[Gerry Zagorski]

Agreed on Danforth anchor and a good length of chain. A good rule of thumb for chain length is the same length as your boat and the chain should be at least the same weight as your anchor. As far as how much rode/rope you should have, 3 times the length of the deepest depth of water you'll be in.

An anchor is a must on any boat, especially in tidal waters. I have a friend who will go unamed that had an snchor on board but no enough rode. He and 3 friends were out one afternoon and ran out of gas.... They tried to set the anchor but could not. With an outgoing tide in the Sandy Hook area, they were adrift all afternoon into the wee hours of the next morning and finally got picked up by a fishing boat.

A handheld VHF radio would have come in handy as well.

You can't be too careful out there.