Help with Mooring

[Sirovc2]

Looking to set up mooring temporarily on a lake with a sand/mud bottom. My boat is a 18 foot bowrider and weighs around 3200 lbs.
i have a 15 lb river anchor and a 15 lb navy anchor but don't have any confidence that will do the job. Looks like a mushroom anchor would be best but I cannot get my hands on one in a timely manner.
Could I take 4 cinder blocks, tie them together, and use a chain and rope with a buoy? Should be over 100Lbs?? I want a bit of piece of mind my boat will still be there in the morning.

Any thoughts are very much appreciated!

Chris

 

[FunInDuhSun]

For short-term in good weather, maybe. But what happens if a t-storm comes along and strong winds blow? Is it worth the risk? ONLY way I’d consider it would be if I was there actually watching it at a campsite or cottage.
Lots of people use an old engine block (cleaned) as a mooring anchor.
Or you could just buy a proper mooring anchor.

 

[Sprig]

What exactly are you trying to do? Is this for a couple hours, over night, a couple days or what? In any event I wouldn’t trust the anchors you refer to if I wasn’t there to watch the boat. If you use cinder blocks I’d want more than 100lbs.

 

[mike_i]

Even with a bunch of cinder blocks I would want something to dig into the bottom and a lot of chain. Are you planning on leaving it or retrieving it when done anchoring? What are the wind and current like?

 

[Sirovc2]

Thanks for the comments. I was hoping to leave it over night for 2 weeks. But fair comments above so I guess I'll just launch and retrieve each day as I don't have access to get the right anchor while I'm here (Osoyoos Lake in Oroville, WA).
not much current here but wind has been strong each day.

Is the mushroom anchor the recommendation for this application? Probably 100lbs?

 

[Scott Danforth]

most mooring anchors in mooring fields are things like engine blocks with chain that is then allowed to bury itself into the muck.

for short term mooring, a few 11# or 13# danforth anchors with about 10' of chain on them would do the trick. you may have a heck of a time getting them up after 2 weeks.

 

[tpenfield]

You can do what ever you want . . . no telling if it will be enough, not knowing the actual conditions. If it is a mud bottom, you may not be able to raise the makeshift mooring after it has been in the water for a few days. If it were sand, then the blocks would probably just sit on the bottom (not sink into the bottom, like mud). . . not sure how much holding power that would be though . . . Keep in mind the 36 pound cinder blocks may only weigh about 20 lbs in water . . .

FWIW - I used an 18 lb. Danforth (fluke) anchor to hold my 19 foot sailboat overnight with a mud bottom. After 1 day, I could not raise the anchor. I had to go back the next week with my 33 foot boat and pull the rode taut and then 'run over' the anchor slightly to get it to pivot enough to break loose. . . it seemed like it was a couple of feet deep in the mud.

 

[scoutabout]

. . . Keep in mind the 36 pound cinder blocks may only weigh about 20 lbs in water . . .

This. Any time you are relying on mass vs grip, net weight underwater is a critical factor. Cinder blocks are practically buoyant...

 

[Sirovc2]

I can get two 13lb Danforth Anchors from Amazon here in a day. You guys think that would do the trick with chain?

 

[Scott Danforth]

with a proper 7:1 scope, two Danforth anchors will hold your 18' boat in a mud/sand bottom.

however as indicated by both Ted and I, you will have a heck of a time getting them up after two weeks.

 

[Tassie 1]

Friends of ours would use a old 4WD rim with lumps of concrete when they would go away for their 2-3 week Xmas holidays. ( OZ ) to " moor. " their inboard ski boats,

A large freshwater lake that sees a lot of waterski/ wake boats/ tubes etc etc.

The depth was about waist/ chest height.

At the end of the holiday they'd lift it up and take it home.
I don't recall any boats ( dozens of them ) having problems.