Thursday 4 November 2010

Ground Anchors.

I need to spend some time on Rosie getting her ready for the winter months ahead. How many times have I said that? Today, we purchased from Aldi (£3.00) one of those passive de-humidifiers to see if we can keep the internal moisture level down. However, as we are on mains electrics on the mooring, we also have a small electrical (green house) heater which we can set to come on if the temperature gets below a predetermined  level.

I enjoy shopping at Aldi as they often have those useful items for an impulse buy. I think they see me coming! Today I also purchased one of those corkscrew ground anchors for tethering the dog. This set me to thinking about looking for a couple of heavy duty corkscrew ground anchors for mooring the boat, when on soft ground towpaths. We had a problem in February where I had to get up and check the mooring lines during the night.



One that might just fit the job is the Arrow AK600 Corkscrew Ground Anchor Kit. The intended use of these is to protect your outdoor storage shed from strong winds. The AK600 Ground Anchor Kit includes four corkscrew type anchors, four corner gussets and four locking washers to secure your shed or boat to terra firma. The blurb says that this model is great for anchoring small, medium or slope-roofed sheds.



For larger sheds/boats, consider the Arrow Model AK4 Auger Anchor Kit. Easy to install. Includes four 30" heavy duty steel augers, and 4 cable clamps. Force of 1500 lbs is required to remove anchors from ground. However, the installation is easy! No digging or concrete pouring required. Just twist augers into ground.





Another alternative that I found on the web was the Ironwood Pacific™ Land Anchor. Which is a heavy duty corkscrew auger anchor. Made with zinc plated steel. The screw-in ground anchor also includes an eyebolt. It utilizes a helix design to provide strong holding power over straight mooring stakes or other corkscrew designs. It can be turned into the ground to the desired depth and turned out when time to leave. Also included is a nylon carrying bag that enables it to be conveniently stored.


As pointed out by Rachel, of Naughty Cal there is a further anchor item available called a "Rhond Anchor". (Rhond apparently is a Norfolk colloquial name for the bit of bank between the river and the flood bank) Shaped like a fishing hook with an eye and ring to attach a mooring line.



I learn something new everyday.


Later.....



2 comments:

  1. Have you tried finding some rhond anchors. These are commonly used on the Broads but they are very very effective and the harder the boat pulls on them the further they dig into the ground.

    ReplyDelete
  2. R.

    Thanks for that - I shall update the posting.

    M.

    ReplyDelete

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