Anchor Selection

[rozza_b]

Hi all,

After some opinions on a general anchor selection, currently i carry 2 different anchors a grapple and a sand anchor, what im after is some opinions on what they use, preferably i would like to carry only 1 anchor with me, i mainly fish broken bottum and reef, i normally use the grapple anchor when fishing reef and it works fine the problem arises when fishing broken bottum/gravel, so preferably i would like something that works across most bottums and provides a solid hold.

Before anyone asks i have a decent length of chain, run a lot of rope and have a rubber springer at the boat end

Thanks

[rickmarlin62]

the bladed sand anchors with a sliding ring so you can motor over them and they pull out from the front of the blades will work on rubble and gravel as well as sand...I use a mooloolaba pik with a breakaway and if it doesn't hold I attach a small sand anchor with 4ft of chain to the front of my pik..never move but still pull up with bubble an clip..rick

[JonD]

I've been using a sarca for the last few years on my boats, they hold in mud, sand and reef. Like you I didn't want to carry two anchors but if I'm anchoring ocernight I still prefer two.

 

[rozza_b]

Thanks for the input guys, those sarca anchors look impressive might have to look at investing in one of them at some point, more money to spend on the boat haha it never stops

[Fab1]

There's 3 things I think boat owners should make the effort to carry at all times.A spare anchor,rode and fresh fuel among other things.You won't miss the spare anchor when you don't need it,but you'll be wishing you had it when xxxx hits the fan.If I can carry these things in what is essentially a small tinny I'm sure most you guys can find the room too.

Don't take what I posted the wrong way guys, but if I had the choice of ditching some fishing gear,a mate etc over the Anchor, I'd choose the first two everytime.

I lost relatives overseas years ago due to losing an anchor in a storm and having no spare getting blown out to sea.

Something to think about guys.

Cheers.

Cheers.

[rozza_b]

Hey fabs,

Totally see what your saying, I'm happy to carry a spare anchor for safety with me it can just live under the floor in the box like it currently does, I guess more what my question was aiming at was having a anchor that's suitable for all different bottums, that way I don't have to chop and change anchors depending on where I'm fishing etc, thanks for the input though def something that worth keeping in mind 

Cheers

[PaddyT]

7 hours ago, rozza_b said:

Thanks for the input guys, those sarca anchors look impressive might have to look at investing in one of them at some point, more money to spend on the boat haha it never stops

You can buy a lot of sand anchors and reef picks for the price of a SARCA

[back cruncher]

Hi all...I had a sarca,and it was a great anchor,I lost it due to a shackle coming loose.to dear to buy a new one,so I made my own reef pick.

[Fab1]

54 minutes ago, back cruncher said:

Hi all...I had a sarca,and it was a great anchor,I lost it due to a shackle coming loose.to dear to buy a new one,so I made my own reef pick.

Any photos.People have used various pipes and rebar in the past.Those Sarca's should be renamed Suckers due to the amount of boaties prepared to pay that sort of money for them.

[rickmarlin62]

I find one anchor doesn't suit all areas  some of the nasty reef I fish I wouldn't be game to drop a coupla hundred bucks into the rocks an ledges..my mooloolaba picks cost me bout ten bucks..fotos in previous anchoring threads check search..havnt lost one in years..i carry two .one on short rope for shallows..one on long rope for deep..and a sand anchor..i only have 4.8 vsea but I make room..ive seen sarcas lock into reef and have to be cut off..ive dived and recovered a few.ive also found a few with ten mtrs of rope attached having been cut off cause they couldn't get it off..i think I will stick to my system with a ball an clip and pull loose floating rope in rather than pulling by hand or using a winch..each to their own is the saying..imo theres no one fits all in anchoring..rick

[Fab1]

16 minutes ago, rickmarlin62 said:

I find one anchor doesn't suit all areas  some of the nasty reef I fish I wouldn't be game to drop a coupla hundred bucks into the rocks an ledges..my mooloolaba picks cost me bout ten bucks..fotos in previous anchoring threads check search..havnt lost one in years..i carry two .one on short rope for shallows..one on long rope for deep..and a sand anchor..i only have 4.8 vsea but I make room..ive seen sarcas lock into reef and have to be cut off..ive dived and recovered a few.ive also found a few with ten mtrs of rope attached having been cut off cause they couldn't get it off..i think I will stick to my system with a ball an clip and pull loose floating rope in rather than pulling by hand or using a winch..each to their own is the saying..imo theres no one fits all in anchoring..rick

Well said mate.

[JonD]

I bought a size 3 sarca which was simply overkill, dropped down to a size 2 but even that is more than enough. Anyone who wants to swap a size 1 for a 3 let me know.

[back cruncher]

[Fab1]

39 minutes ago, back cruncher said:

I had one like that on my old boat.They work well.

[rickmarlin62]

Thats the go  work unreal..breakaway cable ties are so easy .rick

[rozza_b]

13 hours ago, back cruncher said:

love the cable tie breakaway idea will definitely look into rigging mine up like so.

With regard to the short legs on the pick are shorter legs like that the go ? because the legs on my current pick are far longer then that, might look into shortening mine if they are better that way

Thanks for all the input all

[Fab1]

2 hours ago, rozza_b said:

love the cable tie breakaway idea will definitely look into rigging mine up like so.

With regard to the short legs on the pick are shorter legs like that the go ? because the legs on my current pick are far longer then that, might look into shortening mine if they are better that way

Thanks for all the input all

They are longer on the commercial  reef picks as they are usually 8 or 10mm in diameter made from very soft springy mild steel.

They are designed like that so if your anchor gets stuck on rocks you simply power away in the boat allowing the flukes to bend back allowing you to retrieve it.

Once the anchor is on board it will be out of shape then you simply slide a pipe over the bent fluke/s and bend it back into something that resembles the original arc shape.

Being made out of soft steel and having those long flukes will also give it a little flex as it's being used when constantly being loaded and unloaded due to wave action etc.

[rozza_b]

Ah yep that explains it, i have had to pull mine out before and they certainly do just straighten out and come up  

[zmk1962]

I'm a little late to this post as have been quite busy last few weeks but here's my anchor set up that has worked on my 6+m boat since 1996.  Like others I have not coughed up the expense for an all powerful Sarca and hence rely on two anchors in my rig.

I carry a reef pick (for broken ground reefs), and a danforth  (for sand and mud) anchor.  Both are rigged up with break away set up much like Back_Cruncher and Rick have discussed above, except I don't run the chain to the front of the anchor as it would snag inside my bow roller - I have a short length of 5mm s/s cable (1500kg BS) swaged to the anchors.

Since I rely on two anchors I had to find a way to easily swap between the anchors without having to use any tools.

The solution I came up with was to mount two s/s 8mm snap hooks (600kg BS each) onto an 8mm S/S quick link (5000kg BS) with the snaps facing each other (they effectively lock in the anchor and I have not lost one yet). Then the quick link is attached to an anchor swivel and then to the chain/rope. Swapping between anchors takes seconds and requires no wet cold fingers fumbling with pliers, shackle keys, spanners trying to undo corroded D-shackles. 

I guess because I have found it so easy to swap between the anchors I have never felt the need to go to a single all purpose anchor like a Sarca.  Also the whole set up and the anchors are so cheap to replace compared to a Sarca.

Anyway its worked for me. Hope the pictures help explain my set up.

 

Cheers

Zoran

PS -  to Fabs comment regarding a spare. By carrying a pick and danforth I guess each doubles up as a spare for the other. I do carry a third collapsible reefpick, 5m chain and 50m of 10mm rope. It lives folded up in the gunwall near the stern.  I sometimes deploy this anchor from the stern if I want to anchor side on to current or if I am overnighting in a bay and do not want to swing on the main anchor. Guess this anchor is also an emergency spare but I never thought of it that way.

[Fab1]

That is a fantastic set up you have there mate.

[zmk1962]

Thanks Fab ! .... means a lot coming from someone with your experience. It's all about taking the hard work out and making boating easy, safe and fun.

Cheers Zoran

[Fab1]

3 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

Thanks Fab ! .... means a lot coming from someone with your experience. It's all about taking the hard work out and making boating easy, safe and fun.

Cheers Zoran

Totally agree mate.I love seeing peoples solutions to common problems and can't get enough of it.Top job once again mate.

There's an older pommy bloke at work that has a ute,12ft tinny,no trailer and no storage at home to keep his boat.He told me he's making a winch mechanism to winch it on the back of his ute and a contraption that involves a bridle that hangs from his ceiling at home that the boat is suspended by when not in use.

Any way what he described to me sounded viable and I can't  wait to see his contraption built too.

[rozza_b]

Zoran - love that setup is a brilliant way of setting up your anchors, may have to look into setting my to up like that, 

Thanks for the idea

[Welster]

Great set up @zmk1962  Zoran.   

[Foghorn]

I went through a few anchors but settled on a four prong 6mm type I made myself, anything larger such as 12mm rod was too hard to retrieve so as the boat is only 4,4 long the 6 mm still holds and it can be rebent on the surface, flange is around to keep pressure on the spring on the end of the chain so it does not swing around and damage the boat.