[whblaylock]

I want to take the labor out of anchoring my 24'pontoon. My idea is to mount two power winches under a rear seat with one dropping an anchor straight down for the stern and one dropping an anchor for the bow. The bow anchor would be controlled thru a set of pulleys under the deck and would not be at the very front of the boat but set back about 5'or so. We boat on a lake and anchor in coves that are normally calm but we do have some current and wind that will move the boat around. Normally two 15# anchors just resting on the bottom will keep us from drifting so I don't think I need to use chain or anything other than a mushroom or river anchor with the 3 flutes. I am concerned about the anchors swinging around under the boat when underway. But other than that I can think of no draw backs to my plan. I do not want the power winches mounted on the decks but I could put the stern anchor in the motor cavity. I welcome all thoughts pro and con and any suggestions that might improve on my idea. Thanks wh

[bayman]

One idea would be to use an anchor davit to hold the anchor so it isn't swinging around. When winched up it is held tight, but when released it can just drop down.

[whblaylock]

I have thought of that but I haven't worked it out as to how to mount it under the boat so that is will do the job that it is designed for. Thanks! wh Please, more imput!

[Bond-o]

Without a way to secure the anchor while under way,.....It just won't work........It'll Beat a Hole thru your decks at anything over an Idle speed...............Once you get That sorted out,......... I Love the plan.................

[whblaylock]

Thanks Admiral! If you think of something to solve that problem let me know. something I was thinking about was having an alum box made with an open bottom that the anchor could ride up into or some variation of that concept. I would mount it to a cross member and make it large enough to mount a pully in the top of it. Might not need alum but use steel and paint it. It would be easier to get that made up since it could be welded conventionally. Might just mount the stern anchor on the rear deck in the mtr cav and not have to deal with this prob but once. wh

[steelespike]

If your using a mushroom anchor just have a hole that it will pull up through untill set tight.The problems I see are ongoing maintenance on the system ,pulleys,guides etc. and if the anchors and line get loaded with mud or grass it could be a pain to deal with.Also if the anchor should get fouled it would be a real pain to unhook.Sounds like needless complication to me.

[whblaylock]

Thanks for your thoughts. I have thought about the fowling issue and where we anchor we have never had that happen. I would be able to let out line and grab up slack in order to dislodge if fowled. As far as maintance I would be able to r&r fairly easily as boat is on a lift and I can get under it by lifting high and putting a couple of boards across the slip. The toon before this one was real basic and we did things that worked and cost little as we did not want to put alot of money in an old basic boat. But this one is much nicer and worth the cost of some accessories. I have always wanted to be able to drop and weigh anchor with just a touch of a button from the helm. Maybe not all that practicle or without problems but just something I have often thought would enhance our boating/fishing experience. wh