# Anchor ball



## Nat (Oct 10, 2007)

Last Sunday the 1st we were drift fishing a spot that had 6 boats anchored on it.

I saw one boat hook his anchor ball on the anchor line, Then he nailed the throttle and took off...............and kept on going. he never stopped to pull the line in or the anchor, just cruised off at about 30 MPH with the anchor ball surfing

I assume when he got to the next stop he was going to anchor again:doh

I never knew you could do it like that


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## Danno (Oct 17, 2007)

Nat,

Good post, I have seen something similar and was going to post questions about using an anchor ball. I looking for an answer also.


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## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

AS long as you dont get the rope caught in your prop that may work but I wouldnt trust it.


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## Gonnamissher (Oct 1, 2007)

For all the longer it takes to circle back and pull your line and anchor out of the water, why take the chance of getting wrapped in the prop or snagging something. Worse yet, what if some cuts in behind you while your cruising off?? I say take the time to put the anchor back in the boat.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

If you use an anchor ball like that it wont work for reanchoring for the simple reason the chain will go through the ring and the anchor will get hung in the ring. When you stop the weight of the chain and the fact that the anchor is lighter than the chain it will all stay on the surface with the ball. That is the principal of the float ring to keep the anchor and chain on the surface so you can float the anchor and chain then retrieve it easily without pulling the anchor from the bottom.









PS, Incidently I have superior quality anchor float assemblies FOR SALE 

Ron 850-712-2603


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## Tuna Man (Oct 2, 2007)

> *sealark (6/5/2008)*PS, Incidently I have *superior quality* anchor float assemblies FOR SALE Ron 850-712-2603


:banghead







Ron..it might just of been one of your's... Do you now have a NEW and IMPROVED one?:doh

Nice meeting you last Sunday. Sam came by last night and was totally satisified with the churn. I told him what you had done to it.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

:banghead







Ron..it might just of been one of your's... Do you now have a NEW and IMPROVED one?:doh

Nice meeting you last Sunday. Sam came by last night and was totally satisified with the churn. I told him what you had done to it.[/quote]

Ron Thanks, Nice meeting you. How could I improve on one that took 30 years to make perfect in the first place. Nope same old float assemblies!!!


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

The ring I use is the front handle from a weed eater. It is plastic so no rust. I used onefor 5 years of daily charters before it wore out. My ring and ball are directly on the line, no lanyard. The lanyard can allow the anchor line to get under the boat. I don't have that problem. My ball is on the line 24/7/365. I anchor and haul from the cockpit rather than having to go forward.

I've been using an anchor "Ball" since before tha plastic balls were invented. We used Freon canisters for several years. This probably goes back to the late 50's or early 60's. The ball is faster than any windlass and a lot cheaper too.


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## jesse22r (Mar 5, 2008)

would like to see a picture of that cap ken


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## Inn Deep (Oct 3, 2007)

Sealarks anchor balls assemblies are the Bomb!! I have used his for 6-7 years now!!


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

For Jesse22r












The line going through the weedeater handle is the anchorline, not a lanyard. My anchor , line, and ball hangs on a rod holder in the stbd stern corner.


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## Danno (Oct 17, 2007)

So, if I understand right, we're talking about a big float on the anchor line. If floats above or nearly above the anchor and does exactly, that floats the anchor while you retrieve it.

Am I understanding this right ( its a little after 4 AM and I hadn't had my coffee,







). That's it?


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## Danno (Oct 17, 2007)

Ok, I did some homework on this anchor ball thing and now I do understand it better. It sounds like what I need to do. Thanks for the replies and here is what I found:<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=center>*<SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Anchoring Using an Anchor Ball (The Easy Way)*<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I?ve been using an anchor ball since before the red plastic balls were invented. At first, I used an empty Freon can. When the plastic balls were invented, everybody switched to them and eliminated a lot of rust stains on their boat.<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">For single hand operation, nothing is as fast, convenient, or safe as anchoring with an anchor ball. Frankly, I think I can haul anchor faster than two guys hauling in the conventional manner. When I drop anchor, I can watch my depth finder as the boat drifts back and tie off precisely on top of the fish.<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Here is how my boat and anchor ball system is rigged.<P class=MsoNormal>







<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Here is how I anchor. The first step after finding a rock is to determine where the anchor should be hooked to allow the boat to be positioned over the fish. I drop anchor from the cockpit as shown below. The engine is in reverse at idle speed. The anchor ball is not released. The anchor line slides out through the anchor ball ring.<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>







<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Continue adding scope until you are about 2 boat lengths from your buoy and then release the anchor ball.<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>







<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>







<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Secure the anchor line at the spring line cleat when you are close to your buoy. You can haul or release more line as needed.<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>







<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I always rig my anchor system on the side of the boat closest to the helm. This gives me a better view of the anchor line while I haul anchor. Turn the wheel to port and pull ahead. The anchor ball will begin to track down the <SPAN class=SpellE>Stbd side of the boat as shown in figure 1.<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>







<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Continue forward and slightly to port until the ball comes along side. Reach over and grab the anchor line as the ball passes and secure the anchor line with one wrap around the stern cleat. No way to foul up now. See drawing 2.<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>







<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Continue pulling ahead until the anchor catches in the anchor ball ring. The anchor ball will start following the boat, creating a large wake. The chain will sink when the boat stops and the anchor will stay in the ring as you haul.<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">







<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=center><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Stop the boat and haul the anchor and ball back to the boat while <SPAN class=GramE>flaking the line on the deck. <P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>







<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Use a ball for a day and you?ll never go back to the old hand over hand method.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

> *Danno (6/6/2008)*So, if I understand right, we're talking about a big float on the anchor line. If floats above or nearly above the anchor and does exactly, that floats the anchor while you retrieve it.
> 
> Am I understanding this right ( its a little after 4 AM and I hadn't had my coffee,
> 
> ...


No,, the float always stays on the surface of the water. When you run the boat around the float in the direction of the anchor the line slides down the line and lifts the anchor out of the sand then the line, chain and anchor go through the surfaced ring and float and get hung. Then you take yourboat out of gear and retrieve the line,and float. Then remove ring and float assemblyand you are ready to do it again. It saves you from pulling the anchor from the bottom!!! the weed eater thing guy is saying that he leaves his assembly over the line all the time and has a way to put it over his roller so he can re deploy it without taking it off the anchor line ever. In most cases the assembly can get into the way of anchoring operations. That's why 99% of the people that use the float assembly method like it to be removable for convenience.


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## Nat (Oct 10, 2007)

The guy I saw on Sunday.......went off into the sunset with his anchor and anchor ball dragging @ 30MPH, the weight of the anchor had the ball partly submerged and it was holding the line really tight, so I guess at that speed fouling the prop wasn't a proplem.

He was still tied off on the bow cleat, and I suppose that cleat had a fair amount of extra stress on it

I have a sealark rig but havn't used it yet, But I will soon. Trying to hold over a spot in the wind is a pain in the arse


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

Hey Dano. Where did you find my old drawings? I updated the same drawings and the text for the e-books. I posted those drawings on my old web site at least7 years ago.

When I am at anchor, the ball is usually right under my bow pulpit with the line out ahead of the boat. As you pull forward, the ball slides back down the anchor line until it pulls the anchor out then the anchor comes up and locks into the ring. The chain falls down and the anchor cannot go back down.

I saw a similar rig when I was about 15.(over 50 years ago)I haven't pulled an anchor by hand many times since. I even hava a ball on my bass boat.

By the way, a weed eater handle will probably out last a recreational fisherman.

Somebody mentioned an anchor puncturing a ball. It has never happened to me. I use a home made SS. Grapnell anchor. I haven't used a Danforth type in years. Lots of chain is the key to good anchoring. Dragging an anchor and ball at 30 knots would probably cause problems after a while. Kinda hard on fuel too.

I'm sure guys with balls enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed mine.::clap


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## Clay Peacher (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Nat (6/6/2008)*The guy I saw on Sunday.......went off into the sunset with his anchor and anchor ball dragging @ 30MPH, the weight of the anchor had the ball partly submerged and it was holding the line really tight, so I guess at that speed fouling the prop wasn't a proplem.
> 
> He was still tied off on the bow cleat, and I suppose that cleat had a fair amount of extra stress on it
> 
> I have a sealark rig but havn't used it yet, But I will soon. Trying to hold over a spot in the wind is a pain in the arse


I'm guessing that the conversation on that boat you saw Sunday went something like this:

" Son, we are at are next spot. Deploy the anchor. But Dad, the anchor is already out! Holy crap, son, when did you do that? Dad, I haven't touched the anchor since we were at that last spot. Holy Crap, son........."


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## Inn Deep (Oct 3, 2007)

Warning!!! For those of you not use to using an Anchor Ball please be advised: I do not like the idea of using a rear cleat to bring up anchor. This can be very deadly very quick like especially on smaller boats. A young couple died doing this at the Mass. at couple of years ago. The same year another larger boat capsized the same year doing this. Now the young couple I mentioned was not using a ball but the same thing can happen with a ball.If your anchor does happen to get stuck if the wreck or if it just happens to catch something on the bottom, you then stretch your anchor line out like a rubberband. When you have pulled hard enough on theanchor line your boat can easily be dragged backwards towards the anchor line. Seeing your line is still held to the anchor, then pull backwards can pull your transom under extremely quickly!!! This happens so fast that you never even know whats happening till you find yourself in the water with your boat going under fast like!!! Please be careful till you get use to it. If the same scenario happens with the anchor line cleated of on the front of the boat the tension will turn your boat around instead of pulling your transom under.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

In deep is correct about pulling the stern under and I was the one that found the 21 foot chris craft that the two people drowned on they found her body around pensacola beach and never found him. The accident happened on the Freighter not the Mass.


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## Danno (Oct 17, 2007)

CaptKen, I can't tell you where I found your drawings or the directions, I can only tell you I was looking for more detail on how an anchor ball worked and this is what I found. I googled anchor ball and this was on one of the sites, I did have to scroll way down thesite to find it.

Your knowledge is alive and well on the world-wide-web. Thanks for making the post.


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