anchor rope

Hey Gang,
I appreciate the nice comments on my system for ropes and anchors. There are basics for anchoring, types and sizes of anchors, and rope lengths etc. I've looked at the charts and examples of how things should be laid out and all that. I really never paid much attention to all that. I just do what works for me and our boat, in varying situations. Now, I've been asked for pics of my rope bag and system. And maybe a video of how it all works. Well, I got pics but, no video at this time. I'll work on that. But, if you look at the pics I'm linking, you'll pretty much understand how it all works.

I actually have THREE anchors on board. The two I spoke of earlier and, a *Slide anchor* that's used for various purposes. Mostly that slide anchor is used when we're in the river, above Lake Havasu. There's a sand bar up stream a few miles from the mouth of the river where it enters our lake. The river gets progressively shallower and shallower as you near that sand bar. I normally don't run in anything less than about 2' deep. That slide anchor is about 40" long or so. When we find the spot I want to have the boat hold in, she takes the helm and I hop off the front and immediately slide hammer that anchor into the sand, below the water line.

The rope in that little bag is for attaching that slide anchor to the boat. The current in that river is not all that strong that, a slide anchor hammered into the sand about a foot, at a 30 to 45 degree angle facing away from the boat, holds that 26' tri-toon just fine.

Now, using any anchor I have, with the bags and rope, I was asked how it works. It's simple. You see the spliced eye emanating from the bottom of the bag. It gets sent through and around the appropriate cleat. Then, I grab the anchor and, with a ho-heave, I toss it as far out as I can. As the anchor is flying through the air and hits the water, then starts to sink, the line is paying out of the bag, un-obstructed and un-knotted and un-tangled. I have that rope sliding through my hand and paying out of the bag, as long as it takes. Once I can tell the anchor is on the bottom and the line is no longer paying out, I grab a couple extra feet from the bag and, tie it off on a cleat, DONE. As stated earlier, the remaining rope that is not used, stays in the bag, as it sits on the deck of the boat, next to the cleat.

Now, as for retrieving the rope and re-stuffing it in the bag, yep, it's a bit of a tedious task. I pull on the anchor to un-seat it and pull it up. The rope and the anchor is in a pile on the deck. I then feed the rope back into the bag, little by little, until it's all in and the anchor attachment point is at the entrance to the bag. When we return home, the rope is then laid along side the boat to dry out. When dry, it's stuffed back into the bag, ready for the next use. I hope this helps in describing how my system is used. In previous boats, I used to just sloppily coil the rope in a compartment and toss the anchor on top of it. The next time I'd go to use the anchor, it was inevitable that the rope would get tangled as I tossed the anchor. So, hence, the use of the bag and that method.
Scott
 

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That’s what I was looking at. I was actually looking at the powder coated anchors through them but they only carry a small and a large. When I called they recommended I would need a large. 26 pounds sounds like overkill so I wanted to check with you guys who have lots of experience and knowledge. If I used a small which I believe is 21 pound anchor that would hold in all situations? I will most likely be using a second anchor off the front to keep it from rotating.
From the slide anchor website

Sizes

Baby Box Anchor: Personal watercraft

Small Box Anchor: Offshore / Sport 18' to 30', cabin cruiser to 24'

Large Box Anchor: Offshore / Sport to 40', cabin cruiser to 32'

X-Large Box Anchor: House boats, cruisers longer than 32'

For size and application recommendations, call (928) 855-1108
 
I’m using a new kind of anchor “rope”. Recently, a company was putting fiber optic cable in our neighborhood. They used a flat ribbon with a very small tracing wire in it to pull the cable from point A to point B. The guy asked me if I had any use for it. He was going to toss it because they can only use it once for each pull. That seems like a huge waste but I suppose when you’re pulling expensive cable, they don’t want to take risks. It has a 2800# strength and it about 1/2” wide. He said it would last for many years. He gave me a length of about 500’. Yep, I put about 100’ in my Deck Mate winch. Been working great. Stronger and probably more resilient thane regular anchor rope. Can certainly put more of this on my winch with it being flat.
 
I have 2, a small and a baby . The small is enough to hold my 23 QCW and my previous 23 RCW .
I use the baby in the stern to stop the sway on windy days

That is exactly the same setup I use. I have used ours in saltwater much of last year and it looks perfect today. Although I don’t know if its zinc or galvanized. I did end up throwing out the storage bag. I found it difficult to get the box anchor in and out of the bag.
 
I didn't through out the bags , I use them for winter storage .And yes it is a pain
 
Yeah,
The only anchor of the three that I have on board that stows in a bag is the slide anchor. And the only reason it's in a bag is because it came with one. As you see in the pics, I don't keep the others in a bag. It would definitely be a pain to deal with. The rope for each one, in a bag however, isn't all that much of a pain to me. Each boat owner does what's good for their situations, mooring, beach and sand bar operations. Whatever works is great.
Scott
 
I’m using a new kind of anchor “rope”. Recently, a company was putting fiber optic cable in our neighborhood. They used a flat ribbon with a very small tracing wire in it to pull the cable from point A to point B. The guy asked me if I had any use for it. He was going to toss it because they can only use it once for each pull. That seems like a huge waste but I suppose when you’re pulling expensive cable, they don’t want to take risks. It has a 2800# strength and it about 1/2” wide. He said it would last for many years. He gave me a length of about 500’. Yep, I put about 100’ in my Deck Mate winch. Been working great. Stronger and probably more resilient thane regular anchor rope. Can certainly put more of this on my winch with it being flat.
That item you're using sounds very close to what I have in a roll in a closet in my garage. What I have is called "Mule tape". It's used for pulling line through pipes etc. The stuff I have is around 3/4" wide and has I think, about a 2,000 or 2,500 lb. breaking strength. I bought about a 3,000' roll of it at a swap meet for $30. I use that stuff for everything. I've given 100' sections to friends, family, and even people I don't know that needed some for tie down for moving stuff. I've still got 3/4 of that roll. I guess it could be used for anchor line. Even 2,500 lb. breaking strength is pretty darn tough stuff. But, being that small in your hands might be a bit tough to pull on, especially if it's wet. Just a guess. Here's what I have.
Scott

W/P 2500 Lb Polyester Pull Tape Single Wire Detectable (ribbonfactory.com)
 
That item you're using sounds very close to what I have in a roll in a closet in my garage. What I have is called "Mule tape". It's used for pulling line through pipes etc. The stuff I have is around 3/4" wide and has I think, about a 2,000 or 2,500 lb. breaking strength. I bought about a 3,000' roll of it at a swap meet for $30. I use that stuff for everything. I've given 100' sections to friends, family, and even people I don't know that needed some for tie down for moving stuff. I've still got 3/4 of that roll. I guess it could be used for anchor line. Even 2,500 lb. breaking strength is pretty darn tough stuff. But, being that small in your hands might be a bit tough to pull on, especially if it's wet. Just a guess. Here's what I have.
Scott

W/P 2500 Lb Polyester Pull Tape Single Wire Detectable (ribbonfactory.com)
That looks just like what I have. I love it. I don’t worry about it being small in my hands. It’s used with my winch. ;)
 
i actually called slide anchor and they recommended the large for my 23GCW due to the dual tops
 
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