Your dinghy's anchor, or not

Well, what are your thoughts about carrying an anchor in your dinghy?* If you do, what type/size of anchor and length/type of rhode do you employ (describe you dinghy, please)?* If carried only on occasion, when do you do and do not carry it?*

Never having a dinghy (but contemplating one, probably an 8-foot hard), I can't say for me, but would appreciate your input.

After reading the thread about the drifting boat in the Carquinez strait, I purchased an 8lb mushroom anchor at Bass Pro Shops and 70' of 1/4" braided line. Takes up nearly no room at all in our 8' Livingston and provides me with a little peace of mind.

I carry one of these when we are going to fish from the dinghy or use it as a base for snorkelling, or when we are wanting to leave it in one place for a time, and where there might not be a decent beach or back to pull it up on.

http://www.precisionmarine.com.au/anchortypesusesreefanchor/

One of those tiny Fortress helps to hold the dink off some rough water docks.

I carry a reef pick like Peter B has and also a small sand anchor for anchoring off the beach when I go ashore
I like to leave my dinghy aout in the water a bit as she is 12' and with 15 hp on the back a bit heavy for the boss and I to drag down the beach.
I have a set of wheels mounted on the transome but they dig in a bit and not allways helpfull

Here's the perfect dinghy anchor!

*

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=591928&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50751&subdeptNum=50752&classNum=50754

We carry a folding grapnel for beaching. Easy to stow.

We have a small danforth, but rarely take it.* Have never anchored our dinghy.* Suppose if we used it for fishing it would be important.

JohnP

dwhatty wrote:
We carry a folding grapnel for beaching. Easy to stow.

Click to expand...

I'll second that. Ours is made by Seafit.

We had a mushroom but the poly coating got a slice in it and it rusted from the inside.

dwhatty wrote:
We carry a folding grapnel for beaching. Easy to stow.

Click to expand...

*Third with 20 ft of 3/8 double braid.

Small Danforth four feet light chain and 50' 3/8 line. Mainly four fishing and crabbing.

A 2kg. Bruce (here we go again) with 200' of 1/4" Samson braid. Never anchored in the water but use it on the beach so the tide has no effect on where we leave the dinghy.

We have a 12lb coated mushroom anchor and about 30 ft. of line. When we go to the beach and I tilt up the motor ( a 25hp Merc.) the rode is tied off on the transom lifting ring, drop off the back and use the oars for a couple of strokes and step off the bow with the tow line, after my wife is out, the boat springs back out a few feet and then i tie it off on log or a rock. If we are staying on shore for very long I can reset the anchor farther out or if the tide is coming in I just pull the boat in with the tow line, the anchor will drag along the bottom. When we leave the anchor and rode stow in the bow locker, BTW our tender is 11ft RIB.


-- Edited by Slowboat 37 on Sunday 18th of March 2012 02:45:59 PM

We have used a folding grapnel like David for years. Flukes fold in for easy storage in the forward dink locker. One hundred feet of nylon line and you're set! Perfect for the slower currents in the delta.

I have the same set up as Peter, stowed in the forward locker.


-- Edited by Andy G on Sunday 18th of March 2012 05:17:10 PM

markpierce wrote:
Well, what are your thoughts about carrying an anchor in your dinghy?* If you do, what type/size of anchor and length/type of rhode do you employ (describe you dinghy, please)?* If carried only on occasion, when do you do and do not carry it?*

Never having a dinghy (but contemplating one, probably an 8-foot hard), I can't say for me, but would appreciate your input.

Click to expand...

*Have the same 2 kg anchor with 10' of 3/8 chain (had it on hand) and 50' of 3/8 line.

Rob*

37' Sedan

we have a little grapnel that we use with whatever long line we have handy.* We have a very small (8') hard bottom inflatable.* There is not really anywhere to put anything in our dinghy so we bring the anchor*along in a bag if we think we might need it.

dwhatty wrote:
We carry a folding grapnel for beaching. Easy to stow.

Click to expand...

We started using the same sort of thing a few years ago when a friend gave us one.* I'm not sure how well it would work a an actual anchor--- if anyone has used one as a deploy-it-and-set-it anchor I'd be interested to hear how well it worked..* It does real well dug in or hooked on a beach by hand be it sand, gravel, rock, drift logs, etc.*

And it can come in handy as a grapnel.* Our friend used his once to recover another boater's boarding ladder that had fallen overboard.

My guess is that somehting like a small Fortress or Danforth would better as an actual anchor.* One problem I could see with a small Bruce, Claw, plow, Rocna, etc is they don't stow flat.


-- Edited by Marin on Sunday 18th of March 2012 07:23:59 PM

For years we have used a small folding grapnel anchor and about 10' of small chain. For part of the rode we use all bungee shock cord. We carry a second* line that is used to secure to the other end of the dinghy which is about 100' in length, we drop the anchor and* pay out the bungee rode on the way to the beach.. then when the admiral is on the beach with the rope rode I pull in a lot of the bungee and really stretch the line tight. When I step ashore we let the boat go and it rides off shore.. and we tie the land side off to the nearest fixed object.* This assures that with the big tidal swings and the oyster shell covered beaches that the dinghy is still floating and doesn't suffer a blown tube due to the sharp shells. The bungee needs to be replaced every few years due to sun degradation and abrasion.

HOLLYWOOD

Don't know if what we use is the same as the "folding grapnel" anchor others have talked about here. This is what we use. I've not tried it as a "real" anchor, only as a beach anchor. Is this the same or similar to what Hollywood, Jennifer, Dave, etc. have been talking about?

For me, going out on any type of boat without an anchor is forbidden!* We carry a small 8 lb danforth with 6 ft. of chain in our dinghy.* Plus 50 feet of line.* Here is the reason:* we've been in situations where the small 4 HP motor might quit, and the current was around 3 knots.* Had the motor quit for any reason we would have been swept to sea in a matter of minutes.* Throwing out the anchor, chain, and 50 feet of line we can stay put while I call for help on the VHF instead of being swept out to sea.

Marin wrote:
Don't know if what we use is the same as the "folding grapnel" anchor others have talked about here. This is what we use. I've not tried it as a "real" anchor, only as a beach anchor. Is this the same or similar to what Hollywood, Jennifer, Dave, etc. have been talking about?

Click to expand...

*Yes sir... that is the one... takes little space.. easy on soft parts... holds ok..

HOLLYWOOD

12 lb. Danforth style with 75' line always*under front deck of 14 foot 8 inch Crestliner Stinger tow behind... with 50 HP Johnson O/B.


-- Edited by Art on Sunday 18th of March 2012 08:20:59 PM

hollywood8118 wrote:Marin wrote:
Don't know if what we use is the same as the "folding grapnel" anchor others have talked about here. This is what we use. I've not tried it as a "real" anchor, only as a beach anchor. Is this the same or similar to what Hollywood, Jennifer, Dave, etc. have been talking about?

Click to expand...

*Yes sir... that is the one... takes little space.. easy on soft parts... holds ok..

HOLLYWOOD

*that's the one

Marin wrote:
Don't know if what we use is the same as the "folding grapnel" anchor others have talked about here. This is what we use. I've not tried it as a "real" anchor, only as a beach anchor. Is this the same or similar to what Hollywood, Jennifer, Dave, etc. have been talking about?

Click to expand...

*Dat be da self same ting.

Thanks to Dave, Hollywood, et all for confirming the dinghy anchor they're using. The one thing that never occurred to me with this "tiny anchor for a tiny boat" is that it would benefit from a length of chain on it, just like a bigger anchor. I'll have to add that at some point.

dwhatty wrote:
We carry a folding grapnel for beaching. Easy to stow.

That's what I carry also.* I made a canvas drawstring bag with handle for it.

Click to expand...

*

Egregious wrote:
For me, going out on any type of boat without an anchor is forbidden!* .....................

*Throwing out the anchor, chain, and 50 feet of line we can stay put while I call for help on the VHF instead of being swept out to sea.

That makes good sense.* And yet, anchors are not required safety equipment on boats.

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*

rwidman wrote:Egregious wrote:
For me, going out on any type of boat without an anchor is forbidden!* .....................

*Throwing out the anchor, chain, and 50 feet of line we can stay put while I call for help on the VHF instead of being swept out to sea.

That makes good sense.* And yet, anchors are not required safety equipment on boats.*

Click to expand...

Guys I agree with you - - > Always have anchor available, it makes good sence!

I have found that only very occasionally, but surely being very useful in some instances*of emergency, an anchor has suddenly been needed to play a strong part in helping to solve a problem.* It is always good to have for general use anyway.* If there were no way to lock a car or truck in position, i.e. automatic transmission parking gear, standard trany 1st or reverse gears, or simply a good emergency brake... chaos would occur.* Well... a boat usually need not an anchor for an emergency, and we park our boats with dock lines, mooring lines or anchor lines/chain... but... when an anchor suddenly/unexpectedly does become needed there had better be one aboard!* In my opinion, it should be a rule that any craft (lets say longer than 13 feet) should at least have some sort of anchor aboard.

*

I don't carry one. I have never had use for it. Where I boat the beaches are steep and the tide*really go's out (We have some of the largest tides in the world. Second only to bay of Fundy Nova Scotia)

I anchored on a steep beach once and went berry picking.

Got back to a dink anchored about 20 ft from shore. (There is a boner for you)

I just carry a 200 ft painter. (Yellow Polly)**Hike up about a mile to shore and tie to a tree or rock above high tide.

I don't like to drag the dink over* rocks so I drag a long line instead.

I never woried about getting swept to sea as inflatables are kind of hard to sink. Secondary propulsion.*Oar's/Sail*I always carry my portable VHF. I don't fish out of the dink. (*Hooks = holes)

Some think it is a safety issue. *I just can't see where.

If I am in the dink I am either headed to shore. To the boat, or the boat is headed to the bottom.

SD*

*


-- Edited by skipperdude on Monday 19th of March 2012 05:50:17 PM