anchor question

[brooksville_rebel]

We have a 24ft pontoon. It came with danforth anchor.
Most times we are in shallow water by the islands were its couple feet to 6 ft so its not biggie but the few times been in deeper been a pain to get it to "stick". Have to jump in and swin down and stick it.
Should the anchor be tossed out or dropped straight down ?
When we got it the anchor just had a rope on it and not tied to anything so after reading up on it all we got some chain and attached to the rope that was coming off the anchor, about 4-6ft. Should we remove that rope and move the chain nest to the anchor or does that really matter and effect the way the anchor does down to the bottom ?

Thanks
Mark

 

[MRS]

Re: anchor question

Not sure if this will work will see nice little video hope it helps.

Anchoring

 

[eavega]

Re: anchor question

I am no expert, but my understanding is that the chain is required to be directly attached to the shank, otherwise you will have a hard time setting the anchor. I also believe that you are not supposed lob the anchor over the side. There is a proper technique to anchoring a boat which involves lowering the anchor, then once its on the bottom along with the chain, you fasten the anchor line to the boat, and put it in reverse. That will cause the anchor to orient itself correctly and will allow the flukes to dig into the bottom. If you just toss the anchor over (or just lower it) then you will drift until the flukes set themselves correctly (if at all). The chain helps keep the anchor shank in a more horizontal position which is what you need so the flukes can dig in.

Hope that helps.

Rgds

Eric

 

[rbh]

Re: anchor question

We have a 24ft pontoon. It came with danforth anchor.
Most times we are in shallow water by the islands were its couple feet to 6 ft so its not biggie but the few times been in deeper been a pain to get it to "stick". Have to jump in and swin down and stick it.
Should the anchor be tossed out or dropped straight down ?
When we got it the anchor just had a rope on it and not tied to anything so after reading up on it all we got some chain and attached to the rope that was coming off the anchor, about 4-6ft. Should we remove that rope and move the chain nest to the anchor or does that really matter and effect the way the anchor does down to the bottom ?

Thanks
Mark

Lets start with the chain, chain is attached to the anchor its the weight of the chain that kinda/sorta keeps the anchor in a imbedded position (horizontal VS vertical pull) and acts as a minor shock absorber (if you have enough chain out)

I like to stop over the position that I want my anchor at, drop it down to the bottom and back up, all the while trying to set it in the lake floor by applying pressure to the rode to help it dig in.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: anchor question

Chain and scope are what is needed. 15 ft of chain would be better, but even 6 feet should be an improvement versus none.

Scope is the amount of anchor line (called rode) that you have out. Typically, you will need 5 times your depth, sometimes more. The anchor has no holding power from a vertical position. It must be pulled horizontally to grab and hold.

So if you are in 20 feet of water, you should be putting out about 100 feet of rode. I'm wondering if that is the main issue with your deeper water anchoring?

 

[chimmike]

Re: anchor question

99% of people won't put out 100' of rope when anchoring in 20' of water around here (Sarasota area). I've been out in about 35' of water and we anchored with ~75' of rope, danforth dug in nicely.

 

[JoLin]

Re: anchor question

Nobody asked about the composition of the bottom, either. A Danforth works best in sand or mud. Rocks, coral, grass, weeds require a different type of anchor. I also agree that you need to put the chain between the anchor and rope (attached directly to the anchor) and you need to use more scope.

First, 'Rode' is defined as the total length of rope and chain you have. If you carry 100' of rope and 6' of chain, your anchor rode is 106' long.

Most people don't know the proper basis to calculate scope- it's the depth of the water PLUS the vertical distance from the waterline to the bow cleat, multiplied by 5-10, depending on conditions.

If you're anchored in 6 feet of water, and your bow sits 3 feet above the waterline, your 'basis' is 9 ft. In calm conditions, a 5:1 scope means deploying 45' of rode.

You drop the anchor straight down. 'Tossing' it is a good way to get hurt and/or land in the water.

My .02

 

[JoLin]

Re: anchor question

<deleted - duplicate post>

 

[spdracr39]

Re: anchor question

Yep all the above. I use 2 - 3 times the depth for rode and haven't had any trouble.

 

[brooksville_rebel]

Re: anchor question

Not sure if this will work will see nice little video hope it helps.

Anchoring

For me was quite informative. Thanks alot.
Mark

 

[brooksville_rebel]

Re: anchor question

Thanks Eric.

 

[brooksville_rebel]

Re: anchor question

Thanks to all.
Gonna cut the line off and put the chain to then anchor shank.
We are mostly out by Hernando Beach flats and that area and not to deep. Maybe if we get out another 45 mins or so gets to 15-20 ft. I think we have either a 100 or 150 ft of nylon rope for the anchor line. Believes its 150 cause I had read 7:1 and figured 20ft was deepest we see.
Again thanks for the info all.
Mark