joechiro30":1t8ge1kq said:
We use a windlass currently and this anchor does not seem to work in the straits of juan de fuca with a medium current flow. I want to anchor at 120feet to about 300 feet.
If I anchor at 150 or less I could use the windlass but with a heavier anchor. what anchor in your opinion would work?
for 150 plus feet I want to use the buoy system that they use on the columbia river...EZ anchor pulley system? How many feet of rope and chain with what anchor do you guys reccommend?
Halbut like the gravel, shell type of bottom and I'd like to be able to anchor with saftey at those depths
Thanks for the help as always there is alot of knowledge here
Joe
Tomcatt 255 2006 Suzuki 150's
The typical setup used by those who do it a lot is -
1/2" line that is at least 2x the depth you wish to anchor in (600' for a 300' depth).
35' of chain - that chain is typically connected with a shackle to the bend in the anchor shaft and then zip tied with 1 or more heavy duty zip ties to the top of the anchor shaft. Typically one uses a somewhat larger than normal anchor.
1 large scotsman buoy (A4 or A5) with a 4-6" ring attached on a couple yards of 1/2" line. The anchor line passes through this ring and has another similar sized ring on it (so it cannot pass back through the short line on the scotsman.
To the terminal ring on the anchor line, another 50' of 1/2 line is connected. On that line several bullet floats are spaced evenly to keep that line afloat on the surface. This line keeps the boat about 50' away from the buoy.
At the boat end of that 50' of line is attached a strong carabiner or similar quick release.
That carabiner is attached to a line that runs bow to stern on an aluminum boat or is attached to point near the bow. The goal is to have a way for the line to be easily transferred from an attachment point near the bow to a point near the stern when one goes to pull the anchor. Also, one wants a way to quickly release the boat from the anchor if problems occur. On an aluminum boat one isn't too concerned with scratches and dings and the carabiner can slide along the rope from bow to stern. This system allows for the anchoring pressure to be applied to the bow and it allows one to quickly release by untying one end of the line from the cockpit.
On a fiberglass boat like the Tomcat, I'd not want a carabiner sliding along the side of the boat.
On a Tomcat, I'd probably run a 50' line from the scotchman to the bow and have that line terminate with a loop on it at the boat end. I'd connect that loop to a quick release shackle on a short line from the bow cleat and I'd run the control line for the shackle to the cockpit or to the window near the helm. I'd use a quick release shackle such as this
Wilchard model.
In sum the key features are
1) 35' of chain
2) A heavier anchor than one might normally use due to the reduced scope.
3) A large scotchman with a few feet of line and a ring on it.
4) A 50' line with floats on it to keep the boat away from the buoy.
5) At least 2x the depth in line and
6) A quick release system to allow one to get off anchor in a hurry if needed (especially if a freighter is on it's way towards you).
The tricky (and potentially dangerous) part is pulling the anchor. To do this, the line needs to be transferred from the bow to the stern (another reason for floating line - to keep it away from the prop). Then you need to SLOWLY motor in a bit of a 1/2 circle up current to get on the upcurrent side of the buoy and to slowly pull the line and chain up through the ring attached to the buoy. If the anchor hangs up and you have too much power, you can pull the stern under so care and a person manning a quick release (or with a knife to cut a line) is essential.
This can be done safely but EXTREME care is necessary. It's not that uncommon for an accident to be caused on a current change if the line between the buoy and the boat or the anchor line gets caught on the prop. The floats to keep the line on top of the water help reduce this possibility but vigilance and attention to detail are necessary to prevent potential disaster. I've only anchored in much shallower water for hali and do most of my hali fishing while drifting. This is far from ideal for the fishing but far safer. If you do plan to anchor deep, I'd suggest you go out with a guide to see how it is done. The guides in BC do this a lot since their hali season is longer than ours. The guide with the screen name "Wolf" on the sportfishingbc forum is more knowledgeable than most. See this
thread on that side for more info on anchoring.