Lets talk lake anchors

[bansil]

90% of boating is on TVA lakes, depth ranges from a couple ft to a couple hundred ft.

Very steep drop offs, due to the mountains being flooded 80 years ago.

lots of old wood debris I have been told.

local marinas recommend everything differently...no type of anchor recommended

amount of chain, most say none since no need to keep anchor ready to drag and hook up

boat is a 24 ft pontoon, so controlling wind pushing may be biggest issue

we want to overnight and I was told by fish police you can NOT snug up in a cove and tie off front and back to the bank (trees)

 

[alldodge]

Type of anchor depends on the bottom, and I also boat in your area of the water. There is mud, shale, rock and stumps. Anchors which go deeper as they start to move is good for mud (danforth, plow, delta, river anchor, grapnel). With rock and shale need something to hook on to them (Claw, Navy). With stumps any will hold so long as the stump does not give way, but then you have trouble getting the anchor back.

Needs at least 10 feet of chain and the more the better. I have a claw (Bruce) anchor and all chain, so I can hold in anything except mud. When we go out I know what the bottom is and anchor where I know my anchor holds. Also the claw works pretty good to rip loose from a stump

Agree they don't want folks tying front and rear across a cove, but they have no issue if your in a narrow cove so there would be no more then about 10 feet on each end.

 

[southkogs]

Are you camping on shore, or just overnighting on the water? If camping on shore, then I think you could tie the bow off to a fixed spot on land and anchor the stern. I see that all over Percy Priest and TWRA doesn't seem to bother anyone about it.

I don't anchor overnight at all, so I'm not sure how I would setup an overnight rig. For the temporary - just hang here and goof off - anchoring I do, I have what I believe is commonly called a river anchor, but it's a mushroom variant:

I've found that I like it because it tends to release easily if I get caught on any bottom structure (rocks, stumps, etc.). I keep about 100' of line on it, and try not to anchor deeper than 50'. If I get hung up, I have always been able to change direction a couple of times while pulling the line and the anchor seems to rock free of whatever is keeping it.

 

[bansil]

Boat was setup for our elderly fathers w/wheelchairs and walkers, also we hate fishing from pontoons that are nothing but seats 3ft deep around perimeter of boat.

The dogs like the open space to lounge around

camping will be on the boat in a tent.

Figure setting phones for anchor watch as well as the chart plotter, we will be good with an anchor and maybe front/back tied off

looking at 13 to 17 pound anchor, from charts i have seen, 24ft pontoon, light but has full hand rail with solid panels, wind will push her good,

picture from a few hours ago, i was only one dry under roof

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

In a lake I’d want a break away anchor. Sorry I cant post pics from my tablet. They have a chain connecting the base of the anchor to the eye which is attached with a wire tie or two if the anchor gets hung up pulling in various directions usually breaks the wire tie and the anchor is now pulled from the bottom center of its tines and the usually release. This is great for snags logs rocks etc. it doesn’t work in all applications but you can install a bolt at the eye to the chain and your good to go. Gentle water there great though. Or if you have one anchor that’s a little heavy for some applications it might come free easier.

 

[southkogs]

Maybe find a spot to "beach" it (as best as that works here in TN), tie the front to something on shore and anchor the stern. That's the way I'd do it - even with a tent on board.

I will also say - that's the way I like a 'toon setup. My brother has one with the seats and sofas, and it's nice for cruising. But for nearly anything else, I like the big ole' flat top barge with folding chairs. We had an old Crest at our cottage for years that was like that.

 

[Captain Caveman]

I use a pivoting fluke and like it because it's so easy to pull out if "snagged." If you're planning to sleep overnight I would get a second anchor. I also would anchor the opposite of what was said above. Do not anchor your boat from the stern and tie off the bow to shore. While it makes less of a difference with a pontoon, always face the bow of your boat out towards potential waves.

Definitely attach chain to the anchor and then transition to your rope of choice.

 

[bansil]

With a pontoon since both ends are identical, it makes sense to anchor the rear so you can get off boat on land/shallow area

I think I will go with a Danforth S600, 3 feet 3/16 chain and then a 100 feet of 3/8 rope, I will probably modify anchor to use the 3 Ziptie modification (and keep a couple 3/16 shackles to make it more permanent if needed, like going down to the sound side of ocean)

 

[QBhoy]

I can say with confidence you will likely want a 7.5-9kg Bruce/M anchor. You will certainly need chain. The chain does all the work when anchoring.
The general rule guys will tell you you need three times the length of the boat in chain. I’ve been using a 7.5 kg anchor and 30ft of chain on the bottom in my old cabin cruiser of 23ft and 2 ton in similar lake conditions for years without any sign of it loosing its way...in all weathers. To be fair I was never in more than 20ft of water overnight anchored.
Move tried a few other anchors and the Bruce is the best all rounder pound for pound.
I found it really good in mud and brilliant in sand and growth patches. Not sure how good it would be on rocks.

 

[bansil]

Great info thank uou