Which anchor for inflatable dinghy?

Cardo

Cardo

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The resurgence of anchor threads has got me thinking...

Which anchor should I use with my 2.4m inflatable (inc. floor/keel) dinghy? The boat came with an old dinghy with slatted floor with a small fisherman's anchor. However, I'm concerned the fisherman's would puncture the inflatable keel on our new dinghy. Funnily enough, that grapnel anchor on t'other thread looks pretty safe when stowed.

I'm not sure how often we would use the anchor, but I guess there may be times when we go to a stony beach and would rather not drag the dinghy up onto it.

Thoughts?
 
I havn't read the other anchor thread but a small Grapnel would be the obvious choice depending on the sea bed your anchoring into. Small Danforths are commonly used on bigger 14' boats! I have a small CQR, Fishermans, Grapnel and Danforth all taken from smaller 10' + boats so it appears there is not one answer - surprise, surprise!
 
Zagato said:
I havn't read the other anchor thread but a small Grapnel would be the obvious choice depending on the sea bed your anchoring into. Small Danforths are commonly used on bigger 14' boats! I have a small CQR, Fishermans, Grapnel and Danforth all taken from smaller 10' + boats so it appears there is not one answer - surprise, surprise!
Click to expand...

Having seen the price of those grapnel anchors (cheap!), and the number of people who seem to use them with their dinghies (as per other thread), I'm pretty tempted to pop out and get one.
 
You have partly answered your own question. Worth considering having a bag that contains the anchor and warp which will keep it altogether and avoid having pointy bits sticking out when stowed. Forc 4 sell a suitable bag, but a woven fertilizer sack is also suitable.
 
I paid £6.25 for a 2kg danforth with a bit of 6mm chain and a few metres of 8mm 3 strand, and put it in a canvas bag along with spare pull cord, repair kit, shearpin etc. Tied to the outboard bracket.
 
Cardo said:
The resurgence of anchor threads has got me thinking...

Which anchor should I use with my 2.4m inflatable (inc. floor/keel) dinghy? The boat came with an old dinghy with slatted floor with a small fisherman's anchor. However, I'm concerned the fisherman's would puncture the inflatable keel on our new dinghy. Funnily enough, that grapnel anchor on t'other thread looks pretty safe when stowed.

I'm not sure how often we would use the anchor, but I guess there may be times when we go to a stony beach and would rather not drag the dinghy up onto it.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

You are a wise man.

We have the small grapnel with 1m of chain and 15m of thin warp all curled up in a little canvas bucket. No damage to dinghy, easy to deploy, cheap so I don't care if it gets nicked and the bucket can take the odd fish if a miracle happens.
 
Tranona said:
You have partly answered your own question. Worth considering having a bag that contains the anchor and warp which will keep it altogether and avoid having pointy bits sticking out when stowed. Forc 4 sell a suitable bag, but a woven fertilizer sack is also suitable.
Click to expand...


a flower pot can be handy too: small petrol tank, grapnel, tiller extension (fancy name for a piece of PVC pipe), bailer, locking wire, etc all kept well away from the pvc

besides, the less you hide the less the temptation for someone to steal anything

P1080045.jpg
 
Been using a 1kg Bruce on a 2.7m inflatable for years with about 2m of light chain. Always worked fine and handy for digging holes in the beach too.

We carry the anchor chain and warp in an old duffel bag which seems to have protected the dinghy pretty well so far.
 
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We also have a small (1kg ?) Bruce type of anchor for the inflatable. This is mostly used for securing dinghy on the beach. The advantage here is that it's easier to bury in the sand than the grapnel and therefore less of a trip hazard.
 
geoid96 said:
We also have a folding grapnel, but on ours the flukes can only be locked if all four are deployed.
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Most of them can only lock the flukes open with all four deployed, but if you're jabbing it in the sand by hand then you don't need the flukes to be locked.

Pete
 
prv said:
Most of them can only lock the flukes open with all four deployed, but if you're jabbing it in the sand by hand then you don't need the flukes to be locked.
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That is of course correct. The scenario I was thinking of was deploying the anchor as normal in shallow water when the flukes need to be locked for it to work. Then someone jumps out of another dinghy straight on top of it, or when the tide drops, someone elses dinghy landing on top of it. When the anchor is just walked up the beach, almost anything that can be buried will do the job.
 
We also use a small folding grapnel. We've only used it a few times and rarely carry it unless we know it will be needed. With a few metres of light chain it has never let us down. The chain would probably do the job on its own.
 
We use a small grapnel in the dinghy and when anchored at a beach, also throw a lump of lead on 2m line over the stern with the dinghy a few metres off, stops it grounding as the tide goes down.
 
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