Need advice for anchoring an inflatable in Monterey

[ineedavacation]

I'm headed to Monterey and Pt. Lobos this weekend and will be bringing a 10' zodiac with me for the first time.

What's the best way to make sure the zodiac is still there when I ascend? My choices are a 10lb mushroom anchor, a 20lb Danforth or tying in to the kelp. I'm leaning towards using the danforth along with 10 ft of chain and 100 ft of three strand rode to play it safe. However that setup will be heavy and sharp and will be a pita to haul in.

 

[Peter_C]

Welcome to Scubaboard

As you probably already know you need to dive down your anchor line every time in order to make sure it is set correctly. There are times you will need to return to your anchor line. Diving off an unattended boat is serious and not to be taken lightly. If you are going to Pt Lobos I would recommend anchoring in Blue Fish Cove in around 35ft of water where it is calm and diving out and back from there. It is a truly fantastic dive. If diving in Monterey starting somewhere like off the Aquarium or some of the other protected dive sites might be in order. I would also recommend a PLB or a Nautilus Lifeline in case something does go wrong.

Yikes, I use a small #8 Super Hooker Danforth, with 15ft of chain, which is overkill for my 14ft inflatable. I carry 300ft of line and it all fits in a milk crate. The anchor fits perfectly into the milk crate.

For your boat a #4 Hooker (Not the one with the sliding ring) with 10ft of chain, and a couple hundred feet of line should be good. If it is calm you can run less scope, but it is nice to be able to run the proper 3:1 scope if needed. I also put these in ease of everyone knowing how much line is out.
WEST MARINE Anchor Rode Markers | West Marine

Lots of people like claw anchors too.
LEWMAR High-Tensile Steel Claw Anchors | West Marine

 

[cmburch]

I use a mushroom, but wind, swells, and surge will move it unless it is wedged. Never tie an inflatable to kelp. The wind can rip the kelp out by the holdfast. I do use Bull Kelp for my kayak and Boogie Board though.

 

[ineedavacation]

Thanks for the advice about the dive sites and the anchor size. I will go with your recommendation and bring a milk crate. How do you tie off your anchor line on your inflatable? I was thinking that the glued on eye at the bow is not sturdy enough. My idea was to make a bridle by tying a line between the two carrying handles and the bow eye and then attaching a ring to that. Then the anchor line would get tied on to that ring.

BTW...I read a story in SF Gate this morning saying that there are whales off Moss Landing. That could be a good side trip.

Welcome to Scubaboard

As you probably already know you need to dive down your anchor line every time in order to make sure it is set correctly. There are times you will need to return to your anchor line. Diving off an unattended boat is serious and not to be taken lightly. If you are going to Pt Lobos I would recommend anchoring in Blue Fish Cove in around 35ft of water where it is calm and diving out and back from there. It is a truly fantastic dive. If diving in Monterey starting somewhere like off the Aquarium or some of the other protected dive sites might be in order. I would also recommend a PLB or a Nautilus Lifeline in case something does go wrong.

Yikes, I use a small #8 Super Hooker Danforth, with 15ft of chain, which is overkill for my 14ft inflatable. I carry 300ft of line and it all fits in a milk crate. The anchor fits perfectly into the milk crate.

For your boat a #4 Hooker (Not the one with the sliding ring) with 10ft of chain, and a couple hundred feet of line should be good. If it is calm you can run less scope, but it is nice to be able to run the proper 3:1 scope if needed. I also put these in ease of everyone knowing how much line is out.
WEST MARINE Anchor Rode Markers | West Marine

Lots of people like claw anchors too.
LEWMAR High-Tensile Steel Claw Anchors | West Marine

 

[Kharon]

Have someone tend the boat.

 

[Jon Nellis]

My choices are a 10lb mushroom anchor, a 20lb Danforth ...

Well there's your first problem, mushrooms are useless in anything but a calm lake and Danforths are useless pretty much everywhere. Take a walk along the pier and you'll see that most boats (and all the dive charter boats) in the marina have a Bruce style claw anchor. Buy at least twice as much anchor as the manufacturer recommends and run twice as much chain. An 11- 16lb claw with 20 feet of 3/16 chain is cheap insurance and you can set it with less scope.

 

[Peter_C]

Buy at least twice as much anchor as the manufacturer recommends and run twice as much chain. An 11- 16lb claw with 20 feet of 3/16 chain is cheap insurance and you can set it with less scope.

And here I thought everything I did was overkill Captain Nellis I know you have far more experience than I do, but in this case we are talking about a tiny 10' inflatable boat probably weighing 200 lbs, including the motor. Typically for something like that type of boat, an anchor one size up and a couple of feet over the length of the boat in chain is good enough. No one in their right mind would be out in poor conditions in such a small dingy. Although if you want to see what a dingy can go thru watch the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6gMDlTTN6A

Danforth vs claw anchor is like a split fin vs paddle fin debate. No one will win, and everyone is passionate about their own choice. Although in this case I am ambivalent, and even recommended the claw. I have used both and not had a problem with either one. I grew up sailing the San Francisco Bay and the boat had a plow anchor on it. *Shrugs* Use which ever one you like. For me the Danforth stores perfectly in the milk crate so it is a winner. Other than taking a couple of feet to set in sand, it has never slipped on me. Typically the chain is the only thing being used to hold the boat.

The anchor crate is tied in with bungee cord down to the hard deck that has eye bolts sunk into it. I used to use zip ties before I designed everything to be quickly removable.

As to the front tie in point for the anchor I would recommend two. There should be a couple of d-rings in the front. You need to make a harness by either tying knots or properly braiding/splicing the ends. I prefer the knots as I pick my boat up by them. I tied a loop into the end of the harness with an overhand knot, and then use a locking carabiner to attach to the anchor line knot at the proper length.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

My 17' Boston Whaler is just fine with a 5 pound Danforth Hi-Tensile, 13' of stainless chain,
and 250' of 3/8" three-strand. I've anchored that rig in Monterey maybe 1600 times.

Danforths are just fine in sand. The harder the boat pulls, the deeper it buries itself. On
rocky structure, they will find something to snag. On the shale, they are fine with lots of
scope. Do check that the anchor didn't foul the chain on the way down.

Note that the Hooker is a "danforth-style" anchor, not a real Danforth.

What the manufacturer recommends is just fine. Remember that
A. The manufacturer makes more money if they sell you a bigger anchor.
B. The manufacturer is real worried about silly lawsuits.
If you are going to overdo it on something, overdo it on the length of the chain

That 20 pound Danforth is WAAAAY overkill for a 10' boat.

Mushrooms aren't useful. I had one when I first got the Whaler and replaced it real quickly.

You need more than 100' of line.

Remember that Jon has a much bigger boat than you do, as are the boats in the harbor.

Chuck

 

[Jon Nellis]

I have had 3 or 4 danforth style anchors, including a Fortress and if the bottom was anything but sand, they just did not hook. ...and who wants to dive a sandy bottom anyway?

I have found that the claw style hook better in the rocks and run a heavy anchor so I don't need a lot of scope (1:1 or less) so you can drop down right on the dive site, not swim an extra 300 feet over to it. But then I don't swim much these days anyway. Ball Buster is now a shore dive from Coral street.

P.S. Scooter demo tomorrow at Lake Tahoe!!!

 

[MbWaterdog]

I use a 15 pound weight belt with the buckle zip-tied….