Anchors away…

Roper

Roper

Idiot Savant, still
Forum Supporter
I used to have a 10 pound lead ball that I used for an anchor with my Watermaster. But it went for a ride out the back of my pickup on a bumpy FS road. Trying to find a replacement has proved to be a pain in the ass, and expensive. What do Y’all use for anchors when bobber watching?
The frustrating part is I have several hundred pounds of wheel weight ingots I’ve molded over the years for bullet casting. But one ingot only weighs two pounds. I’m wondering if I could make a mold for a one time casting of an anchor. But I’m open to suggestions on where to find a suitable anchor. Downrigger weights have a fin I don’t need.

Help…
 
My ten pounder is marginal with wind holding my 16' boat. Went the redneck route one day and tied on a 25' lb free weight from my barbell set. Usually miss a lifting session when I fish, so two birds with one stone.😉
 
Roper said:
I used to have a 10 pound lead ball that I used for an anchor with my Watermaster. But it went for a ride out the back of my pickup on a bumpy FS road. Trying to find a replacement has proved to be a pain in the ass, and expensive. What do Y’all use for anchors when bobber watching?
The frustrating part is I have several hundred pounds of wheel weight ingots I’ve molded over the years for bullet casting. But one ingot only weighs two pounds. I’m wondering if I could make a mold for a one time casting of an anchor. But I’m open to suggestions on where to find a suitable anchor. Downrigger weights have a fin I don’t need.

Help…
Click to expand...
Roper - Making the anchor out of the lead you have sounds like a fun project. It's definitely the kind of thing I would try if I had all that lead lying around and needed an anchor.

Is your casting furnace is large enough to melt 10# of lead in one shot for the pour? You might be able to cobble together a wooden form, maybe in a pyramid shape, to cast it. It would smoke and burn obviously, but would probably stay in tact long enough for the lead to solidify. Then maybe take an eye bolt and thread on a washer or two with nuts, and plunge that into the top of the liquid lead before it sets.

Let us know if you decide to try it and what works.
 
Merle said:
Roper - Making the anchor out of the lead you have sounds like a fun project. It's definitely the kind of thing I would try if I had all that lead lying around and needed an anchor.

Is your casting furnace is large enough to melt 10# of lead in one shot for the pour? You might be able to cobble together a wooden form, maybe in a pyramid shape, to cast it. It would smoke and burn obviously, but would probably stay in tact long enough for the lead to solidify. Then maybe take an eye bolt and thread on a washer or two with nuts, and plunge that into the top of the liquid lead before it sets.

Let us know if you decide to try it and what works.
Click to expand...
My pot is a ten pound unit. I think I’ll work on a form for trying a cast…
 
Hem said:
My ten pounder is marginal with wind holding my 16' boat. Went the redneck route one day and tied on a 25' lb free weight from my barbell set. Usually miss a lifting session when I fish, so two birds with one stone.😉
Click to expand...

^this, unless it’s just not classy enough. Or if you do what @Merle suggests, I wonder if Hardi plank would work better and burn less.
 
Matt B said:
^this, unless it’s just not classy enough. Or if you do what @Merle suggests, I wonder if Hardi plank would work better and burn less.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah.. Great idea on the hardi-plank cement board! Would be tougher to nail together, but I wonder if you could use that high-temp aluminum duct tape to tape the seams.
 
I met someone this week on a drive-in moderate elevation and he recommended using downrigger balls. He was using a 10 lb one and it was holding his boat in the wind. I’m going to invest in one, maybe in the 8 lb range because I use a frameless pontoon boat. Based on my search of the SW website, there seem to be some without fins. I’ll be looking for one this weekend and will let you know.
 
Last edited:
Eastside said:
I met someone this week on a drive-in moderate elevation and he recommended using downrigger balls. He was using a 10 lb one and it was holding his boat in the wind. I’m going to invest in one, maybe in the 8 lb range because I use a frameless pontoon boat. Based on my search of the SW website, there seem to be some without fins. I’ll be looking for one this weekend and will let you know.
Click to expand...
Looked again, most have fins.
 
_WW_ said:
Three sided pyramid is what I think is the ideal shape. It works in lakes and performs better in rivers. Four sided would be the next best.
Click to expand...
I'm with you. I've used the mushroom anchors @SurfnFish suggests and have issues with them rolling or sliding on sloped surfaces or hard lake bottoms. I've used a piece of 4" diameter steel rod about 3.5 inches long (12 # +/-) which had the same rolling or sliding issues. My 10 pound pyramid anchor works better (for me).

@Roper - My buddy Herb has a friend that casts 4-sided pyramid style anchors. Do you want me to see how he makes the molds?//Pat
 
Merle said:
Oh yeah.. Great idea on the hardi-plank cement board! Would be tougher to nail together, but I wonder if you could use that high-temp aluminum duct tape to tape the seams.
Click to expand...
Matt B said:
^this, unless it’s just not classy enough. Or if you do what @Merle suggests, I wonder if Hardi plank would work better and burn less.
Click to expand...

So I'm sitting here at work tonight with not much to do so I'm running thru ideas on how to cast an anchor. Another option if you had some sheet metal lying around would be to use that. You could cut out 4 triangles with tin-snips and use the aluminum tape to tape them together into a 4 sided pyramid. Then fill a bucket with sand and stick the form into it "point down".

According to my calculations, you would want each of the 4 triangles to be 4.25" wide at the base and 4.75" tall. Then when they tilt over to touch at the peak, you will have a pyramid height of 4.25", and a base of 4.25" x 4.25". That's a volume of 25.6 cubic inches and if lead is .41" lb/in^3 that gives a total weight of about 10.5 lbs.
 
You could cast it in sand.
If you really liked your 10# ball and want to save some cash, check Craigslist. I bought two relatively cheap there last September.
 
I use a # 10 can which I filled with cement and inserted a large eye bolt & shackle. It weighs about 10 lbs., was cheap to make, holds my canoe well, and if I lose it, or have to cut it off because it gets stuck between rocks, who cares.


anchor.jpg
 
I have a piece of steel cut off from the end of a soldier pile that I used to use to anchor my 14 ft aluminum boat. On the plus side it was free and will hold in pretty much any combination of current, bottom, and wind. On the down side, it probably weighs 30 pounds, maybe double that when pulling it out of deep mud. It makes a good guest anchor (the guest sitting in the bow gets to pull it). I haven't used it in probably 20 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top