Need a new anchor after today - Which kind?

[Homeskillet]

Lost an anchor today. Dropped it to fish and couldn’t retrieve it to save my life. I was in 10 ft of water so I dove in and pulled myself to the crib it was hung up on (no goggles in the boat) and got cut up on the zebra mussels! No big deal normally except I’m on a blood thinner right now and couldn’t get the bleeding to stop for a long time. So i ended up cutting the line. Lost my anchor and chain.

Thinking about trying a Digger. Anyone have anything good or bad to say about them. Any other suggestions

[TruckerTim]

I have been very happy with my Fortress. Stupid light cause it's all aluminum, (4lbs) and holds great in sand and mud. I looked at the Digger but I wanted all aluminum and the Digger version for my boat was 12lbs.

[jhnmdahl]

How big a boat, and what kind of bottom conditions do you normally boat in? Are you just lounging on a lake, or trying to hold against a river or strong current?

I like my Richter anchor, but it's not a great pick for some of Cobalt's bigger boats. If you're still in a 220, it could work well.

[Homeskillet]

Still in a 220 on a clear freshwater lake. Mostly weedy bottom with the occasional sandy beach (with 2 anchors). No currents or rivers.

[Big Block Power]

Love my digger!! I have 2 spare Danforths if you want them.

[AsLan7]

Love my digger!! I have 2 spare Danforths if you want them.

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IMHO it depends on your anchoring area...rocky, sand, mud, etc.
We are the opposite. We’ve had Danforths on three boats now. They’re coated, don’t mark up our anchor lockers, and hold great in our sandy beach territory.

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[Stagdad]

Depending on the bottom, ours is broken rock and mud, but I love (love) my richter anchor. I used to use a danforth fluke style of sufficient size, but advice here led me to the richter. With 5 feet of chain that one should have on any anchor, it grips the bottom like a monkey hanging from a branch! It is a set it and forget it anchor. The danforth was pretty good but it seemed to need a little drifting to let the flukes dig in. The downside is that the anchor alone is 18 lbs and can give you a workout when retrieving.

[fischelr01]

I bought a 20Lb Navy anchor for our silty/sandy lake. My dad has a similar anchor on the Mississippi, holds fine in a 4mph current. While they are heavy, they're coated with no sharp edges and very are short/compact. The coating was my #1 priority, didn't want an absent minded ding in the gelcoat. Obviously, don't forget a leader chain to help hold it down.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pr ... avy-anchor

[tgrace98]

I use a 14lb digger as well with 100ft of line at Table Rock. As long as I can find less than 50ft of water I can get mine to grab and hold my R7 every time. I use to use an 11lb but the spring broke on it and was getting hard to retrieve.

[Stagdad]

Almost forgot, the danforth I was using did not fit in my 220s anchor locker.I had to keep it in the ski locker. The Richter , chain, and rode all fit now.

[Homeskillet]

Almost forgot, the danforth I was using did not fit in my 220s anchor locker.I had to keep it in the ski locker. The Richter , chain, and rode all fit now.

Definitely something to consider! I like that the Danforth anchors are light. But neither one of mine fit in that front locker. I have them in with the center filler cushions in that dry space in front of the wheel. I'm always afraid someone will slice a cushion pulling out the anchor lol!

When you guys have your anchors in that front locker, don't that bounce around and make a lot of noise in unsavory seas????

[Big Block Power]

No I never hear mine. I would cut the Danforth down if I used it. Not the end of the world.

[AsLan7]

Almost forgot, the danforth I was using did not fit in my 220s anchor locker.I had to keep it in the ski locker. The Richter , chain, and rode all fit now.

Definitely something to consider! I like that the Danforth anchors are light. But neither one of mine fit in that front locker. I have them in with the center filler cushions in that dry space in front of the wheel. I'm always afraid someone will slice a cushion pulling out the anchor lol!

When you guys have your anchors in that front locker, don't that bounce around and make a lot of noise in unsavory seas????

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We made sure our larger danforth anchor fit in the front locker before purchasing. The smaller danforth anchor is stored in the rear sun pad cushion storage area for when we need a line out the back during beaching.

The front anchor doesn’t bounce since the 100’ of anchor rope plus 3’of coated anchor chain are stored in a dry bag which then sits on top of the anchor. We also keep a 3’ long sponge plus a bailer made out of a Clorox container in the locker as well. The anchor sits on the sponge and the Clorox container is cupped over the chained end.

I’ll take a pic next time and post.

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[Docj]

Depending on the bottom, ours is broken rock and mud, but I love (love) my richter anchor. I used to use a danforth fluke style of sufficient size, but advice here led me to the richter. With 5 feet of chain that one should have on any anchor, it grips the bottom like a monkey hanging from a branch! It is a set it and forget it anchor. The danforth was pretty good but it seemed to need a little drifting to let the flukes dig in. The downside is that the anchor alone is 18 lbs and can give you a workout when retrieving.

So Stagdad for your 220, you use the 18# Richter? I’ve been going back and forth between the 18 and 25# for my 2008 232. It seems mixed depending on where you look. We tend to only use in coves at Grand Lake of the Cherokees rock and mud with a few trees here and there. The 25# seems plenty but would be miserable to handle and unsure if it fits in the anchor locker. Any other’s perspective welcome.

[Stagdad]

Depending on the bottom, ours is broken rock and mud, but I love (love) my richter anchor. I used to use a danforth fluke style of sufficient size, but advice here led me to the richter. With 5 feet of chain that one should have on any anchor, it grips the bottom like a monkey hanging from a branch! It is a set it and forget it anchor. The danforth was pretty good but it seemed to need a little drifting to let the flukes dig in. The downside is that the anchor alone is 18 lbs and can give you a workout when retrieving.

So Stagdad for your 220, you use the 18# Richter? I’ve been going back and forth between the 18 and 25# for my 2008 232. It seems mixed depending on where you look. We tend to only use in coves at Grand Lake of the Cherokees rock and mud with a few trees here and there. The 25# seems plenty but would be miserable to handle and unsure if it fits in the anchor locker. Any other’s perspective welcome.

I use the 18 pounder with 5 feet of chain. I believe the literature from greenfield, the manufacturer says this is good for hulls up to 24’, works well with the 220, results and conditions may vary.