Anyone come up with tool to straighten anchors out?

Hookup1

Hookup1

GreatGrady Captain
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
3,189
Reaction score
909
Points
113
Age
70
Location
Cape May, NJ
Model
Islander
Every year I bend one or two $80 anchors up in the keys fishing the reef. We have a half-assed way to straighten them out but I'm looking for a better way. Maybe a tool. I'll post my hacks as they come together.

IMG_1344.jpeg
 
Might need to try either a larger anchor or maybe a different shape than the danforth. Some anchors pivot from side to side. Maybe try to secure/brace along the cross part and use a ratchet come-along or a long bar/tube as a lever over the bent stem.
 
The best tool to use is your credit card. :)

Once the shank is bent and semi straightened it will bend even easier next time. If you know you will be anchoring in rock/rubble then a wreck anchor with straightenable tines is the way to go, but it won't hold squat in sand or mud. If you have a valuable anchor and know you are going to anchor in an area known for hangups and don't want to cut it off, then using a crown pendant and bouy is the best answer.

Be careful when you are in the Keys when anchoring. The fish cops can ticket you, I believe, if they see you anchoring on a live reef. Might be worth some research.
 
I straightened one by sliding the cross shaft into one of the holes in my bumper for hitch balls, then used a long pipe to slide over the bent arm, added some grunt and the rest is history.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mhinch
We straightened ours out relatively easily with some basic tools.
  • Drive the round stock (round tube at the top of your photo) into firm ground. Make sure the bend in the shank (where the chain attaches) is curled upward.
  • Be sure to block the fluke (triangular part) so that the stock is perpendicular to the ground.
  • Wedge the tip of a crow bar between the fluke and the bend in the shank.
  • Have someone push down on the shank while you pound closer to the bend in the shank with a big hammer. Move the crow bar tip as needed to fine tune the bend.
 
wrxhoon said:
Nothing that a 10 ton Hydraulic press can't fix.
Click to expand...
I would but I forgot to pack it!

The anchor is only $80 and versatile enough to use on sand bottom as well as around rock. I drop it over sandy bottom with plenty of scope. Wind will push us and drag it. Clearly a problem in the deeper water when the wind is coming onto the slope. But I've stuck it a few times in 25 foot of water too.

Thanks for all the ideas. Need something I can use while traveling. I have a boat davit on the property. I drop the anchor into the structure and it holds it well. I have used black pipe before and it does an OK job but I want to make a tool that slides onto the shank to the bend point. Maybe a black steel pipe with one end heated and flattened out.
 
I anchor on hard bottom all the time when grouper fishing. I use an anchor puller ball, so I've bent a lot of shafts and flukes over the years. All it takes is a vise, a plumbers wrench and a blow torch to semi-straighten the shafts. I heat the point of the bend up until it glows and then just bend it back into shape with the big wrench. The trick is to quench the hot anchor in a tub of cold water to restore some of the temper. The repaired shaft will bend or break more easily than on original, but they work fine as spares. I suppose I should touch up the area that was heated with some cold galvanizer, but I never bothered to do that.

Anchor Repairs.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.