Anchoring with a centennial weight

On a sailing trip with a friend I got to see the use of a centennial when anchoring.  At one anchorage on our trip a sudden short storm blew over us and two boats near us drug there anchors. One boat even had two anchors out.  It is an old low tech technique that really helps keep your anchor set.

A centennial is a weigh that is attached at your anchor line after you set the anchor.  It is attached and dropped in the water so it slides down the anchor line and causes the anchor line at the boat to drop to the bottom.  A separate line is attached to the centennial so you can bring it up when pulling up the hook.  This retrieval line needs to be just long enough to lower the centennial weight down to the bottom.

What this weight dose is helps the keep the pull of the anchor line on the anchor along the bottom and the anchor stays dug in.   It is almost like having a all chain anchor road.

To make a centennial is easy. You need a weight of some kind, a shackle or two and a length of line for the retrieval line.  The one I made is crude but it works great.  I sail on a river and bottom is soft muck.  Even when I can not put out as much scope as I want the centennial keeps the anchor dug in.  8-)

I made this one for my 21'er using a few old diving weights, a web strap, and two shackles.  I tie the retrieval line to the shackle on the web strap. the other shackle goes over the anchor line and attaches to the first shackle and that lets the weight slide down the set anchor line to the bottom.  The retrieval line is then tied off so the weight stays at that point on the anchor line.  That way the weight lets the anchor line stay on the bottom and helps keep the anchor dug in.

To leave, you pull up the centennial, remove it from the anchor line and pull in the anchor as normal.

I made one with more weight for our 40' boat, but this one work great for my 21' er.