Power anchor Oday 23

[GeorgiaBII]

I'm working on setting up my boat for single handed sailing and one thing I'd like to add this winter is a power winch for an anchor.

The lake I sail on is mainly mud bottomed so a basic danford anchor has served me well to date.

Does anybody have a setup that works well? Or suggestions?

 

[Joe11688]

I'm working on setting up my boat for single handed sailing and one thing I'd like to add this winter is a power winch for an anchor.

The lake I sail on is mainly mud bottomed so a basic danford anchor has served me well to date.

Does anybody have a setup that works well? Or suggestions?

You could probably get away with a bow anchor roller and a Fortress FX-11 Aluminum anchor, Bill. Mud is always a problem when pulling the anchor up especially on a windy day when the force of the wind on the boat has been causing that anchor to sink into the mud deeper by the hour. All I do is pull the slack out of the rode to where the rope is vertical, and them cleat it off and wait for the anchor to raise itself. It usually takes three to five minutes. The anchor roller is great because I can use it get the mud off the flukes by raising the anchor and dropping it in rapid movements. It takes a little while for the mud to clear off the flukes.

Also, I've found that having a cut down milk crate on my bow to contain the anchor line works great for dropping the line into and letting it pay out with no knots and kinks when I drop the anchor.
I spliced two rope handles on the crate and I'm able to pick it up and walk back to the cockpit with it. I've had a few occasions when I had to pick up my anchor from the cockpit while holding my boat in place with the outboard. I use two snatch blocks at the bases of my lifeline stanchions to guide the anchor line to the bow roller. There have been times when I couldn't be at the bow pulling up the anchor and at my outboard to prevent the boat from drifting into rocks or shallow water and this works for me.
I always try to conserve my battery power for my autopilot and my VHS radio. I seldom sail at night anymore and when I need lights, I use triple A battery powered LED lights in the cabin.
I have a chain swivel on my anchor line and all my connector are streamlined to run through the bow roller without hanging up. A good light weight anchor and the roller would do you fine Bill.

 

[GeorgiaBII]

Thank you Trinkka, That bow roller is what I was looking for. I may go with power in addition but only because I'm not worried about my batteries. I've more power than I can use right now and I only really day sail her.

 

[Joe11688]

Thank you Trinkka, That bow roller is what I was looking for. I may go with power in addition but only because I'm not worried about my batteries. I've more power than I can use right now and I only really day sail her.

Power is OK. It will save your back from going out and that's for sure. I've had my back go out a couple of times just by standing on the bow trying to hold the strain of the anchor sunk into the mud. Now I just get the line as vertical as I can and just cleat it off until the anchor comes up. The Aluminum anchor is pretty light to handle once the mud is washed off the flukes.
The anchor roller that I'm using is a Bruce anchor roller and it works great. There's no bale on it and I prefer that it doesn't have one because a lot of times when I'm pulling the anchor up the boat floats ahead past the anchor and the angle of the line gets too acute and it becomes hard to pull. I'm usually able to solve that problem by pulling the line up against the bow pulpit rail until the boat gets straight with the anchor. Then I just put the line back on the roller again and finish hoisting the anchor. So what I'm saying is that the anchor roller can be a pain at times in that respect only. Outside of that, you can't beat it.
I do a lot of overnight trips on my boat so I'm always concerned about electric usage but if power consumption isn't a problem for you, I'd say go ahead an buy an electric anchor roller.
Once my anchor is up, my main concern is making sure that all the mud is off the flukes before I have to anchor again. I suppose that there are ways of getting around that problem without having to dunk the anchor back and forth in the water to shake the mud off it though.
With that said though, I really enjoy anchoring and if I have my choice of using someone's mooring for the night or anchoring, I'll always choose to anchor.