Hobie Cat Forums

so i used to use a 20 lbs dumbbell weight with a rope tied around it as an anchor, and no i did not trust it with my life but it worked. last week i bought a 8lbs hobie anchor that has those 3 little fin things that expand out like a nice real anchor would. anyways i tried to use it on saturday in about a 15 kts wind with the sail in and everything but the sandy bottom and 8 lbs anchor wouldn't hold on at all and we just kept right on blowing down the shore line.

are these 8lbs anchors good to hold us at all in a TI or is 15kts wind just too much

that's a grapple anchor, easy to store but almost no holding power. it might work ok in coral or rock, but just about worthless in sand.

danforth, plow, bruce, navy type, and mushroom anchors will all work decently in sand. the anchor doesn't need to be heavy, just needs sufficient surface area to hold in the bottom.

three things improve holding power: first; a length of chain at least 2' 6~10' is better and the second; plenty of scope. scope is the amount of anchor line used. ideally, you need seven feet of scope for every one foot of depth. so, if you are going to anchor in five feet of water and tie the anchor line to the bow padeye, you will need 42 feet of anchor line (five feet of water plus one foot above the water = 6x7= 42) and finally; a bigger anchor.

cheers,

j

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

It is a real pity that Hobie hasn't made an arrangement with Cooper Anchors from Australia. They specialise in small anchors for PWCs (Jetskis etc). http://cooperanchors.com

I have a 1Kg >plastic< Cooper anchor, with 1 metre of heavy chain. This fits through an 8" hatch, and works like a charm
http://cooperanchors.com/images/home/6.jpg

absolutely!

looks like a modified plow anchor and it has lots of great reviews

j

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

Rusty, You sure it's not the 3.5 lb Hobie anchor with only 3 tines?

An 8lb grapnel anchor (with 4 tines) will work with enough chain (8ft) and line (5:1) payed out. Without both of those, even a larger grapnel may fail..

If used right, an 8lb grapnel should hold a much larger boat. Unless you are in muck or gravel.

If you still experience trouble setting it, try putting the mirage drive in backwards and reversing for awhile.

You could also lower the mast on real windy days.

i know it was the 8lb one but it may have had 4 tines, can't recall.

it did come in a little black bag with about 60 feet of rope. I tied it up and let it go but the bottom was just sand all the way and it never caught on anything. i could feel it grab occasionally but it was just skipping for the most part. at least my old dumbbell was heavy (20lbs) enough to dig in and sort of bury itself in the sand.

i really don't feel like having 6 feet of chain on the TI... its not a boat and i try to keep it clutter free and the anchor bag itself is just another cumbersome item i would rather not have on board let alone a bigger anchor with chain but i do appreciate all the comments and am going to look into that aussie anchor.

that aussie anchor looks pretty pimp but at 73$ i wish i hadn't bought this $40 hobie one and i would get it. is it possible to return the hobie anchor thing after only 1 use of about 10 mins ???

The point about the length of chain is that it holds the anchor down sideways, so the tines tend to dig into the sand when the anchor is pulled sideways. If it can't grip the bottom, the anchor just serves as a dead weight and is not much more effective than if it's sitting in the boat.
Using a grapple anchor over a coral bed isn't a great idea, unless you're prepared to dive down and set the anchor somewhere where it won't wreak havoc.

_________________

Yeah good point about the functionality of the chain, I do have a 4' piece of rubber coated chain I will try out.

should hep. General rule is min .5ft chain for every foot of boat.

_________________
"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

I have 8 ft of chain on the hobie anchor and it holds my TI on the sandbar very well. It also fits nicely in the black hobie bag

_________________
2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

And it's hard to stay glued to that sandbar on 20mph days. I went through 3 anchors before getting the right grapnel setup. Keep mine in that yellow hobie drybag they give you.

What does your anchor weigh in at Topher, without chain?

It's a 3.5 lbs and I have not had any problems, it has never slipped yet. The chain helps it dig in and grab that and the bungee cord that I attach the line to the boat takes the jarring out. I think that helps out quite a bit in the wind

_________________
2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

I am another convert of the plastic blue Cooper anchor with 2 metres 6 foot 6" of stainless chain. It is a light weight anchor but works surprisingly well in sand, rubble or on reef.

I have it rigged with a cable tie (zip tie) on the attachment shank end and the chain shackled to the plough end so that if it gets stuck then a really hard pull will break the zip tie and let the anchor come up easily.

_________________
Geordie
West Ausie

my anchor setup



small old navy type anchor with 8' ss chain and about 100' of rode

cheers,

j

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod