Richard:
RW>>Also, the bigger the boat, the more the 7-8 times apply.... the longer 
rode
RW>>acts as a shock absorber...
No it doesn't!... it is a matter of "angle" that the pulling force (the
boat) has on the holding force (the anchor).
Imagine your flukes from a standard danforth anchor (nice big fat blades
properly dug in)... If the boat is almost right on top of the anchor
(1:1 scope) then the force required to move the anchor is VERY little..
there's only about 6" of sand/mud/whatever holding those flukes.  If, on
the other hand, the boat is far away from the anchor (7:1 scope) then
the force required to move THAT anchor is one helluva lot!!!  The
sand/mud/whatever "above" the anchor is still only 6", but the force is
more sideways that up so the anchor, in trying to move towards the boat,
has to try to move through about a bajillion TONS of sand/mud/whatever!
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