Reply With QuoteTry this link it does a reasonable job of explaining how to anchor using a float
http://www.coastwatch.com.au/Boating/BoatingVideo-633/
Mad
This is a great thread (for me at least).
Its sparked in me some learning, ie: the anchor ball, but also prompted me to ask a whole lot of questions at the boat ramp.
I love the response Im getting here by the way, its really great, and also the poor fellows who dont have internet at the ramp. So at the ramp its a little bit easier to have a conversation than on this chat board. You get to ask more questions (and mix how to catch snapper - another thread).
When I say to some the info I get here, some say "yeah bloody winches theyre a waste of space".. Others say, "Man when you flick a switch and up comes the anchor and then flick it again and down it goes". Its quite a dillema still.
One things for sure, Im getting an anchor ball.
Other thing not so sure, I think I still would like to have a winch.
So I think it comes down to cost (it alwasy does).
Is a cheap winch, that works for like 2 years worth buying?
or
Is it better to buy the mega bucks $2500 winch?
By the way, Im stressing out from the gloom and doom market
Try this link it does a reasonable job of explaining how to anchor using a float
http://www.coastwatch.com.au/Boating/BoatingVideo-633/
Mad
Grow old disgracefully
I have a southpacific 700 free fall with a Manson plough mounted on a roller on the bow. Falls away at the hit of the switch at normal speed as though you dropped it off the side (its got a clutch). Back up is pretty good also. I love it. I have had it for 2 years and used it in a number of areas. It feeds down to a well that holds 200m of nylon 11 or 12mm (can recall now which). The nylon is much nicer than poly (silver). I wouldnt be without it particularly with the wife and kids in the boat and me doing everything. Boat is a 21 Seafarer Vagabond.
Cheers
Hi KZ
Having read and considered, go for it and get a winch and a ball and use nylon off the bow with the winch for shallow work and use a reef anchor with silver tied off at the bow with the float for deep stuff.
Then you have it all covered.
Remember he who dies with the most toys wins!
Cheers
Chimo
What could go wrong.......................
........................
Sounds good. Do you have a photo of the setup?Originally Posted by ozscott
Mate i upgraded to a very heavy duty Maxwell...much better than the SouthPac but at $1k it should be.
Cheers
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Boat: Seafarer Vagabond
Live: Great South East....love Moreton Bay fishing
Which model? Is it easy to find in Australia?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's gone up somewhat in price.
https://www.boatingandrv.com.au/Anch...nchor-Winches/
Cheers
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Boat: Seafarer Vagabond
Live: Great South East....love Moreton Bay fishing
Yeah same as above. I run my reef pick with ball down the RHS of the boat through a fairlead at the front into a vented tub behind the driver's seat, and my shallow bay sand anchor down the LHS into a tub behind the passenger seat. The reef anchor I can adjust depth from the back of the boat for convenience, the sand anchor I just keep set at the depth I always use it at in the bay. The reef anchor is just drive off and pull in when it's hooked on the ball, the sand anchor I just drive off and grab the rope or hook it with the gaff and simply pull it in to he back. Never have to climb up the front or do the contortionist thing through the hatch. Super easy either way.
I used the ezi-lift clip and float for years on different boats. Certainly the poor mans answer. But they DO have their limitations. I found them easier to manage in a 6m ali centre console, where I had a big under-deck storage compartment to coil the rope into and drop the anchor and chain into after. Easy to manage in relatively calm weather, including adjusting length of rode to put yourself right over where you wanted to be.
BUT. I then bought a forward controlled boat, with a short cuddy up front and an awkward to access hatch . This makes it harder,and before you all dive in with a response, hear me out. You need to have some way of attaching to your bollard, obviously, without accessing the bow every time. So I left a rope permanently attached and running around the side of the cab, this doubled as a handling line on/off the trailer. All good. Make it long enough to use, but not long enough to get around the prop if you drop it in the drink. Store your line (120m plus of 12mm silver rope in my case ) and anchor in a big plastic rubbish bin. When anchoring , run it out over the stern as you steam downwind, tie it off when you think you will land over the place you want to. All good so far. But then you find that you need to lengthen/shorten your anchor line to position yourself, and the easterly ( I'm in WA) is blowing 30 knots. Now you have a problem, especially if you are fishing alone, which I often am. You need to drive up wind along the rope , grab the bow rope out of the water, untie and re-tie, without getting blown off. Damn near impossible. I mean, I'm only anchored because the wind is blowing so bloody hard, and I have to be precise with the anchoring, the way I fish, or I am wasting my time. Or you find the spot is unproductive today, and you need to move. And you are going to get soaked or worse if you attempt to retrieve like that in a strong wind. So you just sit there, catching nothing.
So I bought a winch. Drum types are problematic and very expensive to install ( if you want a tidy job, backyard butchers could do it cheap and rough) in these hulls, so I bought a Maxwell RC6FF. Very powerful, retrieves quicker than a ball and float while I just sit on the seat and keep a finger on a switch, easy to adjust your length of line if needed. And if nothings biting, up she comes and off to the next spot, regardless of conditions. tide and wind a bit different, hanging wrong? just push a button, bring it up, and drop it in the right place. I normally anchor around 18-21 fathoms, though sometimes as little as 8. And don't have to drag that rubbish bin full of water, rope and anchor in and out of the cab
I used the ezi-lift clip and float for years on different boats. Certainly the poor mans answer. But they DO have their limitations. I found them easier to manage in a 6m ali centre console, where I had a big under-deck storage compartment to coil the rope into and drop the anchor and chain into after. Easy to manage in relatively calm weather, including adjusting length of rode to put yourself right over where you wanted to be.
BUT. I then bought a forward controlled boat, with a short cuddy up front and an awkward to access hatch . This makes it harder,and before you all dive in with a response, hear me out. You need to have some way of attaching to your bollard, obviously, without accessing the bow every time. So I left a rope permanently attached and running around the side of the cab, this doubled as a handling line on/off the trailer. All good. Make it long enough to use, but not long enough to get around the prop if you drop it in the drink. Store your line (120m plus of 12mm silver rope in my case ) and anchor in a big plastic rubbish bin. When anchoring , run it out over the stern as you steam downwind, tie it off when you think you will land over the place you want to. All good so far. But then you find that you need to lengthen/shorten your anchor line to position yourself, and the easterly ( I'm in WA) is blowing 30 knots. Now you have a problem, especially if you are fishing alone, which I often am. You need to drive up wind along the rope , grab the bow rope out of the water, untie and re-tie, without getting blown off. Damn near impossible. I mean, I'm only anchored because the wind is blowing so bloody hard, and I have to be precise with the anchoring, the way I fish, or I am wasting my time. Or you find the spot is unproductive today, and you need to move. And you are going to get soaked or worse if you attempt to retrieve like that in a strong wind. So you just sit there, catching nothing.
So I bought a winch. Drum types are problematic and very expensive to install ( if you want a tidy job, backyard butchers could do it cheap and rough) in these hulls, so I bought a Maxwell RC6FF. Very powerful, retrieves quicker than a ball and float while I just sit on the seat and keep a finger on a switch, easy to adjust your length of line if needed. And if nothings biting, up she comes and off to the next spot, regardless of conditions. tide and wind a bit different, hanging wrong? just push a button, bring it up, and drop it in the right place. I normally anchor around 18-21 fathoms, though sometimes as little as 8. And don't have to drag that rubbish bin full of water, rope and anchor in and out of the cab
I like your write up. Basically, what you are saying is that I should get the Maxwell because I think I will be fishing alone mostly :-) I have been researching them and they look real sweet! BTW, isnt the Maxwell RC6FF also a drum type winch?
No, they are a gypsy type, with a horizontal axis. The vertical gypsy type is more common, and very compact above deck, but they seem better suited to all-chain applications. Research shows more dissatisfaction with that type when running rope than any other, and they give the horizontal axis gypsys a bad name. I know a lot on here ( but not all) will slag them off, but not every boat is suited to a drum. Mine, for example, would need to be fixed through the collision bulkhead which backs onto the cab space. but it is double skinned, as th cabin lower half is a mould within the hull, and there is an air gap between them. So you need to cut out a big square, and then glass in a thick piece of ply, then somehow flush it all up properly. I have seen it done on these by a professional glasser, end result is till not pretty and cost a lot of money. You cannot access under the floor of the anchor well to bolt it flat there, without cutting a big hole in the same two bulkheads to access the space. Just not practical.
Main issues people have with gypsy types is a) wrong length chain link, , b) wrong size/type rope and c) not enough fall under the winch into the well. This is very important. You will really need 400m or more between the bottom of the winch and the floor of the anchor well. Wide, shallow wells are no good. The chain links are the easy part, most are specced for short link chain. Suppliers like Whitworths will know, same cost as any type of chain. The only rope to use for consistent results is 8-strand plait nylon. Yes it is expensive. try and use any other type, it may work for a while, then will start to snarl and twist. 3-strand nylon will work for a while, a lot cheaper, but will still eventually give you grief. Forget trying to use silver rope. But rope type is an issue with drum winches, too--most recco size winches just don't hold much 10mm cheap anchor rope, and they will snap 8mm before long. So, unless you mean to anchor in really shallow water all the time, you need to buy 5mm or 6mm Dyneema, and it is eye-wateringly expensive, just like the 8 strand plait you need for the gypsy style. remember that the general rule of thumb is 3 times the length of anchor rope out as the depth of the water. Strong winds/poor holding bottom can necessitate more, you will get away with 2 to 1 in calm conditions and good holding .
HTH
I bought my Maxwell HRC6FF on Ozscott's recommendation, and haven't been disappointed in performance.
A lot of hot air in this thread. Get the drum winch, you wont regret it. Sure you can go ball and chain but at some stage you still have to use some sweat. If your shifting a lot looking for the elusive species "fish", you will bless every single moment. Less shit hanging around the boat too, so if you go out with the family or friends, there is no tangle of rope hanging around your feet. So I am not from the blue singlet brigade, big deal. If you can afford it, get one.
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