www.iFourWinns.com

Ok so I know you are supposed to use 3x the line as the depth of the water you are in so I have two questions. I have 50 feet of anchor line which i know is not enough so I am going to use clips to clip another 50 foot section on since in the delta the depth is like 20 feet but in lakes it is much more. I actually plan on having another 50 foot section so 150 feet all in all. But I am wondering how I can mark the line every 5 or 10 feet with tags so I know how much line i am letting out? This may not be acheivable but I'm wondering what you guys do.

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Four winns 180 horizon

I usually just take a small strip of cloth and put it through the weave of the rope and tie it in a knot. I like to put one about five feet about the chain so (when pulling anchor) you know it is near, and don't inadvertantly drag the chain or anchor against the side of the boat.
Alternatively, I suppose you could accomplish the same with (color coded?) strips of nylon or cable ties. Spray painting the rope every 25 or 50 feet might also work.

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2006 Horizon 190, Volvo 4.3GL, Sunsport
towed by 2007 4Runner 6 Ltd

The recommended minimum scope on anchoring is a 5:1 ratio. So, if the water depth and the distance from the water to the bow is 20 ft, that wouls require 100 ft of rode deployed.

Also, make sure you have at least 6 ft of chain between the anchor and the rode. The chain will lay along the bottom helping greatly with the holding power on the hook. It allows a more parrellel pull on the anchor.

If it's choppy, a 7:1 scope should be the minumum used. I know it sounds like a lot, but even though your boat is small, so id the anchor being used compared to a larger boat.

Don't skimp on a good anchor setup. It can be an important safety advice. A couple of times we got stuck in a storm and ran to a cove for cover and a good anchor and being well set kept us safe through the storm.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Agreed, though I must confess that I don't carry that much rope myself. I generally anchor in about 20 feet of water when I cove out, so I just throw out all 100 feet of rode and tie it off. Haven't had any problems yet, but I also have a pretty large anchor. If storage space issues aren't a concern, you can get away with less rode length if you have a larger anchor. But, it is probably cheaper to buy 200' of decent rope.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

We carry 3 anchors on the 28' Cownline and I carry 2 on my 200ss. All have 100 feet of rope which is normally good for a Texas lake. We mark the last 25 feet with a knot every 5 foot.

wow how am i supposed to store all that rope? I have been tying to the cleat too sometimes instead of the bow eye hook, it that ok?

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Four winns 180 horizon

I have a confession to make... I don't use any more rode than it takes to hit bottom . There. I finally said it. I know, I know - this is maritime heresy, punishable by listening to my daughter's music for 8 straight hours.

I use a small Chene anchor with a nice quality 1/2" West Marine stainless eye-spliced rode. I have a 75' one to handle any of the Kansas or northern Missouri lakes, and a 200' one for Table Rock (which is enough to hit bottom there in *most* places ).

I drop the anchor straight down, pay out until it hits, then pay out another handful and tie it off. This anchor hasn't failed to set or hold yet with this "technique." I have no doubt that the larger the boat, the more important it is to have the right amount of rode, chain, etc., and to set the anchor properly. But I contend that there are many boats on inland lakes where this is overkill.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

im hearing really good things about the box anchor but they looks very very pricey

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Four winns 180 horizon

I use cleats and we have one box anchor in our group and he uses on his stern holds pretty well.

The box anchor looks like it would hold an aircraft carrier, but I've heard mixed reviews on it. I suppose like any anchor, it works better in some bottom conditions than in others.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I'm thinking of eventually doing a rode counter. just not sure where to stick the gauge yet. Others paint the rode with a bright color in whatever increments.

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V475
Chris Craft Catalina 23 w/ 300 G2
Previously-V338, 248 Vista, H210

Where I anchor out for the night it's about 28' depth, 3-5knt current. I have 40+ feet of G4 chain and 150' of 1/2" rode. The excess chain allows you to lower your scope dramatically but unless you have a huge anchor locker that's not practical. I will say though, I se the anchor and slept on the hook my first try and she held all night and she held through numerous barge passings and one 40+ foot cruiser flying by me at 1:00 in the morning..

On the anchoring subject... Does anyone attatch a line to the front hole of the anchor with a anchor marking ball?

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Brett DiMichele

As an avid cuddy boater I have spent many nights on the hook in coves, bays and even semi protected open water. Here is a few tips I have picked up over the years.

-Rode can be marked very simply by tightly wrapping electrical tape around the line at the desired distance, I normally anchor in 20-30 ft of water so I mark every 20 ft (the tape will stay on indefinatly if you wrap tightly)
-If you plan on staying put (and you don't always have to, eg. a quick stop for lunch or a swim would be okay if are not fully set in place) 5 x depth is minimum scope (regardless of bottom type)
-many inexperienced boaters simply throw the anchor overboard, this will not set the anchor, the holding power of virtually all anchor types will be greatly increased if they are properly set into the bottom using the boats engine to "pull it down".
-If your boat is over 20', a 4'-6' chain is essential, if you plan on staying put overnight.

Just my 2 cents, forget the marina party politics...stay on the hook next time out.

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2006 255 Sundowner

Deploying an anchor marking ball is a great tool to indicate to others the extent of your anchor field when conditions call for an extensive rode. In reality the ball serves two purposes, one is to say "see this ball, there is an anchor directly under it and I have line deployed from it back to my boat, do not drop your anchor within that distance around my boat". Unfortunatly, you will only be successful comminicating that message to those few recreational boaters who actually know what an anchor marking ball is all about, others will likely try to pick it up to add to their freebe collection (as has happened to me, he was actually on a PWC).

The other purpose for deploying an anchor marking ball is to allow easy retrieval of the anchor by enabling a direct upward/backward pull. This works very well in waters that are prone to hanging up anchors. I moved away from anchor marking balls and am now using a danforth style anchor with a sliding ring attachment to the anchor shaft. This allows the rode to be slid back against the direction that the anchor was set in. This sliding ring set-up has saved many an anchor for me without all the hassle of managing the additional line and space requirements for the marking ball.

Anchors away!

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2006 255 Sundowner