Anchour Buddy (Bunjee rope)

[PeterJ]

I have just orderd an anchor buddy from eBay. Hoping it will work well when anchouring my RIB at the beach. Anyone use one? are they good? Any important points to note?
My understanding is that I attached the Bunjee to my anchor chain and the other end to my anchor rope...then manoeuvre to a few feet from shore and throw out a line to the beach (& attached it with lots of slack to a tree etc). Then pull in the anchor line to stretch the bunjee and tie it off on the cleat under tension and then while ensuring the beach line is attached too something (or my hand), let the bunjee tension carry my RIB out a few meters ( about 5 to 10m???) . The only issue I can think is in a strong/fresh wind... I intend to have a longer beach line than anchor line (x2?) so if it blows around in the wind should be OK... no need to keep the beach line under tension. Any comments coz I never used one before!?

Thanks

[m chappelow]

Will work on a steep beach but i can see problems on a long shallow beach . & i wouldent rely on the bungie part except to just to put tension or spring on the normal anchor line set up , rigging it parallel with the anchor line Rather than adding it onto the end of it I have used the method ( diy version )in the past on a hard boat .

[PeterJ]

all the beaches I go to in Hong Kong are reasonably steep and are normally >1m depth within 5 to 10 meters out maximum. The tides are also not very big as a consequence, but still need to watch them.

[jyasaki]

I think it's supposed to hold the boat offshore shore when anchoring off the beach.

You attach the AB to the kedge rode (in parallel) and drop the kedge offshore. Motor in, stretching the AB, and place a second anchor on the beach with a bunch of slack (tied to a tree or buried in sand; whatever.) The AB pulls the boat back offshore as it contracts, preventing the boat from pounding on the bottom. When you decide to re-board, you pull on the anchor line, the AB stretches to allow the boat to be pulled back in to the shallows.

Does it work? No idea. Kind of a clever solution if you don't want to go swimming though.

jky

[ShinyShoe]

Anchor Buddy -Original Stretch Anchor Line - YouTube

Would want to make sure my other line was of good quality as my experience of elastic based ropes is they snap at the worst opportunities!

Off shore tide and wind you dont need it.
On shore tide/wind then presumably it has a limitation at which point the tide/wind wins...

Pretty sure you can do something similar with a looped rope.... trying to remember how its rigged...

[m chappelow]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Pretty sure you can do something similar with a looped rope.... trying to remember how its rigged...

Something like this ? Similar idea to a Breeches bouy running rig ,you could do away with the pulleys as long as the endless rope will run freely at the anchor end .

[ShinyShoe]

Yes thats it - so you put a decent anchor out a decent distance off the shore probably with a pickup buoy or fender as a float. Attached to the anchor line is a pulley block.

You then have a length of line that is in a loop and long enough to reach shore and attached to the boat and goes through the block.

You put the anchor out and set it. Then slowly bring the boat in and take the spare line ashore then pull the line and the boat is pulled back out to the anchor boy. Then secure the line to something ashore. When you come to go back out, release the rope from whatever you secured it to, pull the rope the otherway and the boat will come back to you. Jump in. Motor out or pull yourself out with the rope. Pick up buoy and anchor...

Advantage over the elastic? Probably less prone to fatigue.

Rope can have multiple uses. Not sure a piece of elastic is so functional.

If wind picks up the rope doesn't stretch to bring boat back ashore.

Dis-advantages - pulley block needs to be strong enough not to snap under wave action. You probably want some arrangement that means if that fails the system will fail relatively safe.

[PeterJ]

I do use the pulley method which works well with a pre-fixed buoy, but when I use the pulley system with an anchor line, the wind sweep of the boat can be quite large meaning the shore line must be even larger (not keep shore line under tension when not pulling the boat in). I am hoping the AB system will be simpler to use and have less wind sweep... anyway, I will soon find out!

[4str]

I have one and use it often. It's usually used for short stops on the beach, like a lunch break. Most of the beaches in my area have enough slope to make the Anchor Buddy useful.

It stretches to about 50 feet so as you approach the beach you throw the hook out at about that distance from shore. When you get to the beach you step off the bow with a line (I usually just grab the bow anchor) and the AB pulls the boat back off the beach.

Its the quickest way to set a retrieving anchor. I also set up the clothes line system with a block on the anchor and the rode looping to the beach, but I do that when I plan on staying longer.

Some provisos:

- It doesn't work well when there is high wind or current running along the beach.

- It comes with cheap zinc plated hardware. I replaced snap hook and shakle with better quality.

- Keep it away from fuel and oil. The rubber part of the system fails quickly when exposed to petrol. The polypro line that surrounds the rubber does maintain its strength so even if the rubber fails the line is still good. I found this out when my engine was serviced and the shop didn't install the transom mounted fuel filter properly. Fuel leaked on the AB underneath the filter and it became just an ordinary 50ft rope.

[PeterJ]

Thanks Steve and all. Helpful tips.

Peter J

[Peter_C]

When I owned my Nautique I had a bungee line. The good thing was I clipped it to the rear lifting ring one day, threw my anchor and bungee overboard, and watched them sink into the abyss. *shrugs* Never missed it, even though I had used it for a couple of years.

The bungees work in calm conditions. With other peoples boats I have watched them almost hit shore from stretching and we had to put their boat back on the trailer quickly.

The good part of the bungee is it allows a soft pull on the anchor as it stretches and doesn't jerk the anchor at all.

My preference at the lake is to bring an old tire around a 31" or so and place it under the bow and drive the boat onto it, then tie off the bow, and two stern lines going out at an angle. Of course that won't work in tidal waters, but works awesome at a lake.

If I need to anchor my Zodiac out for the night I use a pulley setup and a long line to pull it out with a stern line hooked up.

For day time anchoring in the ocean I am typically in a drysuit and scuba diving, so I just swim in wearing my drysuit and fins.

[PeterJ]

I tried my Anchour buddy on Sunday... was great to use... simple & effective

[Roflhat]

we've been using these for years, very handy