It's finally time we need to look to replace our anchor lines on our 60' Sumerset. As I research the size and type, I found 3/4" diameter double braid nylon. Any recommendations from owners on what type of line to purchase and where to order it from? Thinking 4 new lines 150'...
Anchor Line Recommendations
- Thread starter Jr B
- Start date
We just replaced the anchor lines on our boat this year. We went with 150' 3/4" double-braided polyester ropes for the rear anchors and 50' 1/2" double-braided polyester ropes for the front.
I would have preferred 3/4" for the fronts as well, but the 1/2" has worked fine so far. The 3/4" has been great for the rear anchors. If I were doing it again, I'd probably go with a couple of 200' lines too. I hate having to dig holes for anchors so would rather drag the ropes a little farther to tie off to rocks even when they are a little further out than 150'.
One of the owners on our boat has an account with Rocky Mountain Wire Rope & Rigging in Salt Lake City so we purchased the ropes from them. They also braided thimbles into the ends for an additional fee. Not sure how the pricing compares without an account, but we've been really happy with the ropes so far!
Ed_on_WD
Well-Known Member
My first 2 trips on Lake Powell were aboard 42 foot Myachts rented from Aramark. Not knowing any better, I followed the recommendations to bury the anchors and used the ½ inch lines provided. My first windstorm tore my hands up trying to pull the lines tight and then attempting to tie them off under tension. There had to be a better way.
We bought into a 65 foot Summerset in 2006, and all that extra length caught a lot more wind. I spent a year in my mid 20s driving a big rig tow truck, and that experience helped me figure out a better solution. I started digging bigger and deeper holes and placing 5 foot long 4x4s across the anchor flukes when burying the anchors, and attached 10,000 pound rated ratchet straps between the ¾ inch anchor lines and the anchor shackles. It worked great on the sandy beaches at Gunsite and Padre.
Our group started buying 1 inch gold braid anchor lines, I believe polyester over nylon, and we started heading farther up lake, to Friendship, Rock Creek, and Oak Bay. Sandy beaches gave way to rocky shores, and I started tying off to boulders, big ones the size of a garden shed or a single car garage. I would loop a 1 inch line around a boulder and run it to the shoreline. Bowline knots, or double bowlines, became my easily adjusted knots of choice, and provided loops to hook my ratchet straps to. I started using 2 ratchets per line, so that when a storm hit us, a ratchet could be tightened without the risk of taking the tension off a line, as there was always another ratchet holding tight while one was having the slack taken out.
With three 1 inch lines per side (stern, midship, and bow), and double ratchets on each line easily accessible on dry land a few feet back from the water line, even my wife can tighten the lines by herself if I'm not around. She's a worrier, but now she always has confidence that she is capable of getting the lines tight enough that they are completely out of the water. Our 65 footer is always rock steady in even the strongest winds once all the ratchets are tight.
When we are in the docks, I'll cleat off our 1 inch lines at the stern and run them up to the top deck railing and hold them in.place with zip ties, and lay them along the deck running forward. I tie a small heaving line, 50 feet or so, with a sandbag weight, to the end of the cleated line. We are ready when the boat is beached. When we are almost to our destination, I load two 100 foot 1 inch lines in my Wave Runners along with 2 ratchet straps and go to scout a camp. Finding a good spot, with enough sand for the bow and suitable rocks, I loop around the boulders and I'm ready for my wife to bring the houseboat in. When she hits the sand, a guest will toss me the weighted lines and I pull the anchor lines to me onshore. A guest will cut the zip tie, which has been holding the cleated lines clear of the props. I quickly throw a bowline on the cleated rear lines so that there is 10 to 15 feet between the loops on the cleated line and the line around my boulders and tighten 2 ratchets (windward side first) and we can turn the motors off and attach the other lines and ratchets at our leisure. Getting the first 2 lines tight takes less than 5 minutes.
We had a problem with our other owners cutting the anchor lines when they needed a piece of rope for themselves, but our boat manager solved that one by dipping both ends of each line in paint. If they bring the boat back with a painted end missing, they get charged for 150 feet of 1 inch line.
Our rear lines are the longest, shorter lines work.for the midship cleats, and lately I get away with ratchet straps only for the bow. Yes, anchoring to rocks does require extra lines, but everything is a trade off. I'm 66 now, and digging huge holes in a hurry is not on my "To Do" list anymore. We place solar lights at the ratchets, so nobody trips on them in the dark, and it makes our camp easy to spot when coming in after sunset.
Edited to add. Searching on Amazon 1 inch double braided polyester line has an advertised breaking strength of 30,000 to over 40,000 pounds. With double 10,000 pound ratchets (2 inches wide and 27 feet long) I have never damaged a line. I do know that on a 10,000 pound rated ratchet, the hooks will straighten out at around 12,000 pounds before the straps pop. I've actually damaged the ratchet strap hooks, but never while anchoring the houseboat.
We bought into a 65 foot Summerset in 2006, and all that extra length caught a lot more wind. I spent a year in my mid 20s driving a big rig tow truck, and that experience helped me figure out a better solution. I started digging bigger and deeper holes and placing 5 foot long 4x4s across the anchor flukes when burying the anchors, and attached 10,000 pound rated ratchet straps between the ¾ inch anchor lines and the anchor shackles. It worked great on the sandy beaches at Gunsite and Padre.
Our group started buying 1 inch gold braid anchor lines, I believe polyester over nylon, and we started heading farther up lake, to Friendship, Rock Creek, and Oak Bay. Sandy beaches gave way to rocky shores, and I started tying off to boulders, big ones the size of a garden shed or a single car garage. I would loop a 1 inch line around a boulder and run it to the shoreline. Bowline knots, or double bowlines, became my easily adjusted knots of choice, and provided loops to hook my ratchet straps to. I started using 2 ratchets per line, so that when a storm hit us, a ratchet could be tightened without the risk of taking the tension off a line, as there was always another ratchet holding tight while one was having the slack taken out.
With three 1 inch lines per side (stern, midship, and bow), and double ratchets on each line easily accessible on dry land a few feet back from the water line, even my wife can tighten the lines by herself if I'm not around. She's a worrier, but now she always has confidence that she is capable of getting the lines tight enough that they are completely out of the water. Our 65 footer is always rock steady in even the strongest winds once all the ratchets are tight.
When we are in the docks, I'll cleat off our 1 inch lines at the stern and run them up to the top deck railing and hold them in.place with zip ties, and lay them along the deck running forward. I tie a small heaving line, 50 feet or so, with a sandbag weight, to the end of the cleated line. We are ready when the boat is beached. When we are almost to our destination, I load two 100 foot 1 inch lines in my Wave Runners along with 2 ratchet straps and go to scout a camp. Finding a good spot, with enough sand for the bow and suitable rocks, I loop around the boulders and I'm ready for my wife to bring the houseboat in. When she hits the sand, a guest will toss me the weighted lines and I pull the anchor lines to me onshore. A guest will cut the zip tie, which has been holding the cleated lines clear of the props. I quickly throw a bowline on the cleated rear lines so that there is 10 to 15 feet between the loops on the cleated line and the line around my boulders and tighten 2 ratchets (windward side first) and we can turn the motors off and attach the other lines and ratchets at our leisure. Getting the first 2 lines tight takes less than 5 minutes.
We had a problem with our other owners cutting the anchor lines when they needed a piece of rope for themselves, but our boat manager solved that one by dipping both ends of each line in paint. If they bring the boat back with a painted end missing, they get charged for 150 feet of 1 inch line.
Our rear lines are the longest, shorter lines work.for the midship cleats, and lately I get away with ratchet straps only for the bow. Yes, anchoring to rocks does require extra lines, but everything is a trade off. I'm 66 now, and digging huge holes in a hurry is not on my "To Do" list anymore. We place solar lights at the ratchets, so nobody trips on them in the dark, and it makes our camp easy to spot when coming in after sunset.
Edited to add. Searching on Amazon 1 inch double braided polyester line has an advertised breaking strength of 30,000 to over 40,000 pounds. With double 10,000 pound ratchets (2 inches wide and 27 feet long) I have never damaged a line. I do know that on a 10,000 pound rated ratchet, the hooks will straighten out at around 12,000 pounds before the straps pop. I've actually damaged the ratchet strap hooks, but never while anchoring the houseboat.
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