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Spearing: Boat, RIB, Dory, Dinghy, Dive Kayak?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Re. inflatibles, I notice a lot of c. 20 year old ones (mainly zodiacs) for sale on eBay. Presumably the owners are thinking they are nearing/at the end of their useful life - and just looking to clear space & get a little back towards the new boat. Some look in remarkably good condition - others not so. Like anything, if they only have a year or two left in them -- the price should reflect that (money for old rope?). BTW some boats come with engine/trailers/towing board...which can make a significant difference the your overall cost.

Re. kayak anchors: came across these two pages...seems in the USA they often use parachute cord (strong string) for the anchor rope (available from your local army surplus?). Seems very thin to me but I seem to recall that the real stuff is rated quite highly (maybe 500lb?? - I think Miles uses something similar on his spearfishing reels):

http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Articles/FishDive/KayakDiving5.html#AL
http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Store/StoreAcc.html#anchorkit


[Thanks for the size advice Huan -- I was leaning towards the smallest anchors but will adjust my sights up a little in light of your advice. I notice the link above also suggests the larger anchor for diving vs. fishing -- presumably because you will be leaving the boat unattended and/or potentially carry more gear (aimed at scubies). It offer 1.5lb & 3lb anchors - quite small - but I notice this US site suggests 5lb as the most popular size (about 2Kg) for kayaks.]
 
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How about this one!
 

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Foxfish -- looks good. Leg power makes some sense. Integral cart is a good feature -- I'm currently trying to figure out what to do about that. I have a an American made heavy duty luggage trolley that could perhaps be modified for the job. Otherwise OK & Cobra both offer "pluggin carts" -- although very expensive at around £58-£68. There is also a really excellent, substantial cart that sells for about $45 (£25) in the US that would probably handle any ground. Might need to pick one up there.
land shark said:
mr X
West Marine used to sale those anchores for like 5 bucks US annually.
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That figures, they sell for about £5 pounds ($9) on eBay in the UK, plus another £5 shipping!!:head (I believe they are all made in China as they sometimes call them Dragon anchors).
 
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The thing that is giving me a problem at the moment is the anchor rope. The only thing I can find in UK stores is expensive, low quality Taiwanese parachute cord in 50 foot lengths -- I found 4 stores selling the same thing, all the same d*m brand too! I was hoping to get something longer (150ft), a little thicker (3/16) and cheaper. I may end up buying a long Rob Allen rope float line for an anchor line -- which seems over the top in terms of strength, thickness & price -- but, surprisingly, it might be the best value.

I have an old 50m water-resistant climbing rope which I could use but it seems a bit of a waste & also very bulky. Have heard of people using cheap, yellow, hollow braided polypropelene rope from chandlers for float lines in the UK -- it is very cheap on-line from the USA (2 cents a foot for 3/16", 700lb rating) but have so far been unable to find it in the UK - although this place looks promising.

[Planning to use the chain & swivel off my old giant shark hook as an anchor chain.]
 
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Interesting article re. mini-flares/smoke/beacons/(it highly recommends carrying dive flag): http://www.divernet.com/safety/helic797.htm

[Pains-Wessex emergency products were, surprisingly, not terribly well designed nor reliable. ]
 
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Anchor rope.
A couple of points about anchor rope, we are talking about anchoring a very small, lightweight boat. However hauling any anchor from such craft is not the easiest task, the rope needs to be comfortable in the hand. small diameter cord may be strong but very uncomfortable to handle when under strain. I would use 9mm nylon, very cheap to buy, easy to handle & of course very strong. The physical weight of such rope wont be a handicap but the volume might be? Still we are talking about safety first, & some compromises have to be made. Mr X you did mention chain, I would highly recommend, at least, some chain. The chain helps to set the anchor, but again is a pain to handle & store on board. All the equipment you need will be available at any half decent chandlers, cost should not be a problem
 
Reactions: Mr. X
land shark said:
check out a farm supply store
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YES! Excellent idea. There are several near here of different types & sizes, I had totally forgotten about them.:duh

Foxfish, thanks for the insight into anchor handling. I take your point about using a larger diameter rope. I have some 50m 8.8 & 9mm kermantel ropes but they are bulky, perhaps something around 5-8mm would be reasonable compromised? (Paracord is only 2-3mm).

Sounds like you use 80m - which makes sense to me. 7x depth is generally recommended. I will probably anchor 3-8m of water (=> 21m-56m anchor rope) can't imagine anchoring any deeper than 10m (other than in an emergency). ...thats 70m.

Yes I have about metre of galvanised chain with a swivel which looks about the perfect size for the job.
 
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Kayak: Anchor buoy/float - tie-in point.

Do you attach an anchor float/buoy to the boat end of the anchor (so it can be ditched & retrieved)?

I was thinking of using one of: round lobster pot buoy/small egg float/my buoyancy aid (assuming these are still used when wearing a wetsuit?).

By the way, what are you tying your anchor rope to at the boat end? The standard fittings do not look sustantial enough for the task. Have you done something special like this?
 
Scope. The correct amount will be one and a half times the square root of the depth of water in meters. That will give you the amount of Shackles needed. 27.5m in a shackle.

Various factors affect this. Nature of the holding ground. The amount of swinging room you have availble, the strength of wind or tidal stream, duration and the type of anchor and cable.
 
Re: Kayak: Anchor buoy/float - tie-in point.

Mr. X said:
By the way, what are you tying your anchor rope to at the boat end? The standard fittings do not look sustantial enough for the task. Have you done something special like this?
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Alternatively...just noticed this rather professional looking job [at the boat end of the anchor only!] on a kayak fishing site (where is that anchor rope going?!...and is that opening into the hollow body of the kayak going to let in water into the hull?):



From the site: http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/gallery_kayak_fishing.php?menu=2&offset=80

[BTW Just found an interesting Portinfer kayak/dinghy thread from last year -- anybody got a picture of a "super dinghy"?]
 
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Almostafish said:
Scope. The correct amount will be one and a half times the square root of the depth of water in meters. That will give you the amount of Shackles needed. 27.5m in a shackle..
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So for 10m (30ft) depth:
(10^0.5)*1.5*27.5 = 130m ...(almost twice the figure estimate using the x7 factor suggested by the diver website).

For 5m (15ft) depth:
(5^0.5)*1.5*27.5 = 92m ... (2.6x more than the x7 figure)

For 3m (10ft) depth:
(3^0.5)*41.25 = 71m ... (more than 3x the figure yielded by the x7 method)

Almostafish said:
Various factors affect this. Nature of the holding ground. The amount of swinging room you have availble, the strength of wind or tidal stream, duration and the type of anchor and cable.
Click to expand...
... the diver website also mentions a smaller factor (4x-6x?) can be used if all chain is used. The 7x figure assumed a rope and chain are used ... presumably the figure used should be higher if only rope is used.:hmm
 
Re: Kayak: Anchor buoy/float - tie-in point.

Professional apart from the rusty shackle and the cable tie securing the pin instead of being moused properly
In fact looking closely at the pic I am not sure what kind of knot is connecting the rope to the shackle...
 
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Re: Kayak: Anchor buoy/float - tie-in point.

[- anybody got a picture of a "super dinghy"?][/SIZE][/I][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

I will sort one out for you Mr X the mould is in my bro's shed.
 
Re: Kayak: Anchor buoy/float - tie-in point.

Huan said:
Professional apart from the rusty shackle and the cable tie securing the pin instead of being moused properly
In fact looking closely at the pic I am not sure what kind of knot is connecting the rope to the shackle...
Click to expand...
rofl I was commenting on the attachment of the anchor rope. I had not noticed the plastic cable tie!:naughty (Mind you, would it be any weaker than the plastic side of the kayak? Perhaps his thinking is: "better to loose the anchor than hole the boat"?). I did notice that there is no chain (perhaps not essential but desirable) and that the knot had been cropped very short -- I didn't look at the knot any closer though. [I have added some safety warnings to the original post!]

BTW This Kayak care link is fairly scarey too (also the one I saw earlier about two kayaks blowing off the top of the car...with the rack!).

BTW turns out the OK Malibu 2 is a perfect fit on the car -- the raise bow at the front fits the hatch drop at the back like a glove! It's a big boat ... don't know why they don't just put an engine mount on the back and sell it as a motor boat!
 
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The knot is called an, "Anchor Bend".

Which tells me that other than the use of a non-stainless steel shackle, the impromptu tie-wrap to secure the pin, and the lack of a couple of feet of chain, the guy knows what he's doing.

Jim

 
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Did I say "Anchor Bend"??? I meant "Unidentifiable Begginer Impromptu Cluster Knot"

Now you get to join my wife's, "Ah ha Jim, ....you are wrong!" club. I have been humbled.



P.S. Great link!
 
I could be wrong too,The guy seems to be using a variety of knots on his gear, a surgeons loop on one side of the carabiner and a bowline on the other side.
He/she seems to be able to tie knots but I am just curious about that knot on the anchor.
If it was mine I would splice a thimble into an eye and let that wear away on the shackle pin.
Maybe we should have a kayak rigging thread too?
I am off to bed, London at 5am Bleaagggh
 
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