Research the box anchor. It is expensive but one of the best out there for many types of bottom conditions. Danforths are the most common anchors. Mushroom type anchors are meant for muddy bottoms. Also you need a good heavy chain right at the anchor and there is a formula of how much rope for every foot of depth. An anchor rope at 45 degrees will not hold well at all, it needs to be more like 30 something degrees. Anchor buddies: They have a large following, and have a place on the boat, but personally I never left my boat tied up with one. I have seen mine stretch all the way out and had to fend it offshore and keep it from hitting the houseboat in certain rough/windy conditions. Anchor rope is designed to stretch and absorb shock so it is not transfered to the anchor, and help prevent the anchor from slipping. There is another method, which it seems like we are the only one to use, but it works well. We brought an old tire, and parked the bow right on the tire. Then someone would keep the boat idling in gear while the stakes were driven in and three ropes were setup. one straight off the bow, and two at 45 degree angles, run off the stern of the boat (Very similar to tieing off a houseboat, except we used a third middle line). We used this method, at lakes, routinely for years and never had a problem. The boat rode out many wind storms and wakes from other boats, without any problems. It only takes a minute to tie off the boat using anchor rope and a truckers knot so tension can be added.
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