Best Kayak Anchor: Buying Guide & The Top 5 Picks (2022)
Are you looking for something you can use to hold your kayak in one place while you're fishing or swimming? Perhaps you need to use something to keep your kayak in place while you camp overnight?
Whatever your reason for a stationary boat placement, you might want to invest in a kayak anchor.
That's why we have created a buying guide to walk you through the benefits of a kayak anchor and how to purchase and use the best kayak anchor when you're out on the water. But before we get into the anchors on the market let's have a look at the different types available.
Types of Anchor
Grappling Anchor
This anchor, also known as Grapnel Anchor, this is the most common for kayaking anchors. Usually, it comes with four prongs. It can also come as a folding anchor that can fold in for storage convenience.
The grapnel anchors provide the best grip by far, as they are able to cling onto coral, plants, rocks, and even sand and mud. This makes it incredibly easy to use as you can just drop it, let it hit the floor, and if the kayak drags, the grapnel will grab onto anything that comes in its way.
Mushroom Anchor
The mushroom works mainly on weight alone, which makes it very heavy! This is why they are used on larger water vessels than kayaks.
How To Choose The Right Kayak Anchor
There are some things you have to consider when choosing anchors for kayaks, and those things are the following.
Weight vs Size
When it comes to anchors, they need to be big, right? The bigger, the better, but don't be blinded by a super heavy huge anchor with a sub-par design because there's nothing worse than when you go to use it and find it's non-effective and drags on the seabed when you're trying to enjoy your fishing trip.
You want to look for an anchor with a good design and wings. Most anchors come between 3-3.5 lbs, which is more than enough for a kayak.
Rope 'n' Scope
The scope refers to the ratio between the anchor rope length from the kayak to the anchor and the water depth. An ideal ratio is seven feet of rope length to one foot of depth (7:1).
Points of Anchor
You've figured out the ratio, and now you need to figure out how to attach your anchor to your kayak correctly. This is where the anchor points come in.
Where's Do They Appear?
Most anchor points appear on the bow and stern of the kayak. The reason for this is that kayaks are narrow and designed to cut through the water, so if the point was in the middle, there's a risk of turning sideways in the water. This is incredibly annoying when the kayak turns into a wave, which could swamp the boat with water crashing over the sides and could damage your gear.
Anchor points are generally universal so that any anchors are compatible, whether they attach by rope, screw clip, or carabiner. If you are securing your own DIY kayak anchors, you will probably be expected to drill into the boat and if you aren't confident doing so, it is best to take it into a specialist and leave the DIY kayak anchor with them!
It's also necessary to be aware that not all kayaks are equipped with anchor points. Specifically, inflatable or foldable kayaks tend to lack anchor points. You can, however, buy anchor plates that you can screw into the kayak if need be.
So How To Attach an Anchor to a Kayak?
Well, the most convenient way to anchor a kayak is to use an anchor trolley, this will aid you in anchoring your kayak comfortably from your seat. However, when learning how to anchor a kayak without a trolley, merely clipping it to the anchor point either side will work as long as the boat is not sideways to the waves.
In order to anchor the boat, first, open the flukes and lock them in, safely cast the anchor line away from the boat, and wait until you feel it reach the bottom. Lastly, pull the anchor line towards you and allow the line to reel the full length and tie to clip to the point. Remember if using a knot like a figure-eight knot, double-check it to ensure it's safe and secure specially for kayak anglers!
Accessories
Anchor Trolley
The kayak anchor trolley allows for the kayaker to interchange between the bow and stern points on the fly. The anchor trolley is really useful if you are sea kayaking, river kayaking, or fishing and need to adapt to the wind and waves in an instant. A trolley kit is quite handy to have.
Ropes and Paracords
Most trolleys will come with 25-35 feet of paracord. It's useful to consider the materials used to predict the durability of the paracord and the trolley.
Stakeout Pole
A large, strong stake, pole, or pin that can be used to anchor a canoe in shallow and calm water.
Mounting Plates
Mounting plates are used to add anchor points on a boat that doesn't have them.
Clips and Rings
These are used to attach to the anchor points.
Drift Chutes
A drift chute is a kayak anchor alternative. It slows the boat right down to crawling speed, they work a bit like a parachute in the water and are faster to deploy than a kayak anchor.
Safety
An anchor in itself is a safety accessory, and in order to safely anchor your boat, you need to pay attention to the waves, wind, and scope.
Storage
Lots of kayak anchors can fold the wings in and be stored in a bag provided.
Our Top Reviews
The following anchors are hand-picked from the anchor orchard, especially for you, so you can peruse the perfect anchor systems for kayaks and find the right one for you!
1. Extreme Max Kayak and Canoe Anchor
The Extreme Max Kayak and Canoe anchor kit weighs in at 3.5 pounds, which is on the heavier side when anchoring and comes with a 25-foot rope. It has foldable wings that can conveniently fold into itself and pack away into the storage bag.
It uses a snap hook to attach to your anchor points, and comes with an anchor buoy to keep it's position visible in the water.
These kayak anchoring systems are simple, efficient, and come in galvanized steel or a bold fire truck red if you're feeling adventurous! It's suitable for any type of recreational or fishing trips. For those on a budget, it could be the best option from the cheap anchors on the market.
The Best Kayak Anchor kit is a 40-foot anchor that gives a horizontal drag, which can mean an increased grip and hold. It weighs 3.5 pounds and uses durable galvanized iron.
The Best Kayak Anchor also has a four fluke grapple design, which will aid in a safe mooring. The flukes are easy to adjust with a collar you can slide up and down to release and keep the flukes in place.
This Best anchor is also part of the folding anchors club with foldable wings so can pack up into the provided bag. Keep in mind that the bag is not a dry bag, so if you want to prevent any corrosion, we encourage investing in a waterproof storage bag for your kayak anchor. If you intend to use it as an inflatable kayak anchor, it's also best to make sure it has a bit of padding or protection to protect from damaging the kayak hull when storing.
The Best Marine anchor is an excellent all-around kayak anchor system ready for your next fishing trip, that folds up into a small convenient size. This will attach easily to your fishing kayaks.
The Compass Surf Kayak comes in bold red galvanized steel, which is perfect if you are looking for a sea kayak anchor as it'll be exposed to saltwater and, therefore, more likely to battle corrosion.
This is a small kayak anchor when folded up, measuring 12 inches by 3.5 inches, making it a very easy anchor to store in the smallest of kayaks.
The grapnel anchor kit comes with a padded nylon storage bag in an attempt to protect your boat hull when throwing it into a cockpit or storage hatch for the upcoming journey. On top of that, there is an additional drybag to store both the padded anchor and the 40-foot marine-grade rope in a cozy waterproof shell.
An excellent option for a durable kayak fishing anchor.
The Ocean Motion Kayak Anchor Kits weighs 3.5 pounds and comes with reflective marine quality rope, 40 feet of it, in fact. The reflective anchor line makes it more visible if you are kayak fishing when the light gets low or much easier to find if it gets lost.
Another thing that's useful when anchoring a canoe is to have a buoy attached, which this one does. This should aid you in finding your lost anchor in a worst-case scenario.
Kayak Anchors features many different types of clips, screws, and knots to attach to the points, but this uses very simple stainless steel clasps. It also comes with a clinch top nylon storage bag to store it in, which is handy to have.
This is an excellent product to use when anchoring a kayak in the sea or on a kayak fishing trip as it'll do its job and not let you down with corrosion.
Seattle Sport kayak anchors are incredibly lightweight. They weigh a minimal 1.5 pounds and make sure their design has excellent grip and hold so that the lighter weight is something you shouldn't have to worry about on the water.
The best kayak to suit the Seattle sport is an inflatable or folding kayak because of its lightweight design. Perfect for fishing as it comes with a ring fitting, which gives you the option to switch between bow and stern with ease and speed and 50 feet of nylon rope.
Best for smaller or lighter kayaks as the small weight, although well designed, won't do much for a larger vessel.
Our Top Pick!
So, you want to know what we think the best kayak anchor is? Well, read on Macduff!
We think the best we can find is the Compass Surf Kayak Kit! This bad boy gives a lot, it's strong, it's compact, it's popular, great in different conditions and it's convenient.
It comes prepared and ready to go with a padded bag for protection and a free dry bag to keep everything in. It also has an anti-corrosion coating, which makes it versatile to types of kayaking taking sea kayaking and river kayaking in its stride.
Speaking of versatility, the Compass Surf can be used in different kayaks from hard shell to foldable or inflatable.
An excellent choice for any trip, so give it a try!
Common Questions & Answers
1. Do I need an anchor for my kayak?
If you plan on keeping the kayak in one place for an extended period of time while you cast a fishing line, then yes, it is necessary. Kayaks are light boats and can drift easily, so if you are trying to get a fish, it can be frustrating if you're heading in the wrong direction frantically paddling back!
2. How do you anchor a kayak in current?
In calm shallow water, you'll not need to put much extra line out. In moderately fast currents, you may need to let out 1.5-4 times the depth of water, and in fast water, you will need to let out more than four times the depth of the water to achieve a shallow angle, which is how to boat will be anchored effectively.