anchor and anchor winch questions

So, perhaps some of you remember back several months ago when I had been inquiring about stability issues and a Sea Mule harbor tug I was considering purchasing.
Well, I got it, and now I've got a few anchor questions.
The boat is 40' long with a 12' beam and 7 high (drafts 3'). Basically a heavy metal shoe box with twin 54" dia screws, weighing in at some 25 ton. Sitting next to the boat at the salvage company was a huge anchor, classic navy design and weighs 1500 lbs. They claim this came with the boat so I took it. I know, I know, it's too big for this boat, but the price was right and I don't want this boat to go anywhere on me. Unfortunately, there is no provision on this boat for this anchor...no winch, no chain locker, no nothing. SO, I'll be designing and building this part of the boat from scratch.

Something else you need to know is the boat's intended location. I live on a 55 mile long lake in Washington State, USA that's very narrow and very deep...up to 1500 ft in the middle half and 100 - 250 ft at the ends. And a solid rock bottom most everywhere. I'm going to limit my anchoring to the lake ends, obviously, so we're talking 300 ft of anchor line, max.

The lake is mostly calm, but sometimes we can get sustained waves of 3 ft. rolling down lake.

I'd like to be able to anchor this barge sometimes for a month at a time, and leave it there, so the anchor issue is real important.

Okay, some questions:

Should I use wire rope or chain? I have access to both cheap. I've got lots of 5/8 wire rope. I could also pick up 300 ft of galv. chain for a couple hundred.

In regards to winching this anchor and line up. I'd like to use a hydraulic winch, like from a tow truck (so I can free spool/brake it out) if I used wire rope. Or, if chain, I suppose a winch with a chain pulley and then dropping it into a chain locker.

I understand how these boat chain winches/lockers work, and have seen a few first hand, but I have had no luck sourcing these on the internet. obvously we're talking a big hoist here, not something designed for a light Danforth anchor.

So, right now I'll limit it to this issue of chain or wire rope. With a 25 ton metal boat, 350 ft of line out on a 1500 lb anchor resting on hard rock bottom would you go wire rope or chain?

thanks for any help here.
BTW, my Sea Mule come home on a low boy with pilot cars front and back in a few weeks. Should get the neighbors shaking their heads....
~martin

 

actually I am horrified, 700kg of anchor is about 7 times too much In my opinion, for a permanent mooring you hit jackpot, but to raise to chocks, I don't think so

 

All you'll ever need, if you are sensible?

http://www.rocna.com/boat-anchors/

http://www.rocna.com/main.php?secti...=0&PHPSESSID=e96cfa0e02885342d731a332d81067c3


Pericles

 

You've got a mooring weight, not a boat anchor. Did you look in the rearview mirror as you left. I bet "they" were all outside, laughing & rolling in the grass.
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When you do get a suitable size anchor, you want chain. This keeps the angle of the rope low under water to keep the "pull" on the anchor at the proper angle, plus acts as a shock absorber, forcing the boat to lift the weight of the chain and not jerk constantly at the anchor.
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Lets see this behemoth of a anchor.

 

Okay, okay, I got the point...it's too heavy.
But, I don't think they were laughing. I only paid 150 bucks for it.
The issues I'm facing are perhaps a bit unusual:
- The lake is rock bottom with nothing to grab
- The boat is big and heavy
- I will need to leave it moored to this anchor for up to a month at a time with no one on it.

I'm having a hard time finding any rules of thumb regarding how big of an anchor I should have when the anchor is the old type vs. the fancy new designs. Any help would be appreciated.

Boat is 12 x 40 by 7, drafts 3 and weighs 25 ton, basically a metal barge shape. Lake bottom is rock and max depth I would anchor at is 300 (I know that means a lot of rode). I'm thinking I'll use wire rope and a 20 ft chain leader (leader weighs 250 lbs) and an anchor weighing???
You tell me! (Please and thanks). see pics
~martin

 

Your right, it's probably worth that, melted down. I think there is a Honda Civic in there.
Seriously, It will make a good mooring weight, IF, your not in tight quarters. It may drag on rock btm. in a gale, but won't wander far.
The wire rope may need protection from twisting & kinking. A big swivel fitting. What you are really building is a hawser. You can't "cleat" those, they need a mooring bit.
Whats the plan, when, you use the boat? leave the anchor in place? If so, you will need a float or buoy, big enough to float the end of the hawser.
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Months alone at moor? Take a look at this system. Only $400.00. I wish I'd has one on our houseboat, Before she sank.
==="GSM Security System. It"====
.
This is a review from a fellow boater.====
I must say this thing works flawlessly. The last number programmed in it is the local sheriff's office. So if this thing does go off at 1:00 am in the morning (and it has) the first thing I do is hit a button to mute the siren and listen in. If it warrants ( and it did) I called the Sheriff's office before it had a chance to. The unique thing about this system is it will tell you why it is alarming. For instance, if I lose power at the dock it will call my cell phone and send me a text message "Houseboat Power OFF" and when power is back it will text me "Houseboat Power Recovered"
If it detects CO or smoke it will dial out numbers whether armed or not. So if its a Saturday Night and the CO Sensor goes off and I happen to be sleeping in it, it will start calling the list so hopefully someone will come to my rescue.

All in all, this thing is a nice security to have. I live aout 75 miles from houseboat and the thought of some thief, vandall, or even some maintenance issue causing a problem and me not knowing is unacceptable. I found it on ebay after searching GSM Alarm System. I paid about $400.00 for the complete setup including all sensors. I also bought a Wilson Wireless Repeater to extend the range of it and my cell phone on board another 50 miles or so.

It really is a piece of mind that you are paying for. I, too have insurance, but I guess I worked to hard to build this thing for my family and I.

 

Your anchor and tackle size really depends on the windage of the vessel. If you are building a 2 story house on that barge you need a big anchor and some big chain. I would suggest an anchor of 125-175 pounds and at lest 50' of 1/2" chain, then 3/4" braided rope or wire if you have a drum type winch. Like the Nordic http://nordicmachine.com/anchorwinch18-24.html

These winches are available in aluminum or steel in the PNW, most small machine shops close to the waterfront have a stock size or two. There are used ones around.

 

For a permanent mooring, I suggest you to purchase another anchor like the one you already purchased and use them jointly as the weight where to attach to it a 25 tons Hazelett Marine elastic system with the required length and size of Uniline rope. It really works and will protect your boat for time on end in the conditions you mention.

http://www.hazelettmarine.com/pdf/HM Hazelett Elastic Mooring Systems.pdf

You may contact Jeff Lefebvre at Hazelett Marine for advice. They have already developed systems to single moore boats up to 140 tons, as far as I know.

Tel: (802)863-6376
Web: www.hazelettmarine.com

Cheers.