Anchor issue
 

Anchored off Bear the other day and got my anchor hung up pretty good! Any advice on how to avoid this the next time?Attachment 8120Attachment 8121

Looks like a Danforth...
 

and you bent the fluke.

Next time back off in the opposite direction and dislodge the plow. You could also attach a float attached to the fluke, that if needed gives you a proper manual leverage to dislodge the anchor.

Don't anchor in the rocks. It looks like the anchor was hung up on something, either the rocks or a big log. How did you eventually free it up?

First, get a stronger anchor, that one looks pretty thin. I like a plow anchor, it doesn't have flukes to get hung up as easy.

Second, it's Winnipesaukee, it's rocky, unless you stick to sandbars eventually you will get an anchor stuck. Buy cheap anchors and live with the cost of cutting one free every few years.

Third, there is a technique of connecting your rode to the crown of the anchor and then using a tie-wrap to connect it to the normal spot. If you hang up, a strong pull will break the tie-wrap and allow you to pull the anchor out backwards. I never tried it.

OMG, how on earth did you get that free???

Never seen one bent up so badly,,,

gh

i cannot believe the line did not snap first
WOW

Must say I am impressed with the carnage... The good news is I don't think you had much issue getting the anchor set and holding you in place...

Most of the ideas present here are sound... And I think JRC made the most sense, Don't spend anymore on an Anchor then you have too.. that way when you do have to cut your losses, you will not feel so bad about it......

Last many companies around the lake offer dive services... I am sure you could hire a diver to retrieve the anchor for you... the question is what would the cost be compared to just getting a new anchor... I would think the MP what cut you some slack, if you tied a buoy to it, and notified them that you had a diver on the way to retrieve it...

Diver Services
 

Jon,

You know I will recover it for you!

Being only 2 slips away and all!!! LOL

I have found a few and I changed to a plow this year from the original fluke anchor and have no issues so far!!!

Jim

Shark Bait Diving Adventures

Jim- at least you never will need to buy an anchor! There must be plenty down there.

This thread reminds me of something that I'll bet no one ever thinks about. The OP mentioned he was anchored near Bear Island when he fowled his anchor.

I suspect Bear Island has an underwater electric power cable running to the island from "Somewhere"..?? The Bizer chart doesn't seem to mention any undersea cables which ARE delt with on coastal salt water charts.

Maybe there are signs on shore WARNING: Submerged Power Cable. DO NOT ANCHOR.

I picked up a power cable in Newpoert Harbor many years ago. I verified what it was when I saw the Billboard sized sign on shore.

I had a CQR Plow anchor which can be "Walked" out from under the cable if you know HOW TO do it.

Just "Pay Out".. and "Back Straight Aft" in reverse... on ALL the anchor rode you have in the locker....Gently. Then... turn the boat at 90 degrees to the rode and walk the boat off to the side under power while keeping light tension on the rode. Just keep headway on..ALWAYS with a light tension on the rode..and follow the radias (Arc) until you are Abeam of the anchor. Continue around the Arc until you feel the anchor slide free from under the cable. :) :) It worked for me. NB

PS: You need a PLOW anchor to do this. There used to be a Danforth anchor called a "Sure Ring" which might work using it's sliding shackle in the shank. Probably not so much with a Cable.

EDIT: "Sure Ring"

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...classNum=50322

A plow is on my wish list for the winter. I tried every possible angle to free it up, finally hit reverse at about 2000 rpm to break free! I was sure I was going to part the line or chain, but never did!

I did have the anchor straightened out to get me through the rest of the season. If it gets hung up again, it may be another landmark for Shark Bait to tour!

Cool procedure.
 

UASCG auxiliary boats (facilities) are often equiped with a neet rig just for this situation.

You take up hard on your stuck anchor rhode so that it is "up and down".

The facilitiy will take a line with a large shackle attached to it. The shackle is put around the anchor rhode and allowed to slide down the straight line.

When it bottoms out it should be around the stock of the anchor. While you slowly back out the facility backs in the opposite direction. You stop and he keeps backing out. The shackle will pull the anchor out backwards and free it up. It works.

Misty Blue.

​"Patience achieves more than force"—Edmund Burke
 

Unless you anchor in areas shallow enough to "scope" the situation out, you can't really avoid it.

• I bought a similarly twisted Danforth at a garage sale, figuring with a big vise and big pipe, I could straighten it out. While it did get sorta straight, I was unimpressed by the strength of each part. I wouldn't put it in "serious service" again, except maybe as a backup anchor.

• Even a mushroom anchor can get stuck in a rocky substrate. In one case, I could see through 15 feet of water that my mushroom anchor had simply slid between three large pointed rocks whose tips were touching. With one finger on the rode, I was able to slide it back out visually.

• My next door neighbor had lodged his anchor in a rocky area, and left a float on the line to return later. Finally giving up, he was about to cut his anchor line, when I suggested we take my rowboat and "do circles" with the anchor line stretched taut. It took perhaps 15 minutes, but we got it out—undamaged.

:)

'Course, there are ways not to save an anchor.

:eek:

Borrowed from the hull truth website
 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../Anchor004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../Anchor006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../Anchor008.jpg

Or buy a manufactured one here:
http://www.anchorsaver.com/anchorsav..._it_Works.html
http://www.anchorsaver.com/anchorsav...oppedImage.png

I suspect the anchor saver is more expensive than many anchors it saves.

You always want to be careful trying to free an anchor that is stuck. Back in 2009 a couple of NFL players died in the Gulf of Mexico when they tried to free their anchor by powering up the boat with the rope on the stern and swamped the boat.
Better to cut the line than take a risk.

I thought I remembered an anchor with a ring attached(away from point of entry) and you attach a scondary rope to the ring. When leaving you back up pulling the secondary rope and it backs out the anchor. Granted its more rope but in deeper waters it may be worth it.

Dave M