Small Boat Ownership - Anchors & Anchoring
Regardless of whether you routinely fish at anchor or on the drift, every boat should carry some means of applying the 'hand brake' in case of engine failure so that you stay put until you are rescued. That in itself should be reason enough for carrying a fully rigged anchor. Preventing your boat from drifting into further danger such as out of shelter of land in lumpy conditions, into shipping lanes, onto a reef, or into cliffs are yet more reasons to carry one. And if you already have an anchor for your day to day fishing, then you should carry a fully rigged spare in case you have a really bad trip and loose the anchor just before your outboard packs up. Sounds most unlikely I know, but that's often how it happens. Two anchors also makes very good sense from an angling point of view. You wouldn't want to have to pack up and go home or be prevented from making a move simply because you got your anchor stuck on a good fishing day. Similarly, why pack up and go home because you are having trouble holding with the anchor currently in use when you can switch to the spare if it is either heavier, or of a different pattern. The extra rope might also come in useful on the beach if trailering problems inflict themselves on you.
So what exactly is a fully rigged anchor. At its most basic it's a suitable pattern and weight of anchor for the boat and ground in question attached to at least 4 to 5 metres of heavy duty galvanised chain, with sufficient rope for the job at hand. Enhancements include fitting an Alderney Ring, and rigging the anchor itself to trip in case it goes to ground permanently. Tripping is easily done by connecting the chain to the hole in the bottom of the anchor instead of the top, and with the chain pulled tight along the main spine of the anchor, connecting the nearest link to the hole at the top with a couple of cable ties. These should hold without problems under normal conditions. Its when the anchor becomes stuck and you start pulling the rope and chain at different angles with the boat that the cable ties should break, in theory at least, allowing the anchor to be pulled clear of whatever was holding it backwards. This only leaves getting the rope length right. People often ask how long an anchor rope should be. Under reasonable surface chop and tidal strength conditions, three times the depth being fished is about right. But there will be situations such as unstable substrate, too much tide, and choppy conditions bouncing the boat when you might need four or even five times the depth. If that fails, then you should seriously look at the weight and pattern of your anchor.
Anchors come in all sorts of shapes and patterns, though most are just variations on a small number of standard themes. Size is something you need to talk through with your chandler who will work out what's needed based on information regarding boat size, shape, and the pattern of anchor you are thinking of buying. Most patterns are good most of the time. But to a degree, anchors are a case of horses for courses. Though I have tried a few different patterns, particularly when employed as my standby anchor, in all the years I have been fishing I have almost exclusively stuck with the traditional fisherman pattern. We now carry two. One is a light version for used in the open sea, and the other a heavy duty model with big flukes to cope with the tremendous tide run in the Mersey. What I like about the fisherman pattern is that in my experience it has always coped with whatever type of ground I have dropped it on to. I dare say there will be situations where it could be out competed by other patterns. But by and large, it is a good all round design. Tony Parry who I fish with out of Rhyl aboard Jensen has exactly the same opinion of a grapnel type anchor. This has four claws which individually look similar to the claws on my small fisherman. The difference is that he has two doing the gripping instead of my one. So I can see the logic of that choice.
The grapnels I have used in the past have always been home made using a heavy chunk of bar with a loop welded on one end, and four long lengths of lighter gauge steel at the other. These are then bent out as curves facing the four points of the compass. The idea is that they grab hold of lumps of rock or wreck to give a good hold, then bend out when the boat is under power later. This and the fisherman are the main two designs for grabbing hold. Most of the others employ wide flukes offset at a slight angle to claw their way into soft substrates. Of these, the best known to me at least are the Danforth and the Bruce, both of which are good in mud and sand. I don't have much experience with the Danforth. But I have used a Bruce which as expected was great over mud and sand, but very poor at times over the boulders where the winter cod tend to hold up off Rossall. I've had occasions there when I just couldn't get it to bite. The explanation invariably turned out to be a suitably sized boulder stuck in the claw of the anchor preventing it from getting a grip. One other anchor I have tried is the plough, which unlike the Bruce and Danforth has an arm which can move from side to side, though just what the advantage of that is I haven't yet worked out. One anchor I definitely would not buy is one of those folding things. On the one I tried the locking ring kept working itself free causing the anchor to collapse when we didn't want it to. I wouldn't even carry one as a spare.
It goes without saying that a boat should always be anchored with the rope attached to the bow. But as I've said on many occasions, that doesn't mean walking around the cuddy on the outside risking life and limb, or poking your head through a hatch. Even if water didn't drip from the anchor and rope wetting everything stowed up front, I still wouldn't hatch anchor on safety grounds. Yes, hauling an anchor beam on to the waves isn't the best position to be in on a swelly day. Neither is trying to pull the boat against the wind and tide. However, the people who spread rumours that this is what happens when you side anchor are not playing fair. But to do side anchoring properly requires a lazy line. This is a length of rope attached to the winching eye of the boat cut long enough so that it reaches around the cuddy into the well of the boat with a snap link to clip onto a loop tied in the anchor rope and a float attached to it for ease of retrieval in case you drop it in the water. It can also double up as a payntor when launching the boat. But remember to have enough spare actual anchor rope left in the boat after the lazy line has tightened straight out from the bow. Then when it's time to get the anchor up, the man on the helm motors the boat slowly up tide directed by the person doing the hauling to keep the right line and not overtake the rope. When you get to the point where it's a direct vertical lift, it doesn't matter whether you are at the side or at the front, it's just the same. But you don't need to have any of this if you use an Alderney ring to do all the lifting for you.
There are all sorts of variations on the basic Alderney ring idea out there. Ours is a simple stainless steel ring welded closed. The difference between this and say the Anka Yanka is that ours sits permanently on the anchor rope which has been threaded through it. Another variation between our system and what most other people use is the fact that we don't have a big red over the counter buoy to do the lifting. Instead we have a heavy duty five gallon plastic barrel that has served us well for many years now. This is attached to the ring. When the anchor goes over, as soon as the chain is out of the boat, the buoy goes over as well. From there on its business as usual with the lazy line system. When the right length of rope is out, a loop is tied and the lazy line is clipped on then allowed to take the strain of the anchor off the winching eye. The loose end of the spare anchor rope is wrapped around a stern cleat to prevent the tide from sneaking it out, then we start to fish. When it comes time for a move, the boat is eased up tide and any slack rope is brought in. While you don't have to do this, I like to take a bit of the strain on the anchor rope as Dave motors forward. The lazy line attached to the bow is still doing the pulling. Holding the rope simply allows me to feel the chain go through the ring before the buoy starts ploughing with the anchor dangling beneath it. Had we used a Bruce, a Plough or a Danforth pattern, the shaft too would also have gone through leaving it hanging from the ring. A fisherman pattern can't do that. So you need to keep some tension on the rope and haul in quickly to prevent it slipping back down a bit.
The only thing you need to be aware of when using an Alderney ring is to keep a slight angle in the rope away from the boat when motoring to lift the anchor. This is particularly important as the rope is pretty close to the surface just off the back of the boat and could foul the prop. Holding the rope as I do but still letting the lazy line take the majority of the strain, I can lift the trailing rope up if it does get a bit too close to the engine. That way it has no chance of fouling. But you can run with the lazy line doing all the work. When the grip of the anchor is broken, the buoy usually dips down a bit. Then as the anchor hits the ring, it starts ploughing, pushing a wake ahead of it. If you hatch anchor you can still use an Alderney ring with the rope attached to the bow mooring post. Some even like to motor slowly forward, then using a boat hook, grab the rope from inside the fishing well and attach it to one of the stern cleats. I would strongly recommend against not only this, but any pulling of an anchor from the stern, particularly if stuck. If the anchor stays stuck, it can pull the stern of the boat down, which on a swelly day could lead to taking on water over the back. If you pull from the bow and the anchor stays down, it simply pulls the front of the boat around. The only other anchoring tip I can think of is one for the summer months. Wear a pair of light rubberised gloves. Jelly fish drifting by leave all sorts of mess on the rope which is going to end up on your hands and make them sting and itch.
SEE THE VIDEO VAULT - Dinghy Ownership - Going afloat