Drum Anchor winch rope
hey guys,
any recommendations on anchor rope for a drum winch? Currently have 90m of 6mm double braid (not sure if nylon or poly) with 8m of chain and have snapped it twice while retrieving anchor. First time was after a scuba dive so managed to get it back easily enough. Second time was when I was fishing, Ended up marking spot and diving to get it the following week. It snapped as I drove up to it to retrieve it obviously caught and a bit of swell caused the boat to lift and it snapped straight up.
Thinking of upgrading the rope to 8mm double braid nylon as 6mm i think is too thin, won’t get 90m on it but can settle for less rope..
oh and It’s a sarca anchor so should in theory slide off the reef to retrieve and it’s expensive enough to warrant diving for it.
ChrisG
Posts: 558
Date Joined: 30/12/11
Might be just me mate and
Might be just me mate and don’t mean to sound like a dik but I always thought Sarca anchors are just a better type of sand anchor...if your putting it in the reef, driving toward it or not, would be causing massive weight and snapping the rope. Ive had one for years and never lost one but I only anchor on sand mud or gravel. If I’m anchoring on the reef even just our local limestone shit I always swap out with a reef anchor with hardly any (if any)chain and if it gets caught it’ll just bend before it snaps the rope... just thoughts
silly
Posts: 382
Date Joined: 02/01/09
Usually anchor in
Usually anchor in sand/rubble too but sometimes it ends Up in the reef...
sarca’s have the slide rail at the top incas this happens so you can pull it out from the plow end
bleicester
Posts: 219
Date Joined: 10/09/14
SARCA
SARCA literally stands for Sand And Reef Combination Anchor.
The anchor is fine. Sounds more like the rope was defective and needs replacement.
Error 404
Fish not found
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Up grade required
IMO you are using rope that is not suitable, 6mm is a bit to lighy I think your idea of up grading is the way to go.
timboon
Posts: 2961
Date Joined: 14/11/10
What depth max do you anchor
What depth max do you anchor in?
There is no good not having enough rope but then having your anchor rope snapping is flirting with danger also....
6mm of decent rope should be fine ( i'd be running a shit load of chain though if its 6mm all the way to the chain ), I've anchored to a Whaler using 0.35mm braid and unfortunately not been able to snap it even in a huge swell rising and falling!!
silly
Posts: 382
Date Joined: 02/01/09
Usually Anchor in about 30m
Usually Anchor in about 30m max.. When i first got the winch, the standard chain wouldn’t hold so had to cut some rope off and add more chain, to give the anchor a chance to grab
Thinking bout it now, Perhaps it could be the anchor rope which came with the winch is shite or been affected by UV maybe..
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
I have the same type of
I have the same type of winch and have 10mm silver 3 strand. You are lucky you broke the rope. I had the exact same scenario a year ago and broke the glass bowsprit. I've repaired it and it is now much stronger but I'm much more careful now.
Those sliding rails are only good if the rope pull is in a direct line with the anchor. I've found a lot of times in the limestone reef here that the snag happens because the anchor drops down into a crevise and the sliding rail of a Sarcha would be of no use.
I reckon the best bet for drum capacity is to have chain, then some 10mm double braid or 3 strand of about 15 meters, then join to some 5mm spectra wich will give heaps more capacity on the drum. It's expensive but a good combination. I reckon you would wqant the weakest link to be down near the anchor so if it breaks, you don't loose all your expensive rope.
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
tiimmbo
Posts: 695
Date Joined: 16/08/09
Yep this is 100% true. I get
Yep this is 100% true. I get my anchor stuck some times when anchoring on reef and diving. Every time it’s the chain wrapped around the reef not the anchor caught up as such.
thesupervisor
Posts: 1136
Date Joined: 10/06/09
I got 220mtrs on my gx2 4mm
I got 220mtrs on my gx2
4mm dyneema rated at 2.9t
Cost about $650 tho but have not snapped it yet
getting the bottom line final answer from a bunch of blokes that use false names and put smiley faces at the end of paragraphs is not the best place in the world to get the information you seek.
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Spectra is the way to go
If you are after a large capacity on the winch then it's very hard to beat the spectra or like type rope. It's small diameter buy very good strength to diameter make it a good choice when looking for a lot of line on the winch, downside is it is not cheap but IMO it's worth the expense if anchoring up a lot.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
I'm just about to go through this.
I have installed a Tuffwinch 240HC, equivilant to Lonestar GX8. (305mm drum)They supplied 100m of 8mm double braid nylon. I have bought 30 m of 6mm dyneema to go on top, and am also going to see if I can get 10 or 20m m of 12mm rope on top. The idea is that the double braid will give the stretch when riding up over slops when anchored, and the dyneema will have the strength at the last bit--the 12mm will likely be some 8-strand plait left over from my windlass-type winch on the other boat, so it will have strength and some stretch. I also want it for chafe protection at the bottom.
Tomorrow morning will tell if this will all fit. On the subject of chain, I have heard before from divers that long lengths of chain seem to be overly misrepresented in the snapped-off anchors they find--lots of chain is a must for holding well on soft bottom, but a liability when anchoring on reef, and possibly worst when the boat is not pulling hard due to wind, as it can just drop into craacks and end up under ledges.
to The Supervisor--did you get that anchor back? I remember you telling of the load of dyneema, then you were after someone to dive on your anchor not long after.
thesupervisor
Posts: 1136
Date Joined: 10/06/09
Anchor gone 2 divers couldnt
Anchor gone 2 divers couldnt find it
Only lost my chain but did need a trip to cobolt blue to fully reinforce my bow spit as it dint cope well when i broke it
getting the bottom line final answer from a bunch of blokes that use false names and put smiley faces at the end of paragraphs is not the best place in the world to get the information you seek.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
Got it on late today
100 m of 8mm double braid nylon, 30 m of 6mm dyneema, and the 20 m of 12 mm silver rope--I couldn't deal with splicing the 8-strand this afternoon
9 m of 6mm chain on top of that. it all fits quite well, even building up in the middle , as the tapered Lonstar roller is probably a bit close to really lay it all over the drum.