Build a Homemade Boat Anchor

Although buying a professionally made boat anchor is recommended for most boats, a homemade boat anchor works when your nice one gets lost at sea, or if you are using it on a small dingy in gentle waters. Make a homemade boat anchor out of these inexpensive materials and keep a backup on your boat.

Step 1 - Choosing the Container for Your Anchor

A large coffee can makes a good container for your cement, since the opening is wide and the exterior is tough and able to hold up against being banged along the side of the boat or the bottom of a rocky lake or pond. Make sure your container's opening is wide enough to secure an eye bolt in the cement and that the container is strong enough to not get punctured by rocks or sharp glass.

Step 2 - Adding the Cement

Mix the cement with water and pour into the container.

Step 3 - Adding the Eye Bolt

Press an eye bolt into the wet cement until only the eye is above the cement. Make sure the eye doesn't settle too far into the wet cement as it dries.

Step 4 - Fastening the Rope

After the cement has dried, fasten one end of the line to the eye bolt by tying a bowline knot. Next, make a loop on the opposite end of the rope from the anchor. You can do this by tying a variety of knots. The bowline will also work well for this.

Step 5 - Add the Chain to the Rope

Fasten the looped end of the rope to the chain by using a metal fastener like a carabiner or snap. Make sure the metal fastener has a lock on the opening so that the chain won't come disconnected from the rope when you are throwing it around or it is bouncing around in the water. The chain is recommended because the line that is nearest the bow of the boat can easily get frayed by rubbing against the side of the boat. The chain should be long enough so that none of the rope touches the side of the boat when the anchor is set. You may want to add a snap to the end of the chain depending on how you choose to fasten the anchor to the boat.

Step 6 - Anchors Aweigh!

Your anchor should be ready to use. When setting the anchor, make sure you throw out quite a bit of slack. There should be about five times more rope than the depth of the water, and if you are setting an anchor in rough weather, you'll need even more.

Since these anchors are easy and inexpensive to make, keep an extra one handy on your boat!