Anchors

Hello Everyone,

I just read some past threads on anchors and I wanted to see if the anchor theory still holds true.  From what I read is that mushroom - pyramids anchors are the way to go, is this still true?

It seems to me that (overall) the pyramid was the goto for the Willamette & the Columbia, is this a true statement?

Or, should one person have both for different situations - such as lakes, river, ocean???

If I read correctly 10# is the preferred weight??

Your input is greatly appreciated..

Roger

An 8 lb mushroom works great on the willy for either gravel or rocky bottoms. They seem less likely to stick than the pyramids in the George Rogers area, which has a good collection of rocks, snags and who knows what else Pyramids work better in slick muddy bottoms like you find on the Columbia out by the airport. They hold well in gravel also. 5-10 lbs for the pyramids are about right.

That being said most of us have lost multiple anchors of both kinds. You should also be prepared to cut a line and have a good quick release system set up.

I can't find a pyramid under 10# so that is what I have but half that size would be nice for many of my purposes. Where can you get a 5#?

I can't find a pyramid under 10# so that is what I have but half that size would be nice for many of my purposes. Where can you get a 5#?

  Try making your own anchor. It isn't hard to do.

I can't find a pyramid under 10# so that is what I have but half that size would be nice for many of my purposes. Where can you get a 5#?

  Try making your own anchor. It isn't hard to do.

I know. Melting lead seems a little creepy, though. I may go ahead. How do you make a good mold...just bend some metal?

  Here is a link to making a pyramid anchor on you tube. I have added a large washer on the eye bolt when I make them. And you can adjust the mold to whatever size works best for your needs. Try it...

 here is the link...

This works for me in some applications.  If you have the drill and bit they only cost about $3 for the eyebolt and concrete anchor.

  Here is a link to making a pyramid anchor on you tube. I have added a large washer on the eye bolt when I make them. And you can adjust the mold to whatever size works best for your needs. Try it...

 here is the link...

I have a few comments on this video. 

-First the turkey fryer is my go to method as well.  Works great! 
-No need to soot the steel as lead does not naturally stick to steel as long as it is smooth. Soot won't help on a rough surface anyways. BTDT.
-After the lead freezes, but before it completely cools take a propane torch to the surface and hit it slowly to smooth out the face.  Reason here is that lead shrinks as it cools and can leave the top face wrinkled or sunken.  Just keep hitting the top surface with the propane torch as the lower half cools to keep it smooth and flat.
-Be sure to keep the welds smooth and NOT inside of the mold.  The weld slag can cause the anchor to stick in the mold and really makes the edges rough and ugly.
-Adding a fender washer sandwiched between two nuts low on the threads will give you a solid anchor point with zero risk of the eye bolt pulling out.
-Preheat the eyebolt in the flame before adding it to the hot lead will reduce any chance of popping, and better adhesion between the lead and the bolt.
-The biggest thing I would suggest about the mold, is to make it a 3 sided anchor, vs, 4 sided.  You will achieve two things doing so.
 1. A wider surface area a the biting side.
 2. A better height to width ratio.

You will note in the video how short the anchor came out, vs it's width.  This style can flop on their face when a load is applied, as they are face heavy rather than be balanced or even butt heavy with a proper ratio to the biting surface.

There is no advantage to having 4 sides on an anchor, as only one side at a time touches the bottom of the river.
A 3 sided anchor will give whatever side is on the ground the heaviest mass keeping it from toppling over. 

Great info. I've thought of drilling the right rock like snopro, too.

If you're only making one anchor, there is no need to be so perfect with making the mold either.  Back in the day, we used to just cut scrap metal and set them in a bucket of sand in the shapes we wanted.  Sure you get some leakage into the sand as we didn't weld it all together, but you can trim off the excess lead and/or use a hammer to shape it.  Your lead anchor will get all beat up from usage anyways.

-Allen

Here's an idea for your anchor mold.
I made the anchor in the photo for a mini-drifter (10'driftboat), It is roughly 3 3/4" long on the long side and weighs 4 pounds.
I don't know much about construction, so help me out if you know what this is.

I found a "flashing" at the hardware store which is a sheet metal fixture used in home construction; I used that for the mold. I put the open end in sand and supported the top. The attachment point is a "U" bolt with the nuts attached so it wouldn't pull out. You could just as easily use an eye bolt.

The flashing was deep enough I could make all the way up to a 8 pound anchor. I tried several sizes; I sold the largest one with the Mini-Drifter, melted down some of the others and kept this one; it's probably 20 years old Hasn't worn a bit sitting on a shelf.

I found the flashing while wandering the isles looking for something to use for the mold.

I carry an adjustable weight anchor that weighs less than a pound when not in use......
 A heavy net bait bag I put however many rocks I want in it.

I like the three-fluke river anchors - shaped like a mushroom anchor, but with cut-outs that create "flukes".  Google "river anchor".  They release easily and work better on gravel or sand bottoms than a standard mushroom - and I only hung it up once on a log.

I found 8# models in a marine store down in Brookings.  They sell and ship online.  The 8# river anchor wasn't enough to anchor my pontoon boat and I was able to switch to a 10# pyramid that did the trick.

I'm not in an area where you'd want to anchor a kayak when the rivers are fishable, and I'm not a fan of anchoring small craft in general.  I've been involved in too many rescues involving small boats that swamped under anchor, and I still can't help but think of an anchor as a treacherous and traitorous contraption.