Which ground anchor design for narrowboating?

[Gybe Ho]

Looking ahead to next winter and full time living offgrid on the towpath I want the best gear onboard for attaching to the bank. In the absence of armco or rings I think I will want more than just pins.

 

Looking at ground anchors I notice there are three design variations.

 

1. Classic giant wine bottle corkscrew.
2. A pin with a wide helta skelta style blade welded to a core pin. The blade looks to be 3 times the diameter of the core pin.
3. One company called Spirafix offers a scaled down version of 2 that can be hammered into the ground like a pin but needs to be wound out later.

 

I carry lots of long ropes left over from my sailing days and appreciate a tree trunk could be the ultimate storm attachment. And yes I do crossing pinning. 

 

Here are some pictures of the above:

 

Type-1 Corkscrew

 

 

Type-2 Helta skelta from Midland https://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/ag-spyrabase-500mm-mooring-ground-anchor-as-046

 

 

Type-3 Spirafix https://www.spirafix.com/other-applications/barges-and-boat-mooring

 

[David Mack]

Good luck getting any of those screw anchors into a towpath that's got loads of brick or stone below the surface!

I've always used pins. Angle the pins away from the boat, so that the rope tension keeps the rope at ground level - a rope tied to the top of the pin ensures it will be levered out as boats pass.

I take clove hitch around the pin, then take the rope back to tie off on the boat. The clove hitch mean you don't lose the pin if it does get pulled out.

For more security against being pulled out, use pins with a loop on the top, then drive a second pin at an angle through the loop.

[IanM]

I would think that after winding those screw type anchors in a few times you’ll be fed up with them, especially if the ground is hard. Then you also have to unwind them to get them out. 
 

With traditional pins a few taps and you can wiggle them out. 

[IanD]

19 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Good luck getting any of those screw anchors into a towpath that's got loads of brick or stone below the surface!

I've always used pins. Angle the pins away from the boat, so that the rope tension keeps the rope at ground level - a rope tied to the top of the pin ensures it will be levered out as boats pass.

I take clove hitch around the pin, then take the rope back to tie off on the boat. The clove hitch mean you don't lose the pin if it does get pulled out.

For more security against being pulled out, use pins with a loop on the top, then drive a second pin at an angle through the loop.

...and take the rope tightly (preferably with an extra loop round the pins) through both eye-loops (facing away from the boat) before tying off on the boat, to discourage merry scroats for having a jolly jape and pulling the pins out... 😉 

[Gybe Ho]

18 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Good luck getting any of those screw anchors into a towpath that's got loads of brick or stone below the surface!

 

 

Yes this is a concern however the screw designs come in shorter lengths than a standard 600mm pin, so more grab for less depth and fewer bricks I hope.

 

I do cross pinning as a matter routine and still had a pair pull out in soft ground. The main pin with the loop stayed attached with the rope but the straight cross pin required 20 minutes of fishing to retrieve from the canal bed.

 

I need to invest in more pins to support additional spring lines, that should reduce the degree of surging against a basic two mooring line setup.

 

Towpath feedback re. ground screws it mixed from "utterly useless so gave mine away" to "nice to have onboard for special situations". 

[Gybe Ho]

8 minutes ago, IanD said:

...and take the rope tightly (preferably with an extra loop round the pins) through both eye-loops (facing away from the boat) before tying off on the boat, to discourage merry scroats for having a jolly jape and pulling the pins out... 😉 

 

There is a surprising variation in practice from loops facing the boat to "no don't thread the rope through the loop, it is for cross pinning". I soon settled on loop facing away and rope through the loop. My straight pins are ex. loop pins with the loop crudely cut off, I had not thought about cross pinning with 2 loop pins.

[GUMPY]

Not being one to mess about I used something like This . You do need a proper hammer of at least 7lbs and there is a distinct technique for removing them 

Never had one pull out all though I will admit to sometimes using two at each end.

[Gybe Ho]

14 minutes ago, IanM said:

I would think that after winding those screw type anchors in a few times you’ll be fed up with them, especially if the ground is hard. Then you also have to unwind them to get them out. 

 

 

I want the ground screws for exceptional situations, most likely a winter storm blowing the boat away from the towpath. Also storms = rain = soft ground = pulled out pins. Passing traffic is the main cause of pulled pins I suppose and there will be little traffic on the cut during a winter storm, so maybe I am worrying about an imagined threat. 

 

Deep down I am concerned that by the time I realize I need ground screws I will be pinned against the offside bank by a gale force wind and Screwfix or a local Amazon Locker will be a swim away.

[blackrose]

As well as the "standard" narrow boat pins I carry a few 1m stakes which can be driven further into the ground with a sledgehammer rather than a lump hammer. To get them out of the ground you have to hit the protruding top sideways from a couple of different angles.

 

I've used them on the Thames with big passenger boats going past very close at well over 8kts. They never come out. 

 

The problem with those screw anchors is they have to be put into the ground by hand and how are you going to do that on hard ground?

Edited April 22 by blackrose

[IanM]

6 minutes ago, blackrose said:

The problem with those screw anchors is they have to be put into the ground by hand and how are you going to do that on hard ground?

 

 

 

 

 

😆

Edited April 22 by IanM

[IanD]

45 minutes ago, Gybe Ho said:

 

There is a surprising variation in practice from loops facing the boat to "no don't thread the rope through the loop, it is for cross pinning". I soon settled on loop facing away and rope through the loop. My straight pins are ex. loop pins with the loop crudely cut off, I had not thought about cross pinning with 2 loop pins.

Loops facing the boat (with the rope only through the loop) is a really bad idea -- they're weak and often not that well welded on and can pull off the pin under stress. Always face loops away from the boat so the rope goes around the pin and through the loop, then the pin takes the stress not the loop.

 

Rope through the loop means if the pin does get pulled out it stays attached to the rope for easy retrieval instead of potentially dropping off into the water and ending up on the bottom of the canal...

Edited April 22 by IanD

[Jen-in-Wellies]

I take your 

36 minutes ago, IanM said:

 

 

 

 

 

😆

And raise you 

source and reuse license

[Onewheeler]

The screw ones are hopeless. Fine if you are screwing into undisturbed pasture but you won't find much of that next to a waterway here. They bend easily too, we've only got two left out of a set of four that aren't bent in the middle like a one string fiddle. A few lengths of 50 mm steel angle with a hole for a shackle will be a useful solution.

[IanM]

7 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

I take your 

And raise you 

source and reuse license

 

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

19 hours ago, Gybe Ho said:

appreciate a tree trunk could be the ultimate storm attachment.

 

Not always giving the result you want...................

 

 

 

 

Imagine you are back on your yacht and against the harbour wall in Port St Marys (IOM) with a 5.5 metre tide, how would your mooring lines be laid out ?

 

 

Edited April 22 by Alan de Enfield

[wakey_wake]

1 hour ago, Onewheeler said:

The screw ones are hopeless. Fine if you are screwing into undisturbed pasture but you won't find much of that next to a waterway here. They bend easily too, we've only got two left out of a set of four that aren't bent in the middle like a one string fiddle. A few lengths of 50 mm steel angle with a hole for a shackle will be a useful solution.

Interesting... I got a set of MC ones (#1). They were well priced, compared to similar on Amazon, and I found I prefer them to lupins.

They've not had enough varied cruising to meet unfavourable ground. They are near silent to drive, which feels nicer when mooring late.

 

Also when they come out, there is no telltale gouged peghole of a pin struck sideways. That seems better for bank conservation?

 

A short one did pull out once - soft ground, hire boat padding in a real hurry. I would stick to the long ones unless something obstructed.

I would always drive it to the hilt, because I think the corkscrew 'pin' is not going to be strong in bending.

 

I use 6mm clip shackles for easier attachment to a bight from the boat, to keep the pin attached to the boat. Possibly these are weaker than is advisable? Perhaps I should thread or use a screw shackle?

 

Dark green is a poor colour choice in long grass. They won't bite your shins but they can be hard to find.

 

1 hour ago, IanD said:

Loops [...are...] weak and often not that well welded on and can pull off the pin under stress.

 

That seems a possible disadvantage of #1 flavour, and #2 flavour as shown. The parts for tying on are only welded, not part of the (hot drawn?) pin.

 

However I would think that a smack with the hammer is a good way to help loops come off, and the twizzy ones don't need that.

 

Flavour #3 seems a poor choice for the M16. What screws in there? When it gets dirt in it, how do you clean it? Perhaps the intention is to drive it with a socket set, rather than the bundled H-bar handle which #1 have?

 

2 hours ago, Gybe Ho said:

I want the ground screws for exceptional situations, most likely a winter storm blowing the boat away from the towpath. Also storms = rain = soft ground = pulled out pins.

 

If it's worrying you, then that's the price of peace of mind.

 

If the ground is really that soft, perhaps you can get better hold with multiple corkscrews (#2 best?) on a load sharing arrangement.

 

 

 

 

Jen, that's not the mooring peg! You need half a truck of concrete after boring out the hole, then should hold your 50m rebar loop good and firm. 👍

 

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

And raise you 

source and reuse license

Edited April 22 by wakey_wake
gah, mergey mess

[David Mack]

26 minutes ago, wakey_wake said:

If the ground is really that soft, perhaps you can get better hold with multiple corkscrews (#2 best?) on a load sharing arrangement.

 

If the ground is really that soft you might be better mooring elsewhere.

[Ken X]

We have been known to use a pair of Rhond Anchors when winter cruising.  Takes a lot to shift them.

[Graham Davis]

3 hours ago, Gybe Ho said:

 

I want the ground screws for exceptional situations, most likely a winter storm blowing the boat away from the towpath. Also storms = rain = soft ground = pulled out pins. Passing traffic is the main cause of pulled pins I suppose and there will be little traffic on the cut during a winter storm, so maybe I am worrying about an imagined threat. 

 

Deep down I am concerned that by the time I realize I need ground screws I will be pinned against the offside bank by a gale force wind and Screwfix or a local Amazon Locker will be a swim away.

Sorry, but this really does show your inexperience of mooring on the UK canal system. What you have described above happens so rarely (if ever) that it is not worth even thinking about. 
And if you do get blown across the cut, what does it matter? You sit there until this imaginary storm blows over then push your self back across. From experience pins are more often pulled out by passing boats, not strong winds.

[wakey_wake]

22 minutes ago, Ken X said:

We have been known to use a pair of Rhond Anchors when winter cruising.  Takes a lot to shift them.

I had forgotten about those. More to go on the shopping list...

 

Discussion says they're the whale's wonka https://forum.norfolkbroadsnetwork.com/topic/12386-why-do-we-need-rhond-anchors/ 

Howto vid 

 

[Anonathy]

From my experience you'd never get the corkscrew types into the bank on 90% of the canal. Too many rocks, rubble and god knows what beneath the surface. 4 of the normal mooring pins, doubled up so one is hammered through the hoop of the other each end, and retightening your ropes when needed will hold you anywhere. By contrast using a single pin will have you floating about in the middle of the canal after only a few boats have passed by.

 

51 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

From experience pins are more often pulled out by passing boats, not strong winds.

 

From my experience too, although I can never tell if it's because it's more of a concentrated jolt compared to the wind or if the rocking motion pulls the rope more upwards.

[LadyG]

19 hours ago, GUMPY said:

Not being one to mess about I used something like This . You do need a proper hammer of at least 7lbs and there is a distinct technique for removing them 

Never had one pull out all though I will admit to sometimes using two at each end.

I got some good pins off ebay, ex army, reasonsble price.

My lump hammer cost £16, and its great, i keep the big hammer which came with the boat, at the bow, for occasional use.

[cheesegas]

On 21/04/2026 at 19:06, Gybe Ho said:

One company called Spirafix offers a scaled down version of 2 that can be hammered into the ground like a pin but needs to be wound out later.

Type-3 Spirafix https://www.spirafix.com/other-applications/barges-and-boat-mooring

21 hours ago, David Mack said:

Good luck getting any of those screw anchors into a towpath that's got loads of brick or stone below the surface!

20 hours ago, blackrose said:

The problem with those screw anchors is they have to be put into the ground by hand and how are you going to do that on hard ground?

The Spirafix anchors are one of the few which have load ratings under various BS5930 and ASTM soil types; for this reason, I use them at work regularly for securing outdoor truss structures to the ground. A 3rd party company does all the calculations to ensure the structure is stable under average wind loading, based on the vertical pull out forces in Spirafix's load charts. Important to note that the load rating in any other direction than parallel to the anchor isn't given, as it tends to loosen the anchor.

 

Putting them in the ground is surprisingly easy. The 30mm type can be driven in to tarmac or practically any other surface that's not concrete with a sledgehammer, and they supply a 2' spanner to unscrew it. Very rarely have a problem with it not going in, even on heavily compacted paths with lots of stone. Obviously if there's a massive boulder below the surface it won't happen though! Likewise, it comes up easily although you need to leave space to swing the spanner.

 

They even work on beach sand; the 50mm 1m anchors are rated for something like almost a ton of pullout force! Big fan of these.

 

For mooring a narrowboat though, it's probably overkill, and you'd need to be very careful to make sure you don't whack it in next to something which stops you from getting a full rotation with the spanner or else taking it out is pretty miserable.

 

 

18 hours ago, wakey_wake said:

Flavour #3 seems a poor choice for the M16. What screws in there? When it gets dirt in it, how do you clean it? Perhaps the intention is to drive it with a socket set, rather than the bundled H-bar handle which #1 have?

These aren't designed for your average DIYer; you do need to know a little about rigging to get the right one. You buy a small hardened steel cap from Spirafix which goes over the threaded fixing, and then you whack it with a sledgehammer, SDS drill or petrol post driver. It relies on being driven into the ground - if you try and screw it in, it just acts like an auger and digs a hole. The M16 fixing is for whatever you want, it's a standard metric thread. You can screw in an eyebolt, or bolt on a tab with a hole for a shackle ..or have a steel plate made with 17mm holes in to bolt on top of 3 or more anchors to increase the pullout rating. This is common with larger structures.

 

If dirt gets in the top, you just wash it out with a bit of water or blow it. No issue, and I've used these in some pretty muddy/sandy conditions.

 

The B type variant has a hole for a shackle in the top which would be easier for mooring a boat, but I find whacking it in is more difficult as you hit the stake itself rather than a cap on top of the threaded fitting. The hammer tends to glance off it you don't get it spot on.

 

Again, this is from experience, I've whacked in loads of these over the years! They're very good.

 

 

 

Edited April 23 by cheesegas

[Gybe Ho]

13 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

Putting them in the ground is surprisingly easy. The 30mm type can be driven in to tarmac or practically any other surface that's not concrete with a sledgehammer, and they supply a 2' spanner to unscrew it. Very rarely have a problem with it not going in, even on heavily compacted paths with lots of stone.

 

 

Do they twist and screw themselves into the ground as they are hammered or just plough though straight?

[Anonathy]

29 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

The Spirafix anchors are one of the few which have load ratings under various BS5930 and ASTM soil types; for this reason, I use them at work regularly for securing outdoor truss structures to the ground. A 3rd party company does all the calculations to ensure the structure is stable under average wind loading, based on the vertical pull out forces in Spirafix's load charts. Important to note that the load rating in any other direction than parallel to the anchor isn't given, as it tends to loosen the anchor.

 

Putting them in the ground is surprisingly easy. The 30mm type can be driven in to tarmac or practically any other surface that's not concrete with a sledgehammer, and they supply a 2' spanner to unscrew it. Very rarely have a problem with it not going in, even on heavily compacted paths with lots of stone. Obviously if there's a massive boulder below the surface it won't happen though! Likewise, it comes up easily although you need to leave space to swing the spanner.

 

They even work on beach sand; the 50mm 1m anchors are rated for something like almost a ton of pullout force! Big fan of these.

 

For mooring a narrowboat though, it's probably overkill, and you'd need to be very careful to make sure you don't whack it in next to something which stops you from getting a full rotation with the spanner or else taking it out is pretty miserable.

 

Can you drive them in and remove them with a cordless impact wrench (albeit a rather beefy one) instead of hammering? It would certainly be the most secure and low effort method of mooring if so.