I have a couple of Sarca anchors with the slide rail on the top and was wondering if anyone has used these on the reefs. I have upgraded the anchor winch to a Stressfree and thought I would give it a go or am I about to lose a good anchor.
My guess is yes, you more than likely stand a real good chance of losing the anchor and chain and a fair bit of warp too.
Why not just use the minimum strength reef anchor with easy to bend rod and keep the sarca for the sand and mud ?
Probably cheaper and easier to run a ball and ring with a reef anchor chain and warp set up and leave the stressfree set up with the sarca for non reef duty IMHO
Cheers
Chimo
I have the same set up as you seem to have - Stressfree winch and SARCA anchor. Have use this combination on reefs around here for over 5 years and have never lost a anchor. I am a bit particular where I drop it - no really gnarly reefs. As long as you retrieve by moving the boat forward over the anchor point to release the anchor then no problems - so far.
Make sure you use goo stainless steel shackles on the SARCA and loctite and wire them on as they can come loose with the constant sliding along the anchor.
Chimo, I have the floater setup but my wife struggles with it as she is not as agile as she once was but she still wants to go out and fish. I have a Mooloolaba pick on the current setup and even that has caught at times and been a bit difficult to release even though the chain is connected to the head and zip tied to the shaft. From what I can figure out is that with the winch the lift is more over the top of the anchor and rode so should have less problems with snagging.Originally Posted by Chimo
Red, have you anchored over wire weed at all, the Mooloolaba pick I use struggles to hold on it and I can end up 60 meters from my mark, also I found it on hold easily on rubble ground where we often find the snapper which is one reason I thought the sarca might work.
"but my wife struggles with it"
Dignity,
I'm a little confused by your above comment.
If the rode is attached at the bow as normal and the float and split ring slides along the rode / rope as you move the boat forward at a 30 degree angle until the float bobs under the water at which time the anchor and chain are at the ring so all that I do then is stop the boat and hand over hand the rode into a bin at the rear of the boat ready to drop at the next spot. In fact why are you not hand over handing the rode yourself as there should be nothing else happening at that time anyhow?
I do all this in 150 ft of water on my own so not really sure why your wife has to do it; she should be getting you a cup of tea and a biscuit at this stage of the day anyhow!
Cheers
Chimo
Never had trouble with the SARCA on wire weed or rubble, its seems to have a pretty positive grip on the bottom. My maximum anchoring depth is about 50 metres due to limitations on how much rope on the winch rum (about 150M of 6mm).
Chimo, I could do it myself but then she complains that I do all the work, which is probably true as I have to bait her hooks, take the fish off etc. Normally I do what you do except I turn the boat around and travel slowly towards the float while whoever is crewing quickly pulls the very loose line in, during these moments I'm usually punching in a new destination on the GPS, there have been times where the anchor gets stuck and as she suggested I upgrade the winch I didn't hesitate. In all likely hood I will use the Mba pick initially except that I have a couple of Sarca anchors and was keen to know if they worked.
Red, as indicated above I'll start with my Mooloolaba Pick then when I get more confidence with the winch will try the Sarca.
I use my Sarca on the reef (when the moons collide and get to go out) and as you would know Dignity just motor up till your basically right on top and if she gets stuck just hold your ground and the swell will usually do the trick. One thing i've done is feed wire up through the chain to keep the chain as stiff as I can, and it helps a lot. I reckon most anchors are lost with the chain going loose and wrapping around anything it can find.
Mate you wont have an issue with it. I use mine on reef and retrieve with an anchor retrieval buoy. Easy. A winch would be awesome. As stated just drive straight above it and let it do its thing. They are great anchors.
I lost one off straddie a few years ago, decided to try it out offshore - against my better judgement and went to move and it wouldnt budge. Spent a while trying to get it free but couldnt get it. Could be quite dangerous trying to get it free in deep water with a bit of a swell running i would think. Stick to the reef anchor if im anchoring offshore these days.
Regards,
Lachie
Any anchor can get stuck - I've lost two over the years - both standard reef picks that I suspect either fell into caverns or the chain got wrapped around something.
Thanks guys, heading offshore now although on a charter, it is for a local charity so I won't get to try it today. I'll have look at the wire through the chain idea and yes I've lost 3 anchors over the years, one reef pick, 2 Mooloolaba picks, either the chain has wrapped around a bommie which can happen when driving off at an angle or a change in wind and tides or the heel has dug in. Recently had trouble getting a Mba pick off and when it finally came the zip ties were still intact so it's any body's guess what happened. All the ones I lost had 10 meters of 6 mm chain, I'm thinking too long so am down to 5 meters of 10 mm and it does seem to hold better as well.
I'm heading out tomorrow or Friday again and will get to play with my new stressfree free fall winch and let you know how I went.
I know a bloke who has lost 3 or 4 of them but wont motor up just winches instead
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