Anchor rant!

[TSip85]

My toon came with a Danforth type anchor but I felt it was a little too small. Our lake has a mud bottom and we usually anchor up in a cove in 6-10' of water. The Danforth would usually set, but only after a bit of a drift and really letting it dig in. I had a few instances where it just wouldn't set and I had to try two or three times. This past weekend I went and bought an 18lb Richter anchor and it worked GREAT for us. I could probably use a slightly larger Richter (25lb) as the one I have is rated for a 20-22' boat, but I figure if it has trouble holding I can just thrown out the Danforth, also.

[JohnO]

Can anybody offer any feedback on the Richter anchor. Cabelas has them, but they are pricey.

I use a 25 lb Richter on my 24 foot toon. Paid $30 for it I think at a boat show.

I am on a mostly mud bottom lake and have only dragged anchor once. (It was a very windy day, I had both biminis up and EVERY other boat in the cove was also dragging. About once every two hours we'd all pull anchor and motor back to start. It was pretty funny)

I use probably a 2 to 1 scope in typically about 20ft of water. (I know, I should use more but this has always held me well.)

The anchor requires quite a pull to get it unstuck. I can tell from the mud on the anchor when it comes up that the fingers are burying themselves all the way up to the hub of the anchor. Really have to put my back in to it to get it back on the boat. (OK "my legs into it" for those lifting safety people)

I then use a 5 pound mushroom to restrain side to side swing when I'm concerned about that.

[Bryden24shp]

Biggest mistake when anchoring is THROWING the anchor. Always lower it by hand. Never toss it.

[6thFairway]

I give two thumbs up to my small box anchor....it holds well!

I actually have it attached to an "anchor buddy" attached because I like to swing around as the wind changes. My 25 foot barge swinging in large circles also acts as a force field to encourage others to anchor away from me!

I bought a small box anchor for my 21" party barge and I feel like it's complete overkill, which I love. It's easy, it's fast, and I never think twice about the anchor. They recommend a smaller scope than most anchors-- 2 to 1-- but I go up to 2.5 or 3 to 1. It has made anchoring a completely stress-free environment, at least on Lake Allatoona, GA, where I boat.

[tuned]

To summarize all the great ideas here the best I can:
1. Good heavy anchor
2. A bit of chain
3. Lower anchor to bottom (so it doesn't get snagged on its own rope)
4. Scope (the ratio of rope to depth)
5. Set-Not sure if anyone mentioned using your motor in reverse to really set an anchor. Drag that sucker a bit until your bow dips.

Final thoughts. Multiple anchoring in a raftup or tight cove is really only for seasoned pilots. Fun to try. Funnier to watch.

By coincidence, I finally got my super fancy anchor setup running just today. Of course I didn't bring my camera so it probably didn't happen until this Wednesday when it quits raining.

[Marathon]

Can anybody offer any feedback on the Richter anchor. Cabelas has them, but they are pricey.

I can't claim to be highly experienced, but I have a Richter, and love it. When we bought our (used) pontoon, it came with a sketchy looking small Danforth that I didn't trust. So, I did a good bit of reading and bought a 25 lb. Richter (paid about $85 for it from Amazon, free two-day shipping with Prime), four feet of chain and 150 feet of 1/2" line. So far, so good. We anchor mostly in 15-30 feet with muddy bottom, and it has never moved. I admit to being a bit nervous every time I pull it in, wondering if it's going to refuse to let loose. I don't use near as much scope as I should (usually 2:1), but have been okay so far. Almost never anchor anywhere near other boats. Again, I don't have experience with other anchor types to compare it to, but I give mine a big thumbs up. YMMV.

[JohnO]

Biggest mistake when anchoring is THROWING the anchor. Always lower it by hand. Never toss it.

For my richter I always throw it and it has never snagged on the rope. After the tosss it seems to sink sideways (fingers down) and plants really well.

So the throw vs lower may be more anchor type dependant.

[OK Toon]

Wow, those box anchors sure aren't cheap. But since I am cheap, I thought I'd check the Internet and I found a site with some basic plans to build my own box anchor. Won't be as flashy as the commercial versions (won't be able to fold flat for storage), but should still work for my needs. I'll start rounding up materials and will post pics later of the build.

http://www.learntocatchcatfish.com/boxanchor/

[steveiam]

Wow, those box anchors sure aren't cheap. But since I am cheap, I thought I'd check the Internet and I found a site with some basic plans to build my own box anchor. Won't be as flashy as the commercial versions (won't be able to fold flat for storage), but should still work for my needs. I'll start rounding up materials and will post pics later of the build.

http://www.learntocatchcatfish.com/boxanchor/

Steve I have a box anchor based in chad's plans and they work great-
Only drawback against the store bought one is that it doesn't fold-
Hasn't been a problem for me.
His site has some very good, descriptive info about Catfishing and equipment.

[OK Toon]

Steve, what size of box anchor did you build? What size is your boat? Glad to hear the home-made version works well. Do you have a picture of the one you built? Thanks!

[steveiam]

Here ya go Steve-
I actually had mine built cause i didnt have the welder.
A guy from lewisville down here sold them for 50 dollars and i know several catfisherman bought them-
but you see they are not hard to make.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15760

[steveiam]

And mine weighs 18 pounds and I have a 21 ft toon-
I won't but another digger-the box holds great for way less cost.

[Mosnowman]

For what it's worth....my store bought box anchor supposedly folds...and will if you have patience and a lot of time to fight it getting it to fold. It is so tough to get it to fold I don't bother so I wouldn't worry about the lack of folding if you are building your own.

I only use a "small" box anchor and it holds my 25 foot tritoon extremely well. The design allows the smaller size so I also would take that into consideration in making one. Mine actually fits in my front under seat storage unfolded to give context on size.

Size doesn't always matter... Good luck!

[steveiam]

For what it's worth....my store bought box anchor supposedly folds...and will if you have patience and a lot of time to fight it getting it to fold. It is so tough to get it to fold I don't bother so I wouldn't worry about the lack of folding if you are building your own.

I only use a "small" box anchor and it holds my 25 foot tritoon extremely well. The design allows the smaller size so I also would take that into consideration in making one. Mine actually fits in my front under seat storage unfolded to give context on size.

Size doesn't always matter... Good luck!

I agree-I think a smaller one would hold mine fine.

[OK Toon]

What are the deminsions on the small box anchor?