A cool article on using anchors

[monk-monk]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

This artical helped me a bunch! I have a 1972 Glastron V-166 Bowrider...I currently do not have a trolling motor because this old boat is in excellent condition and i haven't come up with a way to mount a trolling motor without drilling holes in the body...i will design something to accomodate a trolling motor...so for now, i just anchor and fish...well, i've never been able to hold a position while anchored...always drifting off somewhere...SO, i employed the technique described in this article...I stayed in the same general vicinity (except for the swing) for nearly 3 hours...What made all this so good was the fact that i got on a bed of crappie...and the rest is history...Without this anchoring technique i would have drifted off that spot in no time...BIG THANKS!

 

[ezbtr]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

I'm so glad this helped some folks out!!!

 

[jason5975]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

Boating in coastal salt water is a lot different than inland lakes. We spent the weekend out on Wassaw Island off the coast of Savannah and let me tell you, you better have two anchors ready to go. On Sunday the tide was going out, so I always drop my front anchor way out and then pull the boat out, staying ahead of the tide. I kept waiting for my rear anchor to tighten up and it never did! I have 1/2" poly rope on the rear anchor and it's only about 2 years old and it snapped! (19' bowrider). So......I'm changing out all of my anchor lines with new 1/2 nylon twisted. It may be a slight overkill, but it shouldn't break.

I think the rules are a little different for the guys using the mushroom and river anchors....they will more or less work straight up and down. Don't try that with a danforth anchor. And I also learned last year the danforth won't work at Lake Marion/ Clark Hill GA/SC where the bottom is rocky. I'll be getting a yachtsman before I go back there.

I guess I'm just from the school of thought where whether you're towing, shooting, or anchoring, I'd rather have a little more than I need than a little less than I need.

Happy motoring.
-Jason

 

[PDubs]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

This is a real good article; short and accurate. Also new to boating, my wife and I could not figure out why we kept drifting every 20 minutes. Turns out we did not use the proper ratio (although ours is more like 5:1) and did not reverse the boat a touch after setting the line. Had we read this article, it probably would have saved us a ton of time.

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

I'm in the ocean all the time. If I'm dropping bait for a couple hours I generally go 3:1 or 4:1 at most and hold just fine. If it's gonna be an overnight deal or if I plan to or possible could incidentally nod off I employ 7:1 to 8:1. What I do shocking see alot of and am mortified is guys who anchor from their stern. All it takes is one buzz by some speed boat or other large vessel to get a wave coming over your gunwale and swamp your boat, sending her to the bottom. NEVER EVER ANCHOR FROM STERN!

 

[Shife]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

What I do shocking see alot of and am mortified is guys who anchor from their stern. All it takes is one buzz by some speed boat or other large vessel to get a wave coming over your gunwale and swamp your boat, sending her to the bottom. NEVER EVER ANCHOR FROM STERN!

But anchoring from the stern allows Bubba to just reach back and toss his old battery tied to a ratty ski rope over the side without setting his beer down.

 

[Bob's Garage]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

Something that many people may tend to 'overthink' is the the size of the rhode (anchor line) required. I've seen a number of posts where people talk about a 1/2" or 5/8" diameter rhode. For most of the poeple that post here that is a bit of overkill.
While growing up, our family boat was 46' & registered at 27tons, our principle anchor in nasty weather was a 35# Danforth anchor, about 12' of chain, and 200' of 3/8" three strand nylon. We also regulary used an 18# Danforth with chain & 200' of 1/2" three strand nylon.
If you think about it, the tensile strength of 3/8" nylon is over 3000 lbs, which is a tension that the anchor rhode will never see. The advantage of using the smaller diameter line is that it acts like a huge (rubber band like) shock absorber, and will give a nice easy motion and have much less tendance to snap or jerk the anchor out of the bottom. We rode out a couple of hurricanes with that. (The 3/8" is also easier to handle & takes less storage space.)

-
-
-

Anchor types for mud & rock,
for mud, I'd use a "Danforth" type of fluke anchor, not the best in real rock.
In real rock, a "CQR" or plow type, or in bad rock, a traditional 'Yachtsman" anchor.

It is irresponsible of you to pass on incorrect and unsafe information in the way of advise that has the potential of causing injury to others.

There is no way that 3/8' rode (correct spelling) would be sufficient to hold your stated vessel size in any real storm. Nor would a marina permit you to use their facilities if you were so under sized.

There are real and proven line size recommendations for our boats based on size of boats. They should be followed, but are what would be the minimum sizes, it would be okay to go up in size, potentially dangerous to go down.

This is unbelievable even if true.

 

[Ned L]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

I'm not sure what was "irresponsible - incorrect and unsafe information". I believe my comment on the "overkill" was for the use of 1/2" or 5/8" anchor line for "most people who post here", which I take to be the 14' to 22' market. -I'm sorry, 5/8" for an 18' boat is overkill.
Beyond that, and in a separate paragraph, all I did was convey person experience. I should have stated that everyone should refer to published selection charts & tables when making their selection.
I do believe there are situations in which decades of personal knowledge and experience allow one to make safe choices that are outside of the tables & charts. - And I should have stated that during hurricanes (sustained winds of at least 75MPH) we dropped both of the mentioned anchors.

 

[Shife]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

I'm not sure what was "irresponsible - incorrect and unsafe information". I believe my comment on the "overkill" was for the use of 1/2" or 5/8" anchor line for "most people who post here", which I take to be the 14' to 22' market. -I'm sorry, 5/8" for an 18' boat is overkill.
Beyond that, and in a separate paragraph, all I did was convey person experience. I should have stated that everyone should refer to published selection charts & tables when making their selection.
I do believe there are situations in which decades of personal knowledge and experience allow one to make safe choices that are outside of the tables & charts. - And I should have stated that during hurricanes (sustained winds of at least 75MPH) we dropped both of the mentioned anchors.

The reason your story/advice isn't passing the smell test is because a boat like you describe calls for rode of 3/4in 3 strand nylon with 3/8in BBB chain. At a minimum in good weather you should have used a 40lb danforth. At a minimum. Experienced blue water boaters will tell you to add 50% to these recommendations if you actually want to trust your life with them.

The anchor and rode combination you claim to have used for that size and weight of boat was dangerous and irresponsible at best.

 

[Ned L]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

All I'm doing is conveying what we did, and we were not the ones up on the beach the next morning due to a dragged anchor, so it would seem to me we made a correct choice.

-Right out of a online article on anchoring & ground tackle selection "Unlike oversizing the anchor, oversizing the line is not recommended because that reduces its beneficial elasticity".

 

[jgoeden]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

Ok guys so what is your advice on getting your anchors unstuck?

I have a 19' runabout and we anchored the other day in an inland lake with muddy floor. It was about 15' deep and I deployed the mushroom anchor and about 20' of line and come time to leave, that thing WAS STUCK!!!!

It took probably 20 minutes of yanking up, standing on the line, and even pulling with the boat to get that thing out of there!

Please post recommendations on getting your anchors...not anchored

 

[rw99]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

Ok guys so what is your advice on getting your anchors unstuck?

I have a 19' runabout and we anchored the other day in an inland lake with muddy floor. It was about 15' deep and I deployed the mushroom anchor and about 20' of line and come time to leave, that thing WAS STUCK!!!!

It took probably 20 minutes of yanking up, standing on the line, and even pulling with the boat to get that thing out of there!

Please post recommendations on getting your anchors...not anchored

You probably didn't do this, but it brings up another cardinal rule: never EVER try to pull the anchor up under power with the anchor attached to your stern. Not that the anchor should be back there anyway...

It's another great way to capsize and/or sink your boat. Be willing to leave a stuck anchor behind.

 

[rw99]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

...oh, and this is may be a bit off-topic, but if you happen to be thinking about replacing or buying a new electric trolling motor, I can personally recommend the iPilot MinnKota units.

These come with GPS functionality: they know where they are, how fast they're going, and how to get from point A to point B. One of the features is "virtual" anchoring (they call it Spot Lock), and I use this fairly often... you just push a button and the motor will work on its own to keep itself within a 5'-10' distance of the GPS lock. It lets you "anchor" in any depth.

Caveats. The boat may still pivot around the trolling motor's GPS point, depending on conditions. And you gotta stay alert to traffic around you, and if there are people in the water you need to make them aware that the motor will turn on & change direction without warning.

 

[mudslinging79]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

also, dont forget the proper way to attach the line to the anchor. preffered in rocky areas is, chain permantly attached at the bottom, coming up on the side and fastened at the top with zip ties.
theory is if your anchor is hung up on rocks, the zip ties break therefore changing the angle of pull to the bottom of the anchor, enablong it to pull free of the obstruction

 

[marcoalza]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

I have to say, the best 200 Dirhams ($34) I ever spent for my boat was on 3 metres of stainless chain for my anchor rope.

I purchased this after reading many articles on iBoats and net and it is by far the most essential thing to have if you have rope.

I always had trouble setting anchor but this changed my life!

I never have any trouble setting my anchor now and we have fun watching others struggle!

 

[JoLin]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

All I'm doing is conveying what we did, and we were not the ones up on the beach the next morning due to a dragged anchor, so it would seem to me we made a correct choice.

-Right out of a online article on anchoring & ground tackle selection "Unlike oversizing the anchor, oversizing the line is not recommended because that reduces its beneficial elasticity".

Sorry, Ned- some combination of factors allowed you to get away with it. For your situation is was a lucky choice, but not a correct one.

My .02

 

[JoLin]

Re: A cool article on using anchors

A cool article on using anchors from one of my safety bulletins...

ISSUE HOME > Anchors Aweigh! Anchors Aweigh!

Let the boat drift back while you feed out the proper amount of scope. The recommended scope ratio is approximately seven (or eight) to one. For example, if you're in 30 feet of water you'll want 210 to 240 feet of line.

Generally good basic advice in that short piece. Definitely valuable for a noob. But I have to point out that the scope calculation is incorrect.

Scope is based on the depth of the water, PLUS the height of the anchor attachment point above the surface of the water. If I'm anchoring in 20' of water and my bow cleat/pulpit/roller sits 4' higher than the waterline, my scope calculation starts at 24', not 20'.

In most circumstances depth of water alone will suffice, but it isn't quite accurate.

My .02