Anchor Advice

[Here's Waldo]

Another noob question. Just bought a 19' bowrider & have taken it out a couple of times. Been having issues with the anchor. We like to set up in a cove to swim and hang out, but the anchor is not keeping the boat in place very well at all.

Can anyone advise on how large/what kind of an anchor I should be using. This is on a lake with a muddy bottom (Lake Allatoona in GA) and the area we go to is about 20'-25' in depth. Thanks.

 

[reeveshd]

Re: Anchor Advice

hello

I had some of the same questions when I first started. After throwing two overboard in one season, then heading out again and forgetting one......

stoped at walmart, went back to the fittness section, 15 pound dumb bell. rope tie off, all set. Works great.

i dont have any problems with the wind dragging us around the cove at all.

cheap, try it.

reeves

 

[rajjneef]

Re: Anchor Advice

I boat occasionally on Allatoona as well. That silty bottom can be rough sometimes to grab. I use a "digger" anchor myself. You can find them on Overtons, etc. A little pricey now but I have very rarely had it let loose on me. The fluke will also release lessening the chance of the anchor getting stuck and you losing it to that.
http://www.diggeranchor.com/

 

[shrew]

Re: Anchor Advice

This post begs two questions:

1) What type of anchor are you currently using?

2) Hope much scope are you letting out?


20-25ft of water is actually pretty deep. At a 5:1 scope that would use 125ft. of anchor line. Recommended is between 5:1 to 7:1. I'm sure many guys are going to start posting reports of significantly less scope when they anchor successfully. The conditions (wind, waves, current, tide) as well as holding (sandy, clay, weeds/grass, slime, etc) will dictate the amount of scope needed. The type of holding will dictate the type of achor.

I can tell you this. You won't find many people who will think a dumbell is a good anchor. A dumbell will make a great tender, but a horrible anchor. There is only weight on a dumbell and no holding ability at all. You might as well throw an anchor line with a bunch of chain and no anchor at all.

 

[Here's Waldo]

Re: Anchor Advice

This post begs two questions:

1) What type of anchor are you currently using?

2) Hope much scope are you letting out?

1) 8lb Fluke

2) Wow, just letting out enough so it hits the bottom plus a few feet more. That's probably part of my problem, had no idea of the 5:1, 7:1 ratio...

 

[rajjneef]

Re: Anchor Advice

No you cant drop a fluke with a few extra feet and expect good results. I have found personally with this digger anchor that around 2:1, 3:1 is fine for most coves on an inland lake. 2:1 being a quiet cove in shallower water.

 

[spikeitaudi]

Re: Anchor Advice

1) 8lb Fluke

2) Wow, just letting out enough so it hits the bottom plus a few feet more. That's probably part of my problem, had no idea of the 5:1, 7:1 ratio...

Waldo, have you taken the boaters safety course? If not, I highly recommend it. It goes over things like the rope length ratio to depth and other important safety issues. I know in our neck of the woods it is required for boating.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Anchor Advice

you don't mention the chain; it is important for the function of the anchor, in that it holds the line flat on the bottom so the anchor can grab hold. Once set, it acts to absorb some "shock" from the boat pulling on the line.
Some people advocate long long chains; others shorter but heavy.
When you study up on anchoring, keep in mind that many recommendations are for mooring large vessels unattended and safe for adverse conditions. Day-time beach anchoring requires a lot less.
Also, it is generally unsafe to anchor from the stern, unless the stern is close to and facing the beach/shore.

 

[Jeepster04]

Re: Anchor Advice

1) 8lb Fluke

2) Wow, just letting out enough so it hits the bottom plus a few feet more. That's probably part of my problem, had no idea of the 5:1, 7:1 ratio...

An 8lb fluke anchor should hold the boat no problem. If youre in 25ft of water, let out around 100ft of line. Wrap the rope around one of the front cleats then put the boat in R while making sure none of the rope has made its way around the back of the boat. I usually have someone hold the slack up then throw it in the water when I put the boat in R. Once the boat is moving backwards and the slack is out, Ill put it in N then and let it drift backwards till it stops. The anchor should now be set. Ive never had trouble with our boat moving(18ft open bow) in 40ft of water with only 100ft of rope. This is on a decent sized lake with mild winds, were not staying over night.

If you were staying over night or out on an ocean you would have to worry about the 5:1 ratio. For the majority of us that boat on small lakes and only anchor out for a couple of hours while swimming, etc, a lower ratio is ok.

 

[rbh]

Re: Anchor Advice

We have been discussing anchors over a few threads in the last couple of months.
I put forth the point that the lake/river/ocean bottom has a lot to do with the type of anchor you use.
If the bottom is clay/rocky we use the 16 pound danforth, one thing that I learned is that it is best to drop it over the edge of a drop off, as it seems to bite in easier coming up the wall.
If the bottom is sandy or muddy the danforth has a heck of a time getting a firm bite, I would like to get a fortress style as the biting end is more like a shovel and should dig in and have better holding capability.

 

[rbh]

Re: Anchor Advice

The fortress is more of a "PLOW" than shovel.

 

[Overkill82k5]

Re: Anchor Advice

I'm not sure if this is correct use or not but on a recent trip I found a working solution for anchor not holding. The wife and I were in an 18' bowrider when a strong T-storm rolled in. We shot for a bridge and tried to anchor under it (danforth type). The swells kept popping the anchor and letting us drift out into the storm. My solution was to pull the anchor up and attach a much smaller line (something that stretched when wet) and make it a foot or two shorter than the main anchor line. This seemed to ease the "snatch" on the anchor line when a wave would hit us and we held tight until we were ready to leave. The bottom was pretty hard and it was shallow where we were at. Anyway, hope that may help someone in a bind (or lack thereof, pun intended ) in the future.