Boat anchor

Abstract

A boat anchor includes a short arcuate shank having transversely extending plow-type flukes at one end and transversely extending ears at the other end. A metal cable connects to the rear end where the plow flukes are positioned, and extends to a constraining guide located on the shank between the flukes and the ears. The cable then extends through a longitudinally non-constraining front guide on the shank end near the ears of the anchor. The cable partially wraps around the shank in its path between the intermediate guide and the front guide. For use on rocky bottoms, the cable is disengaged from the intermediate guide. By attaching the cable to the shank adjacent to the plow flukes, pulling stresses from the cable are applied to the intermediate constraint and fluked end of the anchor. The shank between the ears and the intermediate constraint is not fully stressed and those portions can be made thinner and lighter without affecting the holding power of the anchor. When the anchor is initially dragged, a working surface of the ears engages the bottom and causes the anchor to rotate into a preferred position from which the plow flukes dig their way rapidly into the sea bottom. The ears also dig their way into the sea bottom such that the anchor becomes completely buried. Thereby, very high holding efficiency and low bending risk are achieved with an anchor having a light-weight construction.