"Semi-Permanent" Course Anchoring and Tensioning

[slalom frog]

Hello Ballers- Frequent troller, infrequent poster here. I am looking for some advice with my seasonal course. I put in a course for the summer months in a public lake. In the past I have taken my anchors up at the end of the season, about 150# concrete, rectangular shaped anchors. I want to rid myself of taking out the anchors at the end of the season. That's not a problem, I have that all figured out.

 

I am trying to decide the best way to anchor and tension. I don't have great protection from the wind and at times it can be quite a challenge to keep enough tension on the mainline of the course. I am leaning towards a couple of 200# pyramid style anchors. One end of my course is anchored in about 14' of water and the other is about 8' deep. I am comfortable with the bottom being quite mucky on the 8' end but I need to investigate a bit more on the 14' end. I think that the pyramid style anchors will do a good job of digging into the bottom.

 

In the past I would tension the course by pulling one anchor away from the other. Sometimes this would work, other times the anchor would not catch well. In this new setup, I am considering using a comealong to take up the slack. Ed (EZ Slalom) tells me that he knows of some people that do it this way. Does anyone have any experience with anchoring a portable course that stays in for a longer period of time? Tensioning ideas and advice would also be appreciated.

 

Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

 

SF

[Nando]

One way to get a cable course tighter is to remove the gate balls, or even #1 and #6 buoy sets while tensioning. When you reattach the balls, it will be extremely tight- especially if you're in deep water.

[Onside135]

I am considering using a comealong to take up the slack. Ed (EZ Slalom) tells me that he knows of some people that do it this way.

 

@slalom_frog...My club is using an EZ slalom course that we've had in for over a year now. Though I have not personally seen the anchors, I'm told we have a small block motor anchoring one end, and the drum brake off a dump truck on the far end. I do know that we use a come along between one set of 55s and the engine block. It seems to work pretty well.

 

Our lake is fairly sheltered from the wind, but we do have the occasional significant water level fluctuation, since we are at the mercy of the USACE (Corps of Engineers) and their flow management of a nearby dam. This sometimes results in us using the come along to adjust course tension. This is only really an issue once or twice a year. If we know about it, in the past we've sank the course by removing all buoys and letting it settle to the bottom. Maybe you could get away with this on your public lake? When the water level returns to normal, we drag a crazy looking hook contraption made out of rebar across the width of the lake to snag the mainline. We pull the mainline up and go down the line replacing buoys. This year, we didn't sink it in time, the lake flooded, and became one with the adjacent river. This ended up snapping a few arms, which we had to rebuild. To be fair, the arms broke from the current strength of the river, not just the rising water level.

 

Long story short...We use a come along and it works well!

[slalom frog]

I have looked online for some screw anchor options. Seems like there are quite a few options. What type is typically used? How long does one of these anchors typically last?

[ctsmith]

Regarding anchors and weight, because of concrete's mass/weight ratio it loses 40% - 50% of its weight in the water. Find some cutoff steel piling to use as anchors. Steel has very little weight loss and is much easier to handle. 10x42 H pile is standard in the construction industry (10" web, 42 lbs/ft)). A two foot cutoff is 84 lbs. In the water thats as much or more weight than your 150 lbs of concrete and much easier to handle. You can use longer pieces for more weight or chain a few pieces together for the same effect but easier mobility. Also, the "H" shape of the steel silts in firm.

[jackski]

I 've had a floating course for 18 years in our lake and have tried different thing. I know what works best for me, but may vary in different situations. I use concrete blocks for anchors at both ends but account for the 40% loss of weight in water. I use lots of weight one end, about 350lb and less on the other. I can't remember how much, but I adjusted it so when the water rises quickly as it can in our lake, 1ft per day of rain, the lighter anchor will drag without damaging the course. I also have subbouys 5 feet below and I leave a section of rope attached that I sink with a small weight for the winter. In the spring I use a hook to pull it up and attach the mainline. For tensioning I use a cheap winch that is attached to the mainline at the 55's. I have a similar circumstace to you in that I am shallow in one end and deeper in the other. I found that it is important to have at least a 3 to 1 scope in the line, I'm actually about 4 to1. The 4 to 1 doesn't sink the 55's when tensioned well. Obviously, to get the same scope, each end has different rope lengths. If it's windy enough to bend the course I don't ski.

[ForrestGump]

I knew someone who used two steel 55 gallon drums filled with concrete for anchors. He dropped the first one off his barge, drug out the mainline and dropped the 2nd one with with a cable attached. Then used a boat with the cable attached to drag the 2nd anchor tight. That thing NEVER moved. He got the idea because that's what we used to anchor floating boat houses on Lake Travis.

[slalom frog]

@Jackski - Are you using a winch like you would find on a boat trailer or more like a comealong? How many seasons do you get out of it?

[501Brandon]

@slalom_frog we took a come-along and replaced the cable and all the screws and bolts out and rebuilt it with stainless hardware... It was a lot cheaper than buying a prefab stainless come-along. Unless our whole setup gets wiped out by flooding it lasts several years. We also (in the past) remove buoys and let the whole thing sit on bottom for the winter. In the spring we drag the hook @onside135 mentioned to grab the mainline and start snapping buoys back on. The comealong works great especially if your water level tends to flucuate.

[slalom frog]

@Klondike, couple of questions. What are you using for anchors? Any idea what the capacity of your come-along is? Are you using it in a single line or "double" line configuration? Thanks!

[rayn]

Guys, do you have any pictures of your "hook" contraption. We normally leave a couple of buoys on both ends of our course on a public lake for the winter. This year they mysteriously disappeared, so we are either diving or dragging for the course. Thanks

[6balls]

We run a cable to shore over winter, follow it out in the spring to find the course on the bottom.

[skierjp]

I've been using Accuflaot slalom courses for over 20 years. There are a few tricks to installing them. First use screw anchors. Also go te West Marine and buy a boat winch. The biggest key is to make sure the anchor line is long enough. My course is in 10' of water and the anchor lines are 200 feet long., This serves 2 purposes. 1) the extra anchor line length does not pull the entrance gates under water when the course is pulled tight. 2) you now have a reference point to measue and mark your pre gates at 180 feet. I have Mike Suyderhound make my anchor lines out of the same cable as the course.

When installing the course use temporary anchors ( 3 cement block). Also use rope for temporary anchors. Spool the cable into the water using only the PVC for the entrance and exit gates. Do not install the PVC for any of the turn buoys. When you reach the sections ( ball 1 - 6 ) attach a buoy so you know where the PVC goes. After you drag the course around to the prefered spot attach the winch and stainlless cables ( 200' ) and dive to screw the anchors in. The next step is to install the 6 PVC sections at the marker buoys. As you install the sections the course will get shorter as you spread the diamond sections open. By the time you install the last one the course will be nearly tight. WARNING -- make sure you have approx 20 feet of cable on the winch incase you need slack.

BTW -- remove the web strap from the boat winch and attach the cable to the winch. Also the winch is attached to the entrance gate diamond with a "make a link" connector.

I keep my course so tight you can hardly pull the PVC to the surface to change a buoy !!!!!!!

[501Brandon]

@Slalom_frog we are using an engine block on one end and a very heavy (over 100lbs) brake drum from a commercial truck. The come-along is attached between the 55's and the anchor. Everything is single line however we do have a section of old ski rope that runs along side the mainline from the anchor to the 55's as a security line in the event the come-along or cable should fail. We only put enough tension on the course to keep it straight. To much tension WILL fold the arms over between the boat guides and I do have photos of what PVC looks like when its bent in to a banana shape...

The Hook Contraption was made by a guy I work with who took three pieces of rebar, welded them together at the top with an eyelet and bent three hooks at the bottom. It literally looks like a grapple hook and the hook ends are pretty open so they are sure to grab the cable. Do not sharpen the ends as you dont really want it to dig in.

[jackski]

@ slalom frog- cheapest boat winch I can get. 500 lb capacity on sale usually at Princess Auto for $ 15.

 

Lasts 3-4 years in the water until it rusts out.

[slalom frog]

Ok guys, a few more questions. I went out to my site tonight to "survey" the bottom conditions a little bit better. I took about 30' of 1" pipe with me to see how far I would be able to drive it into the bottom. On the 8' deep end I was able to drive the pipe nearly 20' into the mud, yes that's correct, 20 feet! The mud was somewhat thick, definitely not silt. On the 14' end I was able to drive it about 1' into the bottom of the lake. Here are my thoughts. On the "muddy" end I am thinking that a rugged, homemade box anchor, something like the photo. On the 14' deep end I think it would be best to use a screw anchor as mentioned in some of the replies. I think that the bottom is "solid" enough on that end to hold a screw anchor. Thoughts, suggestions, personal experience........

[slalom frog]

@jackski, is it very challenging at all to crank on this type of winch underwater? Obviously, it's not mounted to anything solid and I would think that it would be difficult to prevent it from rotating when trying to crank it.

[jackski]

@ slalom frog - I don't get into the water to crank it up. I never over tension my course,so when it's loose and I want to tighten it I grab a 55 and pull it up to the cable and winch. I first kneel and then lay on the platform with my arms in the water cranking it. I have my cable & winch 4' below, so when I reach down I only need about 2' of slack which is about right not to over tension it. If I know a big rain is coming I'll loosen it, but if I don't, my light anchor at one end takes care of it.

[skierjp]

I bet a 5' or 6' screw anchor will hold in the mud. Mine are only 3 feet long and they are in sand.

Test it, screw a anchor in, attach a long rope ( side pull ) and then hook it to the boat. Put the boat in gear, if the anchor stays your good. The only thing your out of pocket is the price of the screw anchor.

[slalom frog]

@Skierjp, where have you found good screw anchors? I've found some options but would like to know what works for other people.

[skierjp]

I purchased mine at a Mobile Home Parts store. I've taken the cheap ones out of the lake from Home Depot after a few years and they still looked fine. The only real pain is changing out the boat winch every few years.

 

FYI -- The real key to keeping the course straight and less drag on the anchors is the extreme length of the anchor lines.

[slalom frog]

Just wanted to send a thank you out to all of the people that contributed advice to my project. Got the course installed today. It appears that everything will work out just great and should be much easier to install and take out in the future.

 

-SF

[GregDavis]

been messing with floating courses for years. Finally decided ( about 15 years ago ) to put permantly anchored course in. You can do easy with max depth of 14 ft. All materials, and pay to have it surveyed. while you are installing. ($2,000) including paying surveyer, Maybe less. I mean, all new boat guides, buoys, sub buoys, clips bungie, anchors, everything. end of problem. you have an record capable course, low maintance ( less than $2,000 ) . THE ONLY WAY TO GO. be glad to suppy you with material list, etc. what part of country are you in. Can provide you with several guys that would survey it.