Sand bucket anchor
Submitted by Grey Ghost on Sun, 2017-08-06 08:28
2 lost sarca anchors, chain and most of rope this year. Time to use a cordial container full of sand &/or concrete. In 6m this morning. If it wasn't so bloody cold, I could have just about dived for it today.
No snapper either and a fair bit of swell around Garden Island. A few Chinaman Cod and ?spotted brown? cod.
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"Grey Ghost", 670HT Barcrusher with 150 Yamaha, based at Cockburn PBC.
.thumbnail.jpg "Try the van out at pulling steve's boat")
piston broke
Posts: 776
Date Joined: 05/11/08
I hope
you marked the spot?
Grey Ghost
Posts: 183
Date Joined: 12/10/15
I got the spot
Who feels like a winter dive? Is a beautiful 28 degrees in the water.
"Grey Ghost", 670HT Barcrusher with 150 Yamaha, based at Cockburn PBC.
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Farenheight :P
Farenheight :P
Love the West!
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
What's happening to them?
How are you losing them?
If they are getting snagged your on rough ground where a sarca is no advantage and a home made reef pic will do.
If it's sand how on earth are you losing them?
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Grey Ghost
Posts: 183
Date Joined: 12/10/15
Buried
I've modified the Sarca so it tunnels deep into the sand, real deep. A bit like one of those Yankee bunker buster bombs, plus I've got 50m of 1" chain. You can't be too safe, there was big swell coming through today between Carnac and Garden Island.
At least the Western Wirrah, Leopard Wirrah, 40cm Dhufish and 10 cm cardinal fish that I caught, offset the cost of the anchor, fuel and bait.
I heard somewhere that wirrah and cardinal fish taste miles better than coral trout, especially in a real spicy fish curry. My wife and kids can enjoy their fish dinner. I'm going to get a fillet-o-fish at Maccas for dinner.
"Grey Ghost", 670HT Barcrusher with 150 Yamaha, based at Cockburn PBC.
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
That 5/16 chain has a
That 5/16 chain has a breaking load of about 4+ tonnes.
If your anchor really does set that deep you need to be careful.
Consider instead maybe shackling to the back end and using a sacrificial wire type tie at the end of the shank if you are just fishing etc?
Or getting a smaller cheap one for when not leaving the boat unattended
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17867
Date Joined: 11/03/08
even a cable tie to do the
even a cable tie to do the job as the wire. they work out quite cheap in large packs and easier to replace than wire and are stong enough to do the job like you mentioned
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17867
Date Joined: 11/03/08
if you give the wirrah to
if you give the wirrah to the misus she will never speak to you again. then again. lol
wirrah are shite wouldnt even feed to my dog.
not good about the chain and anchor
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
woody
Posts: 615
Date Joined: 27/02/08
I use a reef achor when on
I use a reef achor when on reef and a sand anchor when on sand....is it really that hard?
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Feel for you
Sarcas are not the cheapest anchors along with the chain can make fishing a rather expensive hobby. Maybe the mod you made to the anchors is not the way to go, they have the reputation of being a really efficient anchor.
Without knowing the full circumstances of how they were lost it might pay you to take a long look at what you are using to anchor on what type of ground, and yes what you say about being safe is so true, safe is safe. But you can over kill things.
I hope you have got the location/s on your GPS and when the weather is a bit more friendly you can do a bit of diving and some recovery of your gear. Good luck.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
The problem with anchor winches
When I had the 6m tinny, I had two separate 120 metre setups of anchor and chain, stored in two underfloor compartments up front. One sliding shank Danforth, one reef pick. Used whatever was appropriate. But when you've got a winch up front of a cuddy cab, it's pretty awkward to be changing on the run. Sarca will hold everywhere, reef pick needs reef. Plenty of Sarcas are lost--I bought both from of mine from a Fishwrecked diver
. Ordinary reef picks are too light to self launch, you'd need to wrap a lot of extra weight low down on the shank for them to work. I picked up one of those grapnel anchors the South Ozzies use a lot for anchoring on kelp or rubble. Prongs are 16mm thick 
, you need to rig a trip, because you will never straighten them. Instead of that, I reckon I'll cut them off near the base and weld on 10mm s/s rod in their place. Anchored on the coral a fair bit at Ningaloo this year with the Sarca, just made sure it went down on rubble or sand, never in the middle of the really gnarly stuff. As I did previously with any anchor. Never had an issue, touch wood. Always hooked immediately, always came straight up. I know, I'm jinxing myself...
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
I should add, there is a
I should add, there is a MASSIVE difference between anchoring to fish and anchoring to dive and/or vessel unattended.
If it drags while fishing, big deal best to save the anchor.
If you are diving or off the boat, different kettle of fish...
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
Very true.
And, of course, if you are diving, a snagged pick is no biggie, if you have air left.
Lance55
Posts: 126
Date Joined: 26/08/16
50m of inch chain for am25 foot tinnie???
interesting setup. That's a lot f weight up front.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
May be the odd touch of sarcasm
At several points in the OP