Wow! Now I Understand why my confusion was not mine alone. The time I anchor out is overnight, generally. I do it because, as ageneral rule. it is either the only place to stay, or it is cheaper - But I guess it is sort of like wondering whether house doors should be locked. You roll over at night wondering if you reallly adequately checked to be sure the anchor had snugged up, have the wave patterns changed, are those waves coming from a different direction (where the the boat is fully exposed). and so forth. The only way to counter that and convince yourself to lighten up is to have some assurance, based on knowledge in the trade, that you are being conservative and have considered all the elements in setting an anchor.

With the Ariel's on one hand, our windage is minimal. The boat is low to the water. On the other hand, several hundred feet of line is very difficult handle or stow, and the weight of a couple hundred feet of chain impossible. Forget that. 6' of chain is about my maximum.

Thanks for the website.