hello experienced drift boat drivers

[duzenanygood?]

Thanks to all who responded to my questions on lines (ropes). Do you guys like to tie some type of knot in the end of your anchor rope, (like a figure 8 knot,etc),for a "just in case" thing if your rope came out of the rope's lock-stop, (I know there's a name for that thing, but I went brain- dead trying to think of it). I know this would really be an unlikely event, but I've heard of this happening when one of your passengers is fighting a fish, and gets their foot tangled in your anchor rope, an hurriedly lifts the rope to get their foot out. I'd be thinking, "too bad his foot wasn't tangled on the OTHER side of the anchor pully, to take this nitwit into the river too!" Anyway, I've never gotten my anchor hung up, but if it happened, you would want get to shore, take the rope off and walk upstream to free it, meaning you'd have to untie the knot in the end of your rope. The question I'm asking is, some of you guys said you use your anchor rope to line your boat down through a nasty section of water, do you tie the rope somehow up by the cleat to make it fast to the boat, or do you use the knot in the end of the rope to hold onto the boat by it's anchor bracket ?

[cutt plug]

I personally keep mine tied off inside my boat. I've heard a lot of people discourage this because if you get in trouble with the anchor you'll want to cut it loose quickly. I do keep a sharp knife handy in the event I have to cut it loose. I also keep a line tied off to the bow while floating.

Fortunatly, I've never found myself in a dangerous situation like that. However, I'm very conservative when it comes to floating, if it's dicey at all I'll go somewhere else. There's no fish worth the risk of dumping my boat or worse.

[cosmo]

The only time my rope is tied to the boat is when I'm approaching a dangerous rapid. In big waves, your jam cleat can slip and allow the anchor to catch bottom and then the jam cleat may possibly catch---not good. I keep the rope loose for the most part so I can shed it if I need to but tie the line tight to the anchor prior to rapids.

[Drachir]

I personally would not tie off an anchor at all. If your anchor gets fouled and you have it tied off, your boat could go down and put you and your passengers in the water. I always leave the tag end clear so it can pass through the anchor system if I get it fouled. I always carry a spare anchor and rope just in this event. I have rowing DB's for over 30 years and have only lost one anchor in all those years, but sure was glad I did not have it tied off to the boat, it saved me!

[andy-ap emerger]

Check the archives from last Feb.
Last year I actually DID have one of those moments on the Clack. High fast water and I'm trying to get into the saftey zone when..."Zzzzzwip!" The anchor breaks free & then as I am frantically trying to pull it in "Plop!" the anchor breaks out of the ropes knot! Ahggg! So, I manage to row to the bank, walk out and try to find where the 40 pound lead triangle anchor is. Sure, enough I can see it. In 4&1/5 feet of rast COLD water. I can barely wade out to it. Try to kick it with sea legs being pushed by fast current. No way. So, I run back to the boat, take off all cotten clothes & run back to the anchor & DIVE in to pull it out with both hands (Duh duh duh DUMB!). I managed to rescure the anchor. A 30 dollar anchor isn't worth a life. I wont do that again. I have since tied a BIG fatty know & even wrapped it tightly with electrical tape & re-taped it with mylar/duct tape.
Not gonna do that silly move again!
[img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]


AP
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[Fishing With Larry]

I know that there are many different ideas on this and I believe that it should be treated different in different conditions. In my 25 years of learning to row, and I say learning because even with all of my experience, my body and the river continue to change presenting new situations every time, I have learned to respect the river even at the lowest mildest levels. It only takes the slightest error to put a boat down and as Forrest Foxworthy once told me about sinking a boat, "there are those that have, and those that will". On a river where you are traveling through dangerous rapids, I secure the anchor so it does not have any opportunity to break free in the middle of the rapid. It can be freed after clearing the rapid. On the rest of the river or in mild water, I have a knot tied to the end of my line where it has pulled to several times while caught up fighting fish.

I have also saved a boat several times during that learning time by cutting a hung anchor. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS KEEP A KNIFE ACCESSABLE. It only takes seconds. This goes for your sled as well. I had a boat cross too close to my sled at Bonneville last year springer fishing and he would have sunk us both if I wouldn't have cut us loose. You should also carry a spare anchor for this reason and expect to lose one in time. I believe that mistakes happen, be prepared and don't be so macho that you can't put on your life vest.

[DownTime]

All good advice.For a spare anchor I carry about a three foot piece of automotive innertube.You tie it off on one end fill it with river rock,tie the other end and use your anchor rope to tie to it in the middle if you need it.Cuts down on weight.This works well on drift boats only.

JB

[SpinnerMan]

Are we discussing drift boat anchors?

If we are:

When I get to a bad stretch of water I put the anchor in the nest/holder and secure it like I would if it was on the trailer.

I never have a knot on the end -- I feel much safer knowing if something bad happens with the anchor the most that I will lose is the anchor and rope.
:shocked:

Alive and Well!!

SM :smile:

[duzenanygood?]

Hey, thanks for all the replies to my questions. Some of the things you guys said weren't real clear to me. Like, some said you tie, or secure the anchor before going through a bad spot. Do you mean you bring the anchor in the boat? , or did you mean that you tie the rope somehow so it can't come out of the anchor release? And, I'm still wondering how you use the anchor rope if you want to line the boat through a bad spot, (from shore), ie. which end of the rope do you use, an how do you make it fast to the boat? I made my own anchor nest by using an old stop sign I found. I simply traced the outline of my anchor 4 times by "walking" the anchor around the flat aluminum, then bending it at the lines. I attached it with PC7 epoxy cement. Lavro wants $90.00 for a nest, it's just 4 little pieces of laminated 'glass. If any of you guys have never tried PC7, it is truly a great product. You can repair almost anything with it. I first learned of it while repairing large headstones in pioneer cemetaries, that had been vandalized. Some of these stones weigh upwards of 500lbs. , and these little gutter-trash teens would go into these cemetaries at night and bash into the headstones, often breaking them in half or worse. Everyone that I've repaired in 20 years is still standing. 2 11/2 qt. cans cost $95.00 - $100.00. Thanks Alot for all the input! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[ampersat]

If you know you're heading into hairy water, pull out and put the anchor in the boat. If you get surprised, have a front seater tie it off so it can't dump on you.

When I line the boat, I start with the free end of the anchor rope and pull out what I think I'll need, then tie it off as far back on the rail as I can get.

[BUGLEMAN]

Use a bowline to secure your anchor to the line. It works great for me.

[Grantspastor]

Question: Is it possible to sink a drift boat in class 2 water?

Answer: Yes. How do I know this? 35 years ago my anchor rope popped out of a cam cleat....the anchor stuck on the bottom and the boat swamped BEFORE I could get the line cut. I have never tied off the loose end since.

[Best Fishes]

For safety reasons, I will never tie a knot at the end of my anchor rope.
To reduce the small chance of the rope popping out of the jam cleat I would change my jam cleat when the inside angled edges in the cleat begin to wear down (many years of use and the cost is about $5.00).I would replace my anchor line when it begins to show wear much wear. I have found that it is best to use a line that compresses down as much as possible. I once tried some old rock climbing rope since it almost water proof and would not freeze up as much in the cold. This rope did not compress much and it would sometimes come out of the jam cleat.
Best Fishes

[Flatfish]

It is possible to sink a driftboat in class I water.

My first trip ever( Dad and me), we did the Kilchis from the logger bridge down. A quarter mile below the bridge( I was rowing. Dad aint no dummy. He has the kids do the manual labor), we got into a tree.....sideways.

We lost a couple rods and some other gear. The water was about 30" deep.

A friendly fisherman helped us off the tree. We got some of our stuff back. It was 8 am.

We got everything straightened out, and made our way down the river. That was close as I have ever been to losing a boat.

I have to ask on the anchor thing, If you lose the anchor. And you are not in a position pull it back up. Exactly why do you want it to stop the boat by tying a knot in the rope?

Bowline on the anchor. Nothing else in the system. Spare rope( optional at times) under the front seat. You can always tie a rock on( been there done that) to get you thru the day.

At the top of heavy water, we put the anchor in the boat and leave it there.

Good Luck.

Mark and the dog.

[glassblower]

secure the rope to the ancore with a heavy zip tie, it will break and release the ancore before it will swamp the boat. And I would still not put a not in the tag end of the rope, but the zip tie could save ya if the rope got tangled and you could not free it in time.

[dewfish]

O.K. This is what the old timers say to do about anchoring your drift boat. Carry three times the rope you need. I carried over 100ft. in my boat and you ask WHY? If your anchor gets stuck you can let out all but the very end of the rope. You also have moved out of the fast or troubled section of water, for most drift/anchor situations. You can now row to shore and beach the boat. Remove the anchor rope from the boat and now walk upstream and pull the anchor free. I have stuck my boat more than five times in differnt rivers. I always have enough rope to oar to shore walk upstream and retreave it. One down fall to this is all the rope in the boat, blood,scales,corkies,hooks,net.etc.

[straightweave]

Anchor lines and sheets on a sail: the only knot they need is on the business end of the line.