Awesome Anchor for Small Boats

Hello friendly floating builders of all kind !

I am lucky enough to live near the fantastic waterways of zealand in the netherlands. I enjoy spending days looking at the great bio diversity living there floating around in my inflatable kayak. Of course, from time to time, I have to stop... to eat, swim, dive or simply to watch the amazing show offered to me by seals playing in the sun set.

Because you wouldn't like to find yourself drifting miles away as you are having your picnic, you need something to hold on to. And there in nothing more convenient to do so then to have an anchor.

In this instructable, I will show you how I built a fairly good one (perfectly suitable to hold a kayak in a light to moderate breeze) for less then 5€ with pretty common tools.

Bill of material :

• a 1.5m (and a tiny bit more) piece of concrete iron 8mm.
• a few milliliters of leftover metal paint. this is optional, but if you don't paint your anchor, and you plan to use it in salty waters, it's gonna rust fast!

and ... that's it.

I used 8mm concrete iron because it is the perfect balance between bendability with standard human strength and the stiffness required to hold in the sandy bottom during a storm (kidding ! You shouldn't use light boats in a storm.... but it will hold well enough).

The tools I used :

• an angle grinder (to cut, sharpen and adjust the metal pieces) and adequate PPE.
• vice pliers to hold hot stuff and to force things into it's final place.
• a workbench vice to help bending the bars.
• a TIG welding machine and of course all the protections using this kind of device implies.

Step 1: Cutting and Putting It Together.

1. Cut 2 length of iron. I used more or less 50 cm. for now it is not super importent to have the exact measure as it will be rectified later.
2. Cut a 3th piece of iron. this one need to be a little longer then the first two. This extra length will be used for the loop. (the pro tip : In real life, I did the loop before cutting the iron bar in order to be certain to have enough length.)
3. Attach the 3 pieces together using string. Use natural fiber string because the string need to resist some heat. Tighten as much as you possibly can. This will make the welding much easier. The 2 shorter pieces of iron has to fit inside the loop. leave 2cm inside the loop to attach the rope or the chain to the anchor when it will be finished. Pay close attention to line up well the 2 shorter pieces inside the loop, it will make the finished anchor nicer.

Step 2: The Welding

I use a TIG welding machine. I am new to welding. This project is pretty much the first thing I am welding, so don't look too closely at the welds. I managed to do it, but I am sure you can do much better then me.

To start, weld a few spots here and there. Just enough to make it hold together. Once the 3 pieces stick together as one, use some forceful persuasion to close the loop against the other pieces of iron.

When you are happy with the shape of the loop, weld every thing together starting from the loop all the way down to 2/3 of the total length. Make it strong. After all, it is an anchor. It has to resist some strength. Leave the remaining 1/3 floating to form the arms of the anchor.

Step 3: The Final Shape

Be cautious with freshly welded iron bars.... As they are probably hot.

Once you can safely touch them,

• Grind the end of the bars to the exact same length. (be carful, the grinding will heat up the metal some more.)
• Bend the floating end of the iron bars to form a nice even curve.
• Space and align the 3 bars evenly

There we are, we should have a nice little anchor you can use to hold a kayak or a small boat.

Attach a chain or a rope to the loop, add some rustf-free paint and enjoy safe mooring.

Step 4: A Word About Safe Anchoring.

As you can see from the pictures, I have tested this little anchor in a badly formed sea during a strong gale (kidding again... the pictures are taken in the canal during a windless day). For the purpose of the test, I tried rowing backwards and it was holding fine. I was finally able to rip it from the bottom, but it proved to have incredible holding power relative to it's very basic design and small size.

Now that you are well equipped with an incredible little anchor here are a few lines about how to use it wisely.

First of all, a word about danger. Here, I want to highlight the fact that the tools I used in this instructable can be dangerous when not properly used. I am not going to cover every risks you might come across. be smart and safe. Only use tools and technics you are comfortable with.

Do not ruin ecosystems : Dropping an anchor will inevitably damage the surface where it lands. Do not anchor anywhere carelessly. Choose a place where it is not forbidden to do so, and find preferably a sandy/muddy bottom.

To get the best results from your anchor, you need to have a sufficient amount of line : 3 times the depth is usually a good measure. Also, I suggest adding a few meters of chain just after the anchor. This will add weight to the mooring line so that the line pulls along the bottom instead of pulling straight towards the boat. pulling horizontally on the anchor is preferable by far.

This is a very basic anchor. Even in the best possible condition, it's holding power is limited. Do not try to use it in strong weather as it will probably end up drifting. Do not use it to hold a big/heavy boat. And never leave your boat unattended for extended periods of time when moored on this anchor. Never use it in a life depending situation. Of course, you can use it but whenever you decide to do so, you do it at your own risks. I cannot be held responsible for any damage, loss, injuries or anything else you might suffer from using/misusing it.