🔍 Key Concepts

• Scope of anchor cable (ratio of cable length to water depth) and how it affects anchor performance • How a flatter lead (angle) of the cable along the bottom affects the anchor’s grip in the seabed • Difference between holding power of the anchor and the vessel’s swinging circle at anchor

💭 Think About

• Think about what happens to the angle of pull on the anchor when you let out more cable: does it become steeper or flatter along the seabed? • If the cable pulls more horizontally along the bottom, how does that affect the anchor’s ability to dig in versus pop out? • When more cable is out, what happens to the radius of the circle your vessel can describe around the anchor? Does it get larger or smaller?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify how increasing scope (for example, from 3:1 to 7:1) is generally recommended for better holding in strong wind or current. • Check whether more cable out means a larger or smaller swinging circle for the vessel at anchor. • Confirm that dragging anchor is usually associated with too little scope or poor bottom, not normally with proper increased scope.