Author Topic: Anchor Knot? (Read 22424 times)

WalkersKiller · « **on:** July 04, 2011, 02:28:27 PM »

Hi guys sorry to ask what seems to be a silly question, did a search but i couldnt find anything...

So I have an 8 foot inflatable and I bought a 2.5 kilogram anchor on the weekend, my first question is...

What knot do I use to tie the anchor onto the rope and then the rope onto the boat?

In your opinion will a 2.5 kg anchor be able to hold in the current of estuaries and rivers?

Any input would be awesome

Homie · « **Reply #1 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:31:41 PM »

A double bimini cats left foot figure 9 Knot.

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #2 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:32:56 PM »

Quote from: Homie on July 04, 2011, 02:31:41 PM

A double bimini cats left foot figure 9 Knot.

Homie · « **Reply #3 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:44:55 PM »

Im no boater, but I would think a double Granny Knot with 2 half hitches should be sufficient ?

Fritz · « **Reply #4 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:49:49 PM »

The 2.5 should good. I would add a short bit of chain with a shackle to the anchor. Use a bimini to the chain and a nother bimini to your bout. It is very easy to get undone.

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #5 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:49:53 PM »

Thanks Homes that sounds a tiny bit easier than that knot you made up earlier

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #6 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:51:04 PM »

Quote from: Fritz on July 04, 2011, 02:49:49 PM

The 2.5 should good. I would add a short bit of chain with a shackle to the anchor. Use a bimini to the chain and a nother bimini to your bout. It is very easy to get undone.

Thanks Fritz will give that a go! I dont have a chain at the moment so will tying it straight to the anchor be a problem? The areas Im fishing are 90% sandy bottom...

Fritz · « **Reply #7 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:55:54 PM »

Do yourself a vafour and get the chain it will help when you dont want to let to much line out. Even just 1,5 m or so.

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #8 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:58:18 PM »

Cool thanks Fritz

CLS · « **Reply #9 on:** July 04, 2011, 03:00:57 PM »

A short piece of chain is a must as it holds the anchor down, a fig 8 is perfect. Good luck.

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #10 on:** July 04, 2011, 03:04:50 PM »

Quote from: CLS on July 04, 2011, 03:00:57 PM

A short piece of chain is a must as it holds the anchor down, a fig 8 is perfect. Good luck.

Thanks CLS, I will have to get one!

nico · « **Reply #11 on:** July 04, 2011, 03:39:03 PM »

Ja, is CLS said, you have to have a piece of chain or it won't position, thus won't work. I also simply use a figure 8 to the chain and boat.

What type of anchor did you buy?

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #12 on:** July 04, 2011, 03:43:46 PM »

Quote from: nico on July 04, 2011, 03:39:03 PM

Ja, is CLS said, you have to have a piece of chain or it won't position, thus won't work. I also simply use a figure 8 to the chain and boat.

What type of anchor did you buy?

Thanks a lot Nico... I bought a 2.5kg Rock Anchor from Boating International they think it will hold the boat but I just dont have a chain... What do you think about it? Fully blown up my boat weighs about 5 or more kgs and its weight capacity is 300kgs...

nico · « **Reply #13 on:** July 04, 2011, 04:03:48 PM »

Quote from: WalkersKiller on July 04, 2011, 03:43:46 PM

Thanks a lot Nico... I bought a 2.5kg Rock Anchor from Boating International they think it will hold the boat but I just dont have a chain... What do you think about it? Fully blown up my boat weighs about 5 or more kgs and its weight capacity is 300kgs...

Hi WK,

I am not sure what a rock anchor is, but I am assuming that it is some type of grapnel anchor, either a fixed one or one of the patent ones with the folding flukes? I am pretty sure a 2.5kg anchor will be fine - PROVIDED that you add some chain. The very act of your anchor line tightening on the anchor will unset it, especially on sandy bottoms as you seem to indicate in your previous post.

Bets for sand will always be some kind of plough, like a danforth or bruce, but they are crappy on rock and reef so the folding fluke grapnels are a reasonable compromise, and with lots of chain work well.

Since you will mostly be in shallow water, and light boat, hopefully not too much current - I reckon two meters of medium chain will be plenty. Just let out more rope if it doesn't sit.

And remember your weak link!

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #14 on:** July 04, 2011, 04:12:40 PM »

Thanks for your input Nico +cred ... Its a folding anchor... Sorry to sound like I know nothing but I really do when it comes to technicalities of boating and specifics... The rivers I will be fishing are on average 2.5 meters deep with certain spots going to 5-6 meters and there are barely any rocks in the 2 rivers...

What kind of chain should I get and where do I get one and how do I attach it?

When you say weak link what do mean? Sorry about all the questions

nico · « **Reply #15 on:** July 04, 2011, 05:37:38 PM »

OK, I hope the other boaters also chime in here. In water that shallow, you are going to get away with very little. I don't know what safety requirements are for freshwater boating, so not sure how much anchor rope you need to carry (if any) but the general rule is that an anchor will work optimally when the total anchor rode lenght is 7:1 compared to the water depth. You can see that this will be impossible for us small boaters if you need to let out 350m of line to anchor in 50m of water!

The anchor chain makes this rode much shorter, and the more chain you have, the shorter you can keep your total rope.

The chain connects to the "front" eye of your anchor with a shackle, and on the other end of the chain you tie your rope. As for the "weak link", now that you have shackled the chain to the front eye, you will now notice that your anchor is hanging the wrong way round off the chain. You now run the chain up the shaft of the anchor, and connect a link of the chain to the top eye of the shank with something like a small cable tie or nylon (on a bigger boat you'll need stronger stuff). When your anchor gets stuck, you simply pull till this weak link breaks, then suddenly you will be pulling from the front of the anchor and it will dislodge. Does this make sense?

I reckon you could on your little outfit and 2.5kg of anchor get away with very little or no chain, so I would suggest 1.5m to 2m of 4mm chain - but hope someone with a small boat can also comment.

Also remember that the chain has much better abrasion resistance than rope - especially when on reef or rocky areas.

travelmember · « **Reply #16 on:** July 04, 2011, 05:58:12 PM »

nico has pretty much covered it. You will need 1.5 metres of galvanised chain - each link should be about the size of a small egg. Attach one end of the chain to the bottom end of the anchor (there should be a ring there) - this is the end that sits on / dig in the bottom. Attach the chain by using a D shackle. Stay away from s/s shackles as they can loosen over time. Also get a shackle that has a hole in the key end of the screw - makes it easier to tighten / loosen. Then run the chain up the anchor stanchion (the main upright bit) and attach it to the top end of the anchor with some cable ties (strong enough to hold in a current, but weak enough that you can break with a bit of adrenalin behind you). Now you will have 1.2 metres of chain from the end of the anchor to your rope - called rode. Attach the rode to the chain by using an eye splice. Yes, you can use many ways, but that is the correct method. Shrink wrap the whole splice section (or use insulating tape). I would suggest using 50m of rode. Store it all in a plastic box and to the other end, tie a 4kg chlorine container or something similar filled with foam. If you hook a big fish and have to follow it, then instead of pulling up anchor, you can just dump the whole lot and come back and pick it up later. Before using, paint the anchor with Hammerite or similar - it will keep things cleaner.

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #17 on:** July 04, 2011, 06:14:31 PM »

Wow guys thank you so much for your valuable input this makes alot of sense i am in the clear now will organise a small bit of chain for the anchor and then keep a lot more rope in the boat in case a big fish pics me up, really appreciate it guys

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #18 on:** July 05, 2011, 10:21:32 AM »

Guys just thought about it now and I probably will not have any time to get to a boat or hardware store before I go down to PE and I am there for a limited amount of time so heres my question...

Would I be able to tie the rope directly to the anchor for a couple of days before I get to a hardware store? Would this work and what could go wrong?

Fritz · « **Reply #19 on:** July 05, 2011, 10:59:13 AM »

depending on how deep you trieng to anchor it might just not work that well.