looking for a new anchor

[robert843]

@jeremy0011 how much is asking?

 

[jeremy0011]

@jeremy0011 how much is asking?

$50 + shipping

 

[txav8r]

@sysinu 50MPH? What are you doing on the lake with that kind of wind? Seriously, I get it, out there in Utah, on those lakes, with the canyons and walls combined with a high base thunderstorm rolling by, can produce gust fronts and downbursts that can exceed that. And during times of the year, if you didn't go out when there was even a small chance of a stray storm, you wouldn't go out for a month. But that too, depends on where you anchor, and if that kind of condition is expected, putting yourself in a place where your safe is the best bet. I will get you a picture later today of the small box folded and laying in my locker.

Anchors have a challenge with all the different bottom conditions that you face, and can't see. Using your ground tackle is like fishing, you have to set the hook and feel your way into it. The beauty of a box anchor, is that you can just let it set itself and forget it. Now that is for the day anchorage. For some of you, like @sysinu on lakes like Lake Powell, where the boat will be unattended overnight alongside the houseboat, I think I might put out fenders and tie it to the houseboat for simplicity and one less thing to worry about. No matter what anchor you use, overnight and unattended means you don't get much sleep. And the only way to sleep unconcerned is on a mooring...and no anchor is a mooring. If you are going to really set for a storm, you need a storm anchor and dig it in. A box anchor can be dug into sand, mud, and gravel. Rock and silt pose the biggest problems for it and will for any anchor. If silt on the bottom is very deep, not many anchors will reach through its loose consistency and grab hold of solid ground. And in those conditions a plow type anchor is needed to plow down and through the silt to get into earth. A Richter anchor is just mass, not much hold power on sand, gravel, or silt, with its spikes as the only hold force. So the tightness of the earth condition is going to dictate what you need to use to get a strong set for overnight and unattended. If you have a tight bottom, you can get a good set up until it is too tight to actually get a fluke to bury in. You can't rush a box anchor, it isn't designed to actually be manually set. Let the wind and boat set the anchor with a slight tug against it, and then when it is locked in, you can power set it a little better. Keep in mind, this is done downwind from the anchor. If you are using an anchor to lock a position that is not downwind of the anchor, your fighting mother nature and you are going to need to change your strategy. So guys that are using an anchor and shore spike close in, are subjecting the boat to side loads and almost any anchor is subject to failing in those conditions and needs to be watched. The only thing that lets an anchor do its job and protect you, is to let the boat swing free on the anchor line (and plenty of scope), so that the weight and length of the rope, keeps the control bar on the ground and doesn't continuously pick it up. If the wind or waves move the boat against the anchor rode and you have a short scope, the control arm will lift and the anchor can be unearthed. If you have adequate scope, there is not way that the control arm will lift, because the rode will "sag" and be on the ground in front of the control arm for a good distance before the sag starts upward to the boat. Since a box anchor doesn't use a chain, the scope must be of great ratio to be adequate in this condition. This might be the only situation for our boats, that using a chain might be a consideration. The whole point is to keep the control arm from lifting. But with 50mph, your going to need a bunch of scope downwind of the anchor. And gust fronts and downbursts are not directional, they are unpredictable, so the better solution is to not be there, second to that, set two massive anchors that are plowed in. Here is a diagram showing how to set two anchors...

The bottom line is this...nothing is 100%. I know that @sysinu knows the conditions and the lake, and bottom conditions he has used before. When he or any of us moves to unfamiliar territory, test the set. Some of us have more than one anchor and to me, that is harder to deal with, but that is just my own take on it. What works best for one guy may not be the best for another. So whatever ground tackle you use, learn to understand what it is your asking it to do for you and have reasonable expectations for it. @jeremy0011 , put up an ad on the classified page about those two box anchors, they will disappear in a heartbeat if priced right.

 

[txav8r]

That is a steal btw, that is a $140 anchor! And it shouldn't lose any value if it is cheaper than you can find without tax and shipping eating it up.

 

[spaz1868]

$50 + shipping

If there is still one available for sale, I'll take one.

 

[sysinu]

@sysinu 50MPH? What are you doing on the lake with that kind of wind?

During those conditions, I ask myself the same question! Wind bursts can come out of nowhere - everything you posted I agree with, only thing I would add is to listen in on the wind forecast from your VHF.


regarding the houseboat stuff...

With a tower, mooring to the back of the houseboat usually makes me nervous that I'm going to rip off the slide (or that someone will turn the slide on and sink my boat ;-)). For houseboats that have elevated cleats or 4 windlass that are located on the top deck, mooring to the stbd and port of the houseboat is the best bet for sure. My houseboat doesn't have those - though that would be an awesome addition to it - so I can't do that either. Anchoring using Prusik Knot or some other friction sliding knot to the houseboat anchor lines is something I see a lot of people do, I just don't trust it ... too many things could go wrong.

If it's calm and there's no risk for weather, I'll moor to the back of the houseboat... if I get caught in a bad storm, I'll hide in a bay and only set 1 anchor (and have my knife handy). Otherwise, for anything overnight I just bring a 8x8 piece of carpet and stake it to the beach.

 

[txav8r]

@sysinu Good time to ask this question...are there any permanent mooring buoys on Lake Powell out away from the marinas in popular camping spots? I guess with the rise and fall of the lake, it might be a maintenance headache if they had to be adjusted...may have answered my own question.

 

[msavold]

@jeremy0011 ... I'd be interested in the other one!

 

[sysinu]

@sysinu Good time to ask this question...are there any permanent mooring buoys on Lake Powell out away from the marinas in popular camping spots? I guess with the rise and fall of the lake, it might be a maintenance headache if they had to be adjusted...may have answered my own question.

There are a few, most of them are floating outhouse/pump out stations, though. There aren't many... there are navigation buoy's but I don't suggest mooring to those.

 

[jeremy0011]

Sorry for the late reply but all of the anchors are spoken for.

 

[bucks448]

I have one I recently put up for sale locally for $80. PM me if interested.

 

[Devildog]

I bought a Danforth a couple of weeks ago to fit in the anchor locker holder and it worked good until this weekend. Heavy winds and my anchor broke loose and I almost ran into another boat. Not fun. My cousin had a small box anchor, so I tried it on Memorial Day. Wow. That thing was awesome. It was not too heavy, folded flat and fit into my anchor locker.

We tossed it over the bow with about a 2-2.5:1 ratio and it bit right away. No backing up to set the anchor. I watched it for awhile just to make sure that it was set. No problemo. We were in proximity to many other boats anchored boats as well. I will be selling my new Danforth and picking up the small box anchor on Amazon.

 

[Ronnie]

I got out on the boat this weekend in sustained winds of 10 mph with gusts of 20 mph. The box anchor held for as long as I had it deployed and I anchored at least eight times over two days, it locked in place on the first try every time.

I had a a 13 pound danforth that I cut to fit in the anchor locker , it fit and looked great but it rarely seemed to set on the first try and would break loose often when the water was choppy even if it was just wake from passing boats. I'll never go back to a danforth, function over style is how I'm selecting my anchors going forward.

If you plan to keep your anchor in the bottom of your locker instead of hanging from the factory mounts don't forget to put some padding under it or you risk developing spider cracks on the other side / exterior of the hull. That's what I and many others got when we stored the anchor on the floor instead of in the mounts.

 

[txav8r]

The cheap anti-fatigue mats sold in 2'x2' squares, that fit together with locking teeth, sold at Lowe's, Home Depot, and even cheaper at Harbor Freight, work great as cut to fit padding for the anchor locker! That is what I use and I have had box anchors through two boats now, nary a crack! BTW, I removed my bow ladder as we don't use it, and that made the use of my box anchor much easier.

You may find a day that the box anchor doesn't hold well. There are conditions that it won't. Just feed out more scope and it will solve your problem!

 

[Devildog]

The cheap anti-fatigue mats sold in 2'x2' squares, that fit together with locking teeth, sold at Lowe's, Home Depot, and even cheaper at Harbor Freight, work great as cut to fit padding for the anchor locker! That is what I use and I have had box anchors through two boats now, nary a crack! BTW, I removed my bow ladder as we don't use it, and that made the use of my box anchor much easier.

You may find a day that the box anchor doesn't hold well. There are conditions that it won't. Just feed out more scope and it will solve your problem!

That is great advice. I was trying to think of what would work to help pad the anchor locker. I had thought to just store it on top of the life jackets in one of the front hinged storage areas, but that may not be the best thing in an emergency situation.

 

[tdonoughue]

Oh, I would definitely not pad it with life jackets. I used Mel's idea myself. But the box anchor is too heavy and with the spikey things on it, I would be afraid it would damage the jackets, or at least get hung up on them.

 

[eticket]

This stuff is really tough and waterproof, made from old tires. It is available at Lowe's. I used this over a layer of standard gym mat to line my anchor locker.

 

[MattFX4]

Anyone tried a mantus anchor? Videos of them are impressive.

 

[Glen]

Anyone tried a mantus anchor? Videos of them are impressive.

I used a Rocna (similar design of Mantus) on my previous boat, after a lot of research.
I have no doubt that these are the best, most universal anchors, made.
I don't overnight often so I haven't made the investment, this time (yet).
If I did (or when I do), I will buy a Rocna 10 (22 lbs) and know that my boat has the best chance possible of being where I left her, regardless of conditions (weather/bottom).

Beginning to think that it is possible to hang the Rocna (Mantus) from a bar placed where we currently hang our danforths....

 

[MattFX4]

I used a Rocna (similar design of Mantus) on my previous boat, after a lot of research.
I have no doubt that these are the best, most universal anchors, made.
I don't overnight often so I haven't made the investment, this time (yet).
If I did (or when I do), I will buy a Rocna 10 (22 lbs) and know that my boat has the best chance possible of being where I left her, regardless of conditions (weather/bottom).

Beginning to think that it is possible to hang the Rocna (Mantus) from a bar placed where we currently hang our danforths....

Would also like to know if an 13lb mantus or the Rocna would hang in the '15 and up 24' anchor compartments. I want a new anchor, but really want to be able to use the anchor compartment.