Several sailboat equipment makers have introduced gear to cope with unusual mooring needs, but there is still a lot of improvising. In any ‘extreme’ anchorage, the visitors often make do with what they have, while the locals have dedicated equipment—making life much easier.
Perko and Windline in America make brackets dedicated to Fortress anchors and Mantus make a universal bracket for most anchors.
There are a number of suppliers of tape reels (pre-filled with a variety of tapes, including Dyneema). The makers of the Ultra anchor entered the marine market with their Quickline reels. Reels for rope are easier and more common place, robust garden hose reels work well.
Chandlers in the Baltic also supply ‘stern rollers’ for the anchors, but a good stainless-steel fabricator could make one easily for your specific yacht. Most major harbors have a talented welder or fabricator who could custom build a reel. Local artisans are often overlooked as a source of equipment.
To secure our catamaran at the stern, we have a bridle attached to horn cleats on the stern. There is an eye in the centre of the bridle, so that we can take one stern line ashore and keep the cat roughly perpendicular to the shore. We have enough rope for two generous shore lines. We also have our spare rode—75 feet of 6 mm (1/4-inch) high-tensile chain and 120 feet of three-strand nylon). We certainly don’t need this kit for sailing in home waters of Australia, but in Tasmania it’s a different world. There, the retired Dyneema halyards, the pitons, and the steel reinforcing rods all come in handy.
To learn more about which anchor accessories to buy and how to use them, check out Anchor Rode Accessories, part of the Anchoring Complete Series from Practical Sailor.
