predicted days in advance, this anchor is kept below decks and would take about an hour to deploy.
In addition to anchors, Orion carries a number of supporting systems, which include:
1. Windlass: the windlass is powered from our batteries, but only when the engine is operational. It makes hauling in the anchor line very easy, which encourages us to use it as much as we need.
2. Raw water washdown system: by always spraying water on our ground tackle as it is recovered, we have been able to keep our anchor locker clean.
3. 36" bolt cutters, which can be used to cut our chain in an emergency
4. Snubbers:
4. Fortress 37, which is two sizes larger than recommended for Orion, with 10' 3/8" chain and 368' of 3/4" 3-strand rope: as our storm anchor, this system is rated for exceptional holding power. Since major storms are predicted days in advance, this anchor is kept below decks and would take about an hour to deploy.
In addition to anchors, Orion carries a number of supporting systems, which include:
1. Windlass: the windlass is powered from our batteries, but only when the engine is operational. It makes hauling in the anchor line very easy, which encourages us to use it as much as we need.
2. Raw water washdown system: by always spraying water on our ground tackle as it is recovered, we have been able to keep our anchor locker clean.
3. 36" bolt cutters, which can be used to cut our chain in an emergency
4. Snubbers:

Chain Hook
- Chain hook with 7' of 1/2" 3-strand line: this snubber is always used. When deployed, it's still on the foredeck. Although it doesn't provide any elasticity, it will protect the windlass should one of the other snubbers fail.
Chain hook with 25' of 1/2" 3-strand line: this snubber is the easiest one to deploy, but has fallen off a couple of times. Although it saw extensive use before we had our bridle, it generally serves as a backup to the bridle or for short periods at anchor.

Bridle
- Bridle with two 20' 1/2" 3-strand line leaders: this has become our primary snubber during most anchoring situations
Mooring Pennants: Orion has two mooring pennants consisting of 20' of 3/4" 3-strand line.
Note: All snubbers and mooring pennants have been spliced around a thimble, are deployed with chafe protection, and use shackles secured with seizing wire and/or cable ties.
We have developed a routine procedure that serves us for most anchoring situations. It includes the following steps:
1. Study the guidebooks and charts to locate a suitable anchorage
2. Select a spot with plenty of swing room, we like a lot of swing room, which also provides time to resolve a situation should something go awry.
3. When entering the anchorage, circle the location in as large a radius as possible, which creates a track on our chartplotter in which we know there aren't any obstacles, at least at the time we set our hook.
4. Maneuver to the center of the circle heading into the wind/current.
5. Bring the boat to a stop in order to drop the anchor while setting our anchor drag alarm and a way point. Our anchor drag alarm is preset to the length of scope we will deploy plus 50 feet. We set the extra 50' on the alarm to take into account that the GPS is 24' from the bow and the boat might swing 180 degrees from its current position.
6. Let the wind/current move Orion backwards while letting out scope and periodically snubbing the rode so that the anchor will dig into the bottom.
7. Once all the scope is let out, we add the bridle and foredeck snubber. At this time, the helmsman will back down, gradually increasing the RPM's to 1,500. Assuming that the rode feels solid and the GPS shows no movement, the engine speed is slowly lowered.
8. Tidy up the boat for 10-15 minutes.
9. Once again we backdown on the rode gradually increasing the RPM's to 2,000 and gradually decrease them assuming both the rode feelstight and the GPS shows no movement.
10. We take compass bearings on at least three points, trying to use objects that will be lighted at night. Also, it's useful to find objects that are aligned one in front of the other.
11. Periodically, we check our compass bearings and review the GPS track.
12. We sleep easier knowing that we have done everything possible to set the anchor and that the anchor alarm will wake us in the event of a problem.