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Adding Electric Anchor

tracyhsmith

tracyhsmith

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I have a 21 SSX APG Fish and Cruise Pontoon.  We lost two anchors last season.  A friend suggested to get a MinnKota DH-40 Pontoon Anchor Winch. Has anyone tried this?  Did you mount just one? On the front or back? We did get tired of swinging around all of the time when we threw our anchor off the front. I was thinking about getting two of them but we have the extended aft deck and I wasn't sure where to put it. One side has the ladder. Is this not a wise thing to do??? I don't want to wreck my boat. This young lady is tired of hauling in and losing the anchor, though.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Tracy
 
Welcome to the forum! Have a few patience and I'm sure you can get some suggestions here! I think Semp just put on his new boat, probably has a few pics on here somewhere! ;)   I certainly wouldn't be any help with this!!
 
I would think you could have some Fabracation shop make you a mount that's removable that you could mount a rear electric anchor. I have not checked but I'm sure your not the first person that wanted a rear electric anchor. Have you checked to see if a add on exists
 
You always want to anchor off of the bow, as that will be the pointing into the current/tide.  Anchoring off of the stern could cause a boat to swamp, as it will inevitably end up swinging around into the current, and since the stern is the lowest part of the boat it will quickly lead to problems.  You also have the engine mounted back there so it's only adding to the problem.  Anchor off the bow.


As far as mounting a windlass, I think it's a great idea - especially if you're anchoring in any kind of depth.  When I go fishing, a lot of times I'll be in 40-60' of water.  That's about 150' of rode that I'm putting out to get a 3:1 scope.  That's a LOT of line to pull in when it's time to move the boat!


How did you lose the anchors?
 
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Welcome to the forum Tracy!


How did you lose 2 anchors? Jus curious.......
 
Typically you don't anchor off the stern, but pontoons won't swamp like a bow rider. You may pull it down low, but you ain't gonna sink it like a regular boat. 


If you purchase the newest Pontoon DH4o, it comes with a quick release plate and wired remote switch for on the helm. I put my switch down on the side of helm by the throttle. I couldn't live without mine. I love just hitting the button for it to drop. With button in down position, it will keep letting out line as you drift. Once I let out about 2-3 times depth I flip it to middle position (lock). When ready to go, I hold it in the up position till I hear the short chain hit the guide. I then go up to the anchor, clean all the muck off of it, and using the switch on the rear of the unit, finish bringing it up to the stowed position. It's sooooo freekin easy!! 
 
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adkboater said:
Welcome to the forum! Have a few patience and I'm sure you can get some suggestions here! I think Semp just put on his new boat, probably has a few pics on here somewhere! ;)   I certainly wouldn't be any help with this!!
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
MrG said:
I would think you could have some Fabracation shop make you a mount that's removable that you could mount a rear electric anchor. I have not checked but I'm sure your not the first person that wanted a rear electric anchor. Have you checked to see if a add on exists
Click to expand...

I actually want one for both the front and the back. I just wondered if anyone has done that. The shop said they can put one on but I just wanted to talk to people who have done it to see what my best options are for putting them on or not.
 
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SEMPERFI8387 said:
Typically you don't anchor off the stern, but pontoons won't swamp like a bow rider. You may pull it down low, but you ain't gonna sink it like a regular boat. 


If you purchase the newest Pontoon DH4o, it comes with a quick release plate and wired remote switch for on the helm. I put my switch down on the side of helm by the throttle. I couldn't live without mine. I love just hitting the button for it to drop. With button in down position, it will keep letting out line as you drift. Once I let out about 2-3 times depth I flip it to middle position (lock). When ready to go, I hold it in the up position till I hear the short chain hit the guide. I then go up to the anchor, clean all the muck off of it, and using the switch on the rear of the unit, finish bringing it up to the stowed position. It's sooooo freekin easy!! 
Click to expand...

This is great to hear, so do you just have one on the bow? Which anchor do you use?  I had a friend suggest I buy the fork type which has rubber around it with a straight bar down the middle. I am not sure those work with the pontoon because online it said it has a universal davit????? I am not sure what that means.  I have already purchased two of them because I thought two anchors would stop the swaying back and forth.
 
tcpip95 said:
You always want to anchor off of the bow, as that will be the pointing into the current/tide.  Anchoring off of the stern could cause a boat to swamp, as it will inevitably end up swinging around into the current, and since the stern is the lowest part of the boat it will quickly lead to problems.  You also have the engine mounted back there so it's only adding to the problem.  Anchor off the bow.


As far as mounting a windlass, I think it's a great idea - especially if you're anchoring in any kind of depth.  When I go fishing, a lot of times I'll be in 40-60' of water.  That's about 150' of rode that I'm putting out to get a 3:1 scope.  That's a LOT of line to pull in when it's time to move the boat!


How did you lose the anchors?
Click to expand...

My son dropped the rope pulling it in on a windy day because it was burning his hands and I didn't realize it was untied so I told him to drop the rope.  It went bye-bye quickly! The second was not tied on properly and when it got stuck in something we pulled so hard, just the rope came up.  
 
tracyhsmith said:
This is great to hear, so do you just have one on the bow? Which anchor do you use?  I had a friend suggest I buy the fork type which has rubber around it with a straight bar down the middle. I am not sure those work with the pontoon because online it said it has a universal davit????? I am not sure what that means.  I have already purchased two of them because I thought two anchors would stop the swaying back and forth.
Click to expand...

That's the style I have. Here's a pic where you can see it. A dock neighbor had one mounted off stern. I'll see if I can find the pic as he had his boat for sale on Craigslist. /monthly_2017_04/large.IMG_1376.JPG.2d999fe057280c3844840f73e3f2626b.JPG
 
tracyhsmith said:
My son dropped the rope pulling it in on a windy day because it was burning his hands and I didn't realize it was untied so I told him to drop the rope.  It went bye-bye quickly! The second was not tied on properly and when it got stuck in something we pulled so hard, just the rope came up.  
Click to expand...

Have to laugh as my BIL did a very similar thing.  We were anchored in a pretty good current.  I told him to get ready to pull the anchor while I maneuvered into position.  Well, he didn't get the "get ready to" part of it and just untied the line from the cleat.  We had about 100' of rode out, and it started whizzing through his hands.  It was only when we got down to about 15' left that he said "Hey, I got a problem here"....  and off went my Fortress FX-11 anchor to the bottom.


Family....


 
rofling.gif
 
SEMPERFI8387 said:
That's the style I have. Here's a pic where you can see it. A dock neighbor had one mounted off stern. I'll see if I can find the pic as he had his boat for sale on Craigslist. /monthly_2017_04/large.IMG_1376.JPG.2d999fe057280c3844840f73e3f2626b.JPG
Click to expand...

Gorgeous boat! My son wanted the red! Ok, well this looks just like what we were thinking.  Do you just have the one in front or both ends?  Your anchor looks like the fork kind perhaps like we have.  Is the style called Danforth? Rubberized coating with two forks and the bar in the middle?
 
Thank you! We LOVE the color!


Yes, rubber coated style.This is the model we have, in 28lb. We only have it in front. I thought about one for the rear, but didn't want something taking up space on our extended deck. I bought a small folding grapnel to try off the rear but we  don't use a rear anchor enough to invest in an electric.  Keep I n mind, if you go with the electric on the front, you will have to have your cover modified at a canvas shop unless you can sew it yourself.


http://m.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Greenfield-Coated-Navy-15-lb-Anchor-For-Boats-Up-14&i=80595
 
I bought a similar one at Gander Mountain several years ago. I don't know if they still sell this one or not, but it has a 60 degree swivel angle between the shank and the flukes. All the others I looked at were only 45 degrees. The extra angle lets it set a lot quicker with less rode because the flukes can dig into the bottom at a much shallower angle. Check it out.
 
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kaydano said:
I bought a similar one at Gander Mountain several years ago. I don't know if they still sell this one or not, but it has a 60 degree swivel angle between the shank and the flukes. All the others I looked at were only 45 degrees. The extra angle lets it set a lot quicker with less rode because the flukes can dig into the bottom at a much shallower angle. Check it out.
Click to expand...

Not everyone boats in 4 feet of water and 2 feet of sludge...;)
 
SEMPERFI8387 said:
Thank you! We LOVE the color!


Yes, rubber coated style.This is the model we have, in 28lb. We only have it in front. I thought about one for the rear, but didn't want something taking up space on our extended deck. I bought a small folding grapnel to try off the rear but we  don't use a rear anchor enough to invest in an electric.  Keep I n mind, if you go with the electric on the front, you will have to have your cover modified at a canvas shop unless you can sew it yourself.


http://m.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Greenfield-Coated-Navy-15-lb-Anchor-For-Boats-Up-14&i=80595
Click to expand...

I didn't even think about the cover.  Was theDH-40 removable from that bracket though? I may have misunderstood the specs. I thought you could mount it on the plate then remove it if it was in the way ....
 
Yes sorry, I don't have mine mounted with the plate, mine is hard mounted. If you use the plate, you would not have to modify the cover if you don't mind taking it on and off all the time. 
 
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