Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Hey everyone,

I've been boating my whole life and have never found a situation where I was unable to retrieve an anchor. My family and I were recently relocated to Connecticut, and yesterday was our first day out on the boat this year. We went to the lake in Webster, MA, which is the largest natural lake in the area. It's called Lake Chargoggaggoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaugg(can anyone tell me how to pronounce it?)

We were in about 25 feet of water and tossed out the anchor to go swimming. There was a moderate breeze, so the boat was pulling against the anchor the whole time. There was plenty of scope on the line and the anchor held without any issues. 45 minutes later when it was time to leave the anchor acted like it was glued to the bottom of the lake! We reversed to get directly over the anchor and still no luck...my dad and I both pulled as hard as we could without getting anywhere.

After about 5 minutes of frustration we attempted to force the anchor loose from whatever was holding it. 1,600 RPMs in forward or reverse wasn't enough to jerk this thing loose, but more throttle and the boat would force it loose. We went a good 15-20 seconds at 2,000 RPM and tried again with no luck. We reversed the engine and did the same. Repeated several times in different directions and finally gave up. I'm certain the boat was moving when we gave it more throttle, but as soon as it went in neurtral the boat was torqued to the left as the stubborn anchor remained tight and brought us to a quick stop. I eventually gave up and had to cut the anchor loose.

What went wrong here? How does a small fluke anchor get permanently affixed to the bottom of the lake?

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Well I had mine being stubborn once and when it did start coming up it took all I had to pull it in. When it finally came to the top it was attached to a fifteen foot tree :facepalm:

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Maybe you snagged a cable of some kind that is anchored to the bottom.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Had to be just a freak thing. Got wedged just right under a tree or stump.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Sounds like you had a similar problem. You WERE attached to something. Sunken boat, sunken car, sunken house. It's just extremely high odds that it would have dug into or entangled so deeply that you couldn't jar it loose with all your efforts.

Or it could have just been the Monster of the lake.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

USS MINNOW said:

Sounds like you had a similar problem. You WERE attached to something. Sunken boat, sunken car, sunken house. It's just extremely high odds that it would have dug into or entangled so deeply that you couldn't jar it loose with all your efforts.

Or it could have just been the Monster of the lake.

Click to expand...

LOCHNESS IS BACK ???

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

TomB985 said:

It's called Lake Chargoggaggoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaugg(can anyone tell me how to pronounce it?)

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I had to find out so I googled and found these helpful links. I'm just gonna pronounce it "webster". - Grandad
https://audioboo.fm/boos/54745-how-to-pronounce-chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg - YouTube
By Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg - YouTube

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

In the future, attach your chain to the top of the anchor, just above the flukes. Run the chain up the shank and attach with wire ties or bailing wire. If the anchor becomes jammed in again, the wire/wire ties break, and allow removal from the front.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Look into a Digger Anchor as a replacement. Not cheap compared to other anchors, but you won't have the problem again. I love mine. Holds like glue, and breaks free easily, even if hooked on something.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

I'm not an expert anchorman so please pour a few grains of salt over what I say.

I fish mostly in the Ohio river and there is a lot of debris (rocks,cables,ledges,concrete pieces,etc) where we anchor. When we get an anchor hung up we do not attempt to pull the line straight up over the stuck anchor. I let some line out and we pull against the anchor in a slow circular sweep,using the boat motor, to dislodge it from whatever it's hung up on. This method has worked well for me.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

I ran into a similar situation yesterday with mine (I use a claw anchor), but managed to get it out doing roughly what Tyme did. Here in TN the bottoms are REALLY rocky and it's not really hard to get hung up at all. I've only had it happen 3 times in the 15 years we've been down here and have never had to cut the line ... yet.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

I lost one is SE Alaska anchored in 150' with what showed as a sandy bottom on my chart. I swear it must have hooked an old U Boat or something because I spent probably 90 minutes pulling that thing from every point on the compass to no avail. I've since gone to the zip tie system described by fireman and never had another problem.
And I thought your were joking about the name of that lake!

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Lurch77 said:

Look into a Digger Anchor as a replacement. Not cheap compared to other anchors, but you won't have the problem again. I love mine. Holds like glue, and breaks free easily, even if hooked on something.

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I've looked into Diggers but haven't heard much about them. Sounds like an ideal anchor. What size do you use and on what size boat?

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Our anchor usually gets stuck in good hard clay so we swing the boat around and attach the line to a cleat and back out the opposite way to the way we set the anchor, one good tug is all it usualy takes.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Around here, pretty common occurrence. Rocks, wrecks, cables, crab pots, old fishing tackle, you name it. Those that anchor a lot carry home made wreck anchors. Makes cutting one loose a lot less painful. We even have several local divers that specialize in recovering anchors for people and resale

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Welcome to boating. It happens. Cut 1 anchor rope in 40 some years of boating.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

Thanks everyone. We hit the lake again this afternoon without an anchor, and after having to constantly chase the boat when I was swimming I don't think I'll be doing that again.

I have another cheap fluke anchor on order, that way I won't be that upset if this happens again. At the end of the day I burnt more in gas today than I had invested in the anchor. Frustrating though. Here's my new one:

Amazon.com: Seasense Anchor #13 Slip Ring Econo: Sports & Outdoors

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

In over 40 years of boating I only had to cut an anchor lose once. Long ago an old bridge was replaced with a new expensive one. The removal of the old bridge left a cable along the bottom. The anchor was not coming away-- until a diver went down and got it and 3 others he sold.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

USS MINNOW said:

I've looked into Diggers but haven't heard much about them. Sounds like an ideal anchor. What size do you use and on what size boat?

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I use the 15lb, with our 20' pontoon. Pontoons catch a lot of wind and currents, which can sometimes make them harder to anchor than many similar sized boats. But this anchor holds me tight, even in the high winds when out on Green Bay (Lake Michigan). I was hesitant at first, thought it was kind of gimmicky. But all the reviews on sporting goods sites and other places like Amazon are mostly positive. I'm a believer.

Re: Had to cut loose the anchor...how does this happen?

i have the same style anchor with the slip ring. i think it helps a bunch. pull the rode in until you're on top or even past the anchor a bit and one good yank should release it.