what kind of anchor

[tenzing]

I am embarassed to say that I dropped my plough anchor somewhere I shouldnt have last weekend and ended up pinned to the (rocky) bottom . I was North of the Cape and my young bloke got quite a fright when the nose went down just as the swell lifted the stern (he was operating the winch).
anyway after much forward and reverse we left a few hundred bucks worth of anchor,chain,and rope on the bottom.

I have since looked at replacement anchors. Has anybody got advice about the models with the long slot on the shaft designed to allow the (stuck) anchor to be pulled out arse first.

Are they woth the extra bucks ($240 vs about $50 for the plough)

What about those with the semicircular head thingy ( eg.SARCA)

[BaitThrower]

No anchor will really suit all bottom types. If you want something for rocks/reefs, you need one of those ones with the bendy prongs. The modified danforth anchors (with the slot) wont really be the absolute solution for rocky bottoms. I believe the slot simply allows easier retrieval from sand/mud surfaces without hauling up a huge lump of mud along with the anchor.

[tenzing]

Yes I think that I've learnt something from my little blunder. But I need to put some kind of anchor back on , so thought I would give it some consideration first.
And I now know why I'm carrying that reef anchor around all the time.

Cheers

Brendan

[rocksberg6]

G'day Tenzing: Had the same problem about 2 weeks ago, after doing some homework and checking some threads on here regarding SARCA anchors, I decided on going back to the old plough anchor for sand mud, and a reef pick reef & rock. If i do get hung up on a reef, the reef picks are cheap as smelly undies.

[tenzing]

yeah thanks rocksberg, sounds like good advice. now is the time to consider these things though.
cheers
Brendan

[timddo]

you can get a plought /reef anchor for $110 7kg supacat anchors. Looks like a plough but you can pull then arse first.

[dnej]

Nothing wrong with the all round SARCA to do the job
David

[Getout]

I use a plough with plenty of chain. In my area which is like yours, it can be hard to get a reef pick to grab in deep water and relatively flat hard bottom. I have found that the chain wants to overtake the reef pick on the way down and often tangles in the prongs.
When using a plough anchor, you can shackle directly to the attachment point up near the plough and zip tie the chain adjacent to the normal attachment point. When you drive over it, the zip tie lets go and the plough pulls out backwards.
Having said that, I have still lost a few! Sometimes it takes a long time to get it unhooked.

[backlash08]

If you want another anchor to join the plough anchor that you left in the reef try a sarca, they are ok in sand.mud and rubble but on solid reef they are excellent, that good actually you wont get it back, I suggest 2 anchors, a reef pick for reef (prong anchor) and a sand pick as well
Cheers
Craig

[MTAQ/BTAQ]

Be careful when anchoring at the Curtin Artificial Reef for there is a mountain of old tyres there amongst the wrecks (big as a 2 storey house) - you would be surprised how many anchors wriggle down into those tyres never to come up unless an old but cunning scuba diver (like myself) goes down there (only 25 metres) and helps himself to a "smorgasbord" of anchors.

Redcliffe Dive Centre at Kippa Ring shopping centre always has anchors for sale as that is one of his main dive sites.

[Chimo]

Hi Brendon

IMHO if you do anything other than lower rather than drop your anchor there will be a chance og it not laying correctly and therefore not holding. They call it laying your anchor for a reason. Get on a bigger sailing vessel or cruiser and you wont even think of chucking the whole kit and caboddle over the front and hope that it holds! Not that you actually did or do this yourself.

Cheap reef picks with bendable prongs have been reliable for me and of late I'm using smaller reef picks with no hint of them not holding. The bigger one is carried as the spare these days. If you have enough length of correct sized chain and warp and the anchor is layed, even in deep water it should hold and if a small reef pick (as small as you can get away with that will hold the vessel) it should not be a hassel to retrieve esp if you use a split ring retriever and suitable float.

I cannot see the sense in using a Sarca or Rasca; that I have hanging on the fence; when they are heavy awkward and unwieldy to use without a winch, which I dont have and dont see the need for as the retriever split ring on a float gets the anchor back with no dramas

Sand anchor for sand and mud, reef anchor for reef and a couple of spares on board to use as stern or kedging anchor with appropriate length and weight of chain and good warp and jobs right.

Why spend hundreds on an anchor that it is easy to lose when it jams under a rock. Not to mention the probability that all this wil happen at a less than convenient time.

If you carry a clearance diver to have a look at the anchor and he tells you which directions to pull to get the SS Dee in the right spot so you can then pull the anchor up bum first then I'll have another think on it.

Cheers
Chimo

[littlejim]

The design I like is the 'fisherman's' anchor. A sand anchor that has a loop that lets the rope slide up to the front when you drive off. But I carry two and use a bendy prong reef anchor when over reef.

I've had to cut two anchors off, both times it was obvious that the anchor wasn't the problem, the chain was caught round the reef. for this reason I will never fork out for exxy anchors like the sarca or any fancy design. If the chain is caught it doesn't matter what is on the end of it.

[tenzing]

Thanks guys. I do have a winch (unless I stuffed that in the process as well) but i dont have access to a clearance diver (surprisingly?). Sounds like the plough again is the go. Thanks all again

cheers
Brendan.