You can save yourself some embarrassment and prevent damage to your craft by carrying an anchor In a handy place, ready to use at a moment’s notice. There are many places where you may be cruising—long, narrow channels; among islands and reefs; in crowded harbors—where a sudden rigging or auxiliary power failure can get you into instant trouble. It is not the time to have to rummage through a cockpit anchor locker or a mess of snarled line in the forepeak to get an anchor clear and rigged for use. On the other hand, no sailor wants to have an anchor adrift on the forepeak in heavy weather. For that reason, many popular types of anchors are usually chocked in bronze fittings that support the anchor crown and fluke tips, and provide a tiedown for the shank. There are, however, some serious shortcomings with this type of installation. For example, jib sheets are likely to snag on the anchor stock when the boat is tacked. When handling headsails, you can accidentally step on the stock and wrench the anchor out of its chocks, sometimes bending them as well. And, the anchor stocks are apt to be in the way of your ankles. There are a number of solutions to such problems depending on the type of anchor you have and the configuration of your boat
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