Looking to replace my boat anchor

[sawtooth]

After a couple of years of subpar performance, I have decided to replace my boat anchor. Thought I would ask you guys if any of you had a boat anchor that you are real happy with. I have a 17 foot Crestliner and the slip ring spike type anchor I have now just doesn't do the job on even moderately windy days. Even with 6 ft. of heavy chain and plenty of rope. Any one style better than the others?

 

[Full_Monte]

There are many different kinds of anchors and each excels at a particular type of anchoring. You might want to go to a marine store and look at their books.
I bought one on the subject of anchoring once and it was a better read than you might guess. There are two concepts that stand out in my mind. The first is that a LONG, heavy anchor chain increases the holding power of an anchor immensely. The second is that SCOPE, or the amount of line out divided by the depth is also important. Good scope range is 3:1 to 7:1. The longer the line out, the more horizontal the pull on the anchor is, and the more the holding power.

 

[Full_Monte]

Here are some books from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...ing+and+mooring&sprefix=anchoring+and+mooring

 

[sjones]

Have you bought an anchor? As said before there are many ways to do the job. It really comes down to conditions and what you are trying to do when anchoring. I have had to use up to 80 lbs and lots of chain (2 at 10ft) to hold a 18ft sled. As stated before the scope is very important because it allows some movement of the boat with out pulling the anchor from the bottom. Also making sure the anchor is set before you rely on it to hold the boat. And last always have more rope than you think is needed. I am a diver and find lots of anchors with rope 10 - 20ft short of the water depth. It is quite comical to see someone through the anchor over board and the rope vanish in to the deep. We have found as many as 15 anchors in one area (on each trip to dive) because of this.

 

[sawtooth]

Eighty feet of rope and six feet of heavy chain attached to an anchor designed to hold a boat three feet longer than mine should do the job in 15-20ft of water. This anchor just doesn't seem to get a good purchase on the sandy/silty bottom of the lakes where I fish. I just had my buddy weld up a smaller version of my Columbia River anchor and I think it will work just fine.

 

[sjones]

should work

I also should have said that in those conditions you can anchor your anchor. Placing a second anchor ahead or behind the first with a second length of chain. When I need to use a boat in heavy current as a pick point for swinging divers from we will drop two. The first anchor is just that an anchor. The second anchor makes sure that the first stays on the bottom and dug in. My team has used this in 7 mph current to search from a boat. We were able to swing two divers @ 200+ lbs. ea. off the boat and it stays rock solid. I like the Columbia style they are good for grabbing stuff on the bottom. Just hope it lets go when you need it to.

 

[Mav186]

After a couple of years of subpar performance, I have decided to replace my boat anchor. Thought I would ask you guys if any of you had a boat anchor that you are real happy with. I have a 17 foot Crestliner and the slip ring spike type anchor I have now just doesn't do the job on even moderately windy days. Even with 6 ft. of heavy chain and plenty of rope. Any one style better than the others?

Hey Saw,
As far as the type or style of anchor...I've used the Digger Anchor and have had great holding power with my 18.5' Weldcraft. Typical bottom conditions for me are rocks, gravel and or sand. I use the 12#

http://www.sandspike.com/diggerAnchor.shtml

 

[Full_Monte]

I also should have said that in those conditions you can anchor your anchor. Placing a second anchor ahead or behind the first with a second length of chain. When I need to use a boat in heavy current as a pick point for swinging divers from we will drop two. The first anchor is just that an anchor. The second anchor makes sure that the first stays on the bottom and dug in. My team has used this in 7 mph current to search from a boat. We were able to swing two divers @ 200+ lbs. ea. off the boat and it stays rock solid. I like the Columbia style they are good for grabbing stuff on the bottom. Just hope it lets go when you need it to.

When two anchors are used in conjunction with each other, it's often effective. The official name for this is "mooring".