how to DIY Custom Fit Box Anchor

[CrankyGypsy]

sheesh, you have greatly underestimated my "anality" and objectiveness. haha

i actually DID check accuracy against four different weights from my home gym yesterday as soon as i got it home. and then confirmed again just before the anchor weigh-in earlier today. last night, i also weighed myself and then my girl to our weights from other scales.

i just now went through the whole calibration process again with the same results: 18 pounds.
but like i said, i'm an objective guy: maybe my next trip to the grocery store i'll weigh it there, too.

those ugly welds aren't exactly weightless. you should probably try Flux Core with a 120v Lincoln and cut out your teeth on anchor #41.

 

[txav8r]

Ha ha...well, no issue at all, and I am not trying to be a smart ass! I just know the first anchor I built was built the way you did it with flukes cut separately and welded separately, all out of 3/8"...it weighed almost 25 pounds! It was a monster and I still refer to that anchor as dirty nellie! A member up north took that anchor and probably still has it. The first anchors I did I had powder coated. Then I had a member in Florida complain that it was rusting. I had him send it back and offered all previous members that were powder coated the opportunity to send them back and I would get them hot dip galvanized, I found I could coat them that way just as cheap as powder coating if I did at least 8 at once.

What really strikes me funny, is the locker on the 05 models is not as deep as the '07-'09 models and it wouldn't fit in those, so I think your anchor may actually be a tad smaller than mine was also. That is why the smaller plate and size just throws me that it is heavier. But hey, it is what it is. I am a pretty anal guy myself, and I have a great deal of experience with this anchor from a testing and constructing point of view, although I gave up trying to weld it myself when I had welds break on the hanging pins. You might consider another way to do them as well. My fabricator didn't like having to keep a pin 90 degrees to an edge and I wouldn't let him lay it across the face like you did, so he drilled the 3/8" hole through the side, 1/4" from the edge of the side plate and 1/4"from the end of the side plate so that he could drive the pin through the hole and then fill just the end with the weld. It created a far more structural pin. I'm not a welder, and my limited experience doing so leaves a great deal to be desired in my own mind!

 

[CrankyGypsy]

i originally planned drilling the sides and inserting the hangers like you are saying. when i tacked mine on, it hung in there so perfectly that i didn't look back. but, i'm going to have to consider that modification for the added strength. thanks for the tips.

 

[txav8r]

I would bend the flukes on a press too, too much welding and while several of you have said how it is just an anchor...that is true but grinding all those welds and making it smooth is a big enough chore without having 16 additional welds to work on. And again, maybe you don't care about the welds, I did however. This one is stainless and made before they were drilled for the hanging pins but the bent flukes are certainly cleaner.


Like I said, your locker dimensions are different, you may not be able to move the pins down and lift it up higher with the flukes up and have room. I would caution anyone considering it, to use the control arm because it isn't a box anchor without it. That arm is what makes it unique and work the way it works. Chain will foul often, and the anchor won't reset inside one foot with chain. When the winds shift or you pull back over the anchor with the boat, the control arm is lifted and levers the anchor up vertically, especially helpful when retrieving to keep from snagging a limb or other structure, and lift straight out. But when a shifting wind causes it, that arm levers the anchor over and it falls on the opposite side flukes and resets. That won't happen with a chain, and you really just have mass with a chain following your first deliberate set.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

@txav8r : really nice looking anchor. great explanation.

 

[txav8r]

Like I said, I did these powder coated and then galvanized. Just thought I would show the progression. The stainless being in the last progression but before switching to installing and welding the hanging pins in a drilled hole. This was "dirty nelly"...

And this was the first powder coat run...

And second powder coat run...

And I did several of those in different color runs. Then came hot dipped galvanized

But by far, the easiest way to do this is to have the parts cut out on a water jet, laser, or plasma using CNC. And here are the parts cut...

There are certainly more than one way to skin the cat, but the average guy can't make this, just too much. I couldn't make it good enough to suit me. I paid my fabricators an ever increasing wage to do so for me. And I feel the end product is NICE. Some may say it is just an anchor...but whatever it is, you don't want a rusty piece of crap even in your anchor locker, so it needs to be pretty nice to not have that. You can cold galvanize spray it when done and even a hot dipped anchor will need touch up as the zinc will wear off as it protects the metal. And I do think that cold galvanizing, zinc rich, spray out of a can is far superior to powder coating. Because a chip and it is rusting under the coating and you don't know it until the coating starts to flake from the rusting. At least with spray, you can see it and hit it when needed. Stainless cost me $350 the first time and $375 for the second one I did. Everything about stainless is more, it is indeed a precious metal. Anyone doubting that, get a grinder on mild steel and then on stainless...the stainless eats abrasives for breakfast! But it is such a nice finish even when not polished. But any clay, mud, or whatever is still going to stick to the stainless just like galvanized or powder coated...as @Julian stated, his and my preferred method to clean the anchor prior to loading in the locker, if at all possible in your conditions, is to dangle it and run at first no wake speed setting for a few minutes to let it clean itself. If not clean after, do it more...then haul it in clean as a whistle! Good luck to anyone doing one of these. I may do another batch some day, but not anytime soon.

 

[Ilmmct]

@txav8r that is a seriously good idea that may get missed in what has become a "build thread":

"I suggest you reverse the holding pins to the opposite end of the anchor and allow it to hang upside down, that way the control arm is out of the way"

I have been wanting to keep the box anchor "ready to deploy" in my locker without dealing with the gymnastics to unfold it and set the pin, which in the salty waters that I deal with (the pin) is often seized up when I need it.

I have also been looking for a reason to take the bow ladder out, since I've never used it. Mel thanks for a good idea that killed two birds with one stone ... 1) box anchor fit into the locker and 2) another valid reason to remove the bow ladder!!

 

[txav8r]

@llmmct your 240 won't have the room a 230 has in the locker. Hanging upside down became mandatory to get the arm and the flukes out of the way. But I'd give it a try if you can manage a way!

 

[jawsf16]

I removed the bow ladder and have all my rode then set the box anchor on top, fully assembled. I got tired of putting it together for every use. It fits fine, i just tuck the arm to one side. Not as slick as Mel's build (my Dad had one of the custom txav8r anchors) but it does the job.

 

[Ilmmct]

@txav8r the anchor fits my 2013 242 LS with the bow ladder removed. I have to jiggle the arm to get it into "right" place.

I am planning on moving the anchor holding bracket and having a muffler shop weld a 19.25" 3/8" galvanized rod to the exposed "top" side of the anchor so it will rest in the bracket and not bang against fiberglass in the locker.

 

[txav8r]

@jawsf16 , I had forgotten you told me you had managed to get it to fit your 240. I didn't get it to fit in mine. Not sure what difference there would be? But I didn't leave it assembled. Now the txav8r anchor might have fit sauns pins??? Don't know. Guess if the small slide box anchor will fit then padding is all you have to do. Even my anchor had to jiggle the control arm to the side in the 230.

 

[Jgorm]

What is the advantage over the standard danforth style? I've been using those for 30 years on sand and mud and never had an issue.

 

[Drift Away]

I have used alot of different kind of anchors over the years but i have to say the Mantus anchor is far and away the best onei have found. You drop this bad boy in and your boat is not moving. 4th of July weekend we were at the sand bar here in Tarpon Springs i had a 19ft Stingray parked next to me, when he pulled out he hooked my Mantus Anchor with his stock walmart special and the guy was stuck. I am not a pitch man for the Comapny but its far and away the best one i have found especially if you parking out in blue water with lots of wake. The only draw back is it does not fit in the front anchor locker. Here is a video from my friend rob talking alittle more about it.

 

[Ilmmct]

@Jgorm since you have been boating for 30 years you probably won't need or value the difference. To me as a boating newbie the box anchor worked "better" than the fluke that came as the OEM equipment on my 24'. I didn't have to worry as much about rode ratio and insuring the fluke was "biting". The box anchor was much heavier than the OEM and because you can collapse the anchor you can get a beefier piece of metal in the constaints of the locker. There is also no "right side up" as there is with a fluke, so my wife and novice boating friends just toss the box anchor out and call it good.

 

[Jgorm]

To each their own. I huck it overboard and tie if off. If it slips, it means that I didn't pay out enough line. That's all I've ever done. Most danforth anchors pivot so it doesn't matter what side they land on.

 

[Speedling]

Making my own box anchor.
Have the box made. Going to weld on the "teeth". Just a square it weighs in at 13.4 lbs on my home scale, which i find is slightly "forgiving" compared to the doctors office.
Question for those that have made it though:
Would thinner teeth cut in easier into hard packed sand? I have 1/8" or 1/4" i can use.

 

[txav8r]

Adding the flukes and the control are is going to put you in around 19-20 pounds and that is enough! I wouldn't use the 1/8", 1/4" is fine. The welds will add weight too if you didn't press flukes I ground my flukes to taper from four sides. Weld your attach point for your contol arm so it can't go beyond 45 degrees when it reverses.

 

[Speedling]

Adding the flukes and the control are is going to put you in around 19-20 pounds and that is enough! I wouldn't use the 1/8", 1/4" is fine. The welds will add weight too if you didn't press flukes I ground my flukes to taper from four sides. Weld your attach point for your contol arm so it can't go beyond 45 degrees when it reverses.

The metal break i have access to won't do 1/4" steel so i had to weld it.
I still need to go find my control arm before i weld it up with the attach point.
I gotta say, 12" x 12" plus flukes plus control arm.... this is huge!
No wonder people say it can hold multiple boats!

Edit: fyi i have galvanizing spray handy all the time at work for some of the precast welding we do so that is what i will be using. The front and back are 1/4" and the sides are 3/16".

 

[txav8r]

I don't remember the exact dimensions off the top of my head, But I think it was something like 11.5 x 11.5 to fit in the '08 locker. A 1 foot long piece of 5/8 cold rolled steel will suit you for your control arm. Weld a big brain on one in, and weld a shackle on the other end with the curve section of the shackle against the rod. That way, it's easy to connect the shackle to your triangular tow point.. On the anchor. If you can't find a suitable or stout enough ring for the end, just cut a piece of pipe off and make a ring out of that.

 

[Speedling]

I don't remember the exact dimensions off the top of my head, But I think it was something like 11.5 x 11.5 to fit in the '08 locker. A 1 foot long piece of 5/8 cold rolled steel will suit you for your control arm. Weld a big brain on one in, and weld a shackle on the other end with the curve section of the shackle against the rod. That way, it's easy to connect the shackle to your triangular tow point.. On the anchor. If you can't find a suitable or stout enough ring for the end, just cut a piece of pipe off and make a ring out of that.

I thought about a piece of rebar bent at an angle and welded to the front. But, i almost would think that it would be better with less sideways pivot. Any thoughts on that? Sideways pivot good or doesn't matter or get rid of it if possible?