Question 3878 Deck General

The correct answer is A) the anchor may be dropped from the hawsepipe. When anchoring in 8 fathoms (48 feet) of water, the anchor can be dropped directly from the hawsepipe, which is the opening in the bow of the vessel where the anchor chain or cable passes through. This is because the depth is relatively shallow, and the anchor can reach the bottom from the hawsepipe without needing to be lowered first. The other options are incorrect because: B) lowering the anchor to the bottom before dropping it is not necessary in shallow water; C) the scope (length of anchor cable) should be longer, typically 5-7 times the depth; and D) lowering the anchor to within 2 fathoms of the bottom before dropping it is also not required in this shallow water scenario.