Might be a dumb question but I purchased my first boat this past fall. It is 18.5 ft Alumacraft Edge. I have an I-pilot on it but when I have my kids out fishing panfish an anchor would be easier for them so boat stays in one place. My question is what type and size anchors would work best for front and back? Guessing boat weighs around 3000 pounds with motor if that helps. Thanks for any response.
I like the water spike anchors, they are kind of big but once they hook up you aren’t going anywhere.
Also the amount of rope you let out helps a lot, that way the bouncing of the boat in the waves isn’t skipping your anchor along the bottom.
waterspike is best and they used to make 2 sizes
Coast guard regs state 7:1 length to depth for anchor rope. In 10 feet of water you need 70 feet. That seems pretty extreme but I’ve found 45 degree angle off the boat will almost always hold. My guess is if you are with the kids you won’t be out in rough conditions anyways. I’d go with the largest river anchor you can fit in your storage.
River anchor, lots of line out, 3-4 feet of chain between the rope and anchor, and shock absorber and you’ll never have an issue. I think lots of rope and chain are the most important.
Matt
Have had river anchors, navy,and mushroom. Boat that size go river anchor or probably the spike. Regarding previous reply what does chain do? Have never involved chain before on my end. Not disagreeing just curious
chains are great for abrasion resistance, but more importantly they add weight to to absorb some of the jerk of wave action.
I forgot the name of my anchor. It’s one of the fancy type.
I have a 25lb richter anchor with a few feet of chain between the rope and anchor. Also, on windy days I have a home made bungee system I attach to the boat and anchor line to absorb the bigger waves better. Similar size boat to yours and no issues staying in one spot.
Can we get a picture or a discripion of your bungee/shock absorber system?
Might be a dumb question but I purchased my first boat this past fall. It is 18.5 ft Alumacraft Edge. I have an I-pilot on it but when I have my kids out fishing panfish an anchor would be easier for them so boat stays in one place. My question is what type and size anchors would work best for front and back? Guessing boat weighs around 3000 pounds with motor if that helps. Thanks for any response.
What generation of i-Pilot do you have? 2017 or pre-2017 version? If it’s brand new 2017, I’d forget all about tossing an anchor overboard and just use the spot-lock on the Minn Kota.
2016 so I don’t have the puck
I added a few feet of chain between anchor and rope this past year and it did make a difference holding on the river. The weight keeps your line closer to parallel to bottom near the anchor, allowing the anchor to dig and settle better instead of being lifted by floating rope. I don’t fish a lot of big water but I do fish current and it helps imho.
I have a 2016 competitor 175 and I use a 25lb Richter anchor. Holds the boat pretty well. I also have a 10lb mushroom I throw off the back if the wind is really kicking
Can we get a picture or a discripion of your bungee/shock absorber system?
My boat’s in storage and my anchor system is with it but I’ve attached a basic drawing. Forgive my lack of artistic abilities.
Essentially, I bought an airhead boat dock bungee. The 4ft version that stretches to 5.5ft. I then bought a 6ft tow rope, 4 carabiners, block of 2×4 piece of wood and a boat cleat. I drilled the boat cleat into the piece of wood and then clipped the bungee and tow rope to it.
When it’s windy, I’ll attach the both the bungee and tow rope(there in case the bungee breaks) to the eyelet under the hull. I then tie off my anchor rope to the boat cleat on the wood and throw it out. I make sure there is enough anchor line slack from the bungee cleat to tie off to a cleat on the actual boat in case the system ever failed completely. That way I don’t lose my anchor.
Again, I don’t use it on calm days, but it also helps if I’m fishing an area that has a lot of boat traffic. It lessens the amount my anchor loses hold when a big wake wave comes by.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Airhead-reg-Bungee-Dock-Lines/700496.uts?slotId=0
IMG_2118.jpg
I’ll add that it’s a similar system to what FBRM(on this site) uses. He posted it in a sturgeon thread a couple of years ago so I thought I would try it and it has definitely made a difference.
This is the one i have. And yes to all the comments about the chain.
Matt
I have a 25lb richter anchor with a few feet of chain between the rope and anchor.
X2, she’s a beast to pull in and out though! If you have back issues, go with spike.
Think my chains 4-5′.
Opted out to buy the preassembled anchor bungee from fleet. Not just for windy days, helps keep boat still when the tuna boat wakes are around as well.
https://www.anchorshock.com
This is the one i have. And yes to all the comments about the chain.
Matt
I’m not sure why anyone would want to tie a knot in their rope? 
Each to his own but there are better things out there.
For example, this gadget does the same thing only you never have to mess with knots or taking it on or off. A water spike, 3′ of chain and then this guy and you have the easiest and most effective anchor system I have found.
Mooring-Line-Snubbers.png
I’m not sure why anyone would want to tie a knot in their rope?:???: Each to his own but there are better things out there.
. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t at least several loops in my anchor rope right now.
That snubber looks interesting, but does it really stretch out all that much? I don’t see it having nearly as much as a bungee in the videos I looked at. 
That snubber looks interesting, but does it really stretch out all that much?
Not sure… all I know is it stretches enough to keep my 20′ boat anchored in some very windy conditions. If I had to guess, I’d say it stretches out to about twice it’s original length.
The bungee wouldn’t be a bad idea if they came up with a system on the end so you didn’t have to tie a knot in your rope!! That just seems silly to me.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rschmidty wrote:</div>
I have a 25lb richter anchor with a few feet of chain between the rope and anchor.X2, she’s a beast to pull in and out though! If you have back issues, go with spike.
Think my chains 4-5′.
Opted out to buy the preassembled anchor bungee from fleet. Not just for windy days, helps keep boat still when the tuna boat wakes are around as well.
Interesting, I clicked on an old bookmark for “Drop and Stay” and
“Anchor Shock” came up.
I really like the “Drop N Stay”, the bunge had eyelets where you didnt have to tie knots. You could adjust the slack in the rope between the ends of the bungee.
Don’t know why they stoped making them.
The bungee wouldn’t be a bad idea if they came up with a system on the end so you didn’t have to tie a knot in your rope!! That just seems silly to me.
Who referenced tieing a not in the rope? I said “tie off”. The system I have is a the bungee connected to a boat cleat, therefore you are “tieing” your anchor rope around the cleat like you would do if the cleat is on the boat.
Who referenced tieing a not in the rope? I said “tie off”. The system I have is a the bungee connected to a boat cleat, therefore you are “tieing” your anchor rope around the cleat like you would do if the cleat is on the boat.
Settle down gun powder… 
I just watched the video Matt linked. I don’t think anyone was referencing you…
Depends on type of fishing I run Rictor anchors hold very well. I use a GPAS for holding better. Much better and easier then the anchor shock system. No wet knots. Cost is less. Gpas.com. Hickory glen creations is the company. Also have a drift sock system and bungee cords.
Midwest outdoors has a few shows on the GPAS and how it works check YouTube
Midwest outdoors has a few shows on the GPAS and how it works check YouTube
Now that looks pretty cool too. Thanks for posting.
I have a box anchor (https://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Extra-Small-Box-Anchor&i=314789) and it holds really well. I got it because I wanted to be able to fit as much stuff as possible in the storage compartments and this folds up very small. Another advantage is that you can’t drop it wrong like a water spike, just throw it over and it will grab. It’s kind of expensive and looks really stupid though 
For a 16′ boat (Competitor 165) I have the extra small 13lb one and it has held in pretty decent sized waves.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
