Anchors and Inflatable Dinghys

[Broken-Sailor]

Ok a few weeks ago I took my Mom and my Great Niece fishing in a rented Jon boat, I borrowed one of my Dads homemade anchors to use when we were out on the water. This anchor weighs about 75# not counting the chain. Long story short it got stuck in the gumbo type mud bottom and since outboard are not allowed on the lake I thought I was going to have to buy Dad a new anchor. Wrapping the line around the paddle and using all of my arms and leg strength with my legs pushing against the bow of the boat I finally broke it loose from the bottom and pulled it back aboard the boat.

This got me thinking. I am fixing to order an inflatable dinghy and put a trolling motor on it for now and get an outboard for it for later when I get a sailboat. My question is how you you guys and gals mount an anchoring system to the front of an inflatable boat without damaging the boat or leaving it inflated all the time?

Once on the sailboat I'll leave it inflated and can make a more permanent solution but for now I have to be able to inflate and deflate the boat to store it in the apartment.

[HopCar]

Your dinghy anchor and rode should fit in a five gallon bucket that you can easily remove from the dinghy.

Did you really put a 75 pound anchor on a Jon Boat?

[Broken-Sailor]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Your dinghy anchor and rode should fit in a five gallon bucket that you can easily remove from the dinghy.

Did you really put a 75 pound anchor on a Jon Boat?

Sorry to say but yes, but only because that was the only one he had that was not attached to a boat at the time. He made the anchor for the pontoon boat to use on the Mississippi river. The anchor I will be using while in the dinghy at the lake will weigh out about 8# plus the chain and line if I am figuring the weight correctly. I'll get a real anchor later on but for now a homemade one will do what I want it to do. Just a note the average depth of these four lakes is 20-25 feet deep. That is allot of line and chain to pull in by hand on an inflatable dinghy. The Dinghy I am looking at is 12 foot long and 6 feet wide.

[Broken-Sailor]

What about cutting a piece of marine plywood in a T shape that will fit not only across the dinghy but onto to bow that you can strap down to the dinghy? Then get a winch like used on a trailer and mount it and a roller to the T and use it to raise and lower the anchor? That way even a smaller person like my Mom or sister can raise slower the anchor without me going back and forth from one end to the other on the boat. It will make it portable too.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by Broken-Sailor

Ok a few weeks ago I took my Mom and my Great Niece fishing in a rented Jon boat, I borrowed one of my Dads homemade anchors to use when we were out on the water. This anchor weighs about 75# not counting the chain. Long story short it got stuck in the gumbo type mud bottom and since outboard are not allowed on the lake I thought I was going to have to buy Dad a new anchor. Wrapping the line around the paddle and using all of my arms and leg strength with my legs pushing against the bow of the boat I finally broke it loose from the bottom and pulled it back aboard the boat.

This got me thinking. I am fixing to order an inflatable dinghy and put a trolling motor on it for now and get an outboard for it for later when I get a sailboat. My question is how you you guys and gals mount an anchoring system to the front of an inflatable boat without damaging the boat or leaving it inflated all the time?

Once on the sailboat I'll leave it inflated and can make a more permanent solution but for now I have to be able to inflate and deflate the boat to store it in the apartment.

FWIW I dont have an anchoring system on either my hard dinghy or my inflatable. They are beached or tied up to the yacht or a jetty etc. I havent had the need to anchor my tender.

That said, I know many people like to fish/dive from tenders. So, unless that is what your planning, you may not need an anchor for your tender.

[Jim Cate]

Broken, I think you are way overthinking this problem. First, for attended anchoring in an inflatable, most of us use very small anchors. Ours is a 2 kg Danforth type el-cheapo, and we have around 8 metres of light chain connected to it and then some 20 metres of 6 mm dacron braid. It is a trivial job to hoist by hand with no roller or winch or anything else: just pull it up.

For temporary anchoring in a lake whilst fishing, you don't need serious ground tackle, you don't need to set the anchor deeply, you don't need more than 2 or 3 to one scope. If you drag, so what? You are right there watching, and can re-set the anchor with no worries. As HopCar says, get a bucket to hold the gear when not in use, drop the anchor over the side, pay out some rode and fish away. When you want to leave, just had over hand it up. The little Danforth won't be a problem to break loose, even in gumbo mud. May have to drag it along a whille to wash it clean, though!

Happy fishing...

Jim

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Your dinghy anchor and rode should fit in a five gallon bucket that you can easily remove from the dinghy.

Did you really put a 75 pound anchor on a Jon Boat?

YUP!!!L. We used a 74 pound CQR as primary on our 58 ft 35 ton sail boat for several years.

[Broken-Sailor]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Broken, I think you are way overthinking this problem. First, for attended anchoring in an inflatable, most of us use very small anchors. Ours is a 2 kg Danforth type el-cheapo, and we have around 8 metres of light chain connected to it and then some 20 metres of 6 mm dacron braid. It is a trivial job to hoist by hand with no roller or winch or anything else: just pull it up.

For temporary anchoring in a lake whilst fishing, you don't need serious ground tackle, you don't need to set the anchor deeply, you don't need more than 2 or 3 to one scope. If you drag, so what? You are right there watching, and can re-set the anchor with no worries. As HopCar says, get a bucket to hold the gear when not in use, drop the anchor over the side, pay out some rode and fish away. When you want to leave, just had over hand it up. The little Danforth won't be a problem to break loose, even in gumbo mud. May have to drag it along a whille to wash it clean, though!

Happy fishing...

Jim

Thanks Jim, right now I have 100 feet of hollow braid, 5 feet of 5/16 galvanized lead core anchor chain, and 25 feet of heavy duty 1/2 coil chain if needed which I don't think I'll need the coil chain. The way we make our homemade anchors they act like mushroom anchors. We take an old plow disc with the curved side up and weld a piece of pipe to the center of the disc. We weld up the hole in the disc too. We get an eye bolt and weld the eye of the bolt so it will not pull apart. We place a large washer and a nut on the end of the bolt and put a Dowell pin in the eye of the bolt and sit it on top of the pipe so that the eye of the bolt will not fall in to the concrete that we pore into the pipe. The disc that I will be using is a small disc that has been cut down to a 8" disc and the pipe is a 4" x 6" pipe so when filled the concrete will weigh about 5# the rest weighs about 3#.

For a scope of 3 to 1 in 25' of water I will need to let out about 75' of line, chain and anchor right?

[Broken-Sailor]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

FWIW I dont have an anchoring system on either my hard dinghy or my inflatable. They are beached or tied up to the yacht or a jetty etc. I havent had the need to anchor my tender.

That said, I know many people like to fish/dive from tenders. So, unless that is what your planning, you may not need an anchor for your tender.

Yes I'll be fishing from it for a long time till I save enough for the sailboat.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Broken-Sailor

Thanks Jim, right now I have 100 feet of hollow braid, 5 feet of 5/16 galvanized lead core anchor chain, and 25 feet of heavy duty 1/2 coil chain if needed which I don't think I'll need the coil chain. The way we make our homemade anchors they act like mushroom anchors. We take an old plow disc with the curved side up and weld a piece of pipe to the center of the disc. We weld up the hole in the disc too. We get an eye bolt and weld the eye of the bolt so it will not pull apart. We place a large washer and a nut on the end of the bolt and put a Dowell pin in the eye of the bolt and sit it on top of the pipe so that the eye of the bolt will not fall in to the concrete that we pore into the pipe. The disc that I will be using is a small disc that has been cut down to a 8" disc and the pipe is a 4" x 6" pipe so when filled the concrete will weigh about 5# the rest weighs about 3#.

For a scope of 3 to 1 in 25' of water I will need to let out about 75' of line, chain and anchor right?

Yep, that's what 3:1 scope means. But, as I said, you won't need to use t hat much when just anchoring for a quiet fishing session. You have likely been reading all the verbiage here on CF about the terrors of anchoring, and the extreme means one must use to combat them. Well, two things: One, these discussions relate to anchoring a bigger boat for unattended periods, like whilst you are asleep overnight. If the anchor drags then, all kinda bad things can happen. If you are fishing and awake, if the anchor drags it ain't no biggie - you just note that you are moving and re anchor, or let out more line, or give it away and go have a beer somewhere.

Second, folks here often tend to over state things a bit. Sometimes this is due to great concern for fellow yotties well being. Other times it is due to lack of personal experience and too much time reading what other inexperienced folks write on forums! At any rate, the chaps who say that you must always use 5:1 or 7:1 or 10:1 scope or the boogie man will getcha simply don't understand that there are genuine situations where such diligence is not needed... and anchoring a small inflatable whilst fishing on a lake is one of those.

Finally, while your home brew anchor wouldn't do well for serious anchoring, it will surely work for your proposed situations.

Cheers,

JIm

[reed1v]

Jim Cate is correct, on a light balloon like an avon, you do not need much scope just mostly weight to keep it from going anywhere. A 10' length of chain, 100' of rode, and a bucket for the mess. You can glue a chock to the dinghy bow and also glue on a chafe skirt. Most new inflatables are made with really durable synthetic rubbers. Just ditch the anchor you got unless you are going to anchor the Titanic. Get a nice 5 or 10 pounder, a snubber, and the above stuff. Good for diving, or just mucking around different anchorages.

[bruce v]

I have fished on lakes from all types of small boats (everything from sabots sans sails to 12' inflatables. I used a couple of anchors as winds came up at times to 50mph. Generally with the same depth situations, I would anchor bow and stern to hold position on fishing holes. Nothing more is required than a mushroom or claw style anchor in the 10 to 15 pound range with 10' of light chain and 40' of poly rode (it floats if you need to cut it and retrieve later. I tie of bow first and let out all rode before dropping the wind side stern. I leave about twenty feet of slack in the stern rode and pull the two rodes taut from the bow. Very little moment of the boat even in windier conditions. Oh, by the way, if you are trying to be frugal, the stern rode and anchor do not require chain. Just make sure it is stuck before you tension the slack out (a few good tugs will do). As was previously posted, you will be in the boat and any adjustments required can be made. Doesn't take too long to master and both anchors and rode will fit nicely in one 5 gallon bucket for portability.

[SVTatia]

Just a note that dinghy anchors are not only for fishing...
I was anchored on a river in northern Brazil that had a 3 knot current at ebb, you could not possibly row against it and very hard or not likely at any angles, so if the outboard quit you had to anchor and stop the dinghy from going to sea....

[Kenomac]

Broken,

We just use one of these folding anchors which can be purchased very cheap from any Walmart sporting goods department, and attach it to about 75 ft of nylon rope. It seems to grab onto the bottom good enough to hold the dinghy. It stores very small with the claws folded up against the shank.

[Starbuck]

Folding grapnel.