Fisherman’s anchor

[chohm]

Anyone have any experience with the quality of this anchor?
https://www.go2marine.com/Kedge-Fish...ty=1&weight=36

[Peerie Maa]

Looks OK, but would be better hot dip galvanised. What sort of bottom will you be using it on?

[woodpile]

Their a PITA to store on smaller boats, make nice decorations, have several older one's hanging.

[Hwyl]

Equate it to a10lb modern anchor. I used one for years (100lb on a 55 ish boat).

[Russell Brown]

This guy has a large number of anchor test videos and I'm sure there's a fisherman test in there somewhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwEi...ature=emb_logo

The videos are very educational and have changed my preference in anchors.

[Peerie Maa]

Their a PITA to store on smaller boats, make nice decorations, have several older one's hanging.

Peerie Maa is 18 foot over the stems. Not a problem.

DSC03777.jpg

[Hugh Conway]

Listed weights will vary depending on the metal alloys used it the casting these anchors.

raises questions that might make it difficult to answer the op.

[Garret]

Peerie Maa is 18 foot over the stems. Not a problem.

Because you keep it right outside a shed & not on the boat?

[amish rob]

Because you keep it right outside a shed & not on the boat?

Whereas I was wondering when Peerie Maa become so rectangular.

[stumpstalker]

The "Yachtsman's Kedge" or "Fishermen's Anchor" works well in rocky, kelp and eelgrass-matted ground where the modern anchors, suited more for mud and sand bottom, don't work so well.

[Bruce Brown]

see Maynard Bray's video on Off Center Harbor website about fisherman's anchor

[stromborg]

Anyone have any experience with the quality of this anchor?
https://www.go2marine.com/Kedge-Fish...ty=1&weight=36

They rate that 25 pound anchor as suitable for boats under 14'...that's a lot of weight in a small boat.

[Garret]

Yes - generally they are rated at 2 pounds per foot.

[Hwyl]

That would mirror my experience.

[amish rob]

So, since I only have two feet, I need a four pound anchor?

The two pounds per foot thing is handy to know. Thanks all.

[Bobcat]

Doesn't sound as if the fisherman's anchor has the holding power of a more modern design. On my 35 foot boat, I use a 45 pound Delta. I would need a 70 pound fisherman's anchor.

[Peerie Maa]

Doesn't sound as if the fisherman's anchor has the holding power of a more modern design. On my 35 foot boat, I use a 45 pound Delta. I would need a 70 pound fisherman's anchor.

That does depend on the specific anchor detail design and the intended bottom. The anchors evolved from the LWT, CQR and Bruce philosophy work well in sand and mud, but are less reliable in rocky, cobbley boulder clay, and kelp. A well-made fishermen with big, sharp edged palms are reliable all-rounders.

[Garret]

Doesn't sound as if the fisherman's anchor has the holding power of a more modern design. On my 35 foot boat, I use a 45 pound Delta. I would need a 70 pound fisherman's anchor.

As Nick said, no anchor is best in all conditions. While a Delta or CQR are good anchors most of the time, the conditions he mentions may be better suited to a Fisherman. I carry a CQR, an Danforth & a Fisherman. The CQR lives on the bow roller, but the other 2 see use as well - though less often.

[Breakaway]

Tough to beat a fisherman on rocky bottom.

Kevin

[Hwyl]

Tough to beat a fisherman on rocky bottom.

Kevin

Whatever turns you on.

[johngsandusky]

I use a 50# fisherman on a 39' ketch. It is our most reliable anchor, used when cruising. The other two are a 35# CQR and a Fortress FX23.

[Ian McColgin]

I've used three different "fisherman" anchors. One was meant for mud and had very wide blades at the fluke ends. One, meant for rock, had no blades at all and the flukes ended in points. The third was a Luke to the Herreshoff pattern.

Fluke angle matters. Both the not-Herreshoff had shallower angles fluke to shaft and neither set as well for their intended bottoms as the Herreshoff and were worthless for anything else. The wrong angle prevented those anchors from burying on their own and when I manually buried them even with huge scope they tended to come out. And half the point of a fisherman is short (like 3:1) scope. And they were usless in grass, sand, and shingle as the wide blade could not penetrate and the spikes just dragged through. The Herreshoff compromise blade was not always perfect but was versitile and generally reliable.

So, blade shape matters.

Angle fluke to shaft, radius of fluke curve, and fluke length to shaft length ratio all matter a great deal. For a particular bottom a better hook could be designed but the Herreshoff pattern is good over a wide range of bottoms.

One handy trick comes from my cruising area rife with reversing currents and shifting breezes. I sawed one fluke off to prevent the rode from wrapping around the fluke and pulling the hook out. I had heavy anchors that had to be set carefully holding it shaft horizontal with the rode and a trip line at the crown. That ensured the anchor would land hook down.

[CundysHarbor]

Another factor is intended use. Boats of more than small size often have several anchors aboard: lunch hook, sleep through the night and storm.

[kbowen]

raises questions that might make it difficult to answer the op.

The quote from the supplier: Listed weights will vary depending on the metal alloys used it the casting these anchors. sure makes it sound like they are casting these from random scrap. I think these are for nets, I wouldn't hang my boat or my life on one.

Ken

[Peerie Maa]

I've used three different "fisherman" anchors. One was meant for mud and had very wide blades at the fluke ends. One, meant for rock, had no blades at all and the flukes ended in points. The third was a Luke to the Herreshoff pattern.

Fluke angle matters. Both the not-Herreshoff had shallower angles fluke to shaft and neither set as well for their intended bottoms as the Herreshoff and were worthless for anything else. The wrong angle prevented those anchors from burying on their own and when I manually buried them even with huge scope they tended to come out. And half the point of a fisherman is short (like 3:1) scope. And they were usless in grass, sand, and shingle as the wide blade could not penetrate and the spikes just dragged through. The Herreshoff compromise blade was not always perfect but was versitile and generally reliable.

So, blade shape matters.

Angle fluke to shaft, radius of fluke curve, and fluke length to shaft length ratio all matter a great deal. For a particular bottom a better hook could be designed but the Herreshoff pattern is good over a wide range of bottoms.

One handy trick comes from my cruising area rife with reversing currents and shifting breezes. I sawed one fluke off to prevent the rode from wrapping around the fluke and pulling the hook out. I had heavy anchors that had to be set carefully holding it shaft horizontal with the rode and a trip line at the crown. That ensured the anchor would land hook down.

Just so.
This is a good compromise as to angle and proportions.
Anchor1_LI.jpg

[David W Pratt]

I used a 35 lb. fisherman type on Truth (30' 11,000 lb. cutter) in the alluvial mud of Long Island Sound, and the mud and sand of Narragansett Bay. From the mud on the rode, it would bury completely in the mud. sometimes I would have to get the rode taut and vertical, tie it off and stroll aft to let the buoyancy of the boat pull it out. Fluke angle does seem important, and the diamond shaped flukes are supposed to foul less. I second the hot dipped galvanized recommendation. It stored conveniently on a hook beside the bowsprit. An anchor, like all safety equipment, is, perhaps, an inappropriate place to try to economize.

[johngsandusky]

I've had a similar experience with my fisherman. They hold so well on a short scope that after setting overnight they are slow to break loose even with the rode straight up and down. Our practice is the same as yours. Just tie it off and wait a minute, it will break out.

[Peerie Maa]

I've had a similar experience with my fisherman. They hold so well on a short scope that after setting overnight they are slow to break loose even with the rode straight up and down. Our practice is the same as yours. Just tie it off and wait a minute, it will break out.

Which will be why their design was practically unchanged for over 1000years


until steamships prompted the design of stockless anchors, which were about as effective as tying a scale weight to your cable. Then flying boats prompted the need for robust research into lightweight anchor designs, resulting in LWT and CQR types. But the fishermen kept on keeping on.

[gypsie]

My boat came with a fisherman but i only used it a few times, erring toward the plough.
The previous owner swore by it. His reghion was all kelp and rock.

I took it off as too much trouble. But, I'm going to put it back on, i love the traditional look of it, and for round me with lots of either sea grass or rock, it should hold better.
It'll also give me two large anchors on board.

2016-04-19 14.17.58.jpg

I have a smaller fisherman for a stern anchor, small enough to disencourage the stern wondering in a tight space, but not big enough to hold her. The low scope works well here.