The anchors we use are more akin to the "auger anchor" shown on this page:

http://tinyurl.com/cmwgn

Each boat has an anchor on either side that's shared with the neighboring boat. We tie them down over the tramp near the mast base. Most boats use the ratcheting tie-down straps, but some just use line. Most boats are on trailers, but some are not.

We've had a surplus of the anchors around our club forever, so I've never had to purchase one. However, I've assumed they can be obtained at a local mobile home dealer. (We've got lots of those in the southern U.S., but such housing is probably not practical in Canada!)

If I were preparing for serious wind exposure and/or long-term strorage, I'd drop the mast and strip the tramp as well.

Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16 102614
Clinton, Mississippi

I just noticed the Light Aircraft Anchor at www.spyra-base.com. That is more like what I was picturing.

Mary,

I checked out a few of those anchors. I am also going to check out another source via the mobile home route. I`ll let you know if I have any luck.

Dave

Why not use the stakes the tent rental people use? They can't be that expensive and they hold in both asphalt and soil. They look like really big and long nails.

Well for whatever it's worth, Dave I'm sorry you had a problem with your boat in the wind but glad it wasn't seriously damaged! I guess doggie tie-downs are good enough until they're not. I use them here at Abilene and they seem to have decent holding power. I screw them in as far as they'll go and then I use all my strength to try and pull them out. If they come out then I find another place for them. I've watched several huge (orange and red on the RADAR) storms go over the lake and my 16 has never moved.

Jaime,

Thanks for the sentiment. On the topic of the tie-downs, it seems that when a wind hits something (H16) "just right", bad stuff can happen - despite the best laid plans.

It gets me to thinking about the famous video footage of the Tacoma Narrows bridge occilating 10-20 feet in the wind before the catastrophic collapse - I`ll bet the enginner for that project is serving fries these days. But, as I recall, the whole incident was only possible with a very specific velocity and direction of wind - precisely what was required to expose a weakness in the engineering. Unfortunately for the engineer, the price of technological progress can be quite high sometimes. Fortunately for me, my H16 is undamaged, and...well...it is still just an H16 and not a bridge!

...other than that, it seems the doggie tie-downs really do work just fine...until they don`t.


Dave

/start thread hijack

The 1940 Tacoma Narrows bridge was designed by Clark Eldridge (1896-1990), whose design was modified by Leon Moisseiff (1872-1943). It was Moisseiff who neglected the affects of aerodynamic occillations on a slender bridge. He died just 3 years after the bridge collapsed.

After spending WWII in a Japanese prison camp, Eldridge continued his career as a consulting engineer until his death in 1990.

Learn about the whole thing here.

/end hijack

Very interesting info Matt. I was sure one of those guys ended up serving fries - for certain!

Dave