Anchor Question

[Royce Aardahl]

Well we have donated 3 anchors to the mighty Mississippi in the last 12 months. Navy style, 15 and 18 pounders. Who's got a good idea for a different style anchor that we could try. How do the mushroom style with the cut outs work? Or should I get a big hunk of cement?? Thanks!!

[Hoffer]

Hi- we have been using the mushroom kind for almost 5 years now and havent lost one yet. Sometimes it gets wedged in there pretty good - but with moving the boat upstream a little or with just contstant pulling it usually comes out. I have a 16 foot Lund rebel and the anchor is a 15 pounder.

[Aquaman01]

Last year I think it was Dark30 that posted a great "recipe" for home-made river anchors. I'll do my best to paraphrase it here...

It's made from form-cast concrete and #3 or #4 rebar. The form is a traffic cone, sprayed with some appropriate form-release agent like vegetable oil or whatever.

bend four to six pieces of bar at about a 60* acute angle and tie them together with wire so they 'flower' out. Now either stand them up and put them up through the hole in an inverted traffic cone (option 1), or invert the cone and then prop the flower into the wide end of the cone (option 2). Attach a chain to the stem of the flower, and pour kwik-crete into it.

After it sets up, either cut off the cone (option 1) or peel it off (option 2).

When the anchor gets fouled, a steady pull will bend the rebar and free it. If it doesn't, you're out $5 in materials.

Same as a Richtor anchor, but waaaayyyy cheaper.

Peace,
Rob

[Dennis Steele]

I think those rocks are going to eat any kind of anchor you drop in.I lost a Richter up there the other day.I have never had any problem retrieving that anchor anywhere else.You can drive ahead of it and pull it upside down when it gets snagged up.It must have fallen into a deep crevise in the rocks and we could not get it out.I think I will be bringing "disposable" anchors for fishing there from now on.
I am going to start hitting garage sales looking for weights from weight bench sets,or making up some of Dark 30's traffic cone anchors.