Anchor or mud weight

[andyfish]

How do,been thinking about buying a folding anchor for our boat to use in an emergency ie loosing power on breydon

but not sure what size to buy our boats 30 foot long and have seen plenty on ebay that range from 1kg upto 7kg

folding ones would be better for storing too when not needed

Andy

[jimbo]

I would think you really want a mud weight for the broads? I would imagine an anchor would be virtually impossible to recover if it got its teeth into that silty mud?

[Guest]

It depends on the type of use you had in mind. An anchor would only get stuck if it got wedged under a branch or tree root or something - a danger in some parts of the broads but not others.

If you were specifically looking at a means of securing yourself in a power loss on Breydon type situation I don't see why an anchor could not do a much better job than a mudweight. Our 30ft boat had an 18kg mudweight which it frequently dragged in anything other than a slight breeze. It also had a 6kg Danforth anchor which dug in and held us steady in a 2kt head tide whilst off Lowestoft watching the power boat racing last summer. I doubt the mudweight would have fared so well. The technique for recovering an anchor is somewhat different from recovering a mudweight though.

[Antares_9]

And not just Breydon either, the lower reaches of the rivers can be an awkward place to loose power too. A proper anchor is a good thing to have aboard for an emergency handbrake; it can also help you to “kite†alongside in a controlled manner on the river. A mudweight would tend to just bounce along the bottom in the fast flowing areas where the bottom tends to be harder.

No sure which pattern you mean by folding anchor though, one of the “fisherman†pattern unless really heavy is only suited to rock & weed. My choice would be a quick penetrating mud anchor such as a delta or plough pattern. You will also need about 15m to 25m of rope and a couple of metres of chain. Weight? 7kg should do it for your purpose. Also it needs to be ready to deploy, it's no good if it's under a load of other stuff and it takes you five minutes to ge it on the bottom.

As an afterthought, most people give no thought to the tender, little anchors in a sack with rode & chain are available as a pre packaged deal for these too.

[andyfish]

Thanks for your replies,what i have in mind is setting one up ready near to hand only in case of emergency but would use my mud-weight for everyday broads use

This is the type

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %26otn%3D2

[Antares_9]

That's the pattern I had in mind for the tender Andy, at best it would have only two of the flukes buried and only partly then. This is more akin to the suitable pattern, too big, but this is the type. A Delta would be perfect but a bit expensive for occasional use.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15-KG-PLOUGH-STYLE-ANCHOR-WITH-CHAIN_W0QQitemZ270362673954QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM?hash=item270362673954&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

[andyfish]

Can see why its called a plough.I would need a tractor to pull it back up

Andy

[Antares_9]

Can see why its called a plough.I would need a tractor to pull it back up

Andy

Not at all Andy, when you're above it the leverage makes it quite easy to recover, as Simon says, the technique is different but having regularly used them at depths of 60 to 80 feet I can assure you a tractor will not be needed on the fore deck, you do need a stem head roller to make it easy though.

[andyfish]

I suppose a stem head roller saves the rope biting into the deck too,might look into fitting one

thanks

andy

[jillR]

not sure about my facts but i thought anchors were not allowed on the broads

i presumed this was because of the possibilty of fouling a power line on the bed.

ive allways carried a 56lb spud weight or two.

jill

[Guest]

I suppose a stem head roller saves the rope biting into the deck too,might look into fitting one

thanks

andy

Probably not a bad idea for a number of reasons. In my case most of our anchor line was chain rather than rope, so keeping that off the GRP was a definite must. But not only that I found that the performance of the mudweight was improved by it too. Initially I used to put the mudweight through an eyelet (for want of a better term) on either the port or starboard side of the bow. But with even a slight wind she dragged the mudweight, even though it was considered heavy enough for a boat of that size. Once I started putting the mudweight rope out through the roller she was able to swing head into the wind properly and placed much less stress on the mudweight and in turn a more reliable hold on the broads.

[teadaemon]

not sure about my facts but i thought anchors were not allowed on the broads

i presumed this was because of the possibilty of fouling a power line on the bed.

ive allways carried a 56lb spud weight or two.

jill

As far as I'm aware, there are no byelaws relating to what sort of anchor you may or may not use on the Broads (and indeed no requirement to have one at all, if you feel like living dangerously). Mudweights are ubiquitous because that's what's always been used, and in most places on the Broads, they work well (providing they're large enough for the boat).

I've got a 56lb sack weight in the garage, waiting for the day when I own a boat large enough to use it as a mudweight (probably a long time off, given my current plans are for a 13 foot cruising dinghy, which will only require a smallish mushroom anchor).