The Aldernay ring has been on the boating scene for some time, and is much used by dinghy anglers. Essentially, it comprises of a suitably sized buoy connected to a metal ring through which the anchor rope is threaded. Instead of having to hand haul the anchor, the boat is motored up tide taking care not to foul the rope with the outboard. The buoyancy of the buoy then lifts the anchor to the top. Then all you do is drift back down tide taking in the rope. It sounds very easy and straightforward and it should be. Yet people still have problems, which with a little thought are very easily overcome.

PHOTO 1 (Rope connected to stern cleat): A lot of Aldernay ring users pull their anchor rope from a stern cleat at one corner of the boat. On the plus side, this automatically keeps the rope well clear of the outboard. However, on the minus side, connecting to the back of the boat can be dangerous, particularly if the anchor becomes stuck. When the rope tightens and is unable to move, the back end of the boat begins to dig deep in the water. It would only take the slightest swell to risk swamping the boat.

PHOTO 2 (Loop in anchor rope with clip connected): Even if you prefer to anchor your boat from the front via a hatch, it is good policy to connect a length of rope from the winching eye around the cuddy side into the fishing well with a stainless steel quick release clip on the end. This will come in handy as a paynter to hold when launching the boat and can be wrapped around the trailer winching post for as extra security when travelling on the road. The value of this when using an Aldernay ring is that if you tie a loop in the anchor rope and connect the clip you can pull the rope from the front. Then, if the anchor becomes fast, it merely pulls the front of the boat around.

PHOTO 3 (Holding loop clear of water): You could of course simply motor forward with the rope tied off at the bow. The problem there is getting hold of the rope afterwards unless there are two people on board and one waits at the hatch. Making a lazy line connection lets you stand in the fishing well and hold the trailing rope up high to avoid fouling the prop. You can even steer yourself when fishing alone, or direct the person on the wheel to keep the rope angled away from the boat. Holding the rope also allows you to feel the chain rattling though the ring when the anchor reaches the surface.

PHOTO 4 (Hauling rope with buoy in shot): As soon as the anchor chain rattles through the ring, or when the buoy starts pushing a wake in front of it indicating that the anchor is up, cut the engine and allow the boat to drift back on the buoy. The rope needs to be kept tight at all times during hauling it back into the boat when using a fisherman anchor or it will start to drop back to the bottom. A plough type anchor will pull through the ring and simply hang there under the buoy.

PHOTO 5 (Buoy connected to ring): Buying a buoy to use with an Aldernay ring can be expensive. However, you don't have to use an over the counter version. A plastic 5-gallon tub with a strong handle will provide sufficient buoyancy for the job. I have been using the same plastic drum now for around 4 years.

PHOTO 6 (Disc on rope ahead of buoy):Under certain wind and tide conditions, the buoy can blown or get washed along the rope to the front of the boat where it starts slamming and banging into the hull in the swell. As if this were not irritating enough, if you are using a lazy line and the ring passes over the loop, the two ropes can become tangled to the point where you are unable to motor forward to get the anchor in. Hanging out of a hatch over the bow on a swelly day trying to un-tangle the mess is neither safe nor funny. A stopper on the main anchor rope will prevent both tangling and slamming. I drilled a hole through a glass fibre cut out from the rear live bait well of my Warrior 165. If you use a lazy line, put the disc on the rope ahead of the loop. If you tie off directly to the bow without a lazy line, then a stop knot will be needed several feet away from the boat behind the disc.