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Post by footy3 on Oct 23, 2023 12:56:22 GMT -5
For all of my life my boating was done basically in/around NJ where the bottom is always either sand or mud. Last few years I have been bringing my boat down to Key largo for the winter and the bottom is very different here, lots of places where anchors can get snagged and become irretrievable, potentially requiring cutting the rode and saying goodbye.
I was shown by a neighbor down here how to avoid this by moving the chain connection point up to the front of the shank, by the plow, and securing the chain to the end of the shank using a couple heavy duty cable ties. The theory being, if the anchor becomes stuck, the cable ties will break and the attachment point becomes close to the front of the anchor, allowing the anchor to pivot and become free.
This doesn't work great when retrieving because the shank of the anchor doesn't flow properly into the the anchor pulpit properly requiring me to lean over the bow, align the shank and have my wife hit the retrieve switch without getting a finger jammed up anywhere.
I saw somewhere, on my phone or the internet, a quite ingenious device that eliminates the problem. It is almost like an additional shank, slightly longer than the actual anchor shank that attaches to both attachment points on the anchor, above the anchor shank, creating a sort of "loop" above the shank that allows the shackle to slide up towards the forward attachment point allowing the anchor to release, but then when retrieving, it allows the shackle to slide back to the end of the shank, allowing smooth retrieval through the pulpit.
For the life of me I cannot find it anywhere on the internet. If anyone knows what I'm talking about and can point me in the right direction, there is a cold beer in it for them! If I imagined this thing and it doesn't exist, I'm looking for a partner!
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Post by lainiej on Oct 23, 2023 14:24:05 GMT -5
I have never seen a device that attaches to the anchor that does what you are saying buy there are slide anchors that are designed for just those situations. I fish on a few reefs in my area and use an anchor ball to retrieve my anchor, that has gotten my anchor out a few times when it was stuck pretty good.
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Post by footy3 on Oct 23, 2023 15:03:53 GMT -5
I have never seen a device that attaches to the anchor that does what you are saying buy there are slide anchors that are designed for just those situations. I fish on a few reefs in my area and use an anchor ball to retrieve my anchor, that has gotten my anchor out a few times when it was stuck pretty good. Thanks for the pointer, I found "slip-ring" anchors which do exactly what the adapter thing I was talking about does, carrying on my search, but worst case maybe i just buy one of these slip ring anchors for use down here
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Post by reelkul on Oct 23, 2023 15:11:06 GMT -5
Its called Anchor911, and you can buy it from anchor911.com, but I do not recommended it.
I have used the cable ties method to release my anchor for many years. I have used it around the Florida Keys, from Miami to Fort Jefferson, and on the Gulf side. The only thing that I have varied is the number of cable ties that I use. On a flat day, I typically use three 50lb cable ties. If its wavy, up to 3ft waves, I have to use eight cable ties. I also use an anchor ball to pull the anchor up to the surface during retrieval.
It has always bothered me that the cable ties remain in the water, which can hurt wildlife. That's what excited me when I saw anchor911. I bought one and used it a couple of times, but I removed it from the anchor. What I found is that you have to be perfectly aligned with the shank of the anchor in order for the device to slide back. If you drive the boat at a different angle from a straight line of the anchor shank, the device does not slide back. Its sometimes nearly impossible to see the exact direction of the anchor shank, especially if you are in 50+ feet of water. Thus, I am back to cable ties and anchor911 is collecting dust in my garage.
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jerryk
Captain
When not online I'm likely on Knot Online
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Post by jerryk on Oct 23, 2023 15:30:29 GMT -5
Hey footy3 I bet if you ask reelkul nicely he'd give you a deal on that thing...;-) I too use the tie wraps but admit that I'm a bit of a newbie to doing so. I have never used 8 cable ties together but I think I have three on right now since the last time I tried two it wasn't enough to hold me as I was lifting the anchor and they snapped...they did hold the boat while I was intending to be anchored however.
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Post by abouttime2fish on Oct 24, 2023 6:12:17 GMT -5
If the cable ties bother you, you can switch to an old coat hanger. Straighten wire, attach one end as permanent as you can twist it to the chain. Tag end can now be used to wrap chain and anchor together just as you did the cable ties. Adjust number of wraps as appropriate.
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Post by footy3 on Oct 24, 2023 7:32:39 GMT -5
Its called Anchor911, and you can buy it from anchor911.com, but I do not recommended it. I have used the cable ties method to release my anchor for many years. I have used it around the Florida Keys, from Miami to Fort Jefferson, and on the Gulf side. The only thing that I have varied is the number of cable ties that I use. On a flat day, I typically use three 50lb cable ties. If its wavy, up to 3ft waves, I have to use eight cable ties. I also use an anchor ball to pull the anchor up to the surface during retrieval. It has always bothered me that the cable ties remain in the water, which can hurt wildlife. That's what excited me when I saw anchor911. I bought one and used it a couple of times, but I removed it from the anchor. What I found is that you have to be perfectly aligned with the shank of the anchor in order for the device to slide back. If you drive the boat at a different angle from a straight line of the anchor shank, the device does not slide back. Its sometimes nearly impossible to see the exact direction of the anchor shank, especially if you are in 50+ feet of water. Thus, I am back to cable ties and anchor911 is collecting dust in my garage. This is not the thing I was thinking of. What I am talking about basically transforms a regular shank anchor into a slip shank anchor. those of you who have used cable ties or the coat hanger, how do you keep the shank from fouling when pulling it into your anchor pulpit? that's the real problem I have, by attaching the chain to the shank with cable ties, the shank is slightly below the chain and doesn't pull in right.
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jerryk
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When not online I'm likely on Knot Online
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Post by jerryk on Oct 24, 2023 7:49:51 GMT -5
Mine doesn't seem to have much of a problem coming in as long as its facing the correct way. Sometimes you have to go back down a bit and allow the anchor to spin around to the right orientation, but once that is done it comes right home where it is supposed to be.
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Post by footy3 on Oct 24, 2023 13:31:21 GMT -5
The thing I thought I saw achieves what this anchor is designed to do in the first place. It bolts onto the anchor to create that sliding rail. I might be better off just getting one like this.... rocna.com/products/rocna-fisherman/
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Post by baksie999 on Nov 1, 2023 12:36:53 GMT -5
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Post by footy3 on Feb 18, 2024 18:32:48 GMT -5
So, take a guess why I'm reviving this old thread....... Anchor got stuck in the reef yesterday, tried for about 45 minutes to free it and finally had to cut the rode. Not a happy day. I think I'm going to replace it with this: mansonanchors.com/us/product/manson-supreme-anchor/with shipping it's about $75 more than a comparable delta/lewmar anchor, but it should never get stuck.
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jerryk
Captain
When not online I'm likely on Knot Online
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Post by jerryk on Feb 18, 2024 19:21:19 GMT -5
Man that stinks! Was it connected with any sort of breakaway or just the standard end of shank connection? Getting my anchor stuck is one of my worst nightmares.
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Post by footy3 on Feb 19, 2024 13:55:09 GMT -5
I had been using cable ties on the chain at the end of the shank with the main connection being at the attachment point at the front of the shank, but the cable ties kept breaking, even is soft bottom, which then made problems with the retrieval, so I switched back. Costly choice....
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Post by reelkul on Feb 20, 2024 13:39:44 GMT -5
How many cable ties have you tried? I keep adding until I get a hold of the bottom.
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Post by footy3 on Feb 20, 2024 14:10:00 GMT -5
How many cable ties have you tried? I keep adding until I get a hold of the bottom. I had tried up to 5, when they broke the anchor would come up with the shank swinging wildly around, so I'd have to lean over the bow, grab the shank, and guide it into the pulpit while someone else hit the retrieval button, was def. an accident waiting to happen, either a gelcoat scratch, finger crushed in the pulpit or something getting mangled in the gypsy. In retrospect I should have just gotten a piece of coat hanger wire or something else. I love to learn, but sometimes I hate being taught......
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