Anchor question

[graingrower]

I recently purchased my first boat, a 20 foot fishing pontoon, and would like your opinion as to how heavy and how many anchors will I need to keep from drifting out of position? Should electric anchor winches run power up/down or power up/freefall down?

[waterbound]

I'm not sure how heavy you would need the anchor to be, but you shouldn't need more than one. I have fished out of pontoons where we used a cinder block (probably about 30 pounds) for an anchor with no problems. The key is to have plenty of anchor line, I have heard that you should let out about 3 times as much line as the depth, but that might be wrong. I have never used an anchor winch but I imagine power up/freefall down would be fine.

[jwmiller33]

ya i think a lot of guys on here have said they like to have 150 feet of line in their boat. i personally don't have that much in my boat, but i do carry about 75 feet of line and it has never been a problem for me. it can me a major pain if you are fishing somewhere and want to anchor and don't have enough rope! i recently had this happen in a buddy's boat and it was a first! make sure you always have enough!

one anchor should be sufficient. just get one thats heavy enough. i dont know much about pontoon anchors so someone else will chime in

[Eastwind]

I would recommend a 20" "Navy" style anchor that you can purchase at Fleet Farm. It is not thye weight of the anchor that holds you in current and/or wind but the anchor's ability to dig in. Spend the extra couple of bucks and get a vinyl coated anchor, unless you like rust stains on your carpet. Finally, yes the general rule is to use three times the depth for anchor line, or more in very windy conditions. I would not bother with an electric winch as a 20# anchor is not too difficult to deploy and retrieve.

[TSchultz]

I think the power anchors are more pain than they are worth. They take up a fair amount of room. So unless you've got a bad back or something I'd see how it goes without one.

If you do put one in I'd power up and power down. It will be a mess if the line backlashes on you, no chance of that happening with power both ways.

[LightningBG]

Definitely power up and down. You dont want that thing freewheeling. I don't even think the manufactured ones will allow it to freewheel.

We have one of these on one of our boats (25ft pontoon). Works well. doesn't take up any more space than an anchor sitting on the floor.

We occasionally use 2 anchors on real windy days or if we want to hold a certain angle.

They run $140-200 (not installed)

[Supercrew]

I would recommend a 20" "Navy" style anchor that you can purchase at Fleet Farm. It is not thye weight of the anchor that holds you in current and/or wind but the anchor's ability to dig in. Spend the extra couple of bucks and get a vinyl coated anchor, unless you like rust stains on your carpet. Finally, yes the general rule is to use three times the depth for anchor line, or more in very windy conditions. I would not bother with an electric winch as a 20# anchor is not too difficult to deploy and retrieve.

I agree, it's not the weight of your anchor but the flukes need to dig in to hold in a heavy wind. The length of your line is also important, most people never have enough line out or what I think is most important is adding a length of chain to the anchor. This helps to keep the line from raising and pulling on the anchor. One of the best I have used is a dan forth sea anchor, with the sliding ring that allows you to swing around and use the boat to pull it loose if you really stick it or lodge it in the rocks. Vinyl covered chain and aluminum anchor with 5/8" cotton rope (easy on the hands) 150' and your good to go, and the reason for the longer rope is to keep the angle of the line out further instead of hanging straight down, in a heavy wind like on Mille Lacs it also allows you to swing right or left by tying off on either cleat and fish a bigger area without re-anchoring which is great in shallow water and not spooking the fish. Like anything else, there are many options to fit your needs.

[Legend_89]

Graingrower, I have to agree with whats been posted above about the weight of the anchor is probably not as important as the length of anchor rope. I probably have about 200' and simply tie off where I need it. Super Crew hit the nail on the head. A 4' length of chain between the anchor line and anchor makes a huge difference. I've got a 19' lund and often use 2 anchors, especially on windy days. It really helps when you've got more than 2 people fishing. The boat has the tendency to drift side to side. Dropping an anchor off the stern helps eliminate this problem. Less time reeling in and reajusting means more time fishing. Good luck!

[genegodawa]

Depends on how windy it is....agree with lots of rope, and one that digs in, and probably two are needed.

I hate those power ones-more hassle than benefit for us.

I remember the days of old when a coffee can filled with cement was all we had...glad those days are over.

Rust stains? You gotta have character on any boat so who cares?

[Norm1980]

Super Crew hit the nail on the head. A 4' length of chain between the anchor line and anchor makes a huge difference.

So ive seen people use chain on their anchor ropes, how exactly does this help?? just wondering.. does it help the anchor dig in faster/deeper??

[croixflats]

The weight of the chain creates slack in the line so when the bow of the boat raises from waves the bow does not pull the anchor loose. Some use a bungee type system that essentially does the same thing.

[Norm1980]

I see thanks, Ill have to rig something up this spring.