Sandbar Boat Anchor

One of our family's favorite summer time activities is to hop on the pontoon boat and anchor up at a sand bar. One of the biggest issues with our outings is being able to stay put when it is even the slightest bit windy. I did some research and found many for sale from around 60 bucks even up to almost $120 (https://amzn.to/2ZoC8i3) don't get me wrong that looks real nice but I'm not about to spend over $200 to keep us in one spot.

So we took the basic design and simplified it a little. I had seen a few out on the water but put a twist (I know punny) on it to make it easier to store on our boat.

We made 2 of these to keep our boat from spinning or moving at all while we are out on the sand bar. If you are doing the same just double the parts you pick up.

Supplies

2 inch pvc 8 to 10 foot schedule 40- you can pick this up at any home improvement store, or if you prefer having it shipped to you this amazon link is the right dimensions - https://amzn.to/3u1h5NM

Pvc primer and cement - https://amzn.to/2W48tcx

1 - 2inch PVC Tee - again less expensive at your local home improvement store or via Amazon- https://amzn.to/3hWqBNc

1 - 2 inch PVC Male Threaded adaptor - https://amzn.to/3u78LMy

1 - 2 inch PVC Female Threaded Adaptor - https://amzn.to/3AzobeR

1 - floating boat dock rope with loop and clip - https://amzn.to/39uQy1K

Tape measure

Sharpie or permanent marker

Something to cut the PVC, hand saw or I used an oscillating saw ( https://amzn.to/3kvKCf9) with a decent all purpose blade. I love this saw and use it for so many projects. By far the best investment I have made.

Gather Your Supplies and Determine Height

So nownots time to do a little estimation of how tall you want this to be. The sand bars that we go to are about waist deep. I chose to have the whole set up about chest height, this made it easier to get the correct leverage to drive the anchor into the sand and still provide a nice firm grip holding us in place.

We chose for them to be 4 1/2 foot also for easy storage under the seats on our boat. Keep in mind if you are adding in the optional threaded pieces to allow for easier storage (I highly recommend this!) Yoh will need to subtract the the dimensions of the male and female connections and a very small section of pvc between the connection and the Tee.

Measure out the height of the 2 inch pvc to be the main up and down section. After marking the appropriate length cut the pipe with your saw.

Now you must cut a small piece of PVC to connect the Tee to one of the threaded pieces. Ensure you have enough to completely push into both the Tee and the threaded adaptor.

Cut the Point

There are many options for this step but we chose to keep the anchor as economical as possible. There are dock screws that can be used bit they cost around $25 - https://amzn.to/3zvGSi5

We were making 2 anchors so we chose to use the pvc, and it still works great.

First draw a line on the bottom of the PVC (I reccomnd the side you just cut so you can use the clean factory edge for the top). Have the line taper down to a point.

Then break out your saw and cut the edge. I when back in and fine tuned from the original line I drew to get a better point.

Cut Your Top "handles"

Depending how much pvc you have left this may limit how wide the top of your T can be. I made mine between a foot and a foot and a half. This provided me enough of a handle to push it down into some thick clay but even more importantly enough for me to pull it back out.

Cut your top t pvc pieces.

Let's Get Primed and Gluing

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You should have all pieces of the PVC cut at this time, its get this thing put together.

There is no real reason to start with one piece over another but below is way I performed this.

Always clean, prime then glue each piece. Let it dry before trying to manipulate it (this is pretty fast so you can just work on another section as you wait for another section to dry).

I started with the male adaptor being attached to the longest up and down section.

I then attached the small pvc section to the bottom of the Tee.

I then added the female connection to the bottom of the small piece now coming off the bottom of the Tee.

I then connected both side of the top of the tee.

Let It All Dry and Test It Out

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Let everything dry. After it is done drying screw together the male and female connections to see your final product.

Finally figure 8 loop around the top of the tee using the loop in your floating rope. You can flip this if you prefer to use the loop on your boat cleets.

You ate good to go hit your favorite sand bar now and have confidence that you won't be moving anywhere.

We have 2 of these anchors to prevent us from spinning (one on each side of the boat).

Hope you enjoy and this project helps you enjoy your favorite sandbar more.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions :-)