Anchor Rope

[GBPackerNut]

What type of rope do you like for the anchor?

Nylon, poly, something else??? My ropes need replacing, and was wondering what the general consensus is.

Some sites say Nylon all the way, while some others seem to lean towards poly rope. I used poly in the past, seems to hold up ok, and is extremely light weight, and doesn't rot.

Thoughts?

[BobT]

What I don't like about nylon is that it is so stiff. Poly ropes stay nice and soft and that makes them easier to store in my opinion.

[opsirc]

think the nylon will hold up a little better, but the poly is lower in price.

[Ralph Wiggum]

What I don't like about nylon is that it is so stiff. Poly ropes stay nice and soft and that makes them easier to store in my opinion.

I like a stiffer rope. They tangle less, in my opinion, which is nice when you've got 150' of anchor rope in the boat.

[Aaron Carrell]

I don't want to deter this off topic by any means, but I have a 16.5' Aluminum deep-v, and I'm planning on buying an anchor and rope this spring. I typically won't ever anchor any deeper than 20-30'. I bass/northern fish primarily, and the anchor will only come out when fishing deep bass or if people are swimming.

Anyways, how long of a rope would you recommend and with what type and size of anchor for that size boat. Biggest lake I hit is Minnetonka and thats where the anchor would come out most I'd bet. I don't have a ton of storage so I was thinking the mushroom head style, but is there a downfall or benefit to any of them in particular? And how do I know what size rope to get with a certain anchor weight?

[Ralph Wiggum]

Don't bother with a mushroom--they're junk. On the cheaper end of the spectrum, a navy or river style anchor would work fine. If you want a better anchor and/or plan on fishing rivers, I would recommend a Water Spike or Richter. Both are good anchors. The Richter is smaller/easier to store but heavier. The Water Spike is a bit more bulky but weighs considerably less.

You could probably get by with 75' of rope, but I would get 100' to be on the safe side. I use 1/2" rope, but 3/8" is probably sufficient in most cases.

[Heartman]

The diameter of your anchor rope isn't that important relative to the breaking strength - the thicker the rope, the easier it is to handle. And, a thick rope makes a good tow rope as well. 1/2" is minimum - I go with a 5/8" heavy-duty braided poly because it's easier on the hands.

And I hunt deer with a 458 Win Mag. OK, that was a funny...better to go too big than too little with anchor ropes.

[BobT]

I don't want to deter this off topic by any means, but I have a 16.5' Aluminum deep-v, and I'm planning on buying an anchor and rope this spring. I typically won't ever anchor any deeper than 20-30'. I bass/northern fish primarily, and the anchor will only come out when fishing deep bass or if people are swimming.

Anyways, how long of a rope would you recommend and with what type and size of anchor for that size boat. Biggest lake I hit is Minnetonka and thats where the anchor would come out most I'd bet. I don't have a ton of storage so I was thinking the mushroom head style, but is there a downfall or benefit to any of them in particular? And how do I know what size rope to get with a certain anchor weight?

As far as rope length it has a lot to do with the conditions. Calm water I've been told roughly 3x the depth and then up from there. With that said, a minimum of 60' should be good for 20' depth but it wouldn't hurt to have up to 100' of rope if it's windy.

[JimBuck]

I just exchanged my 14lb. Richter for an 18lb. on my 16ft. Sylvan Backtroller. I also have about 100ft. of rope on a spool so I can manage all that rope a little easier. The Richter's are pricey but it is simply the best anchor I've used.....make sure you throw 3+ feet of chain on the end and properly set and release the anchor and you will never have any problems. I've heard good things about the water spike anchors as well. Good luck.

[Aaron Carrell]

Well, strictly due to space restrictions in my boat, I think I'm going to go with the River style and probably middle to heavy weight. I'll grab 100' rope I suppose. I do really like the braided, so we'll see. I just want to keep the space consumption minimal. THanks for the info guys. Glad someone steered me away from the mushroom style cause I really didn't know.

[Ralph Wiggum]

For your use, a river anchor will do fine. We've got a 20lber on a 20' pontoon for swimming and such and is holds it just fine most of the time.

[harvey lee]

I use a 150' of rope on each anchor and also use 3' of chain. I can anchor just about anywhere with the richter anchors with this set up.

[Sandmannd]

The rope is important, but use the 3' of chain between the anchor and the rope, makes a big difference.

[Ed Carlson]

Double braid 3/8 nylon solid core, easy on the hands, holds well in a gripper cleat or in a conventional cleat, spools well on power retrieval anchor systems.