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 Post subject: Anchors
PostPosted: Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:13 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:15 am
Posts: 213
Location: Indialantic, FL
I'm looking for a light-weight anchor that could hold a Hobie Tiger in a sandy bottom lagoon and 10 mph winds. Are the folding 3 lb or 5 lb PWC anchors sufficient or do I need something bigger? It's not for a long period of time, maybe 30 minutes while we go eat something on the shore. I'd rather have it anchored than drag it up on the beach and risk scratches to the hulls.

Thanks,

Mark

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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 7:53 am 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
poolemarkw :
We don't have a Tiger but we to have a Tandem Island (similar size) that we use for diving a lot down in Florida where the bottoms are predominantly sandy bottoms. We found out the hard way that pretty much any of the grapple type anchors (even multiple anchors) can't hold the boat even in lighter winds and have had our TI drift off on us while diving more than once. We also anchor just off shore (like at beaches) quite often and even with two grapple anchors the TI washes ashore or worse yet into other powerboats (they hate that, and get very angry at us). We now have a proper sand anchor that holds the boat sound in most any conditions. It's a 4 lbs Guardian G7 anchor that we got at West Marine (a Guardian G5 may also work, but we didn't want to take the chance). I was pretty disappointed at West Marine when they told me the anchor would only work if we had 12 ft of heavy chain rode attached to the anchor (I don't want any heavy chain on my boat). We told them we would try it first without the rode chain and see if it works, then come back if we need it. That was quite a while back and we have used it now in pretty much all conditions without any difficulty without the heavy chain. As divers we typically follow the anchor line down and the anchor is the first thing we check once we get to the bottom, and the anchor point is typically our base of operation, then we follow it back up and hold on to the line during our decompression stops, especially when there is strong current.
The anchor is pretty large, and with 150 ft of rope when just laid on the deck completely covers the tramp on the boat (huge pile of rope to get tangled) so I built a spool system to store the rope, and a swing up anchor holder made from 3/4 sq aluminum that holds the anchor up out of the way behind the boat when not in use. The anchor system is completely automatic and fully controlled from the front cockpit, just release the rope and it drops, then pull the rope to bring it back up, no muss no fuss or storage problems. We trailer our TI and that anchor and anchor system has never been removed from the boat in the last couple years, and we are out every weekend. It's only 4 lbs and not a back breaker with hauling out of the water.
That bungy loop in the lower right is to keep the anchor from swinging around when transporting on the trailer, or if I don't plan on using it that day.

Here is a pic of our anchor setup
Image

You could possibly rig something similar on your Tiger just in front of one of your rudders with a vertical spool for the anchor line (like one of those paper towel holders you see in restaurants) to keep the anchor line tidy. We also kept one of our small grapple anchors that we store in a bag, that we put out when we anchor near the beach to keep the boat from drifting back and forth (we are usually sandwiched between other power boats at the sand bars and they frown on us bumping into them. We also use the anchor quite often to steady our entry into and out of surf zones to keep from going sideways out of control (LOL we've all done that), That's why it's on the back of the boat, but we have furlable sails, you will likely need to mount yours on the nose so you can anchor nose to the wind. The TI doesn't care if it's nose or tail to the wind.
Maybe someone else has had better luck than me with grapple or foldable anchors on bigger boats in Florida, and will share what works for them.
I've heard that the Cooper anchors also work very well, I think their plastic, and very lightweight.
Hope this gives you some ideas
Bob


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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 8:18 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:10 am
Posts: 681
Location: Satellite Beach, FL
Mark, I always wondered this too. Planning a trip to Squid Lips? :D I wish that place had a beach!

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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 8:29 am 
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Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2005 9:47 pm
Posts: 614
Location: San Diego
The Tiger, or any Hobie Cat, has a lot of windage so you will need a larger/better anchor than what you want to carry on the boat. Depending on the bottom, you can use one of those corkscrew things you use to tie up a dog. I think that there are also bigger ones used to tie down awnings too. The A cat guys use these to keep these light boats from tipping over on the beach. If the bottom is too hard or rocky you can always tie off to a big rock. You need to tie off to either a bridle or off the end of the spinnaker pole to keep the boat head to wind. Rudders and boards up, downhaul off to allow the boat to weather vane. This will only work in flat water and best with a side shore or slightly onshore wind. If the wind is blowing offshore, tie off to a tree or something solid on the beach.


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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 9:18 am 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
I wouldn't bother with anchoring, especially if you have a sandy beach to land on. As previously stated, the boat has a lot of windage, which means you need to drop the sails or you risk having the boat drift, capsize, or take off on it's own. I'd rather have to deal with a few small scratches than have my boat blow away (doesn't matter if it's being anchored for 30 minutes, 30 days, or 30 seconds, if it blows away, you're screwed).

On a sandy beach, you can fairly easily get the majority of the boat pulled up above the water line without doing any appreciable damage. You and your crew stand between the hulls in front of the crossbar, pull the boat towards the beach until the hulls just start to touch bottom, then grab the front crossbar & dolphin striker post and lift the bows up, take one or two steps forward and then set the boat back down. This minimizes the amount of scratching on the hull bottoms and usually gets the boat far enough above the water line for a short-term beaching as long as there isn't a strong offshore breeze. Minor gelcoat scratches can easily be touched up at the end of the season.

sm


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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 4:53 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:42 pm
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Location: Sarasota Sailing Squadron
you could get carpet or something similar to drag it on

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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 5:03 pm 
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Location: Satellite Beach, FL
Carpet would work. I have used it before. Only problem is the waves tend to mess it up.

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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 5:31 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:15 am
Posts: 213
Location: Indialantic, FL
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the great ideas. I may give the screw-in anchors a try first , I have a few of them that I use to hold down a popup tent.

Mark

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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 2:16 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:43 am
Posts: 779
Location: St. Louis, MO
In order for an anchor to work properly, you will need plenty of line. For quick stops I usually use a 5:1 ratio of line to water depth. This is the scope. Scope is your friend. For longer (overnight) stays I use at least a 9:1. The other part of anchoring is setting the anchor. Without motors or much inertia you will have to use the sails to set it. Basically you need to drag the anchor in the direction it will be pulled until it digs in.

These numbers are for my 4000 lb 30 ft boat with lots of windage. BTW my anchor only weighed 16 lbs and held through many 20 kt plus winds.

Most anchors do not work using weight, rather it is thier shape that holds. The more perpendicular the dragging force is to the bottom the better it will hold. The heavy chain mentioned above helps with that. You can also use a smaller anchor about 10 to 15 feet up the line as a weight to mimic the rhode. I cannot remember the name for this.

For more advice than you can imagine look in larger boat forums on how to anchor.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

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 Post subject: Re: Anchors
PostPosted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 7:41 am 
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Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2007 11:23 am
Posts: 599
Location: Lake Norman NC
I use a 2 1/2 pound fluke anchor on the mighty Hobie 21 SE I tie to the bridle wire forestay junction.
Never had any problems at all I usually anchor in shallow water less than 10 feet. I just wrap the anchor line around the anchor and store tied to the beer cooler or put into the hull storage
Make sure the main sail is cut loose and the jib is down or rolled up and the rudders are locked up
On the beach the anchor can be buried under the boat and tied down when storms with high winds are predicted which can help to keep the hobie from turning over
Former Hobie Admiral Gary


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