Anchoring a Boat - How to use a boat anchor

Anchoring a boat and how to use a boat anchor properly can be challenging for a new boater. If you want to know the basics of how to anchor a boat this video shows how to properly use your boat anchor to anchor your boat - primarily new boater tips. I show setting an anchor and how an anchor sets in the river bottom. I also cover how to trip an anchor or releasing an anchor. In addition I show and discuss some of the different types of anchors including mushroom anchor, river anchor and danforth anchor or fluke anchor. There is a lot to know about boat anchoring and I cover the basics and fundamentals of anchoring for beginning boaters or new boaters.

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Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:52 Common types of boat anchors for recreational boats
02:27 Danforth anchors or Fluke anchors - how they work
04:05 Setting an anchor for your boat
06:45 How a river anchor works to hold your boat
08:26 How a danforth or fluke anchor works to hold your boat
09:27 Releasing the anchor or tripping the anchor
10:51 Releasing the anchor or tripping the anchor by yourself
11:49 Anchor line, anchor chain or anchor rode
12:50 Cutting your anchor line in an emergency
15:35 Additional resources about anchoring your boat

#boatanchoring #boatanchoruse #howtoanchoraboat

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Sound effects and additional music is copyright free from iMovie
Music is Two Little Bums by The Great North Sound Society from the YouTube Audio Library

[steveinla]

Well, you missed an important step in releasing the anchor: always, and I mean always, start the engine. If for some reason the engine fails to start and you have raised the anchor, you're now in an uncontrollable craft that's usually heading a direction you don't want to be going in (towards rocks, the shore, or other boats). My friend gave me a book when I bought my boat 26 years ago: "Getting Started in Powerboating" by Bob Armstrong. I learned a lot from it.
R, Steve

[colemant]

Good video... There are MANY THOUSANDS of Anchors on the bottom of the seas left by boaters who "Cut and Run" because they could not figure out how to release their anchor. I dive and have many of them... some very expensive ones!

[garethjones]

I literally bought my first ever boat today. No experience whatsoever but really excited as the prospect of learning...safely. Your videos are brilliant and have given me such invaluable insight. Thank you so much.

[MonzaTom]

I've owned my boat since 1988 and this video was still pretty informative. Well done!!!

[karenholmes]

Thanks for the great information. My first experiences with boats was with my grandfather who loved to fish for sunfish and crappies in a lake in Minnesota. My tackle was a clothespin wrapped with line and a bobber. (To go out in the boat with him we had to put the worms on our hook.) I was responsible for sitting at the bow and dropping the anchor. His anchor was a coffee can filled with cement and a big, rusty eye bolt sticking out the top. Of course it never got stuck on the bottom of of lake, and now I know why.

[jeepgirl]

Very good vid on anchoring. I have a couple of points I would like to add. First, a cleat may work to attach during a picnic aboard with light seas, but it is not the ideal point. I always use the bow ring for this task. It is the strongest piece of hardware on the boat. It also lowers the angle to the anchor. This can lower the length of scope or increase holding force. 10 ft. of chain is the minimum. Don't under estimate it's value. And when you haul up that clump of earth troll your danforth on a rear cleat 3 ft. below the surface for a 100ft.

[mariterbrueggen]

Outstanding way to demonstrate anchoring. I learned a great deal even after years of boating

[Justforday]

Wayne...I am new at this having just purchased a 12' Hull for fishing mostly...you explain things professionally and yet in the simplest of ways too. I continue to watch your videos.

[sjpavur]

Wayne, as a total beginner, just looking into buying a first boat, your videos have been invaluable! They are interesting, the info is both valuable and practical, and you add just enough humor to make them enjoyable as well. I am looking forward to watching all of them! Thanks

[dustin]

I initially didn't plan on watching the entire video, but your storytelling skills truly captivated me.

[mariacutshall]

WOW! Amazing video; thank you very much for the kindness of teaching new things for old boaters. Blessings to you and your family 🇨🇴🇺🇸💝💐🙌

[tomrunning]

In welding school I made a danforth anchor for a graded project. It took 10 years before I could afford a boat to try it on. It is a mighty anchor for it's weight.

[alexdibenedetto]

Wayne, great video, thank you so much!
I'm certainly another "learn stuff as I go"-guy, and I wanted to add a piece of personal experience related to the "IN AN EMERGENCY" section.
I've been in a situation where cutting the line was the only option, so I did.
Now, in hindsight, I thought: I had a buoy available on-board, I should have cut the anchor line, attach the end to the buoy, let the line go and the buoy would make my anchor line available without having it attached to the boat.
Like this, you get out of a potentially stressful "emergency" situation without losing the anchor. Take some time, think it through, you may pull and play with the anchor, without having it attached to the boat which can be a constraint (in my case it was). If the conditions are not optimal to get the anchor out, you may come back the next day.

[srossano]

Excellent video. Exactly what I needed as a new boater.

[stevedockery]

Very informative video Wayne. I've mostly had troubles of getting my danforth to stick / hold. Now I feel a bit more confident that I can do this, even alone. Thanks a lot my friend. Steve

[traceye.]

Best illustration of anchoring I’ve ever seen! Thank you so much!

[OneCordShort]

Thank you, informative video, exactly what I needed to hear as an amateur/beginner boater.

[jackspeer]

Never watched an anchoring vid til about a year ago. Anchoring is not a simple process, it can get quite technical. I was surprised to learn that the anchor line, chain and rode all are matched to your boat according to the size and weight of the boat. And as you said the anchor itself needs to be matched to the type of bottom you will anchor to. So if you plan on boating on several types of bodies of water, you might consider owning more than one anchor. good vid Wayne.

[keithwilliams]

Best anchor video I've watched so far. I've been boating for 40 years and didn't know the first thing about the basics of anchoring. Have a mushroom claw type I've used with my ski boat and constantly have to "reset" it. Getting ready to take delivery of a tritoon boat and will definitely get a Danforth style.

[brandoncox]

Phenomenal video. Brilliant. I am glad you noted that different anchors work better for different materials on the bottom. Such an important thing. Also, you can generally look up the size of your boat and what weight of anchor would be good for it. They also provide information on how relatively well your anchor will hold at given wind speeds.