Good mud anchor
 

Guys, I have a 28b anchor for my 33' Scarab (dry weight 8400lbs) not unlike the one below. I do 90% of my boating in Spring Lake, MI, in mud. I get pushed around by the wind and wake, nearly hitting other boats/docks a couple of times, and that gets old fast. It holds me like a rock in Lake Michigan sand, but no good in mud. Any recommendations for an anchor that will stick better?

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-m...05_153_001_009

how long of a rode do you have on it and roughly what depth is the water?



everyone swears by the box anchor but I have not had one yet. I have a Fortress FX-23 for my 38 thats been pretty tenacious in our Erie bay muck in the worst wind. I also have a smaller model of that anchor that I will set off the stern at times to keep it from swaying.

Exactly where i boat river with a current 10' of chain and 3 times the depth of the water....aka 30' of water 90' of line for that fluke type of anchor...The chain keep's the nose down so the flukes will dig in.

That FX-23 looks pretty solid.

Water depth where we hang out is 15 to 20 feet. I have about 12 feet of chain and a ton of line. I truly think my anchor sucks, but maybe I'm not putting enough rode in the water too....

Do you throw your anchor or drop it straight down ?? And you need to put out a lot of line initially then you shorten it. Throwing the anchor is a bad thing. 90% of the time it will not set correctly. Drop it down and back up slowly.

I will sell you my old worn out 454, it will work great for a anchor.

Box anchors are great in the mud, but they are a bit ch to get up and then clean.

If you are in Spring Lake, just tie off to one of the cruisers or a raft off line. I wouldn't want my anchor in that sediment.

All kidding aside, with the currents, wind, and waves in Spring Lake, I would suggest a stern anchor. Set your bow anchor with bow into the wind and then place stern anchor slightly offset off the stern as to not allow the boat to swing. Every swing pulls on your main anchor. It is surprising how small of a stern anchor will accomplish what you need.

Now good luck making all this happen at 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon in one of the packed coves, along with someone not hitting your lines!

anchor box works very good,but heavy and a little bit of a job to clean off before putting away

Chris,

An FX-11 with 10' of chain held myself and a 280 all day on 4th of July in Spring Lake. I threw my west marine special, like your link, off the stern and we didn't even think of moving. Fortress is the brand to buy.

I have a decent galv steel anchor that is nearly identical in size and shape to my big Fortress and it will not hold nearly as well. I also think the hard anodizing makes them easier to clean. Mine gets pretty mucked up and a couple extra drops back in the water cleans it right up.

My X girlfriend would work better

Appropriately-sized FX with a good length of chain and plenty of scope should hold you tight in mud. Works for me. I had a box anchor for exactly 2 days. Biggest POS anchor I've ever owned/used.

Digger anchors

Box Anchor all the way and doesn't require any chain. A general rule of thumb for the scope while anchoring on a calm day 5/1, windy day 7/1 and storm weather 10+/1. In other words using a calm day as an example. For every foot of water depth, let out five feet of anchor rode. Example: 10' depth = 50' anchor rode.

try this one
 

I agree with ford 350. google "Digger Anchors", get the 15 pound anchor.

Does she weigh more then 200lbs to keep the boat on place?

Ing got it right. Rule of thumb is 7-1 scope, but if just anchoring for the day and staying on the boat you can get away with less, if you drag the anchor, you're there to reset it.

The whole idea is to have enough rode out that when the boat pulls on the rode it is pulling parallel to the bottom so the anchor will continue to dig in. That is why you also have chain on the anchor then the rode. The weight of the chain helps to keep the rode on the bottom pulling parallel to the bottom. Take your anchor out on a beach and lay it in the sand. Then start pulling on the rode. Pull with the rode flat on the ground and watch how the anchor will dig right in to the sand. Now stand up and pull so the rode and chain come off the ground, and start pulling back like your a boat. The anchor will pop right out. Sand is the best bottom to hold in, mud and grass next, rock is tough to get a hold of. Any brand of fluke type anchor is good as long as used right.

A box anchor is good, and doesn't need chain because they have the short heavy bar before the rode that acts as chain, and the box design digs in pretty well in most bottom types. You can also get away with less rode but more is always better. Do the same beach test to see how the box works.

The problem is when in a really cool, but small cove, putting out 7-1 scope may have you swinging into others who only put out 4 or 5-1 and are hopping for the best.

If you plan to overnight on the hook, you will sleep much better knowing that you set the anchor properly and it won't drag. If you're just in a cove for the day, you may want to just put out what ever you can so as to not swing into others and reset if you have to.