How much lead for plonk anchor for 12ft boat?

[ozyclint]

I have a 12ft fishing boat and I want to make a plonk anchor for use in impoundments with lots of submerged timber. I don't want to use my sand anchor for fear of entanglement and having to cut it loose.

How much lead is heavy enough? I want it to be heavy enough without being excessive.
I just procured 32lbs of lead flashing that I can use.

 

[Dust Rider]

We use a 25lb. Pyramid Green Anchor on the 12’ Zodiac and a 20’ river boat. It works great on both boats.

 

[ozyclint]

Great, I have a small propane bottle cut in half that is 1 litre in volume. I can use that to cast a mushroom anchor. 1 litre of lead will weigh almost exactly 25lbs.

 

[Rich M]

8-10 will hold a 12 ft aluminum.

 

[Ferrulewax]

I don't think you need much in an impoundment without current unless you are fighting wind. We use 15-25lbs in the river for rafts 13' and way more water resistance. I would guess 10-15 would be plenty. Honestly a brick with a rope or a downrigger weight would probably do fine.

 

[Wrench]

A 10' section of chain does A LOT for your anchor. Keeps the line pulling across the floor vs up.

 

[ozyclint]

I made a mushroom and it turned out to be 26lb.
I'm thinking ferrulewax might be right in that a lighter anchor will be sufficient in that I'll be using it in still water impoundments and if it's real windy then the day is better spent hunting anyway.

I might recast it to be lighter.

 

[ozyclint]

It will have about 4' of chain too.

 

[WoodDuck]

We always used a basketball net and a big rock for a canoe anchor. Might work in this application too.

 

[Rich M]

Chain and 20#+ anchors for a 12 ft boat....

You guys anchoring in fast flowing rivers?

I anchor in tidal areas, not a lot of flow - use an 8# crab claw a lot with a 12 ft tin. Use a 20# river anchor in 16 and 18 ft boats - it is one of those things where I don't want much scope - will anchor in 12 ft of water with 15 ft of rope kind of thing. Anchoring offshore is diff but it is anchor design, not weight offshore.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

5 pounds would work great.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

We used to use old window weights in lakes.