Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Last week we went out for the day, as per usual. My boat is on the upper Mississippi where the water level is still good. All was fine & joyous. About 2 miles from the marina, the asian carp started hopping. Since we were getting out of the channel & into shallower water, I decided to drive (usually I don't if I can help it) since I know the channel & we needed to go full tilt in order to outrun these horrid fish. Imagine my surprise when I moved the throttle from 3,000 up to 8,000.

The engine I have is only supposed to spin 5,300 max. Not a cavitaion issue since I brought it down to an idle & slowly added power. Stll maxed the tach. Fine. I shut the engine down, trimmed it full up & went to change the prop, figuring it was spun on the hub. That wasn't it. Seems the lower unit I had went south. It was rebuilt just 2 months ago. Fine.

I got out the oar (since it's required equipment) & began to paddle to shore. Keep in mind that the boat kept drifting towards the channel. And it was getting dark. Barges run throught the channel & they're not particularly concerned with pleasure boats. Never mind that more panic was running through the occupants than pleasure was being had at the time. Surprisingly enough, the oar was getting the boat pointed in the right direction & was actually getting us closer to shore. This amazed me since my boat weighs 3 tons dry & empty.

All was going well until the (plastic) oar broke. Now a good characteristic to have in an oar is bouyancy. This particular oar did not have such a trait. I'd already called all the phone #'s of the local marinas. Few seemed to be open, nor did the open ones have a means of towing a disabled boat. Kinda of bummin' as it's getting darker. No other boats in sight. Please bear with me as I'm getting to the title of the thread.

If any of the other drunken bastards on the boat would have been sober enough to appreciate the situation, perhaps they would have shared my state of mild panic. Lacking any other option, I got the front anchor out & hucked it as far as I could. About 15'. I reeled it in. Repeat procedure. It started to move the boat. It did not work fast, but it did work. It took about 45 minutes to reach shore.

At any rate, getting back to the title of the thread, I am now going to get a light "fishhook" type of anchor which can be thrown further than a "Tie Down Engineering Super Hook" anchor which weighs 10 lbs. Don't get me wrong, the T.D.E.S.H. anchors I have work great, as anchors. But in times of panic, a lighter anchor with a long ski-rope can come in handy.

(my lower unit went out, it's under warranty)

Traditionally kedging is done by rowing the anchor out in a small boat and reeling it in but if you had a small boat you could go for help .

I have done the "throw and retrieve" myself but I was only trying to get off a sand bar when the water was too cold to get in (that is about 80 for us).

The problem is if it is light enough to throw very far, it probably won't grab enough to move the boat.
A trolling motor is a better plan.

Didn't have a small boat with me. Just did the best I could with what I had at the time. I figured a smaller anchor could be thrown further. The "grappling" hooks should help, usually it's a tight mud bottom. Still have the 2 heavy anchors for serious parking.

troll motor works for me

I've always wondered if an oar would actually move my boat at all. Never tried it. If it moves yours, then it should move mine. That's good to know. Sorry for the crappy day on the water. Thanks for the story.

Now THAT is a good reason to have a VHF radio!

Oh, and a good reason to be a BoatUS member, and have their 800 number programmed into your cell phone.