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Skipper of the Sea Que · 07-26-2012, 12:18 PM

Back in the 1990's I had anchoring problems at the sandbars. I used a fluke style anchor of appropriate weight (an 8 pound then a 13 pound). I had trouble setting anchor and it wouldn't always hold. After some investigation I discovered that all the fluke anchors for sale around the Lake had more of an angle between the shaft and the flukes than ones I could find elsewhere (all 45 degrees between flukes and shaft). I bought a Fluke style with 32 degree angle between shaft and flukes and the difference was amazing. It dug in and held like a dream. If it did pull out (rare) it reset quickly. I have a 6 foot chain on the anchor rode. It worked at the sandbars and in 20- 50 feet of water.

At that time I discovered that the 32 degree angle was designed for a sand bottom while the larger angle (45 degrees) was designed for a mud bottom (and was all that was sold around the Lake at the time). The wider angle fluke just didn't work well for me and no one at the marine stores seemed to understand what I was talking about - they ALL carried the 45 degree angle Fluke. Anyway, I bought an 8 pound 32 degree Fluke style kit (came with chain,and line) from West Marine and have been very happy with the anchors (I now have 2). I got rid of the 13 pound mud angled fluke anchor.

In 4-5 feet of water I deploy about 25 to 30 feet of anchor rode, I have marked my anchor line every 10 feet using a "stick to itself" colored electrical tape. Mine is red. At the 10 foot point(s) I un-twist the 3 strand line to get an inch or so of one of the strands. Then wrap the tape around the one strand so it sticks to itself with an extra few inches of tape left - then re-twist or tighten the line and continue to wrap the tape around the line a few times. The tape bonds to itself and stays on. Only lost 1 tape marker over 18 years. The 10 foot markings also help me figure out the distance I need between other boats/rafts when I'm in a no rafting zone.

Here is some reeading for more info:
Mud vs sand: http://myboatsgear.com/mbg/product.asp?prodID=1954
Serious anchoring info: http://www.usps.org/ventura/art-03-1...gmadeeasy.html
THe Fluke style anchor I use: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...0#.UBFuTfVnUV8
Similar to the kit I used (but I had an 8 pound anchor with 150 feet of line and 6 foot chain): http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...9#.UBF86fVnUV8

Hope this is of some help to you.
Good luck.

07-26-2012, 12:18 PM	#26
Skipper of the Sea Que Deceased Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: 1/2 way between Boston & Providence Posts: 573 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 32 Thanked 55 Times in 22 Posts	My thoughts on anchoring, style and rode marking Back in the 1990's I had anchoring problems at the sandbars. I used a fluke style anchor of appropriate weight (an 8 pound then a 13 pound). I had trouble setting anchor and it wouldn't always hold. After some investigation I discovered that all the fluke anchors for sale around the Lake had more of an angle between the shaft and the flukes than ones I could find elsewhere (all 45 degrees between flukes and shaft). I bought a Fluke style with 32 degree angle between shaft and flukes and the difference was amazing. It dug in and held like a dream. If it did pull out (rare) it reset quickly. I have a 6 foot chain on the anchor rode. It worked at the sandbars and in 20- 50 feet of water. At that time I discovered that the 32 degree angle was designed for a sand bottom while the larger angle (45 degrees) was designed for a mud bottom (and was all that was sold around the Lake at the time). The wider angle fluke just didn't work well for me and no one at the marine stores seemed to understand what I was talking about - they ALL carried the 45 degree angle Fluke. Anyway, I bought an 8 pound 32 degree Fluke style kit (came with chain,and line) from West Marine and have been very happy with the anchors (I now have 2). I got rid of the 13 pound mud angled fluke anchor. In 4-5 feet of water I deploy about 25 to 30 feet of anchor rode, I have marked my anchor line every 10 feet using a "stick to itself" colored electrical tape. Mine is red. At the 10 foot point(s) I un-twist the 3 strand line to get an inch or so of one of the strands. Then wrap the tape around the one strand so it sticks to itself with an extra few inches of tape left - then re-twist or tighten the line and continue to wrap the tape around the line a few times. The tape bonds to itself and stays on. Only lost 1 tape marker over 18 years. The 10 foot markings also help me figure out the distance I need between other boats/rafts when I'm in a no rafting zone. Here is some reeading for more info: Mud vs sand: http://myboatsgear.com/mbg/product.asp?prodID=1954 Serious anchoring info: http://www.usps.org/ventura/art-03-1...gmadeeasy.html THe Fluke style anchor I use: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...0#.UBFuTfVnUV8 Similar to the kit I used (but I had an 8 pound anchor with 150 feet of line and 6 foot chain): http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...9#.UBF86fVnUV8 Hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. __________________ Amateur HAM Radio What is it? You'll be surprised. When all else fails Ham Radio still works. Shriners Hospitals *providing specialized care for children regardless of ability to pay*. Find out more or refer a patient.