Anchor

[dorado50]

kayaks are unstable, very submersible, and have no beam ,therefore, a swell or white cap pushes the kayak one way while your at anchor, and the kayak is positioned in an opposing direction, perhaps by shifting winds, the two opposing forces can cause capsize no matter how much scope you have out.

[madscientist]

I guess I'll have to add the "anchor of death" to the "waders of death" on the list of things I'm doing wrong.

[fishingsolo]

Originally Posted by madscientist

I guess I'll have to add the "anchor of death" to the "waders of death" on the list of things I'm doing wrong.

you should go out in your waders, anchor up in LJ and fire up the grill. lol lol I would have no problem taking the advice from Brad. IMO he seems to have a prettty good idea of what he is doing on a yak.

[lamb]

I think all points made are very valid ones.

On my boat, I always make sure I have an anchor with 200 yards of rope on board. I think of that anchor as a very important safety item. If the engine dies, I want to make sure I can anchor up ‘till VA arrives. I primarily fish inshore with my skiff.

For some reason, I don’t have an anchor on my kayak. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have one. I do see Dave’s point; I remember I almost rolled a couple of times when I anchored by tieing to the kelp, in a bit of a chop though. Kayaks are certainly not as stable as boats, and that’s something that needs to be kept in mind. Bungees and all other things Brad mentioned ought to help with this.

I remember reading that the anchor rope ought to be at least 3 times the depth – the idea is more horizontal the angle, the better.

Here’s some handy general info on anchoring. It is specific to boats so I’m sure all these figures are considerably different for kayaks as they are so light… That's how I understood Dave's points, and I agree with him:

http://www.boatus.com/boattech/anchorin.htm