Handling An Anchor Safely And Easily

5 comments / Posted on / by

Photo by Louis cahill

Photo by Louis cahill

By Louis Cahill

Too many anglers don’t understand how dangerous a boat anchor can be.

I was talking to a good friend the other day about an auto accident he was in. He was T-boned at an intersection while towing his drift boat. His wife was in the passenger seat and his two year old daughter in her car seat behind them. Luckily, they all walked away with only minor injuries, although his boat was completely destroyed.

Later, viewing the footage from a traffic camera, his blood ran cold. The video clearly showed his pyramid anchor punching through the back window and sailing across the intersection, missing his daughter’s head by less than a foot.

Screen-Shot-2015-07-21-at-1.03.09-PMThe energy of a car accident can turn a boat anchor into a cannon ball. I know way too many anglers who drive around with an anchor in their truck or SUV, just waiting to turn a fender-bender into a fatal accident. Don’t be one of them.

A couple of years ago I had a brain-storm while in the Home Depot. I bought one of those XXL carabiners they sell for bundling tools and drop chords. It’s turned out to be a great tool for managing my anchor safely and easily. I don’t know how I ever got by without it.

Order one HERE, NOW!

Watch this video to see how I handle my anchor safely and easily.

 

Louis Cahill
Gink & Gasoline
www.ginkandgasoline.com
hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
 
Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
 

Follow Gink & Gasoline on Facebook:

5 thoughts on “Handling An Anchor Safely And Easily

  1. Great tip. If you are buying a new boat and they offer an anchor nest I would highly recommend. I have one on my trailer and it works great.

  2. Funny, I never realized how many people would drive around with a loose anchor. Stowing the anchor and anchor rope safely inside the boat is just one of my post-fishing activities. Good article.

  3. While that makes a nice handle, it’s really not designed for the dynamic loads an anchor is going to exert in an accident – especially if its connected to a seat belt, which won’t keep it snug. The kinetic energy in a 15lb anchor at 60 mph is about the same as would have after being dropped from the roof of a 2-story house.

    Tethering is a great idea – just use equipment that’s designed for it.

    • Paul is correct. The fact that the anchor is consistent with a “working load” should dictate you to use a carabiner that is beyond the rating for the working load. I would suggest also using a locking carabiner. Black diamond and Petzl make many excellent models to suit the purposes needed here.

  4. That caribiner will look like a bent paper clip if you got in a car crash with it clipped to your anchor. I’d look at any climbing store/REi/backcountry sort of website and buy the biggest locking caribiner that you can find. Something like that to a seatbelt would stand a much larger chance of keeping the anchor in place.

Leave a Reply to caser. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Captcha loading...