Anchors in Trees

[OS2Dude]

I have an issue I'm not familiar with. I am used to sailing in bays and the gulf, but I'm now in a man-made lake. I have nearly lost my Danforth anchor several times when it became entangled with a submerged tree. (The bottom otherwise is heavy clay or rock.) There can be some pretty stiff winds and surprisingly heavy seas when staying overnight, so just a straight weight anchor won't do. Is there a better anchor type for this situation? Is there a better way to handle such a tangle than hoping the branch will finally break off and free the anchor? (Sometimes it is too deep for me to want to dive for.)

 

[KD3PC]

more useful will be how the anchor is attached to the chain/rode....many old timers, my self included attach the anchor at the head, guide the chain to the tail, and bind the tail to the chain with cable ties, tie wire or such..in the event of a snag, this bind breaks and allows the chain being pulled to pull directly on the anchor head..

YMMV

 

[Warren Milberg]

You may want to try making up a simple trip line for your anchor. I made one up some years ago that consisted of a piece of 3/8" nylon line (only a few feet longer than the average depth you anchor in) with a spliced-in sister hook at one end and a sealed plastic bottle on the other end. When getting ready to drop the anchor, I clipped one end of the trip line to the stock. The trip line would float directly above the anchor and I could use it to break the anchor free when I needed it. I later added a band of waterproof reflective tape to the bottle so it could be seen at night with a torch. An added benefit to this system was that other boaters could see where your anchor was set and (hopefully) stay a safe distance away from it.

 

[Joe Diver]

Lots of tricks you can use....but....you just have to be prepared to lose an anchor. There's alot of crap on the bottom of lakes. It doesn't happen all the time, but until you get to know your lake really well......

 

[Steve Dion]

I would agree with the trip line, but the Danforth can become wedged and may be nearly impossible to free even with a trip line.

You may want to consider a different style anchor like the Bruce, Manson, Delta etc.

 

[Merlin Clark]

I like using the trip line and another trick we old wreck divers/bottom fishermen would use is to make up a couple grappling hooks out of rebar. The hooks were cheap to make and used to intentionally snag a wreck.
When we were diving, the last diver would free the hook and if not diving, we'd pull the hook loose by backing down (24' workboat) which straightened the snagged hook to be repaired back at the garage and if we lost one or one became too worn they were dirt cheap so we didn't care.

 

[sailaway78]

Kinda reminds me

Couple years ago a friend of mine anchored up in the river above Mandeville, when a storm was coming. Only problem was, the river was loaded with old cypress trees. Needless to say, a short time later, there was no way to retrieve either of the two anchors. Both were eventually just cut loose and left.