Boat anchor.

[larphead]

OK this SHOULD be easy right? Big hunk-o-steel on a rope...Problem is I love to fish but dont do boats.
My buddie wants me to make him an anchor to use in a bass boat for catfishing in the Ohio river. This is what he is using now. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Danielson-...nchor/20593854
He wants one that weights in around 25-30lbs and made so the boat wont drift in the current. I have looked a some pics online, but like I said, Im a landlubber.
Any pointers or sugestions? Other than burn a hole in a piece of 3/4" plate that I have and call it good?

[ThorsHammer]

Make him one of these.

http://www.pugetsoundanglers.org/fishing/anchoring.htm

I know dozens of boat owners that LOVE them. and they work on any river bottum surface, sand, rock, silt, Mud, clay, Etc.

Should be a pretty simple build.

[soutthpaw]

Insert Longevity/Everlast/Chicom Joke here _________________________________________!!! ha

[ThorsHammer]

heres a better picture of the actual anchor.

http://www.columbiariveranchorsystem.com/

[ThorsHammer]

to easy southpaw. I'd like to think the majority of us are better than that.

[larphead]

Thanks Thor. After reading thru the first link I think that should work dandy for him.

LOL. Southpaw, I was actually was expecting that.

[tanglediver]

It is all about conditions, substrate and knowing what you want from the anchor you drop. It will always pay to find out what the locals use on a regular basis, and why.
For instance, around here, the popular choice is a Bruce type anchor. That is the core of the system, but the rigging can vary, depending on your boat and the space you have to store any accessories. There are lots of available accessories, more than any one boater can use.
http://www.reliancemarine.com/Produc...10kg/View.aspx
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...HYbRiALJzK3OAg

[BamaTeacher]

My 8th graders built me two anchors for the catfishing rig this morning. I'll post pics tomorrow.

[Bistineau]

Build one like the slip ring penetrating anchor in the link you provided, or tell him to go buy that one. A heavy anchor is not always what is needed to hold a boat in a current, it is the design that creates the holding power. That type will hold a good size boat with minimal weight, and with the slip ring design it is easy to retrieve. The trick is to know how to properly use it. Drop it to the bottom, pay out additional line as you drift downstream, then set the line on the boat so it drags it along the bottom till it digs in and holds. Five or six feet of 1/2" chain on the ring(tie the rope to the other end of the chain) helps it sink and dig into the bottom. How much line to pay out depends on water depth. To retrieve it, motor up over the top(taking up the slack as you do) of it and pull it up. Go by Super Wally World and look at one up close, the pointed flukes are what does the holding, not dead weight like you are wanting to use.
Those mushroom anchors in the link are useless in any kind of current or bottom conditions. They only help Some in slackwater conditions without much wind. Remember the heavier the anchor you drop over the side the more weight you have to haul up when it's time to go. Go look at one of those anchors I mentioned and it will be apparent how to make one. I have made and used this type before in strong currents and they hold well once properly set and are easy to pull back up when time to go home and clean fish.

[Stick-man]

I have an 18' Lund and use the river anchor shown at the top of that walmart page. It works fine for me, but you need a long line.

[cook91c]

All you need is a five gallon bucket, bag of concrete, a few stainless steel washers, nuts, and a eye bolt

[jbmprods]

DO NOT LOOK AT THE WELDS. the old fire extinguisher body was not the easiest for my old stick welder. (it's all it's fault) i built this prototype for my boat about 20+yrs ago for holding on the Sacramento river here in Ca. after losing many various type store bought anchors in the bottom snags and not digging in on the different types of bottom in the 20+ mph current, i decided to make my own. i used this one for one season and then made another using angle iron for the prongs. note the 3/8" chain 6' long(necessary for any anchor to work properly) . my 17 yr old boy is still using that anchor on his boat (my old boat)today. the new anchor held my 16' alum and my buddies 18' fiberglass boat tied gunnel to gunnel on the river when he lost his anchor and was going to have to call it a day. caught some nice salmon that day by the way. i think from the pics you can tell that as you pull the boat towards the anchor the chain eye slides up the shaft to tip the butt of the anchor up to release it form it's resting place. i have never had a problem releasing it even when the anchor tied up in the limb crotch of a sunken snag. it securely ties in gravel, mud, hard clay, and even SNAGS lol. for ballast in the fire ex. body i just filled full of sand to displace the air. also there is enough pin holes in those mighty fine welds to allow water to displace the air in the sand.

[Stick-man]

Originally Posted by jbmprods

DO NOT LOOK AT THE WELDS.

I've been lookin for ten minutes and I still can't see any WELDS!














Can someone get us a smilie of a bird poopin???

[jbmprods]

oh hell Mr. Sticky, now ya went and done it. ya know how sensitive i am. i'm feelin totally crushed. i was havin a bad day. actually that bar is some unknown stainless alloy and i don't know what steel that fire extinguisher body was made of and i probably used 6011 to glue it all together. but for a scrap pile prototype it got the job done. i have refined my later models with known materials and have almost got the hang of welding them up.

[Magnetic Mechanic]

http://www.danforthanchors.com/

[SundownIII]

As has been mentioned and the best advice so far is to check what the locals are using and what works for them.

Many different forms out there, but no "best" for all bottom conditions. I've always used a Danforth style but the Fortress (basically an aluminum style danforth) works well also. The Bruce and plow style anchors offer good holding power and store nicely in a pulpit. Kinda unyieldly for storing below though.

The "mushroom" anchor is good for holding an intertube in place in a still lake (if there's a soft mud bottom).

[BD1]

This is what we have, a Navy anchor.

Amazon

Amazon

[bert the welder]

My old neighbour used to use old worn out disk brakes. Free and plentiful so if it's lost, it doesn't hurt too much. He was fishing in the ocean. FWIW

[jman]

Most Anchors don't work very well in River Current and even WORSE in Silt Bottomed, Shallow lakes, especially ones that are even moderately 'breezy'.

(This design is based on the same type of Claw Anchor as "jbmprods" red one above...)

Drifting in the lakes I fish is BRUTAL (Shallow, Windy, Silt Bottoms) and I became fed up and finally just made my own. Although I sold this last unit with my boat, it worked like a Charm and you didn't have to let out NEAR the line that ANY of the anchors here require. Also, mine is 'ridiculously' easy to 'Un-snag' (just tug hard enough to break your zip tie/ties) and requires no dangerous re-positioning of the boat in order to release said snag.

Simple Aluminum or Stainless Construction (this one was Aluminum) filled with Molten lead for weight (total weight was 22.5 lbs). Alternatively, you can also use Sacrete, Tin or Bismuth for Environmentally 'Sensitive' waters and even river rock if you cap the ends properly.

Cheers,

[DSW]

That's how we used to rig most of our anchors for diving wrecks off Jersey. We'd use twine instead of zip ties, but it amounts to the same thing.

[jbmprods]

nice anchor jman. nice long heavy chain also. i think i'll build one like it and have my boy try it out on the river.

as a side note .. i see so many folks on the river that tie their anchors on the line with no chain or a foot of chain and i have to laugh when they drift for a 1/4 mile past the hole they want to fish only to have to pull up further ahead of the hole and try again and they wonder why their anchor won't grab hold and set. i tell them to put about 6' of chain on the anchor to give it a chance to do it's job.

[VPT]

I fish rivers. Those round anchors SUCK! I use these but bigger and heavier:

[lotechman]

For weight and convenience the danforth has other anchors beat. (Wall-mart slip ring penetrating anchor) The important part is that it will penetrate the mud and if it gets caught on a snag you can motor up current and the slip ring will pull the anchor away even then caught under a boulder.
A few feet of chain on the end before the rope is very important to create weight and a cantenary ( sort of a curve to absorb shocks)
Danforths are ugly but light. The only thing better is a CQR plow but it is a bad experience pulling out of snags. So bad that I often set a secondary retrieval line.
Scope is your friend. Pay out about four to one at minimum. For ten feet of depth you need 40 feet of line out. At 7:1 it is next to impossible to pull out a danforth.

[DSW]

You guys made me dig thru the junk out back to take these. All "free"... I found them diving. I need to clean up the plow and the danforth and get rid of them on Ebay. I need to look around and see if I've still got one of the SS grapples I used to make for guys in Jersey.

[jbmprods]

Originally Posted by VPT

I fish rivers. Those round anchors SUCK! I use these but bigger and heavier:

the bottom of the Sacramento river is lined with all styles of anchors and two of the ones i donated are of the style you prefer. there are Valley oak, Black walnut, and English walnut snags in that river that would make those little trees you fellers grow in Wisconsin look like saplings.
oh did i mention i fish rivers also.