Boat Anchors
This is the small 2.5kg anchor I make. The surface area on the foot is what gives it holding in the bottom. The various holes towards the rear of the anchor provides for a trip line, although this is usually not required due to the long arm.
Irrespective of how the anchor lands on the bottom, it will right itself . The anchor when pulled over the bottom wil dig in and burrogh itself in a short distance. The long arm where the chain is linked to offers a lever for wedging the anchor loose when seated in the bottom.
The anchor stands upright by itself ie in storage or in an anchor well. It can of course also be stowed horizontally.
A 'quick link' connects between the arm and the chain on a 16kg anchor.
The chain end gets another quick link and a thimble where the rope gets splined around.
The anchor lends itself well towards remote control so you don't have to let it out from the bow. Here is a roller indicated in the seat position. The seated position protrudes foreward over the bow so the achor would not bang against the hull during retreival.
A view from the front.
An anchor rope with a thimble in place. Splining is easy to do, you can download the step by step procedure with graphics from the internet. The correct anchor rope enhances the chain working.
Anchor's sizes are
2,5kg 6mm mild steel, foot size 270mm x 188mm, total length is about 450mm
8kg 8mm mild steel, foot size 400mm x 300mm, total length is about 635mm
16kg 10mm mild steel, foot sixe 550mm x 380mm, total length is about 800mm
Anchors are made on request, although these are my standard ones, any size can be made.
The anchors are laser cut, welded and hot dip galvanized.
Couple of basics - Don't 'throw' the anchor out unless you are sinking and simply want to lose weight. Instead let the anchor out so the chain will not land in a heap on top of the anchor. Allow the anchor rope enough length to make a decent flat angle with the bottom. Reverse the boat so the anchor can seat. Take into consideration that if the wind direction change that there is enough swing around the anchor position so you won't hit anything or run aground when the tide goes out.
Your boat has to ride the anchor chain and not the anchor. Good thumb of rule is to make the chain the at least the same length as the boat, and the chain diameter in mm the same as the boat is in meters but one size up. If you have a 5m boat use a 6mm chain which is 5m long minimum. If the boat is heavy, use the next up size chain instead which will be 8mm, or use a longer 6mm chain ie 8m long. The chain will never be too long.
If you anchor one end of a chain and pull the other end at an angle up you will get the idea of the resistance the chain weight offers. The pulling force from the chain will increase exponentially as it lifts from the bottom more and more for a given angle. The longer the chain, the bigger the resistance will become, gradually.
If the chain is too short and too light then the anchor my be pulled out of it's hold and you will be adrift again. This can easily happen if you land in a strong wind with a chop banging the bow. If the rope angle is too vertical and there is a swell the anchor may attempt to pull the boat through the swell instead of allowing it to float over the swell.
If the anchor does hold while a too light and short chain is used you are going to get a nice hard pluck from the ancor rope on the boat with each swell, testing the mechanical parts as well as your neck. Very uncomfortable.
An anchor is probably the most neusance thing on a boat. Heavy, noisy and all the bad things you can think up about it. It is however a treasure when you did it right and the situation requires to be anchored. The anchor is the boat's hand brake and there is no such thing as an anchor that holds too good.
Lastly, make sure your boat is
functional irrespective of the legal requirements. You cannot
blame anyone but yourself if you install something (barely) 'legal'
and it doesn't work properly. It is your boat and your
responsibility.
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