Anchor or chunk of railroad track?

I never used a chain and never had any issues. It doesn't seem to need much rope either. In about 15' of water I throw about 30' of rope. It hooks up well in all situations that I've encountered.
 
With my Digger anchor.......I don't have to use a chain and if I get stuck or caught on something or just want to retrieve the anchor to leave........I pull the line until I'm directly over the anchor and give it a good tug. The flukes release and it comes right up. Very simple.


I bought a Digger for my 2574 GL and I didn't have very good luck with it. The lake I'm on ( Winnebago ) is a large body of water with a sand/mud bottom and I could never get it to hold even with 100' of line out. I use it as a stern anchor now or my "lunch hook" and went with a Rocna plow anchor as my primary. I've only used it a couple of times since I bought it but so far so good..
 
I'm probably the exception for now as I could never get a Danforth to work on my lake. The bottom is mostly marl and several feet of mucky depth to the marl. I found a lead anchor when visiting Alabama that weighs about 30 lbs and looks like a normal mushroom anchor. By looking at the anchor line it looks like it sinks 2-3 feet into the marl. Never had an issue of it coming loose even with other boats tied on. It's a workout pulling it loose from the bottom but it's an inexpensive alternative to the box anchor. Some day I will probably invest in the box anchor but for now i'm happy with what I have.
 
View attachment 21504
I've had really good luck with the Richter anchors. They hold very well and are fairly compact for storage. Not exactly cheap but quite a bit cheaper than the box anchor or Fortress. I've used the 18lb on a 23' pontoon in a variety of different conditions and it's been great.
My friend saw a rope floating in the water and gave it a tug, and low and behold up comes one of these!!! I don't have that kind of luck!
 
I have the box anchor and love it. I am not good at setting a fluke anchor, with the box you just throw it out and its done
What size Box anchor do have?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have what I guess would be a standard, it’s not the baby but the next one one up, we do sand bottoms and rocky/mud bottom and haven’t had any issues.
 
We use the small box in the front and used to use the baby in the back to stop the swing in the coves. I used a clevis to attach the rope and did not safety wire it. One day the kids brought up the rope with no anchor at the end.
 
Is there a science (or art) to choosing an anchor or can I just tie a rope to a 15 lb. chunk of iron and toss it overboard?

Find boats similar to yours, and don't be afraid to ask some of the other boaters on your lake. See what they are using, and if it works good on their boat.

They'll be glad to share their experience. Life's too short to make all of the mistakes by yourself. Learn from the mistakes of others. :)
 
Ive seen most anchors recommended with a few feet of chain. It allows for the anchor to set properly. West Marine was very helpful when I added a second anchor to my Benny.
 
The box anchor doesn't need a chain and very little rode.
 
The lake that I am on has a thick mud bottom. After trying out several different types of anchors I finally found one that works better than the rest for my situation. I use a 20 lb. River anchor. It sinks deep into the mud and then holds well. Occasionally on extremely windy days, I have had to drop a second River Anchor overboard. Other anchors didn't have anything to bite into, so they didn't hold well. Since a pontoon boat sits so high on the water, I have found that it moves around a bit with the wind when anchored
 
GWLK, that’s what I have to use on our muddy river bottom.
 
Back
Top