With the new windlass now installed I figured that I might as well have an anchor and chain that will wash off with the salt water washdown pump so I splurged on a new 35.2 lb polished 316 stainless steel plow anchor, 75 feet of 5/16" polished stainless steel BBB chain and a stainless steel swivel anchor connector.

Material required for this upgrade:

35.2 lb polished 316 stainless steel anchor ($327.00 from Danard Marine)

75 ft. polished stainless steel BBB chain ($375.00 from Danard Marine)

1 ea. stainless steel anchor swivel ($89.00 from SailNet)

Total cost for this upgrade: $791.00

I ordered the anchor from Danard Marine in California. Their web site is at http://www.danardmarine.com They were a pleasure to do business with and the shipping (5 business days via UPS Ground) was a modest $27

My dock mates are giving me a hard time about the anchor, saying such things as "Looks like you'll have to get rid of the beard so you can use it as a mirror to shave."

Below is a photo of the new anchor. I sure hate to get it dirty now. :-)