anchor question

[toondog]

Yep, exactly.

I have a plow now. Found these four on our last dive trip. The one on the left is a 10 kg stainless steel plow. Then a 22lb west marine brand and a fx-11 fortress. And some little one that should have been thrown back.

[badmoonrising]

Nice find, especially the SS plow. Those things are big $$$$.

[toondog]

Nice find, especially the SS plow. Those things are big $$$$.

Almost too pretty to use.

All cleaned up.

[badmoonrising]

That's why SS is so expensive, it'll outlast you.

[EastMark]

Easy upgrade to try. If your anchor doesnt come with it or has a light one put a piece of heavy chain on the anchor if she isnt holding. It will cause it to hook up better. Just a thought.
Mark

[badmoonrising]

I always use a length of chain on my anchors.

[arbuckles3]

why does the chain help????

[HandymanHerb]

why does the chain help????

Chain weights the front down so it will help it dig in and take ahold.

[toondog]

I know the digger and box anchors say not to use chains. The fluke type anchors will not set right with out a chain.

[arbuckles3]

really ok thanks i did not know that

[badmoonrising]

I had a chain on my Danforth, 90 percent of the time it would hold pretty good. Canal Day '08, our whole raft-up came loose in the middle of a storm (42 boats). After that I bought the plow. This year, the middle of the raftup started moving and mine held. Guy next to me had a box anchor and so did his.

[toondog]

This year, the middle of the raftup started moving and mine held.

I'll bet this bad boy would do the job.

[t_birder]

Hey there guys,
Would you believe the "digginest" anchor I've EVER had is this four (4 lb) pound aluminum home made guy. I took the concept of a "fluke style" anchor, fliped the flukes around where they face outward and gave the head a few more degrees of angle. Then lead with about eight feet of good heavy chain and you're set for the day.
We just spent four days down at lake of the Ozarks and we had as many as six boats tied up with us at a time (and in a pretty stiff wind) and never as much as budged an inch. I also use a good "shock cord" too which helps hold.
Clint

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[MrGadget]

why does the chain help????

Chain does several things:

1) yes it can help point the diggers in a bit better, although the design of the anchor itself should already do that.
2) the part of rode that is nearest the anchor is what will see the most abrasion abuse from the bottom, chain can take it better than rope alone.
3) shock absorption

If you're scratching your head on that last one, consider that the rope leads from your boat to the end of the chain, which in relaxed state is laying all on the bottom. As your boat rocks in a wake, the rope first has to lift the whole chain before it goes tight on the anchor. Lifting the chain takes some energy out of your bounce, so you don't snap on the anchor as hard. This is less the case when you're in a current that is strong enough to hold you tight all the time, which is why you also use anchor line that stretches such as double-braided nylon appropriately sized and sufficiently long for where and how you're anchoring.

once the anchor is set how easy is it to pull up???

Generally, having set the anchor well out ahead of your boat, pulling it along the bottom to dig it in, you power up to be over the anchor and pull straight up and it should come free. If you're in very sticky mud, you may want to consider a release line attached to the base of the anchor and to a bouy that just floats above your anchor (good way for you and everyone else around you to know where your anchor is too...it really sucks to have some dipshit lay his anchor line over yours). When you pull up on the release line, you're pulling the anchor out of it's set backward from the way it went in. Once it's free, you can get it up with your main anchor line.

the wind kept blowing the boat towards the rocks

Often in sheltered coves, the wind can swirl quite a bit. Try to find a spot where the wind is reasonably consistant, and set your anchor upwind from where you want the boat to stay, run out enough line to give you a set and you should be good. If you still have swing from the shifting wind, drop a 2nd anchor off the back. The weight of that alone may hold your swing, but if not, place it downwind and power toward your front anchor to set it and you should hold fast that way. Remember with a double set to leave some slack in the lines so your boat can still move a bit with wakes and such and so both chains can fully fall to the bottom.

[mikeherb]

I put a rubber coated chain on mine to help prevent scratching the rail when I pull the anchor up. The chain made all the difference in the anchors ability to hold.